Gary, what is best choice for low noise?

[intempo]

Hi Gary et al,

I have a 2004 330Ci with sport package. (Front: 225/45-17, Rear: 245/40-17) What tire do you recommend for my priorities?

1) Noise/comfort
2) Wet road performance (I live in the Northwest)
3) Tread Life
4) Dry road performance
5) cost
6) Ice & Snow (I have winter tires, Dunlop M2)

By way of comparison, I got about 24K out of the OEM Dunlop 8080. For my driving, these were decent tires from a performance perspective. So if the new tires were quieter and lasted longer I would be satisfied.

I have tested the Bridgestone RE 050A Pole Position and find them to be noisier than I would prefer. Are there tires that offer significant noise/comfort improvement over the Bridgestones?

Thanks for your help,
Tom

[grayghost]

I have almost identical car.. I also got about 23K from the original 8080s, including three DEs and a couple of AXs. I got a set of Goodyear DS-G3s for the improved traction and handling.. I didn't even consider noise. But, they sure seem quieter to me. On the next DE at Road Atlanta after putting on the DS-G3s I was a little "off-speed" at first because without realizing it, I had been using the noise level of the 8080s to help judge cornering speeds. The DS-G3s were enough quieter that I was trying to go through the corners too fast...
So, long story made short... The DS-G3s seem quieter than the 8080s to me.

[Gary@Tirerack]

For summer tires the GSD3 has been great, or the Conti Contact 2 for more ride comfort with some sacrifice to handling. The only way to get much more wear is to go to an all season tire like the Pirelli Pzero Nero M+S, just beware that all-season tires will be a noticable step down in steering response and dry grip.

Tires http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AB2&url=/tires/index.jsp

[intempo]

After reading over the Conti SC2 I am leaning towards them. Good wet road traction and strong positive comments wrt noise/comfort.

Will the Conti SC2 have notible lower noise than the Bridgestone RE 050 PP? I suspect the answer is YES, but just want to check with the experts!

Thanks,
Tom

[intempo]

Thanks for the input grayghost. I don't plan on taking my 330 to the track, so I suspect you require more from you Bimmer than I. I love the driving experience of my 330 but rarely even hit 8/10 of the cars capability. I have the pleasure of driving unpopulated two-lane roads on my daily commute. I love the Bavarian breading and will never go back.

The Goodyear F1 seems like a great tire but there are some complaints about wear in growl (15K and above) attributed to the tire pattern. Have you noticed any 40 to 60 mph tire noise/growl?

The wet traction looks really great and the noise and comfort are good too so the F1 is still a contender.

Thanks,
Tom

[intempo]

Just wanted to provide an update on my tire decision. I went for the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position. The reviews in Tirerack are great and my first 2K miles confirm the ranking. And on top of that, they are a great price!!!

[Mapman]

Just wanted to provide an update on my tire decision. I went for the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position. The reviews in Tirerack are great and my first 2K miles confirm the ranking. And on top of that, they are a great price!!!I ended up replacing my 8080E's with those same tires. The Bridgestones have been good so far (maybe 2,000 miles).

In all honesty though, anything would seem quiet next to the Dunlops as they were approaching the end of their useful lives (I got about 25k out of mine). Man, were those things noisy for their last five thousand miles!