Car Tyre db Noise ratings, are they meaningless?
Discussion
Car tyre manufacturers now have to declare their tyres noise rating.
The test consists of a test car driving past a microphone 7.5meters away at 50mph (Although I understand this is not measured independently but by the manufacturer themselves?)
But is/does/should this db test result reflect the level of the noise in the cabin?
i.e a tyre with a rating if 67db should sound much quieter inside the car than a tyre with a rating of 76db making a nice quiet ride.
Im not convinced the ratings on the tyres make any difference to the noise inside the car.
I have read hundreds of tyre reviews over the past few months and still not come to a conclusion.
Some people have specifically fitted the quietest rated tyres on the market with 67db ratings in order to have a nice quiet ride and complain saying that there incredibly noisy, whilst others say there whisper quiet.
At the other end of the scale there are people running with noisy budget tyres with 75db ratings saying there very quiet, and that’s after replacing highly rated premium brands.
So is this noise emissions test of any benefit when choosing a tyre for a quiet ride? When some people fit the quietest tyre available just to find them noisier.
Or are the manufacturers tests biased just to get sales etc?
I know this is all subjective and peoples experiences/ratings could be down to numerous factors such as:
How bad the cars geometry is.
The loading on the tyre due to car weight.
How worn the tyre are.
Tyre pressures.
Road Surfaces etc etc.
What are you experiences and thoughts?
The test consists of a test car driving past a microphone 7.5meters away at 50mph (Although I understand this is not measured independently but by the manufacturer themselves?)
But is/does/should this db test result reflect the level of the noise in the cabin?
i.e a tyre with a rating if 67db should sound much quieter inside the car than a tyre with a rating of 76db making a nice quiet ride.
Im not convinced the ratings on the tyres make any difference to the noise inside the car.
I have read hundreds of tyre reviews over the past few months and still not come to a conclusion.
Some people have specifically fitted the quietest rated tyres on the market with 67db ratings in order to have a nice quiet ride and complain saying that there incredibly noisy, whilst others say there whisper quiet.
At the other end of the scale there are people running with noisy budget tyres with 75db ratings saying there very quiet, and that’s after replacing highly rated premium brands.
So is this noise emissions test of any benefit when choosing a tyre for a quiet ride? When some people fit the quietest tyre available just to find them noisier.
Or are the manufacturers tests biased just to get sales etc?
I know this is all subjective and peoples experiences/ratings could be down to numerous factors such as:
How bad the cars geometry is.
The loading on the tyre due to car weight.
How worn the tyre are.
Tyre pressures.
Road Surfaces etc etc.
What are you experiences and thoughts?
Jaguar steve said:
I did read that manufactures are biasing tyre design to be quiet in the drive by test and do so by designing a tread that actually deflects rolling noise into the wheel arch and therefore the car body instead. Which won't help much 
I had read that somewhere too, so a tyre that's gets a very quiet rating on test might just be deflecting all the noise into the wheel arch for a quiet drive by result but creating a lot of cabin noise in turn.What I would all like to see is the db rating for the tyre noise generated inside the cabin.
kambites said:
It would depend massively on the car it's fitted to though. Different cars' sound deadening will have different efficiency at absorbing different frequencies.
Obviously all testing would have to be carried out on a standard defined test car/surface etc, but it would show which tyres are loud and which ones are quiet with regards to cabin noise.It wouldn’t be representative of the noise you would hear in your own car due to sound deadening/construction of all the different manufacturers out there, but it would enable you to choose the quietest tyre for a quieter cabin.
This is the sort of thing that makes me think the noise rating on tyres is totally meaningless to interior noise.
I can only assume the design of this Nokian Z G2 tyre is deflecting the road noise away from the car.
The Nokian Z G2 tyres has a noise rating of 73db and labelled as noisy tyre. But the majority of people using them say how quiet they are when compared to much much quieter rated premium brand tyres.
Even in an Autoexpress group test review said it was quiet and rated it second for interior noise.
I can only assume the design of this Nokian Z G2 tyre is deflecting the road noise away from the car.
The Nokian Z G2 tyres has a noise rating of 73db and labelled as noisy tyre. But the majority of people using them say how quiet they are when compared to much much quieter rated premium brand tyres.
Even in an Autoexpress group test review said it was quiet and rated it second for interior noise.
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