BC996

I own a 2002 996 C2 Coupe with the M030 Sport Suspension. The car is great performer, however, I find the tire noise very annoying. This car is especially loud on poorer quality pavement. I foillowed it one day in a friend's Boxster and couldn't believe the noise coming from my car's tires.

I'm running 18" Michelin Pilot Sports (N series) 225 front and 285 rear. The car has 25,000 miles with about 9,000 miles on the tires. They appear to be in good condition with at least 50% tread remaining. These tires have:icon107: never been tracked.

What ewxperience have others had with tire noise in these cars?

Does the Sport suspesnion contribute to the cabin noise from the tires?

What experience have others had with other brands of tires?

Any help would be appreciated.

Ray S

Not at all normal. Is the tire wear even on your tires? Have you checked you alignment?

Steven C.

These cars are stupid loud with tire noise A friend has a 997 and he drove a 350 mile round trip in it and was complaining also. My 964 with 17" wheels is much quiter. My biggest complaint with these cars.

salayc

It's all relative. I went to 18s and ROW M030 and have a lot more tire noise than stock. It's hard to say how much is too much.

Steven C.

When your wife is screaming at you for no apparent reason

salayc

No, that's normal.

Ray S

What tires do you use? I have had problem with Pirelli's in the past, however ever since I switch both cars to MPS's both my 986 and 996 have been quiet.

ElTorrente

It depends on the tires, and how much wear there is on the tires. I have Pilot Sport (N) tires, also, with about the same amount of mileage, and damn - my car is loud nowadays. Looking forward to getting new tires in the coming months, and I suggest looking at Tirerack.com. That site not only has great prices, but is also an excellent site for tire research - you can get user ratings on all sorts of categories, including road noise, so I'd suggest checking it out before purchasing the next set.

triode

My lowered car with M030 and 19" 235 & 295 PS2s is noisy as hell, too. I figure it's the price we pay for mega grip...

Jetpilot

I have a 04' C2 with the RUF suspension and brand spankin new PS (N2) rated295/30/18's in the back -18 " Carrera Classic Rims..... OH and the factory sport exhaust. Yes...it is loud even with new tires (not to mention a recent 4 wheel allignment at RUF - This is normal for the 996's.

I jump in my Cayenne S if i want have a nice clam quiet drive.

rmillnj

And noise is one of the reasons I have left my 17's on my '99 C2. Lets face it, unless you are going to track it, in normal street driving you will most likely never notice the difference in handling. And if you are like me and rack up a lot of miles, it saves a lot of money. Of course a set of nice 18's would make the car look nicer.

himself

I run PSS9 and I can't even hear my tires. I'm running 18" with 225F and 265R (Sumitomo III). In fact, I can't hear my stereo, or my engine, or my wife for that matter.

Just do what I did - get some muffler bypass pipes and your (tire) noise issue disappear.

-td

chsu74

+1 I cannot believe how quiet the Sumitomos are. This is coming from Conti2s. Now the PSE just sounds sweeter....

RF5BPilot

Mine is stupidly loud, 18" Michelins on a stock suspension; proper alignment--to the point where you would adjust the music volume differently depending on the pavement. Most of the roads near Seattle are worn. Amazing difference going from worn concrete to recently paved black top. The roads are so rough here, it's hard to imagine enjoying a lowered suspension--even without the frost heave you get in other parts of the country.

j-no

The Michelin's, in my experience are loud. I had 18" Pilot Sports on my car when I bought it. The tire noise was starting to really get me. The road quality in SoCal is pretty bad (land movement I suspect). I put on new Sumitomo HTR z 3's, wow, what a difference. Very quiet and the ride quality is fantastic (for a sports car).
For street driving I highly recommend them. The car was wearing me out before,...now I am in love all over again.
I took a test drive in a beautiful stock white 944 Turbo S a while back, and it was much quieter than my 996. Cool car.