tomc66

Is there a tire made for my Porsche 911 4S that are not extremely noisy? I have tried Bridgestone and Continental tires. At about 8 or 9 thousand miles both of these make of tires become so noisy that I can hardly hear the radio. I had a 4 wheel alignment performed prior to purchasing the tires and I monitor the tire pressure weekly. I do not drive the car hard.

yvesvidal

The short answer is NO. There are none.

The width/size of the tires coupled with their location almost in the rear cabin will always make the car noisy. There have been attempts to add insulation material below and behind the rear seat. Those have brought some improvements.

However, the only way to reduce the noise in the cabin is to go with new tires. Take it as an alarm reminder that you need to change your rear tires.

It is a sport car..... with its inconveniences and gifts.

Yves

brad@tirerack.com

Use tires with asymetric tread designs (most nowadays are), and flip the tires from side to side frequently. It will help to keep the noise down.

Bruce In Philly

I have found that different brands of tires are better with noise than others (generally). In my experience, Michelin makes the quietest tires, both performance and sedan, that remain quiet over their wear process.

As I get older, I tend to buy brands more than a specific thing.... when it comes to expensive items that are not easily or cheaply replaceable.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

DC911S

You can pay a shop to add dynamatt to the car, by taking the interior panels off and placing it in various locations. I did it with my Nismo Z and it really quieted the interior noise down. Now the Z is cheaply made compared to the 911 so most of it was bare metal under the panels.

Ben Z

I've been using Bridgestone RE970AS Pole Positions. Not only have I found them much quieter than the Pirelli's it came with and the Michelin's I replaced those with, but I get nearly twice the tread life, AND they cost about half.

They are also excellent handling tires, although note that I do not track my car (and if I did, I would have a second set of wheels and tires specifically for that). They're also great in the rain, which is a major plus where I live.

I still hear some road noise, as the cabin in the .1 (at least, the'05) is far less sound-deadened than the .2, but no high-pitched hum or "flying saucer noise" (sounds almost like shot wheel bearings) which is what I think of when someone mentions tire noise.

okbarnett

tires make noise when they are worn, your problem is road noise. a 911 isnt a luxo car with tons of noise reducing material. The main problem is a big wide aluminum wheel with a wide flat tire. Its just a big noise maker.

Fahrer

Some tires are directional and cannot be moved from one side to the other.

STEVEW3765

I always wondered that too!. Nice to know that it is a characteristic of the car.

Fahrer

Ultra high performance tires get noisier as they wear down. The 911 has a setup at the rear that compounds the problem with toe-in that adds cupping with miles. Finally, with the desire to keep the car under tight control ( particularly the rear), firm bushings are used and these can transmit more noise.

Petza914

Correct, that's why Damon specifically said to use asymetric tires which have an inner and outer but not a rolling direction, which lets you swap them from side to side. The Nitto Invos I run on my 997 and my 928 Spyder are such a tire - not expensive, not very noisy, good ride, and lots of grip.

tomc66

Today, I rotated the front tires from right to left as someone here suggested. This greatly reduced the tire noise. Thanks for the suggestion.

ADias

Is that a good thing? In their new locations the tires will have their rotation reversed... Won't that stress established belt layering?

Wayne Smith

This is what I learned in school. Bias ply tires were cross rotated, but radials stayed on the same side since they could not change direction. Have things changed?

okbarnett

if they were directional you wouldnt be able to do it. you could dismount and swap L to R which wears the inner and outer differently but that may make the alignment change.
But people have been rotating tires for years and it doesnt hurt anything