Noisy tires on '87 911 - Recommendations?
 

I just got an '87 911 coupe and drove it from Detroit to my home in MA. It was a great drive but the tires were VERY noisy. I've got Bridgestone RE730's (205/50 16 fronts, 225/50 16 rear) The tires are about 2 years old and the pressure when I checked at home,after they cooled, was 24.5psi front and 31psi rear. I put the pressures to 29 and 36, as the manual suggests and it helped, but they are still noisy.

Any recommendations for new tires? I drive mostly highway/city, pretty aggressively and have another set of Fuch's if I want to go to the track.

Thanks for your help...this is my first Porsche in 13 years and my first 911 since my 73 911T in the early 80's.

We've had several noisy tire complaints recently, but they usually involve the S02s rather than the RE730s. Underinflated tires are nosier, but you've fixed that part. Wider tires are also noisier, but yours aren't really very wide. I'm stumped too. I wonder if alignment settings have much affect on noise generated. I'm thinking that too much toe might contribute to noise.

To help you choose your next set, however, you can go to <a href="http://www.tirerack.com" target="_blank">www.tirerack.com</a> and read the test and survey results comparing different tires on different variables, including noise. The tires with the diagonal tread designs (like yours and the S02s) seem to be noisier than those with the more traditional tread design.

I have S2s on two cars. Those on the Porsche (255 width rears) are noisier than those on the BMW (245 width rears).