Help needed for quieter, smoother running tires

A friend of mine just purchased a 1999 C2. I think he finally got tired of hearing me rave about mine for the past 4 months (and 7,000 miles) and decided he had to experience it for himself. He loves the car but wishes he could have less road noise and a slightly smoother ride on rough roads (he often does 6 hours in the car in a day). The car looks and rides like it has USA 030 on it but I haven't checked the options listed on the sticker under the hood yet so I'm not sure. The car came with Pirelli PZero Rossos mounted on 5 spoke Carrera wheels (a combination I love). As ultimate grip is not important to him, I am wondering if he would have less road noise with Conti Sport Contact 2s or the Bridgestone S03s. Does anyone have any experience comparing road noise between the Pirellis and either of these tires? The tires are almost new by the way so I know the road noise will only get worse as time goes on. Thanks, Tim

I believe you would have less noise on any NEW tire. As soon as these tires wear you will get more and more road noise. I would go 17" rims and tires... that would help. Rob

When I bought my car it had Contisports on it that superficially looked almost new (decent tread depth, etc.) however after taking our first 3 hour trip in the car I noticed that there was an *Incredible* amount of road noise...so much so that I thought my front wheel bearings were gone. Hard to carry on a conversation and just a constant dull roaring sound at almost all speeds. Anyway I took it to the shop and when he put it up on a lift we noticed that the innermost block of tread was completely gone with wire showing through (result of too much negative camber on the rears probably combined with improper inflation). So I replaced all the tires with Michelin Pilot sports and immediately had a nice quiet car. The gist being that 'yes' anything new is going to be better and quieter than old worn tires. And check that it's not worn unevenly. -Keith

You can get plenty of reviews on tires at Tire Rack . In general, the 18 inch wheel/tire combination will ride more stiffly and transmit more road noise than the 17 inch wheel/tire package. You will have to be realistic on your goals. The 996 is much quieter than its air cooled brothers, but it isn't a Lexus.

I had Pirelli PZero Assimetrico and switched to Contis. Much more confortable now and less noisy, but I cannot tell you if it is the effect of a new tire vs. an used one...

My C2 was fitted with half worn Bridgestone SO2s when I bought it 2 years ago. apart from the road noise, I thought that they produced a very harsh ride and rear-end breakaway (despite T/C) was inevitable on a damp road. I swapped them for a new set of Carrera 5 spokes with P Zero N4s - what an improvement. If you can locate a January 27th. 2004 edition of Autocar, there is a very good article written by Peter Robinson the European editor on his C2...and tyre choice.

pilot sports all the way

I went from noisy, annoying, short lastings (11k miles) 17" Conti SC2's to quiet as a mouse, great handling, long lasting (18k miles rears) 18" Yokohama AVS Sports. Looking forward to getting them on the new car as soon as possible.

Peter B, Is that article available online? What is the gist of it? Peter Robinson is a great writer. Thanks

If ultimate grip isn't as much of a factor. Try the Bridgestone RE 950's. The tread isn't as aggressive and probably give better wear.

Definitely Michelin Pilot Sports. I went from my 4th set of P-Zero Assyms to Michelin Pilot Sports recently - I was stunned at the change. Very good move.

I took my 2,000 mile 18" Pilot Sports off in the fall for 17" Yokohama AVS winters and was amazed at how much smoother and quieter the Yoko's are than the Michelins. The Pilots are due back on any day now but I sure enjoyed the quiet ride all winter.

I have Conti 2 on my Targa and I feel they are quiet - And Good in Wet/Dry Traction Better than earlier verisons that I had before.

For various reasons I didn't drive my car for almost a month. During that time I did have brake job. I drove it on the hwy for the first time this week and noticed a lot of noise that seems to be coming from one or both of front wheels/tires. I raised it up today and turned the wheels. They both sounded pretty loud free wheeling, so I compared to 968 and it was just as loud, in fact there was a sticky spot on 968. Does anyone know if it is normal to hear noise and feel drag turning the front wheels? As far as the noise goes when driving, it could be my tires. I know I shouldn't have bought them, but I found a set of goodyear f1 gs d3s for 100 bucks a piece. I have to run 32 front and 36 rear to stand them. But I digress. I drove the wifes infiniti most of the time during holidays and maybe I just forgot how loud it was. What I'm trying to figure out is if something could have been done wrong on the brake job. He just replaced the pads, could you get noise when not braking from not replacing or turning rotors correctly? I don't have any noise when braking and pedal is tight, better than before, even tho the light never came on.

I have 17" conti-2s and they are pretty loud IMO. Anyone have experience with Goodyear F1s?

That is what I'm running. They look good, but I wouldn't recommend them on a 996. If you run Porsche recommended air pressure they feel like like solid rubber tires. 36 rear and 32 front takes care of it, but they will probably wear quickly, I hope. I still have my technology wheels with Conti's and I am thinking of putting them back on the ground.

I have the F1s, and I like everything about them. So does Car & Driver .... see the Dec 05 issue in which they are rated a strong #1 among performance tires. Lots of posts on this issue, both here and on RennTech.

I'm definitely going Goodyear F1s next time too. But, if he doesn't care about performance, than Bridgestone RE750s are definitely the way to go: quiet and a much longer lasting tire.

just keep the RPMs above 5,000 and all tires will be quiet.