quietest setup?

[rayeve]

Hi all,

 

I've got a 2005 Legacy GT. The tires on it (Generals, highly rated at Tire Rack, will post a review soon) are super, but way noisy. I'd really like to get a quiet ride out of this car. So ... can anyone suggest a setup and specific tire that they feel is giving them about the quietest ride you can get out of this car. As you can tell, performance is not the objective here. Comfort and less fatigue on long Interstate drives is what I'm looking for.

 

Thanks.

[whitetiger]

are you sure its the tires? a common problem with the LGT is that wheel bearings go bad. A bad wheel bearing can sound like a noisy tire. Id confirm its the tires before you get them replaced.

 

it it is the tires

 

try somthing like a bridgestone potenza re960

here- http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE960AS+Pole+Position&vehicleSearch=true&partnum=145WR7RE960PPXL&fromCompare1=yes&place=2&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed_rating=Z&speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rating=(Y)&minSpeedRating=H

 

As you can see, they are rated pretty good for noise and ride comfort

[rayeve]

No, it's not a wheelbearing.

 

I've got the General Exclaim UHP tires on it. They are great for handling, and especially in the wet. (Although they have this weird "nibble" at high speed on offramps -- you have to adjust the steering a bit repeatedly because they won't hold a smooth line on their own).

 

Actually the Generals about tie your suggested tire in the owner survey at the Tire Rack. Which is weird, because one of the reviewers says this below:

 

"A well priced tyre. decent cornering, very good wet weather traction and stability. It rains a lot here. . Looks good, good value, you can easily pay twice as musch for a big brand name. Very NOISY over 50 MPH. If you want a quiet highway ride, dont buy this tyre. If you drive mostly in the city, they are worth considering."

 

 

Unfortunately, that review wasn't there when I bought the Generals for my own car. I've since found one or two very similar reviews. It certainly fits my experience. They are quite as can be until about 60, and then they start to "sing" - loudly and at high frequency. But not on perfectly smooth asphalt. However on even slightly grained or grooved pavement they really are annoying at high speed. I wonder now how trustworthy those surveys are at Tire Rack. Which is why I'm hoping someone can post here who has firsthand experience with a quite tire at speed for the GT.

 

Thanks for you suggestions and thoughts.

[fatbastard]

+1 on wheel bearing.....I have the Generals and found them to be quieter than the RE92s they replaced and the roads around here suck. I just had two wheel bearings replaced, one had an obvious drone the other I couldn't hear over the exhaust. If it isn't a wheel bearing double check to make sure they installed them in the correct rotational direction....this can make them louder as well.

[rayeve]

Fatbastard,

 

Wouldn't the wheel bearing noise be there no matter what type of surface the car was on? I don't have the noise except on less than very smooth surfaces.

 

By the way, on my car they ARE quieter than the RE92s until about about 60 mph. Then they are lots noisier.

 

Thanks.

[BlackHole]

I just switched from RE92s and I find the Generals to be noticeably louder.

[EL PAALO]

I'd recommend the yokohama avs db or db2 if they still offered them ........ those were super quiet.