[masterwares]

Hey yall. I have the touring model 2016 and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for the quietest tires available which were also good in winter conditions? I have noticed a lot of road noise in this car stock. Not sure how to reduce road noise but I have read the tires are the best place to start.

 

[mainemanx]

While tirerack.com seems to be the go-to source for tire info ... unfortunately they no longer display noise level comparisons in their user summaries.

They do have a few brief, generalizations ... otherwise they seem to fold "Noise" into "Comfort".

 

[CX-3]

Michelin X-Ice XI3

 

[mainemanx]

Michelin X-Ice XI3

Just mounted 'em on the wife's HR-V ... tire dealer has my set awaiting Enkei Compes for the CX-3 ...
Will report when we get more mileage/kilometerage
What's your experience?

 

[ghmpm]

Following this one as road noise is a complaint of this model for us. Believe it or not my Nissan Frontier is WAY quieter on the road that the CX-3. Not sure if tires is real problem or not.

 

[masterwares]

Yeah I saw those . I'm not sure how else to get road noise down but it is very loud on the cx3... Also how much is the typical labor charge for getting a set of 4 tires mounted?

Ill probably go with the michelin or the blizzaks but I heard you dont want to leave winter tires on in the summer.

 

[NotAPreppie]

I think almost any all-season or non-studded snow tire is going to be quieter than the OE tires. At least for the first half of their treadlife anyway. Most tires get louder as they wear.

I mounted the my 18" wheels from my RX-8 with Kumho Solus TA71 (all-season) tires to my CX-3 and the difference in noise was noticeable. The Michelin X-Ice tires that were leftover from the car the CX-3 replaced were also noticeably quieter than the OEM tires. I got rid of them because they were old and the rubber had hardened so they weren't any better in the snow than the OE tires (and I needed another set of wheels for my track tires).

 

[mainemanx]

Yeah I saw those . I'm not sure how else to get road noise down but it is very loud on the cx3... Also how much is the typical labor charge for getting a set of 4 tires mounted?

Ill probably go with the michelin or the blizzaks but I heard you dont want to leave winter tires on in the summer.

Blizzaks on the 2010 Prius were relatively quiet and great in the snow ... they even fetched a good penny on craigslist after the ecomobile went to its green heaven.

This time I opted for the Michelins over the Blizzaks mostly based on tirerack surveys ... almost as good traction, but with better treadwear.

 

[Geezer]

Michelin X-Ice XI3

Second that!

 

[cx3vt]

I grabbed the Hancook Winter Icept W320s from Discount Tire Direct. Didn't see a lot of reviews on them, but figured with AWD they didn't need to be the best. The price was right on them too, especially since they were from a known tire company ($318 shipped, minus another $80 in a rebate that I got a few weeks later). Been awesome. Not a lot of noise and really good traction. There's been quite a bit of snow and some ice since I got them put on about a month ago just after I bought the car. Until recently it's been cold enough that the snow has been left on the road on all except the main roads so I've been driving on snow almost every day. I have no regrets. They did excellent going up a steep unplowed road that probably had 3-6" on it.

 

[Dean]

The 18" OEM are definitely louder that 16" Michelin X-Ice XI3.

The combination of lower profile and rubber compound on the OEM is louder but the low rolling resistance likely hit the target for gas mileage.

The larger sidewall on a 17" or even a 16" will increase comfort and reduce noise - downside is tire traction will break free earlier in a corner (sidewall roll).

I've seen many on this forum using various methods to reduce noise. Personally, I crank up the music .

If you can, visit the dealership and drive 16'' wheels and 18'' wheels back-to back.

I found a very noticeable difference between them.

 

[Brigitte]

Yeah, I've got 16s on the GS. Stock rubber was Yokohama AVID, and they're not noisy at all.

That said, when it comes time to replace, I'll probably go with Michelins (good experience with all-seasons with this brand). For winter rubber, it's Blizzak WS-80 all the way for me. I did not like the poor snow and slush performance of the winter Michelins on my previous ride. We've had quite the winter season so far, and the Blizzaks are amazing on the CX-3. Unstoppable in poor weather.

 

[mainemanx]

Finally installed the 16" Enkei Compe wheels, with Michelin X-Ice 3 215/60R16 tires.

My impressions: significantly quieter (especially noticeable on the highway), softer over bumps ... with, as expected, slightly less-precise steering.

P.S. Snow's turned into ice here in southern, coastal Maine ... so no snow experience ... as least not yet

 

[masterwares]

Noob question, but lets say i'm moving to Michigan, can I leave winter tires on in the summer? Summer being like 70s , maybe 80 for a few weeks.

 

[Geezer]

The best bet if you want to keep the same tires on all year long is to get "All Weather Tires." You can keep then on through all four seasons and they work well. Take a look here:

https://www.kaltire.com/en/all-weather-tires/

 

[Mariner]

Noob question, but lets say i'm moving to Michigan, can I leave winter tires on in the summer? Summer being like 70s , maybe 80 for a few weeks.

Nokian (from Finland) makes some of the best winter tires in the world. When I bought my CX-3 I drove immediately to the tire store and replaced the factory tires with Nokian WRG3's. They are technically an all-weather tire and can be left on year round, but they carry the "severe winter service" certification (legal on mountain passes) here in Canada. I've had 3 sets on different vehicles over the years and they are incredibly good in the snow... even better than most dedicated winter tires. In fact, the RCMP did a year-long tire test with all the major brands and in the end they decided on the Nokian WRG3 for their fleet of police cars.

It's hard to judge noise unless you run tires back-to-back in the same conditions, but I've never found them them to be a problem, or much different than other comparable tires.

I've also had a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2's which are a full winter tire even better still in the snow, but of course you definitely don't want to run those year round as you'll burn them off pretty quickly.

 

[masterwares]

THanks. I think i'll just keep the stock tires until they wear off, then get michelin xice or blizzaks. Im at 35k miles now so the stock yokohamas probably wont be lasting much longer. who knows.

 

[zbgirl]

Bought these also just before a big winter storm hit us. I'm very happy with the performance. Road noise not much to notice.

 

[mainemanx]

Michelin X-Ice 3's still going strong, albeit quietly, here in lingering-winter Maine ...

Heavy, wet white predicted for tomorrow night's Nor'easter ... per the Weather Bureau, "12 TO 18 INCHES WITH THE HIGHEST TOTALS NEAR 20 INCHES"

P.S. My Recaro Japan mounting bracket left Tokyo this morning via UPS Air ... now, will the eBay Ergomed ES itself make it by Poczta Polska Surface from Gdansk?

 

[TiGrayMSM]

P.S. My Recaro Japan mounting bracket left Tokyo this morning via UPS Air ... now, will the eBay Ergomed ES itself make it by Poczta Polska Surface from Gdansk?

I'm Polish, so I can comment on Poczta Polska . If the items were shipped, you will get them. It may not be the fastest service, but they have never lost my mail before!

In regard to winter tires. I have previously used nokian hakkapeliitta 4s (studded) and blizzak WS70s for my winter dailys. It is kind of hard to compare noise, because they were all on different cars... but neither of those tires was particularly quiet from what I remember. I would definitely not keep winter tires on in warmer weather. The sidewalls/tread on the winter tires is really very soft, so I feel like they would get chewed up in warmer weather. Especially with any kind of "spirited" driving.

On the CX-3, I went with Falken Eurowinter HS449s. In my opinion, this has been a phenomenal tire. It is definitely not as good as the hakkas or even the WS70s in pure snow traction, but as an all around winter tire it has been great. Much better highway stability, especially at higher speeds (and we do a lot of highway commuting in snowy states). They are much quieter than the hakkas and WS70s and treadware after 3 winters has also been superior. I kind of see this tire as an "all season" winter tire, if that makes sense. It does a good job (but not excellent) at everything winter related.