Car tyres play a huge role in the noise levels emitted by a vehicle. While other factors, such as engine size, also impact road noise, the condition and quality of your tyres make all the difference in ensuring a smooth and comfortable journey. Quiet tyres are designed to minimise road noise, reduce environmental disruptions, and improve the quality of your drive.
You can spot a quiet tyre through the EU tyre labelling for noise. The road noise category is split into three separate classes: A (tyres with the best noise performance), B, and C (noisier tyres). Road noise is measured through decibels (dB) and the exact amount generated by a tyre can also be found on the labelling. A rolling tyre can emit anything within the range of 67 to 77 decibels – if a tyre’s noise measures below 70 dB, it’s considered a low to moderate noise emission. Whereas above 72 dB suggests that your tyre rolls loudly and may contribute to increased cabin noise and discomfort.
What makes a quieter car tyre?
Car tyres can become noisy if they’re damaged or old. If your tyres appear to sound louder than usual, there may be internal structural damage or it could be a sign that you’re driving too aggressively, for example, taking corners too fast. Driving aggressively can also lead to uneven tyre wear, which in turn creates vibrations and even more road noise. Keeping your tyres in top condition makes a big difference.
When designing quiet tyres, manufacturers incorporate different technologies, like using rubber and inner materials to reduce the tyre air cavity. Further methods can include:
- Tread pattern: repetitive block shapes in a tyre’s tread can create frequencies as the tyre rolls. By integrating optimised and varied tread pattern, it minimises and breaks up the constant ‘humming’ sound.
- Sound-absorbing materials: quiet tyres often have a layer of foam or acoustic liner inside the tyre, around the tread cavity, which works to absorb internal air vibration. This works to dampen low-frequency sounds within the tyre.
- Structural flexibility: softer, rubber compounds and flexible sidewalls also reduce road vibrations as they lessen the impact and transmission of road noise.
Qualities like these in a tyre work to reduce road noise and make for a more comfortable ride. However, due to their softer structure and materials, quiet tyres must often sacrifice some of their grip, wet performance, wear rate, and rolling resistance.
Regardless of the design of your tyres, it’s important to remember that in practice, your driving speed, tyre size, road surface, and inflation pressure all impact the level of road noise that your tyres create.
The benefits of quiet car tyres
So, what are the actual benefits of trading out your current tyres for upgraded ‘quiet’ car tyres? There are many reasons why drivers make the switch, the most popular being the improvement in overall driving experience. With reduced road noise, there is less disruption within the cabin, allowing the driver to fully concentrate on the road and providing passengers with a relaxing drive. Quiet tyres also often offer better fuel efficiency and vehicle handling, and pose less disruption to the environment and local habitats.
What are the best quiet tyres?
We have premium and mid-range quiet tyres available to suit every type of vehicle and driver. Explore our top nominations below!
Sailun Atrezzo ZSR2
Using high-tech and sustainable technology known as ‘liquid phase mixing’, the Sailun ATREZZO ZSR2 delivers in all major categories of tyre performance, including safety, wear, and energy efficiency. Ideal in both wet and dry environments, the ATREZZO ZSR2 qualifies as a mid-range quiet tyre due to its asymmetrical tread design and pitch arrangement. With stress-releasing sipes and 3D grooves integrated into the tyre tread, alongside an enhanced rubber formula with specialised compounds, the ATREZZO ZSR2 reduces road noise by -2dB for enhanced driving comfort. This tyre balances seamless and peaceful journeys with safety and precise handling, all for an affordable price.
Vector 4 Seasons Gen-3
Falling into the premium end of our range, Goodyear’s Vector 4 Seasons Gen-3 offers reliable all-weather performance with exceptional grip and traction, without sacrificing noise reduction. Its unique tread pattern and specialised rubber compound allow it to perform great in rain, snow, and ice, as the tread design filters away water and reduces the risk of hydroplaning.
Meanwhile, its deep grooves and biting edges optimise braking performance to ensure a safe drive, whatever the weather. Durable and long-lasting, this tyre is designed for daily use in all conditions and crafted to resist wear, while its reduced rolling resistance makes for an improved fuel economy, saving you money in the long run.
The Vector 4 Seasons Gen-3 falls into noise level class B, and its noise measures to 70 dB. This Goodyear tyre offers a unique balance of all-weather resilience and traction with reduced road noise and comfort. While lower budget tyres typically sacrifice wet performance due to the softer materials used, this premium tyre is designed for winter conditions with its ‘wet grip’ rating of class B – the 2nd shortest ‘wet surface stopping distance’ category. With this advanced, high-tech tyre, your drive can continue smoothly and quietly, day or night, rain or shine!
EfficientGrip Performance 2
Our top pick for quiet tyres has to be the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 as it falls into noise level class B and emits just 69 dB, ensuring that you enjoy your quietest and calmest drive yet!
Offering enhanced wet and dry grip and a consistently reliable performance across all seasons, the EfficientGrip Performance 2 utilises its specialised asymmetric tread design and wide grooves for a reduced braking distance and elite hydroplaning resistance.
The optimised and water-dispersing tread pattern boasts high elasticity to ensure fewer fractures when driving over poor road surfaces. It’s rated class A in terms of its wet grip performance, proving that it really is top of the range when it comes to road safety. With eco-friendly, longer-lasting materials, this tyre offers up to 20% more mileage than the next best-tested competitor, plus an improved fuel economy, so that you save money overall with fewer replacements required.
Electric vehicle tyres
Electric vehicles are relatively quiet compared to other cars due to their smooth motors that do not require combustion or noisy mechanical vibrations to operate. Their simpler design offers less noise pollution, suggesting that the quietest of tyres belong to electric vehicles.
Both of our Goodyear options above are ‘EV ready’, meaning that they’re specifically engineered to handle the unique demands of electric vehicles. These include heavier-weight EV batteries, resistance to faster wear caused by instant torque, lower rolling resistance for maximised battery range, and reduced road noise. With their reinforced sidewalls, advanced rubber compounds, and acoustic dampening, you’ll enjoy comfortable, quiet, and energy-efficient driving, whether you have an EV or an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle.
How can I make my tyres less noisy?
If you notice excessive noise from your tyres while driving, pop down to your local Halfords today for a FREE tyre check. Our technicians will perform visual checks of your tyres’ condition, tread depth, and internal pressure to ensure that you’re safe and legal when driving. If we find a fault with your tyre, which may account for the noise, we can often perform tyre repairs on the same day so that you can drive away happy and confident.
However, if there is damage to your tyre’s sidewall, or the tread depth is less than the legal minimum of 1.6mm, you will need to replace your tyres. In this situation, it’s unsafe to drive on such tyres and you’ll fail your next MOT. Why not treat yourself to an elite driving experience by upgrading to our quiet tyres? We offer same-day fitting at dozens of our garages nationwide, and all of our tyre prices include the fitting, valve, and wheel balancing for your convenience.
Remember that when you sign up to Halfords Motoring Club, you unlock a £5 welcome voucher to spend on your new set of tyres, just for joining our free membership! If you upgrade to our premium membership, your perks double to a £10 welcome voucher to spend across Halfords, plus 5% off all motoring products and car servicing/repairs (and much more)!
