Are acoustic tires noticeably quieter?

[ATPMSD]

This question is for those who have driven a Tesla both with and without acoustic tires

 

[RichardL]

Perhaps this would be better in another area of the site- doesn’t seem software related to me?

 

[ATPMSD]

Perhaps this would be better in another area of the site- doesn’t seem software related to me?

Could not figure out where without being car specific, suggestions welcome!

 

[cbdream99]

I read somewhere, it is designed to absorb vibration, so you will notice it if you go over bumps frequently, I don't feel any differences in regular service and there aren't many bumps in my route, the rail road track near me is the smooth type.

 

[LarryClay]

EU tire label includes noise figure in decibels.
There are tires which are less noisy and are not marked as acoustic. There are mutiple ways to reduce the noise of the tire. Acoustic absorbent foam is not the only way.

 

[ATPMSD]

EU tire label includes noise figure in decibels.
There are tires which are less noisy and are not marked as acoustic. There are mutiple ways to reduce the noise of the tire. Acoustic absorbent foam is not the only way.

Thank you. But why pay more for acoustic absorbent tires if you do not notice a difference? Hence the poll.

 

[LarryClay]

I select

Thank you. But why pay more for acoustic absorbent tires if you do not notice a difference? Hence the poll.

Valid point.
From my perspective, most of those tires are just extra profit margin for the producer as they place it way above the average price of equivalent non-acoustic tire.
Maybe increased competition will bring the prices to more normal levels in the future …

 

[Paul-K]

2018 model 3 with 18” acoustic tires, to my ears noticeably quieter than Pilot Sports on 19” sport wheels. Rides better, too (technical handling might be slightly better on the PS but the 18” Michelin’s are no slouch).

 

[ucmndd]

I’d be shocked if people could identify tires with foam in them vs. ones without in a blind test with any measurable amount of statistical significance.

 

[LarryClay]

If the noise difference is more than 3 dB then it is detectable by most humans.

Usual noise difference due to foam only is only around 1 dB. Usually not enough to be detectable.
That is usually not worth +40% price difference.
If they would bring price difference down, then we can discuss …

 

[ATPMSD]

I’d be shocked if people could identify tires with foam in them vs. ones without in a blind test with any measurable amount of statistical significance.

And with the “radio” on, as per this poll, it becomes all the more difficult.

 

[jjgg]

When the tires are off the car, and I tap the tires, the differences are very obvious - the regular tires will have a drum-like sound that resonates for a while, but the acoustic tires will only give muted sound that stops immediately.

 

[Unclepaul]

Believe that Acoustic foam is only designed to reduce noise at certain frequencies. Most likely to suppress a "thunk" It cannot reduce the sound made by the treads or wind noise.

 

[MY1stEV]

Believe that Acoustic foam is only designed to reduce noise at certain frequencies. Most likely to suppress a "thunk" It cannot reduce the sound made by the treads or wind noise.

Correct-ish, a half inch thick piece of foam is invisible to all but the highest frequencies. A thunk would be a lower frequency. It's there to deal with frequencies more like the "ping" sound when you smack a red dodge ball (middle school PE trigger warning). As you stated it has no effect on tread noise.

There are other techniques tire manufactures use to deal with other frequencies, like variable tread spacing to prevent a constant droning noise. (Apple uses a similar technique with variable fan blade length on their Macbook fans to minimize fan noise)

You can see a few of these techniques showcased on the Hankook iON EVO tire marketing page (about half way down the page).

https://www.hankooktire.com/us/en/tire/ion/evo-as.html