My two front OEM tires need to be replaced, with rear two to come fairly soon. My biggest complaint with this car is noise over rough pavement, of which there is an abundance (to put it mildly) in the South Florida area.

Bought the car used, so this is my first time replacing the tires, and I'm hoping that might help the noise. Is this a realistic hope? And if so, what tires would you recommend to reduce the noise (while still maintaining handling) that will hold up well both in terms of mileage and continuing to be quiet over the life of the tires?

I'm hoping to stay under about $125/tire online. I've read the TireRack reviews by customers and gotten myself thoroughly confused. Multiple reviewers will rave about the lack of road noise, followed by someone complaining about the intense noise of any given tire.

TireRack suggested Kumho LX Platinum (which is a Grand Touring tire); Yokohama Avid Envigor and, at the cheapest end, Sumitomo HTR PO1. But obviously I'm open to other suggestions, and could go up a bit in price.

Thanks for any suggestions you can make.

 

I'll be taking a hard look at the Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires the next time I'm needing a new set of skins.

 

We were beginning to get a roar inside the 09 so I ask the service manager about it.
He said the cheep Toyo tires installed at the factory will feather and cup if not rotated every 5,000 miles. Car had 20,000 at the time. So I rotated them and the noise was so bad on the passenger side we needed ear plugs.
I went side to side on the front and that quietened it down to where we can talk while we ride.
The only time I have experienced cupping on the rear tires was when the shocks wore out on a RWD car.
When I have to buy new tires they will be Michilin.

 

I'm currently running a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires and couldn't be happier. I rotate them every 15,000 miles or so and it looks like I'm going to get an easy 45,000 miles out of them. The only downside is that they're a tad expensive.

 

Dont get anything Sumitomo, ive had dunlops, Nitto, toyo's, contientials, BF Goodrich and goodyears. Even though Dunlop tires are made by good year they performed alot better they had road noises until they wore in, toyo's i had were great all around same with the nitto neo gens. Im on the Contientials and they are freakin amazing, the BF goodrich's that were on my friends car grabbed like nobody's business and was quite as can be

 

Which Continentals are you running?

 

No sumitomos? I have a set of them and I'll admit, theyre not the best on noise toward the end of their life, but I've enjoyed them so far.

 

Id have to go look again, its been awhile, actually its due for a rotate and oil change

 

The problem w/customer reviews on Tire Rack is that most do not filter out all but other owners of the same car. That usually solves that problem.
I look at them both ways, but if you notice, if one owner of a particular car has a complaint, most others will also when others have different complaints about the same tire. It's the differences in the vehicles that cause that affect.
I look at most reviews to see what complaints "cross-over," then filter out all but the car I am shopping for.

I am running Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires on my Mazda (225/45-17's,) and my wife's Vibe also (205/55-16's.) I just rotated hers @ 5715 miles and they only wore 2/32". If that trend continues, she should see 45-55k miles before they are completely shot... and she doesn't drive like granny either.
I am happy with them on the Mazda too. They are EXTREMELY hard to break loose, the first of now four sets of tires I've had on this car I can say that about. They all but DO NOT hydroplane either. I felt them give once under extremely wet conditions @ nearly 70mph. And so far they are pretty quiet, but keep in mind the Mazda is not built to be an extremely quiet car either. The 2, 3 and 5 series especially are economy cars and give up some comfort for a fun drive and a low cost of ownership.
However, don't expect to be a weekend warrior with them either. They would not make the best track tire.

 

Good post Virgin 1. I just purchased Dunlop Sport Signatures almost purely on Consumers Reports recommendation this week. My OEMs Goodyear eagle RSAs lasted 20k, rotated the tire every 5k miles. Actually, I could have gotten away with just 2 tires now and replace the other 2 in about 3-5 k miles. I elected to go for all four now. They are quieter than the Goodyears (Dunlop is owned by Goodyear, but I'm not sure they are the same tires), were highly rated as a solid All Season performer in snow too. CR's top pick were Michelin Pilot Sports (I think, too lazy to check the site - I am a member). The Dunlops look very good on the car I must say. Now let's see how they ride and handle. Oh Yeah, my son who drives the car, while commuting the other day, the tires are 4 days old, somehow was able to get a sidewall puncture ( we think he caught a piece of debris / bolt/ nail the day before). When the debris came out while driving, the tire went flat (he failed to tell me that the TPMS light was on the day before). I did NOT purchase the road hazard warranty from Mavis Discount Tires. They would do anything for me on the 4 day old tire, except sell me another at cost and then offer the road hazard warrnaty on all four tires - cost $13 per tire.

But I did purchase the tire on a Platinum VISA card. They offer Purchase Protection - I filed the claim today which may be covered. That's $127 back to me.