about a year ago I bought a set of goodyear fortega tires. Not the triple treads but the run silent types. Wow what noise! Sounds like I have snow tires on all the time. Since most of my driving is 30 mile trips one way on the turnpike, I want something way quieter. Anybody got any suggestions? I'm fed up and going to switch them out.

Sorry to hear rdegood. There are many forums around here dedicated to tires. You should look around them so you can find a tire that will be a good fit.
That said if you are looking for a good Light Truck (L/T) tire with a mud and snow type tread I can quickly suggest the Yokohama Geolanders, General Grabbers or the Michelin LTX M/S's. I personally like the Michelin's for their ride, handling, wear and snow and ice traction. Though on some sections of highway they can have a bit of road noise.
Good luck.

Come to California. EVERY car is noisy on the highway. Some of the newer highways are a bit quieter, but the asphalt is what shrieks inside the car.

Avon Rangers- not famous in this country, but a great value.Check Tire Rack reviews.

We wanted a tire that was quieter than the OEM tires and was good in the rain. After a lot of looking we picked the General Grabber HTS 225-70-16. We have been very happy with these tire. They are notably quieter that the Wrangler tires and they handle very well in rain from just wet streets to 2 + inch a hour down pours.

Do not under any circumstances go to a Uniroyal tiger paw. I put these on my E a few years ago and have been Uni"royaly" unhappy. Financial considerations kept me from simply chucking them and going to something else. They have really reached their wear limit, and I have been researching tires for a few weeks now.

Seems to be no universal agreement on one specific tire. I was considering going to the same tire you had because of its "supposed" quiet ride. Now I am simply thinking of going to one of the least expensive options available. Tire rack has a nice selection of tires in all price ranges.

Leaning toward the Avon Rangers or the one made by General tire. They both cost around 70 bucks a tire and a few people have backed both of them on this site. At that cost, plus shipping, and installation, you can get a new set of tires for around 400 bucks.

Anything has to be better than these Uniroyals. Your experience seems confirm my suspicion that more money does not necessarily correlate to less noise. Plan to order them this week. Will keep all posted on my experience.

Dave

First off, the after my crappy relationship with Badyears I went to the Yokohama Geolanders on my daughter's AWD Element, my AWD Element and on the same day, on my recommendation, my friend put the Geolanders on his 2WD. The noise is about the same as the Badyears were when they were new and have not increased noise levels over the 25k miles on my E, 50k miles on the kid's E and about 10k miles on my buddy's E. The other plus about the Geolanders still handle well, get good traction in all situations and do well in hard braking situations even after 50k miles! My kid gets her tires rotated every 10k miles (5k Mobil One oil changes too!) and alignments every 15-20k miles. Those tire shops don't even try to suggest that she needs new tires because they are in such good shape!

Secondly, I have both rubber mats (aftermarket) and Honda carpet kit in my E. My daughter has the thick Honda floor mats on hers while my buddy only has the stock plastic floors. The cars with the mats and or carpet kits are noticalby quieter than the as delivered stock floors.

Hope this helps!

I looked up the tires of the OP on Tirerack. According to the owner reviews there weren't that bad, with an average score of something like 8.6 or 8.8. Only a few tires were better - within the highway allseason category.

I also looked a tests done by Tirerack itself. There weren't any for this specific model, but looking at other tires, there aren't significant differences. I believe the General HTS does well, as does a Michelin model, but neither were head and shoulders above the alternatives.

Consumer reports also rates tires by noise level, presumably measured with a meter, not driver impression. We used to discuss their tests on this forum, but I have seen any recent discussions.

My husband has the Fortera on his element and has the same complaint. Noisy. He put the Nokians on my element and they are perfect.

The Yokohama Geolandar G051's are great tires, but they are loud on the highway. I'll second or third or whatever the pitch for the Nokian WR-G2 SUV's. GREAT GREAT tires, incredible grip in anything you can drive in or on, and quite quiet on the highway.

:DJust to let all of you who replied know, I just replaced the Goodyear Silent armors with BFG long Trail T/A. It's so quiet inside I can hear my artificial heart valve click away. The difference is incredible! the choise was down the these and the khumo's. I opted for the better winter traction. Tire Rack really helped. I bought them from a Tire Rack Mounter. They gave me $200 trade in and a $70 rebate. Even without the trade and rebate they were still lower than Tire Rack and I didn't have to schlep around the new ones and monkey with shipping. All told $330 mounted, balanced, road hazard, stems, and nitro. all is well.

Thanks everyone for the help, I really appreciate it!

Now to change the plugs and the cabin air filters

RdG

Just bought these BFGs today at Costco in California @ 102.32 + 14 m&b less $70 off coupon. I'm quite leery after driving on Michelins for the last 10 years or so, but the cost difference was just too great this time (with my oldest transferring to university). Believe me, I'm a big Michie fan and I wanted the Michelin MS LTX but they were just too expensive at $166 + $14 m&b....even with the $70 off coupon. I've seen a few bad reviews on the BFGs on other sites...I hope they are isolated problems. I have to say, so far (about 20 miles...haha) they have been remarkably quiet and responsive. I mostly drive pavement; only light off road plus winter conditions during ski season, so we'll see. The commute back & forth to work next week will be the real test.

I had the BFG Long Trail T/A's briefly and traded them after about 2 weeks. They were certainly quiet, and they're very long-wearing, but I felt they had ZERO wet traction and would slip all the wheels when starting out in the rain. After a lot of talking and looking it seems like they were designed for heavier pickups and SUV's and not for something light and "airy" like the E.

But if it works for you, then I'm happy for the both of you :D

Which Long Trails? I see 2 on Tirerak - Touring, and Radial

Good question, but I honestly couldn't tell you which ones I had.

Do not under any circumstances go to a Uniroyal tiger paw. I put these on my E a few years ago and have been Uni"royaly" unhappy. Financial considerations kept me from simply chucking them and going to something else. They have really reached their wear limit, and I have been researching tires for a few weeks now.

Seems to be no universal agreement on one specific tire. I was considering going to the same tire you had because of its "supposed" quiet ride. Now I am simply thinking of going to one of the least expensive options available. Tire rack has a nice selection of tires in all price ranges.

Leaning toward the Avon Rangers or the one made by General tire. They both cost around 70 bucks a tire and a few people have backed both of them on this site. At that cost, plus shipping, and installation, you can get a new set of tires for around 400 bucks.

Anything has to be better than these Uniroyals. Your experience seems confirm my suspicion that more money does not necessarily correlate to less noise. Plan to order them this week. Will keep all posted on my experience.

Dave
What do you find wrong with Uniroyal TP? I've got them and they're quieter than the OEMs I replaced.

:DJust to let all of you who replied know, I just replaced the Goodyear Silent armors with BFG long Trail T/A. It's so quiet inside I can hear my artificial heart valve click away. The difference is incredible! the choise was down the these and the khumo's. I opted for the better winter traction. Tire Rack really helped. I bought them from a Tire Rack Mounter. They gave me $200 trade in and a $70 rebate. Even without the trade and rebate they were still lower than Tire Rack and I didn't have to schlep around the new ones and monkey with shipping. All told $330 mounted, balanced, road hazard, stems, and nitro. all is well.

Thanks everyone for the help, I really appreciate it!RdG


I'm curious about this trade in thing. Are my, on closer inspection, 1/2 worn Michelin Pilots worth something to someone?

I'm ready to make fishing reefs out of these. We went from being very happy with them to, as wear increased, not being able to stand to ride in the car.

The last trip we made to Panama City I wound up putting ear plugs in my ears on the way back. It sounds like a 4WD truck on mudders, inside. On wet roads it is just fine.

Twi, have you personally experienced the quietness of the WRG2's? :confused:

Twi, have you personally experienced the quietness of the WRG2's? :confused:

Nope, I have WR-SUV's right now, which are very quiet. The WRG2-SUV's will be my next set. But why would you want them in FL? Expecting major climate change in the near future? :lol:

Nope, I have WR-SUV's right now, which are very quiet. The WRG2-SUV's will be my next set. But why would you want them in FL? Expecting major climate change in the near future? :lol:


I'm just looking for anything quiet so we don't have to trade the thing in----'cause if I don't get it fixed soon, that will be the next request I hear.

All we need here is wet traction and touring quietness.

I am expecting a snow in July in the future, though (climate change and all.) :D



Update: Just did some investigating-----Michelin rubber compound appears to be notorious for developing road noise from improper alignment wear patterns.

Aha. The WR-SUV's are definitely quiet, so quiet that I can hear the "wet highway" sound when I drive on the lines/stripes. Still not sure it'd be a great choice for you though, they're rather pricey if you don't need the all-weather any-weather features.

Maybe start a thread asking for suggestions for quiet summer tires? :rolleyes:

I just put on Kuhmo's Solus KR21. I'm very happy.

Really - the Nokian's over Mich? I've never had any but up till now never heard of Nokian.

I am happy so far with my Falkens , quieter than the Wranglers and inexpensive $75 a tire , definitely not a ' performance tire ' but I don't drive that way ... I have a theory , the more performence based a vehicle and tire are , the more insurance companies like to gouge the owner ... ;-)

Really - the Nokian's over Mich? I've never had any but up till now never heard of Nokian.

If you live in areas with high snowfall and lots of ice, they're worth their weight in gold. I'd never heard of them either until the NE group here turned me on to them. Apparently they're really popular in upstate NY and I'm working my best to get them popular in the upper midwest too :D

Really - the Nokian's over Mich? I've never had any but up till now never heard of Nokian.


My first introduction to the Nokian brand, was in Maine. Then people on the ski slopes were chatting about the tire. Funny thing to hear in a breakfast shop. Then the next spring, I was at the race track, when some nut in an A-6 was running with the pack that had racing slicks on. I thought they were a form of racing tire. No, they were street tires, off the shelf. He did well on that road track. I was impressed!

Then When I went looking for tires for my wifes E, Larry ( spdrcr5 ) told me about the Nokians on his E. So I gave them a shot.

Needless to say they were outstanding! Traction on all kinds of roads. Wet, dry, snow, Ice, all felt the same. Like the E is glued to the pavement.

They will be the next set I put on mine when the Silent armors need changing.

I had an opportunity to get my Element on the track with another Element owner that had the Wrg2's on his. They are about the same as far as lap time goes. He also loves the increased traction and stability the tire adds to the Elements other attributes. One of the things you can expect is added crosswind resistance. That is to say that the E will not move around on the road as much in heavy cross wind conditions.


P.S. I went looking for an old thread with more information on the G2's. I found this (http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50408&highlight=Nokian) old thread. that link contains some additional information on The tires.

You may want to Ask Larry if he has done anything with this (http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35766&highlight=Nokian)!

I found some additional information that was posted some time back on the Nokian (http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51598&highlight=Nokian) tires.


Dom

Thanks for the backup Dom :D

There are interesting subjects to learn from on this forum. When the guy said he didn't accept his ordered Michelins because they were made in China, I went to searching and found this---http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china-wt015-2009sep15,0,1779788,story

I would never have guessed some models of well-known brands like Bridgestone, Cooper, Goodyear and Michelin are made in China.

Who wuda thunk it :-o

Try again hotrodder, brokey linky :sad:

I just put on Kuhmo's Solus KR21. I'm very happy.

Ditto here! .....just need a roadtrip now to test them.....

You're right, the link doesn't work. I checked it and it matches, so I don't know. I used the search "Michelin made in China" and it gave me the LA Times link. Try that.

Update: I found a shop in the next town over that got bought out by someone I knew in the past. I'm going to give him a shot (he was always a straight shooter in the past.) He's convinced me into trying Kuhmos and has a high tech camera 4 wheel alignment rig.

I do like the tread design and the AA traction rating. He had to order the odd size required for the "E."

I cleaned out the glove box tonight and found the original paperwork for the Michelins. We have 37,000 miles on them, so I really can't complain.

$$$$$$$ TIME FOR NEW BOOTIES :D $$$$$$$$$

------and some South Coast extra carpet to help quiet (much cheaper than a new car and we do, otherwise, really like this car)

I've heard very good things about Kumhos in the past, still really want to get me a set of their Road Venture KL-71's. Best of luck, keep us updated as always! :D

wow thanks for the info guys.

I grew up in NH - but left before the tires must have been made :-x

Here we do not get much snow - but we do get ice.

course they're not sold here either.

...course they're not sold here either.

That's what the intertubes is for :razz:

yea found one place. not too many distributors.

yea found one place. not too many distributors.

I believe Larry (spdrcr5) at one point set up an EOC discount at an online tire place for Nokians, not 100% sure if it's still active. Check over in the Group Buy forum.

interesting, found one spot online that's like 180 bucks a tire free shipping, then another one - tiresavings.com is about 120 a tire plus 58 for shipping

800 bucks is a ton o money,

I forgot to post. We got the Kuhmo Solus KR21 tires. Now, it's nice and quiet again. :D

I forgot to post. We got the Kuhmo Solus KR21 tires. Now, it's nice and quiet again. :D

Very cool, I had seen some really good reviews of them but hadn't had a chance to talk to anyone who had them yet.

Very cool, I had seen some really good reviews of them but hadn't had a chance to talk to anyone who had them yet.

$472 out the door with the new camera 4 wheel alignment. He said he would rotate them as soon as every 3K if I wanted----good guy.

Finally, a good tire place to take care of the tires. :D