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Are my tyres causing a problem with road noise?

I recently bought an early 2019 Volvo V90 T4 petrol estate. I am delighted with it in every way except I find the cabin noise just a bit higher than I would like on most road surfaces.

The car came with Pirelli P0 tyres on the rear and Firestones on the front. The former, I would guess from the tread remaining, are original fit from new whilst the Firestones are obviously recent replacements.

A distinct rumble becomes evident as soon as speed reaches 10mph when setting off. The fact that this is evident at such a low speed makes me think it's caused by vibration from the road being conducted through to the body by the tyres, rather than being absorbed by them i.e. the rubber compound being "too hard" - would that be correct?

Can you recommend tyres which would help mitigate the issue?

I would even consider adding acoustic damping to the car's interior. Obviously this would be a more involved business - can you recommend how this would be best approached?

Asked on 12 September 2022 by Wilf Walker

Answered by Lawrence Allan
This does sound like a tyre compound issue - certainly we do not consider the V90 to be particularly noisy, and certainly not with the smaller 18" wheels. We would check the tyre pressures are not too high or low and consider purchasing a matching new set for the rear. If you want to go the whole hog and replace all four for a quieter tyres, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons are considered among the quietest on the market. Adding sound deadening material to an already well-insulated car such as this is time consuming for little gain, plus by removing bits of trim to apply it you risk creating rattles that add further noise.

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