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Quiet Tire Recommendations

11K views 41 replies 28 participants last post by  RodSlinger  
#1 ·
I have a 2020 Sonata Limited with about 33,000 miles on it. The tires have held up well, but are nearing the time for replacement. We've got a big driving trip coming up in a few months, and will likely want to replace them before that.

The stock tires are quite noisy on many road surfaces. Some are worse than others, but it's really bad with certain surfaces. This can be especially bothersome with hearing aids, and I would really like to improve this if it's possible.

I am more concerned about noise than longevity, since we don't put as many miles on it as we used to. I'd be interested in recommendations that would provide a significant improvement in road noise, if it is possible.

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
we also had a 2020, and early on i switched out the 18's with pirelli pzero to 17's with michelin primacy. immediate difference, car was much smoother and quieter. i consider primacy the best tire out there for smooth and quiet. performance? not so much, but then we dont pound on the car. and when the roads are bad, we drive slow. that car is long gone, and we now have an ioniq 5. i recently swapped out the 20" w/michelin primacy to 18's with hankook ion evo. really dumb idea to put bf wheels with skinny sidewalls on a quiet car. also, the 20's are 31 lb each, the new 18's are 20.4. the hankook is a tire made for ev. so, the new combo is smoother and quieter. AND, the best surprise is the increase in range, about 20 miles. some of the 20 sonatas came with 16's, dunno if they will clear the calipers, but what you want is more sidewall. and i would go with michelin primacy, or, you can check into and ev tire, which is made to ride quieter
 
#3 ·
Road noise is hard to judge depending on the road traveled. If a nice new smooth road is the mean, then maybe. But today, I havent seen many of them here in the midwestern states that we typically drive.

As for good all around tread, have found Goodyear Assurance tires have long life w/proper rotation, speed rating V, decent year round traction, and fairly quite ride on "smooth roads" during service life. Came as original equipment with my '15 Malibu, and purchased a new set after originals reached 88k in 7 yrs with still 4/32 tread left. Will consider them again for my 23 Sonata SEL Hybrid when and if we replace them.
 
#5 ·
I just switch the tires on my wife's Santa FE SEL at 30,000 miles. I was tired of the road noise that the stock tires made so I wanted something different. I put on Michelin CrossClimate2 tires on the Santa Fe, not cheap but worth every penny. My wife normally does not comment on road noise or any improvements to vehicles. She definitely notices the difference in our trip to MI which has a lot of different types of road surfaces when driving on I94.
 
#32 ·
The Kumhos on my 2010 Santa Fe SE got so loud by 30K miles we started calling the car "The Outboard". Switched to Michelins at 44K and all was right up until I traded it in.
 
#7 ·
You can never go wrong with Michelin. Primacy, Criss Climate, Premier or Defender. Go on their site and pick the one that suits what you need most. Close 2nd Continental Contact. I like the Pirelli that came stock but will go with Michelin when replace them. I hope to get more than 33k. I rotate every 5k and don't drive it hard. Not an N-Line. Hankooks have always been priced well but I have not had the best of luck on the few I have tried after tue mileage starts to get over 20k. Ride and noise seem to get worse. It's been a while so don't take my word for it on those. I am sure Goodyear are good as well. It is a difficult choice. Personally I will pay for Michelin for my cars. As they say, "Michelin, Because so much is riding on your tires!" Last note, go to Discount tire and buy the certs whether you buy the tires there or not. Best road hazard policy (full free replacement down to 4/32nd's), lifetime rotate and balance , free air checks, and free flat repairs. My sobe had to use the road Hazzard after he blew out 2 tires running off the side of the road. His fault and covered 100%. Best of luck!
 
#14 ·
have a 2017 sonata hybrid limited one owner car. I am 87 years old the car has. 177,000 miles on it. I have replaced the tires three times and have gone back to the factory site tires because other tires were getting me 3 to 5 miles less than mileage and had a lot of road noise. I order my tires from Walmart and have them installed Rotated and balanced every 3 to 5000 miles. I suggest you go back to the factories install tires. I am a heart of hearing also and have two hearing aids so I know what you’re saying but believe me all other tires I’ve tried and had to take them off , because of the gas, mileage shortage and Rod noise
 
#38 ·
Fully agree!

However, in using a default or routine search you will read reviews and it is from ALL types of cars or SUVs that use that tire. Their search engine does allow you to actually search for reviews of your specific year and model vehicle. Use that for better, more realistic results. When I looked at new tires for my 2010 Santa Fe SE, I found lots of neutral and a few negative reviews for the Michelin tires I wanted. Turned out all the neutral and negatives were for other vehicles or a different class of vehicle. For instance a Ford Expedition and a pick-up, i.e, poor ratings were for issues not present on a Santa Fe.

I also find that it is best to focus on reviews with over 5000 miles. Face it, what tire does not seem great after removing old tires. I prefer to wait for the new tire and buyer to spend some tire together for a more objective review.

And yes, eventually all but one of our vehicles have been re-shod with Michelins.
 
#19 ·
Having worked and retired from Goodyear Tire working in many divisions including retail, commercial, Off Road Mining Tires, Aviation Tires and in Auditing so I think I know a thing or two about tires but, to use an old Firestone saying, Where the Rubber Meets the Road, to get to the point, I can give you a code that will save you 35% on Goodyear, Dunlop, or Cooper tires. On top of that you can take advantage of any other offer Goodyear has at the time you purchase. If interested send me a message.
 
#20 ·
If you can get to your local library, Consumer Reports has a pretty recent tire ratings article. February, 2024, p. 53. Within the ratings, there's a column designated for noise level. You can check on the noise level for 133 models of tires. Although the Michelin CrossClimate2 rated well for noise level, there were a lot of others that rated higher.
 
#22 ·
A good friend of mine was previously Director of Engineering at Goodyear.
He recommends Michelin. I am a big fan of Michelin Defenders. My 23 Tucson has 20k on it and I think the tires have gotten noisier. I don't remember what kind there and I can't check cause I hit a deer on Friday and the car is in the shop.
Mr. Graziano, I really agree with you re the Michelin Defenders. With their 90,000 mile treadwear warranty, I had them on my Civic. I believe they've reduced that warranty, however, to 85,000 miles. I had about 80,000 on the Defenders when I sold the car, and they were totally still serviceable. And they still handled very well. OK on noise, too. I happen to buy all my tires at Costco. But I hear really good things about Discount Tire, as well.
 
#23 ·
I have found this post very helpful since I am researching tires for my ‘19 Sonata. I do have a question or possibly two. My drive to and from work consists of a curvy road and I live on a dirt road. Are there certain characteristics I should look for when I’m looking at a tire? I live in the coastal Virginia/NC area so snow isn’t a huge factor..definitely rain and some ice. I do know to get an all wheel alignment done once I get them installed. Appreciate any suggestions.
 
#24 ·
you gonna go nuts looking at every post on tires. it is all subjective. in my case, i want smooth and quiet. i dont care about slalom, braking, stopping, yada, yada. i also think michelin is the best out there, and for us, the primacy was the smoothest and quietest. however, one thing for sure. low aspect ration tires are not for smooth and quiet. we want a lot of sidewall to absorb bumps, so going to a smaller and lighter wheel makes a big difference
 
#28 ·
Our 2023 Elantra that we bought new, last summer has Hankooks on it, but about the cheapest tire they offer. I ALMOST replaced them during the winter because they sucked on hard packed snow, but I’m a cheapskate and want to run them out first. Not sure what I’m going to put on yet
 
#30 ·
A top of the line touring tire from Michelin will be usually super quiet and have a long tread wear warranty too. Of course, some of the noise aspects are dependent upon the car design. You can also have car audio shops install sound abatement and dampening materials like Dynamat to help quiet down the vehicle's interior cabin. I recently had to buy some new tires for my son's Hyundai Kona Night. My father-in-law suggest I look at the Cross Climate 2 due to the snow ratings but I found this tire to rate excellent on all aspects of weather and braking distance ratings were among the best even in dry weather. Worth noting that Michelin makes two version of this tire, one has a little softer rubber, which grips the road better and is suppose to be more quiet but this version has a tread mileage expectation of 50,000. The other version has a 60,000 mile tread wear warranty. Four new tires at Costco for my son's car with installation and all normal Costco tire benefits included ran just a little over $1000 with the inclusion of an $80 in-store rebate. Mind you , I have not driven my son's car so I can't really give you my own opinion about the tire regarding handling and noise but there are a few really detailed reviews online about the Michelin Cross Climate 2 and even a few good comparative reviews vs other popular tires so do your research and determine what factors are important to you based upon the weather of where you live or travel. Good luck!
 
#31 ·
On my 2018 Tucson limited after the initial factory set of tires I went with Kumho Crugen HP71 bought thru Walmart. They're a knock off of the Michelin and made in vietnam. My Michelin I had on my Ford explorer sport trac for years dry cracked on the sidewalls and in the tread so bad after 6 years I felt unsafe running them any longer. I regularly clean the tire sidewalls and add a uv protection product too still a problem with Michelin tires noted in reviews so I went with the Kumho on it as well.
 
#40 ·
I switched mine out and noticed a big difference after adding sound-deadening mats in the wheel wells and under the rear seats, made highway drives way quieter without touching the tires.
Glad this worked well for you. I ended up trading my 2020 Sonata Limited for a 2025 Tucson Limited several months ago, which is definitely quieter on the highway.

What product or materials did you use for the sound-deadening mats in the wheel wells?
 
#42 ·
I put some Hankook Ion Evo AS on my wife's car and they are super quiet. Better than the Michelin Primacy Energy Saver A/S that was on there before. I love them.

On my Sonata I replaced the OEM Pirelli with Bridgestone Potenza RE-050A and they are an improvement. Slightly less rolling noise but the biggest improvement is over bridge gaps, broken pavement or other irregularities. Impacts are more of a dull thud instead of a hard ping sound from the Pirelli. Softer too. And they grip!!!!!