Obnoxious road noise. Will better tires/wheels help?

AlphaMoose67

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I’ve had my car going on two months and love it for the most part. One of the more obnoxious things about it though is road noise. Let me tell you, it ain’t good. Most of the time I drive by myself, so I can kinda tune it out. However, if I have a passenger with me, good luck having a conversation!

I bought my car used with “new tires” that are Ironman iMove Gen 2’s

I’m just curious if the generic tires and steel wheels have something to do with the road noise or if it’s due to poor/nonexistent soundproofing on the basic LX, or if it’s a combination of all those things?

FWIW, I don’t think it’s just crappy roads, because we drive the same places in all of our vehicles (‘15 Edge Titanium and ‘01 Silverado) and the Civic is the only one that’s given us excessive noise.
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gtman

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Get better quality grand touring tires. Something like Pirelli P7 Cinturato All Season Plus would make a difference. But, keep this in mind. The 17's lack the extra sound insulation that was added to newer models, so there will always be some noticeable road noise. I just turn the radio up. ;)
 

Deezy

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It's definitely a combination of the lack of insulation and the quality of the tire. When I had my stock Hankooks on the car, it wasn't even noticeable.
Now that I have 18's on the car, the noise drives me nuts!
 

hicompb18c1

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Yes, getting better tires will be the only thing you can do. Useful sound deadening is a HUGE project.
Of course, when the new, more expensive tires start to wear, the noise will creep up again. It's the one downside of most cars in this class.
 

Ocelot

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I've noticed my '16 EX-T (17" stock wheels/OEM Firestone rubber) is much quieter inside than my '12 LX on 17" SI rims/Michelins
 

wilbur_the_goose

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I just switched the Pirelli's to Conti DWS06. It's a night and day difference for the positive. Road noise is great, and handling is much approved, as is wet traction
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