Fiesta 1.4 Tdci Tyres

[John_D]

I've tried to find the "search" facility to see of this has been discussed previously but to no avail...so here goes. I've had my 1.4 TDCI for several weeks now, having traded in my 2006 MINI Convertible (97,000 miles). Whereas I am very pleased with the Fiestas performance (suprisingly !) and its MPGs ( currenlty 68 as opposed to the MINIs 40mpg), I am not pleased with the road noise. The current tyres are ContiSports Contact 3 195/145 and they are NOISY. :( . Looking at Internet tyre duscusions I see that KUMHO SOLUS KH17 have a sound factor of 68dbs, which is the quietest so far. Does anyone use these, and any suggestions to reduce the road noise will be most welcome.

[MattDRX]

Kumho Ecstas are quite good and cheap, had them on a Civic and were much quieter than Mitchelin Pilots.

Not to sound rude but are they at the right pressure? can make a difference.

[John_D]

Thanks Matt....I certainly will check those pressures now.. :)

[John_D]

30 minutes later.... Checked the tyre pressures and apart form one rear being down (8 psi !!!) the rest were about correct but still gave them the manufacturers suggested pressure. Long time since I actually did any tyre pressures myself, having left it to my garage and was extremely surprised that local filling station charged me 40p to use the top-up machine ! Anyway thanks Matt.

[DieselPig]

Dunlop BluResponse have a 67dB rating, my current Continental's are reaching the end of their life at 21K miles so I'm looking at the Dunlop's.

[SandyCat]

8psi ??? How did you not know?

[stef123]

I use kumho tyres on the mondeo, Ecstas something or other I can't remember. I always have done for over 3 years.

The Ibiza has KH17s on it and I can't complain, relatively quiet and grippy in most conditions.

[John_D]

8psi ??? How did you not know?

With my digital tyre pressure meter.!

[stef123]

With my digital tyre pressure meter.!

I think he meant how did you not know the tyres was drastically down on pressure.

[karl46]

Having a quite tyre is not the only criteria to consider, they may be quite, they may be cheap, but what is the grip, braking ability in the wet,steering ability.

If you search any of the online supplier they should show the euro rating for these important features, you may find as I did that some of the most popular tyres are not as good as you thought they were.

I think that some people buy tyres for the pretty tread pattern and because they are cheap. If you value your car you should buy the best you can,

I used http://www.tyre-universe.co.uk... Locally I was qouted £140 each fitted for contact 5. Ordered on Wednesday PM. Delivered first thing Friday morning, from Germany, £90 each. Free delivery. Got them fitted and balanced down the road £10 each, so a saving of £40 each.

Worth a thought.

[John_D]

1. As far as checking the tyre pessures..I followed MattDRX, suggestion to check them. Being used to BMW run-flats (dreadful things !) I got out of that habit.

2. I agree with you Karl. My life and that of my wife, depends on that tiny bit of rubber in contact with the tarmac. All I wish is that I find a tyre which doesn't require my wife to shout at me when we want to converse and at the same time will not deliver us into the nearest hedge. Price doesn't come into it. Having read road test reports concering the KUMHO SOLAS, I believe it may fit the bill. Hence my request for any Fiesta owners who may have experience of them.
However, the noise of course depends on the type of tarmac upon which we drive. Here in Teesdale, I'm afraid the roads are made of large stone coverings which tend to be noisier.

[MattDRX]

Check out Camskill and eBay for tyres, I bought my Paradas on there for £60odd each delivered.

[CharlieFarlie]

I understand the comments entirely on road noise ! I recently bought a wee 1.6 Sport van and the road noise is incredible ! But I did expect this as my wife has a Mk7 Titanium and that is exactly the same.. As said no surprises..

So off I go and buy two of these..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161356065443?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The above are as low rated noise wise as I believe you can buy. Plus they are outstanding wear wise and a decent all year tyre.

I wanted to do just the rears as I think this is where the noise emanates from and all four tyres on my van were in perfect condition with 6+ mill tread still on them so did not want to waste them..

The result ? Well apart from being 170 odd quid lighter in the pocket sod all....... The difference is almost unnoticeable ! Slight but very very little indeed !

I know we can expect a wee bit more from a van as there are no seats and what not but its the same in my wife's car just lots of tyre roar especially on bad surfaces.

Too be honest I've got used to it and as the van is so good and does over 60MPG I can easily grin and bear it ...

[John_D]

Thanks for that news Charlie. The only benefit I get with these noisy tyres is that my wife has stopped trying to converse with me in the car. :)

I must add that the van look the doggies thingies ! Spaceship like !

[wolfie123]

On my 03 1.4 tdci i use evergreen tyres from bmtr in birmingham

[John_D]

Just got back from shopping in Kendal and see that they have just re-surfaced part of the eastbound A66 dual carriage across Stainmore Pass from Cumbria. And the car is absolutley SILENT! These appear to be very small stones; of course it is the larger stones in the tarmac which cause the noise. I wish all roads were like this new surface but I suppose these are cheaper.

[CharlieFarlie]

Just got back from shopping in Kendal and see that they have just re-surfaced part of the eastbound A66 dual carriage across Stainmore Pass from Cumbria. And the car is absolutley SILENT! These appear to be very small stones; of course it is the larger stones in the tarmac which cause the noise. I wish all roads were like this new surface but I suppose these are cheaper.

I think we have to accept the Fiesta is just one of those cars that transmit the tyre noise badly.. When looking around for my van a chap (seller) who I spoke to said the only problem with the van he was selling was it gives of a load of tyre noise. He said he had sent the care twice into the workshop to have things like wheel bearings checked and nothing was found..

My wife has a Mk7 Titanium and it also gives an incredible roar from the tyres ! When I bought the van I was convinced I could at least lower the noise by fitting a very very quiet tyre but to be honest while it is just that wee bit better the noise is still there just the same. In affect I threw away two good tyres in my quest to rid the van of the noise..

Over many surfaces including the yellow "Shell grip" we find on bad bends or approaching some islands the noise virtually disappears. Same on some newly surfaced roads the difference is massive ! Conversely try running along the M42 with its horrid concrete surfaces and it is truly deafening !

Lets face it our roads are shot now. Worn out and full of !Removed! holes with surfaces that are unbelievably bad but things aren't going to change as far as I can see ..

My wife doesn't even notice the noise in her car .. I do though but I just turn up the radio and ignore is as best I can..

[John_D]

Agree Charlie. I'll happily put up with the tyre noise as the MPGs are exceptional. Also I'm quite surprised that the little 1.4 TDCI engine has such poke! I expected a sluggish engine but not at all. With the BMWs run-flats we also had tyre noise, but I found that for a car costing £30, + that this was unacceptable, and repalcemements would cost over £1k ! However the little Ford is a tiny percentage of that price, and I am getting to like it a lot. My wifes MINI Convertible went in part/ex for it. :) :)

[CharlieFarlie]

Agree Charlie. I'll happily put up with the tyre noise as the MPGs are exceptional. Also I'm quite surprised that the little 1.4 TDCI engine has such poke! I expected a sluggish engine but not at all. With the BMWs run-flats we also had tyre noise, but I found that for a car costing £30, + that this was unacceptable, and repalcemements would cost over £1k ! However the little Ford is a tiny percentage of that price, and I am getting to like it a lot. My wifes MINI Convertible went in part/ex for it. :) :)

John the wee van is for work I have a new Rav4 which was not cheap and that car too suffers from some road noise but nowhere near as much as the van. Both the wifes Fiesta Titanium make exactly the same level of noise so its not that the van is worse as we might expect with having no seats ect to mask the noise..

Its the roads that are to blame really and some vehicles suppress the noise better than others but the Fiestas are....Well not the best.

I am going to play around with some soundproofing matting to see if I can reduce the noise as I do at least 1200 miles a week in it so the investment would be worthwhile.. To be honest I love this little van so come replacement time it will get replaced with a new shape 95BHP one. This one is the 90BHP and its just great to drive and it really is paying for itself with the fuel savings over my Ra4 !

When Ive sorted some soundproofing I will come back to this thread and let you know how Ive got on.. I will also send you a PM as a reminder ...... Enjoy that car !!