[Sculler]

I'm in the process of putting OEM 16 inch wheels back on my new to me coupe. My goal is to gain as quiet and plush a ride as possible. I know, I know please be considerate. Not all of us want an all out track car. Anyway, Tire Rack shows the Hankook Ventus S1 as the quietest tire available for 968's with 16's. Also considering Continental and Michellin.



Anyone here have experience with Hankook? Recommendations for quiet, compliant tires?

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[flash]

pretty sure ds968 has ventus on the green car and he hates them.



i've never found a conti i liked.



been happy with pretty much any michelin i've ever had

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[ds968]

If cost is not the biggest consideration here, I would not even look at anything other than Michelins. In my experience they are not only the quietest tires made, but if you opt for the Pilot Sport II or Super Sport lines ( although not sure anyone still carries " 16s " sizes in those particular Michelins ..) you'll also have the best made and best handling tire all around for this car, in terms of street driving. As for Hankook, my tip 968 cupe has the Ventus tires on it ( the <acronym title='previous owner'><acronym title='previous owner'>PO</acronym></acronym> bought them just before he sold me the car ) and they now have about only 15 K miles on them. While they're certainly not noisy, the handling in wet conditions is horrible ! Buy them only of you live in Death Valley or in Sudan :-) :-)

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[Sculler]

My recent purchases have been Michellin super sport for 993 and conti dws for BMW sedans. Unfortunately the super sports are not available for 16s at correct size. The conti dws have been better than most for me on sedans. Would love to hear from anyone running the Hankook.

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[flash]

p.s. - i drove that car from new mexico to los angeles. i was not impressed with the tires at all. they didn't suck per se, but i did not think highly of them

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[Sculler]

The available Michellin is pilot sport a/S 3. An all season tire.



I've made the assumption that 16's will provide a quieter more compliant ride than 17's. I know most here use 17 & 18's. Am I correct in my assumption about 16's being quieter and softer.

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[flash]

the diameter has really nothing to do with noise. that's all in the compound and tread pattern, as well as contact patch area (a wider tire has a higher likelihood of noise). compliance would again not be specifically diameter related, but rather profile related. a lower aspect ratio will generally be less compliant than a higher one. it just happens that 16s don't generally come in a very low aspect ratio.



i would never run an all season tire on a 968. but then, i don't drive it in the rain unless by accident either. i certainly don't drive it in the snow. (if i had to, i would run a snow tire). i understand that some people have to drive in inclement weather, but i would choose a different car for that.

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[bill3]

I have the Michelin Pilot Sports A/S (I drive the car to the track and it does rain sometimes!) in 17" size on my 968 (street/track setup so pretty stiff) and they definitely ride better (and are quieter) than the Kumho's I had on my 944S2 with the same suspension. I think you will be fine with the Michelins: car had old Pilot Sport Cups when I bought it and they rode and handled great (but they were 9+ years old, so they had to go).



I've used DWS on my Audi and my wife's Volvo and very happy with them on those cars but I would go with the Michelin

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[Sculler]

My car will be used almost exclusively for extended road trips. Needs to be as comfortable as possible and equipped for all kinds of weather. We've encountered a lot of foul weather on our trips. On last years trip across the country on US 2 we ran into a fair amount of snow in Montana. So different strokes for different folks!



Love the forum and greatly appreciate info that is shared.

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[Rap]

Dunlap durizza's, wrong spelling, ride and handle great and are not noisy. I put all weather's on and immediately took the off. Way too noisy. Now they sit in the garage. I would give them away.16's

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[BeBe]

After a fair amount of research, I purchased Hankook Ventus S1 tires for my son's Impreza. They are 18", probably about 40 or 45 aspect ratio. He has only put about 5,000 miles on them, but I think he's happy with them. I rode with him yesterday evening and they are pretty quiet (one of my major considerations). Much quieter than the Dunlops that came off. Better ride quality also. Of course the Dunlops were several years old. I may put Ventus S1 tires on my 968 also.

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[Sculler]

Thanks for the opposing viewpoint BeBe. I'm leaning toward the Michelin Pilot A/S. Mostly due to brand reputation. More than likely I will end up with two sets of wheels for the car. The 16's will be my foul weather gear.

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[ds968]

[quote name='Rap' timestamp='1416911907' post='163941']Dunlap durizza's, wrong spelling, ride and handle great and are not noisy. [/quote]

Wow, talk about a diametrically opposite experience. I bought the Dunlop Direzza Star 1 Spec ( yeah, long brand name, lol ) about five years ago, and had to return them after just one week for a full refund, because the noise was absolutely intolerable; at anything beyond 60 mph, they howled like screaming banshees - and these were brand new. Of the dozens of tire brands I had on my cars, nothing even came close to these in noise level, even worn tires were a lot...a lot quieter ! But, if you're looking for a track tire, you probably won't find anything better than those, short of Hoosier slicks. The Direzza sticks to a dry surface as if they were glued to the road. Unreal grip .

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[Rap]

They were a good track tire but I sure didn't experience the noise problem you did on the street.

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[ds968]

It's also possible mine may have had a defect ( ?! ) in spite of being brand new, and the ride was very smooth, just incredibly loud over 60 mph. But I was not going to take a chance with another set, so just replaced them with the Pilot Sports II and it was back to quite as a mouse..

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[flash]

dunlops are historically stiff and noisy

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