Continental Pure Contact tires unacceptably noisy!

That’s correct. I put a set of the True Contacts on my ex’s 2010 Ford Focus and within 50 feet of driving I could feel an improvement. On the road they are wonderful tire. They made it (Focus) a different car.

 

This is topical for me as I am replacing worn out PureContact tires with new Michelin Premier tires today (Costco)

The PureContacts were one of the if not the top rated grand touring tire at the time (maybe 2012 or 2013) and we liked a few things when these were new. The dry grip was better, snow grip was much better (when new) and they were minutely more noisy with an odd "singing" sound when going on certain types of freeway materials.

After about 5 years we have lost the "S" and "W" on the tread and the snow grip is noticeably less than new and they have gotten progressively louder. I genuinely do not like taking the Prius on a road trip (for many reasons) but the noise makes it just awful. We can't have a conversation without having raised voices or borderline yelling if the person in back is talking. The Prius is a loud car anyway (would 15 lbs of sound deadening killed the engineers?!) but the tires have added extra noise.

I can report back on the new Premiers as we are about to take a 1500-1600 mile road trip starting next week.

 

An extra 15#'s of weight would efect fuel mileage, plus the cost of designing it, then installing it.
More coast to the vehicle.

 

i cannot recommend defenders highly enough.i had a set on my 2012 plug in and just put a set on my newly acquired 2015 prius 3. the change in grip was immediate and the ride quality outstanding. silent. no. but huge rain grooves and beefy shoulders. my absolute fave tire for sure. aint cheap but worth every penny. you will think you got a new car .

 

My Premier tires were noisy from day one. Standard Toyota front-to-back rotation did not help. Michelin customer service rep says the tires can be rotated any way you want. But she recommended the "Forward Cross" for front-wheel drive cars. After the tire shop did that, they got even louder.

After another 3,000 - 5,000 miles of headaches, I tried the X-Pattern. That seemed to quiet them down about 50%... for awhile. I'm angry to report that they are now right back to being very loud again... at all speeds, and all road surfaces. Factory spec PSI does not reduce noise; nor does going slightly above specs. And hotter air temps seem to increase the sound level. There is just no winning.

 

Turn the radio up louder.

 

Or just give up, and TRADE UP for one of these big dudes..... A manly vehicle for Real Men.

 

Wow! That IS ugly!

 

People say the same thing about the Prius! And my mother said the same thing when I was born! So me and the truck will be a perfect match. Anyway, it's not meant for beauty, it's meant for work!

When I get rid of these Michelin premier tires, I'm going to buy continentals. They GOT to be quieter!

 

The Prius is just a plain looking car. But trucks, are ugly! But then they are for working....
They aren't supposed to look good.