yes, i am a newbie. yes, i used the search function. i 've had my 2007 g35s for 2 years. i love everything about it except the road noise. having owned a bmw 530i i appreciate the handling of the g35s.

after 6-7k miles the noise of the bridgestone oem tires on southern california freeways was unbearable. i spent quite a bit of money on dynamat then on eagle f1 all seasons.

the noise level was acceptable until about 12-15k miles later. when i drive on the freeway the noise resonates throughout the cabin. i don't want to buy a new set of tires every year.

has anyone gone down from 18" to 17" rims with the sport suspension and what was the effect on noise and on performance? thanks for your input.

 

the Bridgestones are on the noisy side. i think if you change the tires to a different company it can fix the road noise problem. i used to have a 07 coupe with the OEM 19s and the road noise was a killer but now i just got the 08 xS sedan and there is little road noise with the dunlop tires.

 

What's your tire pressure?

 

tire pressure 33 psi front and rear.

i was happy with the goodyear eagle f1 all seasons in the beginning but after a year of treadwear the noise is increasing.

 

How about a set of Falken 452s. Apparently there isn't much road noise from those. PM IvoryPearl07G. He ran a set of 452s

 

i just went from 17's with Michelin's to 18's with the Eagle F1 All Seasons. The difference is night and day. The 17's were EXTREMELY quiet with the Michelin's, my mom has an S320 and my Dad has a Rolls Royce Silver Spur II and when I had the 17s my car was as quiet if not quieter than both of their cars. Now with the 18's and the Eagle F1's, it's like driving a damn truck, when I slow down form 40 to 0 it's like a fighter jet taking off, I hate it. I'm buying some Michelin's directly I'm PRAYING that it will drastically cut down on the road noise.

 

purchase some michelin MVX4 S8.. ur car will be quiet. .but ur handle will suffer a bit.. no biggy if u don't race ur car around town too much

 

The F1's are incredibly noisy tires. I switched the the Michelin Pilot Sport Plus A/S's and the car is significantly quieter.

 

I'm running Khumo Ecsta platinum LX tires on the sport wheels, they run much quieter than the OEM sport tires. they are not a high performance tire, but i can live with that.

 

above, in bold, is your reason for road noise. I have these tires, and they're awful.

 

i'm in the same boat as entgunguy. i'll gladly sacrifice some performance for a quieter tire. which brands/models are known for their relative lack of road noise? most tire reviews that i've read are more concerned with handling and treadlife. are yokohama's and falken at the top of the list when it comes to quietness?

 

from what i've read, heard, and my personal experience, if you can afford it, Michelin IS the way to go.

 

I am willing to bet that all high performance tires end up being noise before too long. Just bought some Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus for my WRX and although they are relatively quiet for an ultra high performance all season tire, they are still somewhat noisy.

I also have the Kumho LX Platinum on my G35 (19" M45 rims) and they are very quite. Unfortunately, every Kumho I have owned get really noisy after 5-8k miles. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. But I think if you get something in this "grand touring" category like the Michelin MXV4 that was mentioned, you will still get adequate traction with a pleasant ride that is quiet. You simply cannot not get ultimate traction, smooth ride and be very quiet, all at the same time--pick your poison.

 

thanks for all the advice.

thirstyturtle: how many miles did you have on your michelin's before you swapped rims/tires? my biggest fear at this point is buying a new tire/rim and then finding out a year later with treadwear if becomes noisy. when looking up reviews of yokohama's i've noticed that most people who complained of road noise were the ones that wrote their reviews after 15k miles.

on a totally different subject- is it feasible to install a non sport suspension (ie g35 journey) on a g35s?

 

Yes, the only difference btwn the Journey and the S suspension are the shocks/struts and sway bars. Springs are the same. But why? Are you finding the S suspension too stiff?