Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Tue 27 Aug 2013 17:21

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - PeteGP

Can anyone recommend quieter tyres - the current ones are original tyres and need replacing but I find them very noisy - Are there thicker/larger tyres which would fit and be legal and not upset the Insurance Company or mess up the machanics of the car.

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Tue 27 Aug 2013 18:50

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - bathtub tom

New tyres seem to be required to have ratings for fuel economy, wet grip and noise. Look at any tyre suppliers website and you'll see the symbols.

I suggest you go to one of the more popular websites, insert your tyre size and you'll be able to do a comparison.

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Tue 27 Aug 2013 20:53

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - PeteGP

Thanks for that, will do

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Tue 27 Aug 2013 18:54

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - skidpan

If you replace them with a different size you will have to inform your insurance company and it could increase your premium. But unless you know what you are doing stick to the original size, other sizes could foul other components and be dangerous.

To generalise, a simple fact is bigger tyres have more rubber on the road and its the rubber that creates the noise thus bigger tyres are noisier.

Suggest you post the OEM size and brand/type and ask for feedback on a quieter tyre.

One thing I have found over the years, as tyres get old they get noisy, new tyres will without doubt be quieter.

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Tue 27 Aug 2013 20:57

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - PeteGP

Thanks for the response - I will check your suggestions out.

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Wed 28 Aug 2013 10:18

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - Engineer Andy

I own a mkI Mazda3 from new, which had the OEM Bridgestone ER30 type Turnaza 205/55 R16V tyres, which, as you'll see from the various reviews on the websites I quote below (Tyre Reviews the better of the two) are generally not very well regarded by owners (though some think they're ok).

www.tyrereviews.co.uk

www.tyretest.com

I gave them a 53% rating before changing to my current Dunlop SP Sport FastResponse tyres, which are much better, although I haven't done a great deal of mileage yet to make a really fair comparison. I suspect if your OEMs are the ER30s, then most newer replacements will be significantly quieter (the main problem I and others find with the ER30s, as well as not so good wet grip) and smoother ride. Mine did last 45k miles, but that is probably just as much to do with my driving style than the wear characteristics of the ER30s.

Lots of alternatives to choose from - my Dunlops I thought were a good "value-for-money" tyre - they weren't quite as good as the top-rated ones (though not by much), but were significantly cheaper (£73 a corner fitted at Blackcircles as opposed to £90+ for many other leading brands). Shop around on the web for the best price - I was lucky enough to get mine when Blackcircles had an offer of 4 Tesco clubcard points per pound spent on Dunlops (worth over £40 if used correctly) as well as (at the time) being the cheapest.

I found that the "ratings" on Blackcircles didn't mean much, as most either got 4/5, with a few with 5/5. The sound db ratings are a useful guide to potential noise levels when driving. Note that for the same tyre from one manufacturer, there can be variants that have different noise, economy and wet conditions performance ratings (my Dunlops were one), so go for the best if the price isn't that much different.

Best of luck.

Edited by Engineer Andy on 28/08/2013 at 10:19

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Wed 28 Aug 2013 10:36

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - RT

The sound db ratings are a useful guide to potential noise levels when driving.

The noise levels, shown on recent labelling, is totally irelevant to owners - it measures drive by noise that pedestrians might notice - drivers don't give a stuff about that, only how noisy they are inside the car, which depends very much on the car, and isn't measured.

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Wed 28 Aug 2013 01:45

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - Smileyman

I'm not sure whether the noise ratings on new tyres refers to the expeience to be expected by persons inside the car or outside the car as it passes. Until I fitted my winter tyres I had never noticed tyre noise, just different sounds on different road surfaces, but I usually have the radio on, and often the sunroof open (no, not in wet or very cold weather) so there are many other noises to hear and mix.

Whlst it's almost always essential to fit the same size tyre I doubt anyone can enforce a rule as to brand, except that there are some products out there that give very poor quality roadholding / stopping distance (esp in the wet) and really ought to be avoided like the plague (aka ditchfinders)

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Wed 28 Aug 2013 12:26

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - Auristocrat

From Which?:

"Noise

Noise has also been added, essentially treating this as another environmental concern.

Exterior noise levels are split into three categories and the figure is the noise level measured in decibel (dB). The curved bars coming out of the tyre show it in comparison with the new European tyre exterior maximum noise levels to be introduced until 2016 (72dB).

1 black sound wave = 3dB less than the future tighter European limit (very quiet).

2 black sound waves = already compliant with the future European limit (fairly quiet).

3 black sound waves = compliant with the current European limit but not with the new one (noisiest allowable).

While it will help drive noise levels down, we consider this less useful to owners, (and perhaps more relevant to their neighbours!), as it is based on a track side measurement of exterior tyre noise.

Most owners will never experience the noise from this perspective and are unlikely to be inclined to change their choice based on this rating. Our own noise assessments are of more use to buyers, as they consider measured exterior noise, and interior tyre noise, subjectively assessed by two testers in the car."

Edited by Auristocrat on 28/08/2013 at 12:27

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Wed 28 Aug 2013 12:21

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - balleballe

I've got a Mazda 3 with 205/55/16's

I found winter tyres to be atrocious for noise as the Mazda has poor sound proofing

Goodyear Eagles are nice and quite compared to the Continental premium contact 2's

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Wed 28 Aug 2013 14:44

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - Ethan Edwards

I have those Conti's on my 62 plate Yaris Hybrid. I detest them. Had the same on my 10 plate Nissan Note and when they wore out I replaced them with Falken Ziex912's. Which I found to be much more comfy and quieter, but a much less jiggly ride. Decent price from Black Circles.com soon as Mr Toyota's choice has worn out then some new Falkens are going on.

Why do certain manufactuers insist on using the Conti's ? Do they get them for free or very cheap? Do they have shares in Continental? Beats me. Horrid things.

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Wed 28 Aug 2013 14:49

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - RT

All the big tyre brands vie with each other to supply car manufacturers, the price paid is kept secret but it won't be what you or I might pay !

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Wed 28 Aug 2013 18:38

Mazda 3 Tamura - Replacement tyres - daveyjp

My B class also has 205-55-16. Two are due for replacement and I'm going for direct replacement with Michelin Energy Savers.

They are top price, but cost over other marques is only about £10 for the pair and they have done 32,000 miles. I've no idea if a replacement will last as long, so I'm sticking with what I know.

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