enGage

I installed a fresh set of tires (Vredestein Quatrac Pro) 24,000 miles ago when I first purchased this car. I loved the tires at first - quiet, grippy, relatively inexpensive, but over the last year they have gotten noisy - real noisy, to the point were I'm thinking of new tires even though these have life left in them.

I don't put a lot of miles on my car so I have my oil changed annually. Each year I ask the dealer to rotate them and each year the dealer tells me the tread depth is perfectly even all around so no need to rotate. This year, because of the noise I ask them rotate them regardless and they did. Now they are much worse.

I have a theory and am looking for input. My theory is the dealer should have rotated them regardless of even wear and by not doing so, the leading edge of the treads has worn down more that the trailing edge. Now that they have been rotated, the trailing edge on at least two tires is now the leading edge and do to height differences is causing more noise. What do you think?

urs6_ma

Those tires should be rated as a UTQG 400 AA, which means at 24,000 miles they have plenty of life left.

How much tread depth do you have on each tire? How even is the wear?

What happens if you rotate the tires back?

Are you sure it's not a wheel bearing making the noise?

enGage

I have three tires measuring 6/32" and one that measures 7/32". Three tires are uniform across the tread, but one goes from 6/32" to 5/32" on the inner-portion of the tire.

I don't think it is a bearing. The noise changed too dramatically immediately after rotating. If it were a bearing, I'd expect the noise to be similar. Also, the noise varies a lot by road surface and is rhythmic - I believe that the tread size varies across the circumference of the tire to eliminate resonance.

However, I'm not sure I agree that the tie should have a lot of life left. Based on my A8, I expect about 50,000 miles from a 700 tire, which means around 27,000 miles for the Vredestein's, ie, I'm getting close. In fact, I didn't pay attention to that number when I purchased the tire. If I had, I would have gone for the P7, which I have experience with and like.

I'll run these tires for another month or two and if they don't quiet down, I'll pop for the P7s.

KnappAttack

The UTQG number really doesn't mean much between brands. Honestly, it doesn't mean much at all. All tires will get louder as they age. I really wished you could run just a simple grove tire with no sipes in it for summer use, they would stay quiet forever.

When I have tires that get loud, I don't switch from front to back on the same side, I rotate them in opposite rotation and axles and they run much quieter again. Like a "X" Rotation, as long as they are not a directional tire, this seems to work well for me. I know back in the day they said not to do this with radials, but if anyone was going to blow a tire, I'd have done it with the speeds I run. I'm not easy on them as far as speeds go lets just say that.

I put a lot of long distance miles on in one day in my travels and have gone thru many many sets of different tires, and I can tell you that I haven't ever had a set of tires wear the same on all four corners or go far for distance. Best I've ever had was a set go 45,000 miles on my A8, they didn't seem to wear the inside edges quite as bad, but every A6 and A8 Audi I've ever had, wears the inside fronts really bad even with alignments all the time, even if you tell them to set the alignment for best tire wear. Weird part is when they setup alignment for best tire wear, the handling gets un-nerving and scketchy too, almost unstable I'd tend to call it.

New tires are always good for noise for a number of miles, then they get louder over time. I wished they stayed quiet. I also don't think Audi has the best noise reduction either. Mercedes seems to have a much better handle on the road noise with their vehicles.

Acuransx

En - I run the Pirelli P7 AS+ on my /15 A6 3.0T with 71K miles. I've had these tires on other cars and IMHO among the best Grand Touring tires out there. Transformed the ride from the old Conti Pro Contacts car came with (I have sport suspension running 19" wheels/tires). Quiet and silky smooth ride with good bump absorbing qualities. I have not had Knapp's experience -- tires on my car seem to wear evenly.

Best,
jeff

Valpo A7

I run the Conti Control Contacts 19 inch on my A7. Rotate every 10,000 miles and got a bit over 60,000 from the first set I had on it. I used to drive 90% highway as well putting on 35 - 40K per year.

enGage

I haven't experienced tires getting noisy as they age either except for my current set and a set I put on my A4 years ago. They became very noisy around 20,000 mikes. In that case, the tires were noticeably cupped. I went back to Discount Tire and they said it was because the A4 was out of alignment. I had Audi do a four wheel alignment, but the dealer said that wasn't the issue - three sides were in alignment and the fourth barely out. Went back to Discount Tire and they took the tires back and sold me another tire for 50% off, which I was fine with. I guess I'll try that again.

I liked the P7s I put on my A8 so I'll give the AS+ a try. I assume you are talking about this tire: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...Premium%20Plus

lardog

It has been a common complaint with some tires (road noise increasing with miles) - I think more common 10 or so years ago. I thought all the manufacturers changed the tire tread design to resolve this though. Did you know that Michelin even has tires where the gaps (in the tread) open up with wear, maintaining the wet traction as the tire wears? Impressive.

Anywho, if you look at Tire Rack reviews, more than one reviewer notes noise with age on the Quatrac Pro. So maybe that's the issue - although your problem seems more like NOISE, not just noise.

If you have a lot of tread left, you could try shaving them down but it might not be cost effective.

Acuransx

En -- see link. Tire Test Results : Testing Grand Touring All-Season Tires 2022 (tirerack.com) Only thing that gives me pause with the Pirelli is the wet weather performance per the link. I have Continental DWS 06 on my trusty old 04 TL and have had that tire a couple of times. It rides almost as nicely as the Pirelli (a bit lumpy first thing in the a.m. for a mile or two -- it is a performance not a grand touring rated tire) and there is a great sale on that tire at Tire Rack. I think I'm going to get a set for wife's A4 as well as son's /13 Volvo S80T6 as the price with the discount plus a further discount if charge on a certain type of credit card is huge. First I'm going to see if Discount Tire will match the deal.

Best,
Jeff

mhoran89

if the tires are not directional I highly recommend a modified X rotation pattern. I usually send the rears to the opposite sides up front and the fronts straight back to the same side on the rear...