stell1

The last several days have been over 90 here in NY and I have noticed that the tire noise from the Conti's is a lot louder than I recall last summer (even louder than the winter tires). I checked the pressure to make sure that they weren't over/under inflated and probably have 65% of the tread left. Has anyone else experienced this or is it just me. TIA.

rally

rubber compound gets harder.

I don't keep any tire over two years because I feel they degrade sufficiently enough to warrant replacement.

TXurS6

That's a good rationalization to justify buying tires with less than a 20,000 mile life :-) Thanks!

DWP

Unless you drive more than 10k/year, of course ;-)

Mike Shields

Rally is correct that letting tires sit ages the rubber and this can affect noise, wear and even grip. I would store in non-freezing conditions. There is another factor to consider.

I rotate every oil change ~5000 miles. This is an important factor in keeping the tread blocks in good shape. This helps keep the tire from becoming noisy. Of course, some tire designs are more prone to develop noise and some are noisy to begin with, but in general, tire rotation can be a big help.

Part of the issue has to do with how hard you drive a tire with more than 50% tread. A tire with a lot of tread on it will distort its tread blocks and (as some have found out) even over heat and destroy the shape. This leads to noise as the distortion of the tread blocks in hard cornering will create block shapes that make more noise than usual. Rotating the tires helps keep the blocks more their normal shape, with fewer feathered edges or less uneven block surface.

Keeping an eye (literally) on wheel alignment is also important. If you are looking at the tires carefully every 5000 miles you should note sudden unusual wear that might indicate that a wheel was pushed out of alignment by a parking error or large hit. Sometimes, just hitting a front tire or backing a rear tire into the curb can tweak the toe setting. This happens every now and then.

==m==
Mike

stell1

The tires were stored in my shed for the winter and I've rotated at 10,000. I also drive pretty aggressive (lots of windy roads where I live). I will begin rotating at 5,000 instead of 10,000 and inspect the tread more often. I'll also have the allignment checked the next time it's in for service. In the mean time I'll just crank up the Bose a little louder :-)