I'm thinking about picking up a set of 215/45/17 S-03's to replace my RE-92's (at long last). How do these two compare, based on road noise?

I'm looking for a good-performing street tire that'll handle the rainy season pretty well. I'd prefer to have something that's kinda quiet on the highway.

What other tires should I be looking at?

Well if I had to say you want a really quite tire, go with the Pirelli PZero Rossos. I would have to say that the S03's are a somewhat noisier but not all that bad. If you can I would say try and get the S02's if you can. I miss those tires. I have tried both on my RS and WRX and I would definitely have to say that the Pirellis are much more comfortable while the Bridgestones perform much better. I have also tried Michelin Pilot Sports also. They are okay, but noiser than the two mentioned above.

S0-3's kick a lot of crap into the wheel well, so you'll hear them. RE-92's suck, period.

Unless you have after market rims the tire size is wrong. Our cars come with 16" rims. No matter what a lower profile rim will be louder.

Also look at the Dunlop SP5000. A very good all season tire.

Going from memory, the RE-92's and the S-03's were about equally quiet on the road/highway. I do have an aftermarket exhaust, however, so any small differences might have been masked.

As mentioned, the S-03's will pick up little pebbles and such when they are heated up, and kick them into the wheel well. Not a factor on the highway, as I only noticed it when I went from dirt to pavement around town.

The RE's did quite a bit more squealing on the autocross course, of course. The S-03's do squeal as well, but not as much. It's their way of saying "hey, limit's coming up..."

I just changed over to snows, so all I can say is: road noise is secondary to traction!

KR

Originally posted by Ramsdale

I just changed over to snows, so all I can say is: road noise is secondary to traction!

KR

Couldn't of said it better. But if you're not pushing your car to it's limits, road noise can have an effect on what tire you buy.

My plan is to keep my stock 16" wheels with the RE-92's for rallycross/snow duty, and to use my 17" wheels for daily duty (commuting, twisty mountain road driving).

I'm not autocrossing the car, so I don't need super-grippy tires. I'd rather have a tire that has decent wet and dry traction, is not noticably noisier than stock, and is reasonably priced.

Actually, I think I'm going to get Sumitomo HTR Z II's.

Originally posted by scoop
My plan is to keep my stock 16" wheels with the RE-92's for rallycross/snow duty

RE-92's suck in the snow.

RE-92's suck in the snow.

Not real snow.. California snow. ;)

S-03s have a fair bit of road noise. I can't really compare my 17" S-03s to my stock RE-92s 16" because the 17" tires were much stiffer. Rolling over the freeway they are louder, and i figure its as much a function of the stiffer lower profile tires and the larger rims. When i switched back to my 16" rims and Dunlop SP5000s, much softer ride, almost like going into a luxury car :)

Ed

I got Yoko AVS dBs. I'd say they were marginally quieter than worn RE92 pretenzas, but for a tire that's supposed to be super-quiet, I was disappointed. Get some earplugs, I guess. :D

Originally posted by scoop
Not real snow.. California snow. ;)


California snow is the worst, wet and slick! I don't think anything less than a tractor tire would actually be good.

Just stay away from the Sumitomo HRZ II's they are way loud!

Great handle, radar lover, but I'm more of a radar detector lover!

Only had my 225/45/17 S-03s on for a few weeks. They are noisier than the RE-92s, but not terrible. Of course, I'm used to mud tires on my SUV, so anything's better!

I think they've gotten a bit quieter as the blocks smooth out a bit. Anybody care to comment on the noise increase/reduction over time?

Martin