Acapulco Bill

2010 C300 Sport with Michelin Primacy HP tires (17" AMG rims) is very noisy on some road surfaces IMO. (New concrete at 80 MPH). Daily driver Ford sedan is far quieter and much less busy, I would have preferred the Luxury suspension frankly. Even the Ford's steering is better but that is an issue for another thread.

Most noise comes from the trunk wheel well and rear doors. Have a roll of Fatmat/Dynamat and someday will get around to getting the sound deadening done. Perhaps the newer late 2010 production W204's are quieter, frankly I am disappointed that the vehicle isnt much, much quieter. Between the road noise and the horrible stock Audio 20 speakers, the Ford is driven 90% of the time as it is a far more pleasant experience.

Glyn M Ruck

The Primacy is a noisy tyre. I'm surprised at how little noise transmission my W209 CLK has versus my old W203 & the family W204 (2008). It's a different world.

The 203/204 platform & suspension bushing choices etc make them very tyre fussy. You can put the same noisy tyre on an S Class & it will be silent from the cabin.

From some questioning the new sound deadning kit was fitted from approx August production.

Jaywalker

Is that Primacy in general, or just Primacy HP? I have Primacy MXV4 tires on both my current cars and both cars are pretty noisy over some of the harsher new surfaces on Texas highways. I'd hate to think I'm all set to buy a new car and all I really need is new tires! That would really be a waste of the new-car-commitment emotion...

Pristine

After reading several comments from people who switched to conti dws tires and the difference it made in terms of road noise, I was anxious to get them on. But I was very disappointed that it did not make any noticeable difference. The road noise + the vibrations at idle isn't what you would expect from a mercedes. A 2007 corolla that my friend has seems more quiet and smooth than my w204.

Glyn M Ruck

The Primacy in general.

kevink2

How many miles between cross (X) rotations?

I put DWS on another car, and certain concrete highways make them roar. I think they developed some feathering wear that increases road noise.

Feathering Wear

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MDMercedesGuy

A question comes to mind - going back to the OP's question. Is there an appreciable difference between the 17" and 18" wheel/tire combos when it comes to noise in these cars?

I just finished 2 weeks of travel covering 1,500 miles, and I have a few thoughts about this. I've got the 18" 7 spokes on my 2012 with Continentals.

At highway speeds on good pavement, the car is very quiet - mostly wind noise around the driver's and passenger's doors (perhaps from the mirrors, although they are the supposed improved design?). On concrete slabs at highway speeds - tire noise is rather loud and intrusive. My C is louder than my smart fortwo was on Continentals.

I'm not impressed with the amount of wear I am seeing in 6,000 miles on the tires - and I have been mostly behaving. I also have a bit of a thrumming sound at highway speeds - not unlike that of a tire with a slipped belt. It's very faint - I have very good hearing and tend to pick up on small sounds and the like, but it is something I am going to be keeping a figurative ear on.

I think I will be looking at a different brand of tire when the time comes to replace these.

kevink2

How many miles, typically, between cross rotations?

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rb23lb

My brand new Nitto Motivo tires on my 18" stock AMG wheels sound ULTRA quiet compared to my stock Conti tires.

Amazing the difference. Although I am noticing some of the noise reduction because my contis were balder than barkley and were even louder because of that...

I won the Nitto Motivos for free in the forum contest they had here, but I have nothing but good things to say and you can get them for under $150 bucks each shipped on eBay, so they are much cheaper than DWS

kevink2

I'd expect more noise from the 18", all else being the same. I can well remember my classic SAAB 900T 2dr. It had 195-60-15" and little road noise issues. I then put on 195-65-15 and they were even quieter and smoother riding.

As you ratchet down the stock W204 wheel/tires, you start with 18" and 255-40's on the rear of a staggered setup. The narrowest with tallest sidewalls and narrowest contact patch come with Canadian C230 (or C250?) with ~205-55-16. The aspect ratio for a fixed width cataloge tire will very often influence the contact width, with low AR's having a much wider contact patch vs the high AR's for the same width tire.

The noise is definitely related to the tread design material, and alignment (to avoid creating a noisy tire). But I also think presenting fewer tread rows on a narrower tire with a soft spring rate helps redudce noise too.

Any Canadians have 16" tire noise issues on concrete roads?

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AgilityControl

Can you suggest some tires that are quiet, thanks in advance.

I'm using a C250 loaner while I wait for delivery of my C350 and I'm really disapointed about all the road noise coming through to the cabin, from tires and windows. There has to be a way to reduce noise at the wheel wells. Sound deadening materials I suppose?

AC

Glyn M Ruck

Known quiet tyres on these cars are the Michelin PS2, Pilot Exalto PE2 & Yokohama AVS db2.

One warning. Non of these are long life tyres. Exalto PE2 will last longest but you might have trouble getting desired sizes in the US.

RLE has good experience with Bridgestone on this chassis. I would check with him which Bridgestone.

Carsy

My OEM BridgestoneTuranza ER300 205-55-16 tyres wore badly , cupped & finally broke down at 34,000 km on the rear.

Michelin Primacy, a lot better wearing tyre in rough conditions.

Moto_Guzzi

I dampened the Spare wheel area after I got the car. I use contis, get them cheaper.

My greatest gripe is the wind noise around front doors, not caused by the mirrors. The B170 has no such noise as comparison.

MBNUT1

I recently test drove a 2010 and brand new 2013 C3004matics back to back and found them both to have an equally somewhat high level of road noise for a Mercedes.

As a former W211 owner which I ran Michelin HMXM's on which was a virtually silent car on the road. The amount of road noise in the C300's is resulting in me looking at E350 coupes to see if they are any quieter. Yes I know that it is built on the C class chassis the question will be did Mercedes improve the sound deadening in order to call it an E class.

I suspect one solution may be as suggested run quieter tires.

AgilityControl

Just picked up my C350 and went directly to Costco to buy Mich Exalto PE2 but they have been discontinued, came back to your post and now I'll go tomorow and order the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2.

Also I ordered spare tire well dampening materials as others mentioned.

AC

Carsy

I quite like a little road noise from my Michelin Primacys.

It harmonises with my diesel turbo & steam turbine induced tinitus to create a relaxed driving experience.

C300Sport

It's all part of the fun I suppose.
Just to weigh in, my 18" DWS are quieter than my 17" Michelin Pilot Sports were. Of course after 30K, I am sure the Michelins were louder than they were when new.

AgilityControl

Will the real quiet tire please stand up!

I'm so confused now. I thought the Mich Pilot Sport PS2 were quiet?

Is bridgestone quieter?

C300Sport

I think part of the issue is that most every tire gets louder as it wears. By the time you change out to a new tire, you may end up with a "new loud" tire that is quiter than your "old quiet" tire....if that makes sense to you.
With that being said, the DWS is rated as resonably quiet when compared to many others.

AgilityControl

I am going with Michelin Pilot Super Sport.

Check this link.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ay.jsp?type=MP

AC

C300Sport

Thanks for the link. The Michelins look to be a great tire. Interestingly enough, the DWS is the top ranked ultra high performance all season. Depends on what type you are looking for.

AgilityControl

No matter the tires, I still fussed with sound dampening with Dynamatt inside my trunk, then removed my back seat and applied additional Dynamatt, and just infront of rear seat I push carpet forward and slid down more Dynamatt. I have 18" 255/35 tires on the rear and it probably has more contact (related noise) than the 245,40 on the 17". I need to mention I used the Dynamatt on the inside rear upper deck to mitigate noise which all these DIY projects provided appreciable noise reduction. Tires alone are not the total solution to noise problems in the W204.

AC

TheRulesLawyer

If you go the sound dampener route, make sure you get butyl rubber based dampener, not asphalt. Asphalt tends to turn brittle in few years, especially in warmer climates. Also most people tend to go way overboard. You shouldn't need to cover more than about 1/4 the area. If you're doing full coverage you're just adding weight at some point and should consider another layer of different liner material that will block different noises.