atikovi

I have an '07 E350 with the Sport Package that has Continental ContiPro 265/35-18's in the back and 245/40-18's in the front. They seem to have a lot of road noise and a passenger even said it sounds like you are in a jet airplane. Anyone else with this problem?

SPNJHockey

MIne are very quiet...still on the OEMs with 40k miles too.

Barry45RPM

I have the Michelin's from the factory on mine. They ARE noisier than the Michelin 18's that came on my '04 E500 non sport E500, particularly when they slap cement pavement seams. I don't notice the noise or the difference at all between the two cars with the windows up. Mine are up all the time.

I can't speak to the loudness difference between your Conti's & my Michelin's.

chokaay

I have 2 x 2009 E350's with AMG Sport Packages, one that has Continentals and one with Michelins. The Michelins sound louder than Continentals, and you can feel bumps in the road a bit more with the Michelins than Continentals. However, even with the Michelins, I don't feel that the road noise is a big problem... the insulation in the E-Class is excellent (significantly better than C-Class).

KL2DC

+3 on the observations that the (sport package) Michelins are (noticeably) loud on bumps and pavement breaks. I have not driven on the conti's so I can't offer a comparison.

MB211

ContiPros are very quiet in comparision. The Contact2's were terrible (loud). The Mich HX MXV4 are probably the best in terms of road noise. PS1 or PS2 are great for handling, but the agessive tread can become noise.

It helps to pay attension to alignement and tire pressure to reduce cupping of those tires.

novae500

not sure what model michelins came with my sport package. Can hear them when the windows are down, but up, too insulated inside to hear anything.

jdupa

staggered setup, 245-40-18 and 265-35-18, Michelin PilotSport2, very noisy on low quality pavement, very quiet on newer asphalt surfaces. My winter set (Michelin Pilot Alpine2) 225-55-16 is considerably quieter.

amdeutsch

Part of that is your contact patch helping you out.

jdupa

What's "contact patch"

amdeutsch

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=10

SPNJHockey

Sorry I failed to include this, but I have the Conti Pro Contacts.

jdupa

Thanks amdeutsch. One more question, could you please explain the relation between the shape of the contact patch of sport vs. winter tires and tire noise?