Quiet tires reduce cabin noises for improved trip comfort and are often an indicator of better vehicle engineering, design, and sound insulation.
The advanced technology that goes into quiet tires, with optimal grooves and tread block patterns, doesn’t just mean less noise.
Other benefits go hand in hand, like improved roll resistance, advanced grip, and traction, and longer tread life — meaning, in the long run, you’ll be saving money by getting a better price per performance.
Top 10 Best Sets of Tires for Noise Reduction
Before you purchase your next set of road tires, check out our list of high-quality tires that will give you and your passengers a more enjoyable, quieter ride.
- Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack: Best All-Season Luxury Tire
- Michelin Defender LTX M/S: Best for Versatility
- Continental TerrainContact H/T: Best Premium Highway Tire
- Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015: Best Truck Tire
- Vredestein HyperTrac All Season: Best Sports Tire
- Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive: Best Luxury Tire for Advanced Winter Handling
- Firestone All Season: Dependable Pick
- Continental TerrainContact A/T: Best Off-Road Tire for City Drivers
- Continental CrossContact LX25: Best All-Season Luxury Tire
- Michelin CrossClimate 2: Solid Multi-Season Performance
1. Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrac
- Best All-Season Luxury Tire
- Warranty: 80,000 miles
- Noise Rating: 5 of 5 Consumer Ratings
- Tire Rack Customer Rating: 4.2 stars (out of 5)
- Discount Tire Customer Rating: 4.5 stars
The Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack is a grand touring all-season tire designed for luxury vehicles. It offers a refined driving experience with year-round traction for a variety of road conditions.
The tire features an all-season compound and an asymmetric tread pattern with QuietTrack Technology, dampening road noise for a quiet ride. In addition to comfort and noise reduction, the tire design enhances hydroplaning resistance, snow traction, and overall durability and performance.
Like The RideShare Guy, the experts at Consumer Reports also praise the Turanza QuietTrack as an excellent all-weather tire choice for comfort and safety.
Pros:
- Incorporates QuietTrack Technology for a quiet driving experience
- Provides reliable traction in various conditions, including light snow
Cons:
- May be more expensive compared to some other all-season tires.
- Limited off-road capability
2. Michelin Defender LTX M/S
- Best for Versatility
- Warranty: 50,000 – 70,000 miles
- Noise Rating: 3 of 5 Consumer Reports
- Tire Rack Customer Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
- Discount Tire Customer Rating: 4.8 stars (out of 5)
The Michelin Defender LTX M/S tire is built for a variety of vehicles, including vans, pick-up trucks, and SUVs. The tire offers long tread life and all-year performance, and is well-suited for large high-torque vehicles. The tire’s Evertread rubber compound resists wear under heavy loads, while the innovative tread pattern with 3-D Active Sipes and wide channels ensures all-season grip and wet traction.
In terms of noise, the Micheline Defender LTX M/S isn’t the quietest ride on the market but it does do a decent job at sound reduction. This tire has high treadwear ratings and is backed by a decent manufacturer warranty. Overall, this Michelin tire is a good, versatile option for lightweight trucks and SUVs.
Pros:
- All-season performance
- Long manufacturer tread life warranty and high treadwear ratings
- Handles well on snow and ice
Cons:
- Not a true winter tire; no Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) symbol
- Mediocre ratings for noise reduction; many competitors offer quieter tires
3. Continental TerrainContact H/T
- Best Premium Highway Tire
- Warranty: 60,000 – 70,000 miles
- Noise Rating: 5 of 5 Consumer Reports
- Tire Rack Customer Rating: 4.4 stars (out of 5)
- Discount Tire Customer Rating: 4.8 stars (out of 5)
The Continental Terrain Contact H/T is a premium all-season tire built for highway driving. It’s ideal for SUVs, pickups, and light trucks, delivering a quiet, comfortable ride with durable year-round traction, including light snow in the winter.
This tire features Continental’s +Silane additives in the tread compound for enhanced traction, longevity, and resistance to wear and tear. Its symmetric tread pattern features large shoulder blocks and noise blockers for stability and smooth traction.
The high-tech design also includes Computer-Optimized Pattern Shifting to minimize tread noise and full-depth sipes for optimal handling in water and snow. Suitable for a wide range of makes and models, the Continental Terrain Contact H/T is an especially popular choice for drivers of Ford Explorers, Jeep Grand Cherokees, and Chevy Trailblazers.
Pros:
- All-season handling
- Excellent noise reduction
- Good performance in snow and challenging road conditions
Cons:
- Not built for off-roading
4. Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015
- Best Truck Tire
- Warranty: 50,000 to 60,000 miles
- Noise Rating: 2 of 5 Consumer Reports
- Tire Rack Customer Rating: 4.3 stars (out of 5)
- Discount Tire Customer Rating: 4.6 stars (out of 5)
The Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015 is an on-road all-terrain tire that’s designed for light trucks and SUVs. It offers durability, long tread life, and snow traction, and is built to offer superior performance in harsh conditions and extra-cold climates.
The tire’s advanced tread design provides strong, off-road traction in addition to smooth, on-road performance, and the pattern offers a quiet ride thanks to its multi-pitch variations. The pattern also has deep grooves and sipes for water evacuation and hydroplaning resistance.
Customers and reviewers have mixed feedback on the tire’s quietness, however, with Consumer Reports rating the Geolandar A/T G015 a 2 out of 5 for noise reduction.
Pros:
- Long tread life
- All-terrain handling
- Solid winter performance
Cons:
- Mixed reviews on noise reduction with Consumer Reports giving very poor marks
5. Vredestein HyperTrac All Season
- Best Sports Tire
- Warranty: 50,000 miles
- Noise Rating: 4 out of 5
- Tire Rack Customer Rating: 4.4 stars (out of 5)
- Discount Tire Customer Rating: NR
The Vredestein Hypertrac All Season is an ultra high-performance, all-season tire built for powerful sedans, coupes, and sports cars. The tire delivers reliable, high-speed handling amid year-round weather, quick steering, and a specialized tread pattern for optimal water evacuation.
In recent years, manufacturer Vredestein has updated its rubber compound to enhance traction and performance on snowy roads. And while not a true winter tire, the car performs fairly well in light snow – and even exceptionally well when compared to other high-speed, performance tires.
The Vredestein HyperTrac All Season also offers a quiet ride. Although it’s not the quietest tires on the market, the construction does an effective job at muffling road noise and Consumer Reports gives the tire “Very Good” marks for noise reduction.
Pros:
- Designed for high-speed cars
- Excellent handling in wet conditions
- Competent all-year road handling
Cons:
- Drivers with harsh winters will still need snow tires
- Rolling resistance could be better
6. Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive
- Best Luxury Tire for Advanced Winter Handling
- Warranty: 60,000 miles / 6 years
- Noise Rating: NR
- Tire Rack Customer Rating: 4.7 stars (out of 5)
- Discount Tire Customer Rating: Sold here but no rating
The Pirelli Scorpion WeatheAactive is a solid all-season tire for crossovers, SUV, or pick-up trucks. It adapts well to year-round weather, including snow and ice. The tire has the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) symbol, which indicates superior handling in severe snow and winter conditions.
We like the tire’s innovative polymer and resin compound that keeps the tire flexible and durable through a wide range of temperature, and its tread pattern with trumpet-shaped grooves that excels at snow traction and water ejection to keep you safe and skid-free over water and ice. Additionally, the tire’s internal construction of two-ply polyester casing and two steel belts gives optimal high-speed stability.
While the tire isn’t rated on Consumer Ratings, drivers at The Rideshare Guy and Tire Rack have praised the Pirelli Scorpion Weather Active’s smooth and quiet on-road performance.
Pros:
- All-season performance
- Superior winter handling; 3PMSF-rated
- Good noise reduction for a quiet and comfortable ride
Cons:
- No Consumer Reports data
- Limited merchant availability (although it is sold on TireRack.com)
7. Firestone All Season
- Most Dependable Pick
- Warranty: 55,000 – 65,000 miles
- Noise Rating: 4 of 5
- Tire Rack Customer Rating: 3.4 stars (out of 5)
- Discount Tire Customer Rating: NR
The Firestone All Season is built for coupes, sedans, family minivans, and crossover vehicles. It offers good ride comfort, long-lasting tread life, and solid year-round performance. The tire’s silica-enhanced tread compound and symmetric design promote smooth, even wear. This design includes circumferential grooves for water ejection and deep sipes for “biting” traction in light snow.
While not cutting-edge in technology, the Firestone All Season is a reliable pick for performance, dry braking, hydroplaning resistance, and overall stability, quietness, and passenger comfort. It’s a good, solid tire, but not a great tire. It does a good job across the board in all the areas that matter for handling, comfort, and durability.
Pros:
- Steady, solid tire with no high-performance bells and whistles
- Good tread life
- Good year-round performance
Cons:
- Relatively low rating on TireRack (but very few customer reviews)
- Not designed for heavy winter conditions
8. Continental TerrainContact A/T
- Best Off-Road Tire for City Drivers
- Warranty: 60,000 miles
- Noise Rating: 5 of 5
- Tire Rack Customer Rating: 4.3 stars (out of 5)
- Discount Tire Customer Rating: 4.7 stars (out of 5)
The Continental TerrainContact A/T is a versatile all-terrain tire designed for on-road and off-road driving. It’s built for the everyday commuter who enjoys the occasional outdoor adventurer. The tire has an aggressive tread pattern with TRACTIONPlus Technology for reliable performance in dry, wet, or light snow conditions and it boasts a puncture-resistant, advanced rubber compound.
In terms of noise, this tire gets top marks from Consumer Ratings for quietness. Additionally, the Continental TerrainContact A/T comes with a solid treadwear warranty with the option to purchase additional coverage and replacement protection.
Pros:
- All-terrain design for city-road and off-road driving
- Puncture-resistant rubber compound
- Good traction in most weather conditions
- Good warranty
Cons:
- Not suitable for heavy winter driving
9. Continental CrossContact LX25
- Best All-Season Luxury Tire
- Warranty: 65,000 – 70,000 miles
- Noise Rating: 5 of 5 Consumer Reports
- Tire Rack Customer Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
- Discount Tire Customer Rating: 4.7 stars (out of 5)
The Continental CrossContact LX25 is an all-season touring tire for luxury car drivers who want a comfortable, all-season ride. It’s built to handle light snow, wet, and dry conditions, and features the manufacturer’s NextGeneration EcoPlus+ Technology. Used in the tire’s tread design, this technology extends the tread life, improves braking in wet distances, and optimizes overall handling and tire performance.
The tire also features Comfort Ride Technology for a smooth ride with good response, continuous noise reduction, hydroplaning resistance, and biting-edge sipes for improved traction and grip in snow.
Pros:
- Very good tread life
- Excellent noise reduction; top marks from Consumer Ratings
- NextGeneration EcoPlus+ Technology for extended tread life and optimal wet braking
Cons:
- Expensive
- Not built for heavy winter conditions beyond light snow
- Limited off-road capabilities
10. Michelin CrossClimate 2
- Solid Multi-Season Performance
- Warranty: 60,000 miles
- Noise Rating: 4 out of 5 Consumer Reports
- Tire Rack Customer Rating: 4.6 stars (out of 5)
- Discount Tire Customer Rating: NR
The Michelin CrossClimate 2 is an all-season tire designed to fit a range of vehicles, offering reliable performance in a range of weather. It offers a smooth and comfortable ride in dry, wet, or light snow conditions.
The tire is built with a Thermal Adaptive tread, designed in a V-shaped tread block pattern to ensure solid grip on a variety of on-road surfaces. Additionally, its advanced internal structure provides enhanced braking, handling, cornering, and high-speed stability. For cabin comfort, Michelin’s PIANO NoiseReduction Tuning technology reduces airborne noises for a quieter ride.
Pros:
- Adaptive to a range of weather conditions
- Michelin PIANO NoiseReduction Tuning technology for a quiet ride
- Fits a wide range of vehicle types and sizes
Cons:
- Not as widely sold as most other quiet tires on our list
How to Find Quiet Tires
Here are some tips for finding your next set of tires.
Determine Your Needs
You probably don’t need the world’s most advanced, whisper-quiet tire. And the cheapest available tire for your market may cost you more money in the long run, in terms of durability, quality, and the loud annoying noise.
Figure out what your exact needs are, thinking about the type of roads you drive on, how often you drive, climate, road conditions, weather, and what your top priorities are. If you’re a rideshare driver, you may value treadwear life, reasonable noise reduction, and fuel economy over high-speed performance and off-roading capabilities.
Also consider your ability and enthusiasm level to care for car tires. If you’re not an auto enthusiast, you may have no interest in purchasing both winter tires and summer tires and having to store a spare set during the off months. You may prefer something that’s all-season with aggressive treads and a sturdy sidewall.
Research Tire Noise Ratings and Customer Reviews
Noise ratings, like other performance metrics, are available for tires. Noise ratings are often given in decibels (dB) and can be a good place to start when researching different tire options. As a general rule of thumb, every 3 dB of noise can be compared to one (1) notch in volume on your telephone, earbuds, or other audio device.
You can also read noise ratings in Consumer Reports. They will rate tire noise from 1 to 5, with noisier tires getting a lower score and the quietest tires getting a 5.
Finally, check out the reviews from actual customers. Compare reviews on a number of tire sites and driver forums. Make sure to read several individual reviews and search for reviews that contain words like “quiet” or “noisy.” A 2.5-star overall review isn’t necessarily bad — it depends on the reason behind it. If the tires have poor marks for winter performance but you live in a tropical climate, it could still be an outstanding tire for you.
Talk to a Tire Professional
Go to your local Goodyear or Michelin service center and talk to a service expert. They can go over different options and help you determine the best type of tire for your needs.
In person, you can look over the different offerings: grand touring tires, all-season tires, performance tires, ultra-high performance tires, and low rolling resistance tires. Each kind has unique features and benefits, and you can best appreciate them by seeing them side by side.
Generally, grand touring tires are the quietest tires due to their tread design while ultra-high performance tires are the loudest. But this doesn’t always hold true. And other tire types, like all-season or low-rolling resistance, are built for different performance needs and may excel at noise reduction or be incredibly loud.
If you’re at a tire service center, ask to test drive different tires to get a feel (or sound) for them. Generally, you can’t test drive a set of tires the same way you can a vehicle at a dealership but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
Get the Right Specs
Make sure you purchase the right specs for your vehicle when looking at size, load index, load capacity, and speed rating.
For tire size, each vehicle will have its own requirements for factors like width and ratio. Quiet tires generally range in size from 185/55R15 to 275/65R18. These are specs you can look up online for your vehicle, or you can check your tire’s sidewall. These specs are almost always printed there.
You also want to select the right tires for load capacity and speed rating. A tire’s speed rating can range from B to Z, and the quietest tires are typically rated R to W.
How to Keep Your Tires Quiet
Even if you’ve purchased a set of quiet tires, to keep them at peak performance, they’ll need regular maintenance. Here are some tips for proper tire care to get the most (silence) out of your quiet tires.
- Regular Tire Pressure Checks: Maintaining the right tire pressure is critical for optimal performance and noise reduction. Check your tire pressure weekly or whenever you fuel up at the gas station. Remember that tire pressure often needs to be adjusted during seasonal changes with fluctuations in the temperature.
- Rotate Your Tires: Regular tire rotation will ensure even wear, which is important given how the tread pattern impacts noise levels. Rotate tires at the recommended intervals for your vehicle, which is typically every 5,000 to 8,000 miles. Regular rotations will maintain a uniform tread depth and ensure a smoother, quieter ride.
- Balanced Tires: Unbalanced tires can wobble and cause excessive vibrations that lead to uneven wear. Make sure your tires are balanced by a trained professional using specialized equipment.
- Wheel Alignment: When wheels are not evenly aligned, this will lead to uneven tire wear and increased noise. Make sure to have your wheels realigned at the recommended manufacturer intervals or if the steering feels “off.”
- Monitor Tread Depth: Balding tires with worn-out treads are noisier and provide less traction and grip on the road overall. Make sure to keep an eye on your tire’s tread depth and replace it when recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer. Different state departments of transportation may have different tread depth requirements, which may be stricter for Uber and other rideshare drivers.
Methodology: How We Chose the Best Quiet Tires
The Rideshare Guy editorial team carefully selected all of the tires featured in this review article based on a comprehensive set of criteria relevant to delivery and rideshare drivers. Our evaluation process involved analyzing noise level ratings, tread patterns, durability, and road performance.
While some tires were tested in real-life conditions, we also relied on extensive market research, Consumer Reports data, feedback from drivers at The Rideshare Guy, and customer ratings.
Our aim is to provide unbiased and thorough recommendations to help rideshare drivers make the best decision. While this article may contain affiliate links, The Rideshare Guy does not receive direct compensation or sponsorship from any of the tire manufacturers listed herein.