GSTRANCE

These tires are getting to be extremely ((((LOUD)))). I do not know the mileage on the set exactly, I need to dig up the receipt to check it but they have a good amount of tread left. Its disturbing to know they are making this much noise at this point. I dont believe the alignment or balance is off, but it is a possiblity.There is no shaking or vibrating at any speed.Once I hit about 30 mph from there on up I get noise, alot of it.Its a droning type of hum.It gets a bit louder around 45-50mph. I am starting to hear it over my music even at a high volume level. My grandfather who is practically deaf asked me "what the hell is that noise" when I was giving him a ride home. I dont remeber my SP9000's making this sort of noise EVER. So my question(s) are. Any other S03 owners in the same boat as me with the noise. If it were a balance or alignment problem wouldnt I feel some sort of pull, left or right, or a sterring wheel vibration? It is a staggered set (245&275) do staggered sets typicaly make more noise? the tires seem to be wearing pretty evenly to me. Its gotten to the point where I dont even like to drive the car anymore and that is no good.

Tranman

iTrader: (1)

Hmmmm, looks like I'm gonna probably be getting ST115's for my rims then...even though I can get the SO3's pretty cheap.

babyGS3

Hei GStrance...

is the noise a constant hum? or is it like hum hum hum hum... and gets faster as you speed up? That's the noise I get. Everyone keeps telling me it's natural with most sport tires. I havent tried the Yokohama dB's or any other brand yet... but the mich's and brige's both have that annoying hum. I dont know what to do about it other than buy new tires every year (unacceptable). I have just lived with it.

I was wondering when someone else would notice that noise! I've had the stock michelins, the SO3's, and the Pilot Sports and yea, they are real quiet for the first 6 months... but after that, the noise level seems to increase. (this is on the 16 inch stockers!) I've had that also in my Benz when I was using Michelins... but when I switched it out to a brigestone turanza tire (not potenza- sport version), the ride was soooooo quiet. The tire company here says that it's natural as the tire wears and the rubber gets hard esp on a sport tire. I've had them align the car and balance the tires 5 times in 1 year to try to prevent it... without any avail.

Carpe Diem

There have been some disturbing reports about these tires. Read this thread:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hreadid=106274

Could that cracking cause the noise you have?

George

D2-AUTOSPORT

Damn B, sorry to hear that, there have been a few threads circulating regarding the noise on these tires man!

sucks because they are reported to be some of the best handlers in the business!

redgs4

I think the cracking described in that thread is an exception, not the norm, and has nothing to do with the obnoxious tire noise. My S03's have a good deal of tread left and are very loud. I have a set of Eagle GSD3's now sitting in my garage -- hope they run a little quieter. I'm going to have fun roasting the remaining tread off the S03's first.

MSBoy

GSTRANCE, what you're experiencing is normal for that tire. I commented in another thread about this recently... can't remember which one though. The Bridgestone S03s are sweet tires initially, but the HUGE and very popular complaint about them is that they wear too quickly and they make too much noise as they wear.

If you hop onto the Tire Rack website and look up Bridgestone S03s and read the reviews (there are more than 900 people so far who has participated in the S03 review) you will see that tread wear and noise is the most common complaint. Otherwise, you will read great reviews on that tire.

Try the Good Year Eagle F1 GS-D3s. Those are some rockin' tires! Here is one review that I copied and pasted from Tire Rack about the S03s:

Vehicle: 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Driving Style: Fast and Aggressive
Miles driven on tires: 300 Driving Condition: Combined Highway/City
Reviewer's Overall Ratings: 8.50 out of 10
Review Submitted 2003-12-28
After two sets of Bridgstone SO-3s I was ready for a less noisy tire. The Good Year runs quietly. Turn-in is sharper than I expected. Acceleration and traction is impressive. A highly modified front wheel drive can use all the traction it can get.

D2-AUTOSPORT

Good info on both tires MS!

Brice, I spoke to another member that has these tires today, and he said exactly what everyone else is saying, great and quiet when new, but terrible as they wear in!

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

GSTRANCE - sorry to hear that. I had new S03's on my 19's very briefly and found them to be rock hard and noisy. I traded them in for Dunlop SP9000's which I've had on for probably 4K mi. and couldn't be happier. I'd recommend the Dunlops or Toyo T1-S.

Butler Tire (who you probably know) said that while the S03's are cheap (relatively) they have a reinforced sidewall for good performance that makes them very hard.

bLingIn3o0

Give the Yokohama AVS Sport a try... I have had 2 sets of the AVS sport and no problems here(245/35/19 and 275/40/19) if Im not wrong....... There isnt much noise and its works great... Only problem is that they arent very good in wet weather, but what low profile tire for 19's are ? .....

SPORTS

iTrader: (1)

SPORTS

iTrader: (1)

I apologize but my l;ast post didn't work. My question was regarding the Turanzas as those were the ones I was considering for my 17" OEM wheels (currently have Potenzas). How is the handling compared strictly to the summer performance tire? I like the idea of a little more "quiet in the cabin yet trying to maintain good road feel.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

GSTRANCE, i kinda have the idea that you might have more inside wear than the outside. you might wanna check

lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

gstrance, i used to have the so3 and man after 5k miles it became hell , sounds kinda like your front wheel bearings are about to fall out , even my friend eliel was having exact same problem after 5k miles .

my club lex brethren ... get the goodyears f1 gs-d3 , i have had them sine sept 03 and i drive hard really hard , they are extremly quiet , very comfortable have a thick huge rim protecter and stick like glue in the dry and esp the rain

these goodyears even have a higher treadwear then so3 , they wear nicly have NO tramling effects because of the tread pattern and i have not had my car aligned since may 03 (i have been a bad bad boy)


guys i could be happier , these tires do their job well

PHML

iTrader: (33)

Yah..i heard the same things about these S03s....tha's why I chose Michelin Pilot Sports