I just bought a 98 civic ex with aftermarket 17" wheels and tires. There is quite a bit of tread left on the tires. But these suckers are loud! It sounds like when you are driving next to a monster-truck on the interstate. WTF ??
I'm afraid that if I buy more tires; they will do the same. I'm gonna live with it for a while, but "gosh" these tires are loud. I wonder if maybe the struts are transmitting road noise or something. Anyone else had similar problems and fixed it?
Thanks for any help

 

What brand are the tires? Many summer tires are loud...take the RE01Rs I used to have...loudest tire I ever had. The dunlops are slightly better.

 

Take your hand and run it along the edges of the tread (inside and outside) in both directions. I'm willing to bet it'll feel smooth going one direction and "choppy" going the other; it's caused by an alignment angle (toe) and tends to sound like a wheel bearing going out.

Either that or they're just loud tires in general like stiffler said.

 

It's most likely just the tires themselves. Do some research on tires(www.tirerack.com has good road test and customer reviews) and you should be able to fine a quieter tire.

 

Response:
Thanks for all your help. Now that i've driven a little more in the car; here is what I found.
The noise is only "offensive" @ 55mph (or 50-60 mph). It gets really bad at exactly 55 mph. Also the ride is a little rough, (not harsh tho..). It handles really good. The car likes to "dart" instead of turn. Maybe I will trade the tires for a little more (old-guy friendly tires).
Surely there are a lot of younger guys that would absolutely love some directional speed rated high performance tires and wheels. But, they sure look good. Maybe i'll just spring for some different tires and see if that makes a difference first.
Thanks again..laterZ

 

The rough ride is due to the low profile tires. You have 17" wheels which means you need a thinner sidewall. A thinner sidewall means less meat on the tire to absorb impacts and vibrations. If you stick OE size tires on there, the car would ride much better. As for the car "darting" on turns, again due to the side wall size. Since there is not much rubber on the sidewalls, the sidewalls a much stiffer and there is less deflection in the tire so the car response much faster than if it had a nice fat tire on there. If you want less noise and a smoother ride, find a set of OEM size wheels/tires. OR if you like the looks of larger aftermarket wheels, go with either 15" or 16" wheels/tires.