Are Kumho PS71 noisy on an NC2?

Technical Area Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
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  1. My model of MX-5 is: NC2
  2. I’m based near: Cambridge
  3. I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Tyres

Hi everyone. I’ve just bought an NC2 Kuro with mismatching tyres that I want to replace. I’ve noticed when driving at 70mph with the roof up (PRHT) that I get a fair bit more road noise than I expected. I need to replace the current set anyway but I’m hoping the new tyres will help with that noise. Searching through previous posts it seems a lot of people are happy with the grip of their PS71s. My local independent garage has suggested Yokohama Fleva have good grip without being too noisy but don’t know if they’re a good match for how the MX-5 drives.

I’m hoping someone could tell me:

  • What’s road noise like with PS71s?
  • Has anyone got experience of Yokohama Flevas?
  • Is there another tyre at the PS71 price point I should think about?

Thanks!

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I have PS71’s on my NC1 and to be honest with you, tyre noise is the least of my worries. A 2 seat sportscar is never going to be a quiet ride, particularly with the roof down, (for me 90% of it’s driven time).
I don’t ever bother with the radio because all tunes I’ll ever need come from the exhaust hence I wouldn’t say the Kumho’s are noisy.
Roof up (10% of the time) it ain’t no quiet ride, there just simply isn’t enough insulation in the car.

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I run PS71s in 215/45/17 and have no issues. I certainly haven’t thought that the tyres are generating undue road noise.

However, as Reggie says above, it’s not exactly quiet in general! Especially with the PRHT up and at motorway speeds. So it probably comes back to your expectation of what road noise you were expecting.

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PRHT is noisier inside than the soft top. I’ve had PS71s on my PRHT and previously some other brands. It’s not the tyres…

On a side note I bet your drain flaps (underside of car) are jammed in the open position. The rear end noise travels up these straight to the cabin behind your ears… Usually you’ll hear the passenger side one most…

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Tyre tests and ratings are widely available online, I would suggest reading one of those and it’ll give the noise rating of them and others for comparison.

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I have the ragtop NC2, but I found that some sound deadening made a big difference. Relatively cheap, easy enough to do, and it made it a more pleasant place to be on the few occasions that I’m not using the Unlimited Headroom feature :smiley:

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I also have these on my mk3.5, but as others have mentioned, tyre noise is the least of my worries with the top up or down… and once I’ve got my Cobalt back box installed I’ll have a nice soundtrack to listen to instead…:+1:

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Thanks all for your input! I never expected the MX-5 to be a refined motorway cruiser but I didn’t think it would be too much louder than my previous car which wasn’t very well insulated for noise. I went with a PRHT because I figured it’d be just as much fun with the roof down but a bit more civilised with the roof up compared to the soft top.

I looked at tyre reviews before posting but getting wisdom from people who drive the same car is much more helpful than that. I ordered the Kumhos in the end. If like you all say it’s going to be a noisy car regardless then I may as well prioritise handling.

Thanks for the tip about the drain flaps! I will investigate and hopefully it’s a simple fix.

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Hi, glad you have no issues with your kumho tyres. My Yokohama blue earth have no alloy protection, who knew. All my wheels now kerbed. Is there a decent rubbing strip on the kumho? Thanks

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I’d say they’re somewhere in the middle for wheel lip protection, of tyres I’ve owned over the years. I always try to make a point of never needing to call upon it though!

Here are a few photos that might help you form your own opinion, of whether they’re better in that regard compared with your Yokos.

Bare in mind that these are obviously not Mazda OEM wheels, so the wheel lip design itself will differ. I tend to think these Proline wheels actually have a fairly pronounced rolled edge to them.

PS71_Sidewall
PS71_Sidewall1920×2560 486 KB

PS71_Sidewall2
PS71_Sidewall21920×2560 387 KB

PS71_Sidewall3
PS71_Sidewall31920×2218 430 KB

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Thanks for that. The photos are really helpful. Still not sure, want something more chunky looking. The fronts are badly worn inside, the rears are pretty good. They were a brand new set of 4.