Noise Cancelling Tyres - New Pirelli Tyres Are Oh So Quiet

Pirelli has developed new tyres for the Audi Group that are designed to reduce noise for occupants of the car. This is the latest milestone in the historic technical partnership between the Italian tyre firm and the German car manufacturer.

For the first time in fact, the Milan-based firm is supplying the Pirelli Noise Cancelling System as original equipment - a system that reduces the noise that each tyre makes as it runs along the road.

This noise, caused by the vibration produced by air that is compressed when the tyre is squashed against the road, is transmitted from the tyre to the wheel hub before eventually reaching the inside of the cabin, via the steering and suspension. Pirelli’s innovative system makes use of a polyurethane sponge on the inside of the tyre that is designed to absorb these vibrations and so reduce the amount of noise passed through to the cabin.

The Pirelli Noise Cancelling System reduces noise by between two to three decibels (or on average by half), and improves driving comfort as a consequence. Pirelli’s development tests have confirmed that the use of this noise reducing sponge does not have any other effects on the characteristics of the tyre. With the introduction of this technology for original equipment, Pirelli is answering a growing demand in the automotive world for reduced noise levels both on the inside and outside of the car and addressing the latest European regulations to reduce noise pollution, as manufacturers require.

At the moment the Pirelli Noise Cancelling System is available as original equipment on the Audi RS6 and RS7, running on 285/30ZR21 and 275/30ZR21 sized tyres respectively. The tyres using this system have the letters ‘PNCS’ written on the sidewalls to denote its use.