yeah, the sound comes from the tread design - that's why many sound different - after so many years of "all-season", the older ones of us can remember that snow tires can be noisy - if you only hit the occasional snow storm, finding a "quieter" snow tire (Pirelli or Michelin I've had and seem to be fairly quiet) maybe what you are looking for - If you run in snow virtually all winter, a more aggressive tread will perform better in snow, but sound much louder on dry pavement

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Mark _______________________________
2001 X5 4.4i topaz blue/sand Sport, complete Dinan S2 , hitch, V1, tint, BSW Stage 1, Alpine INA-W910BT
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