Feel free to move this, as the question is about my outback, but it's about the tires.

I don't drive the outback in the summer very much. Maybe like 2k miles/year. So when the snow tires started to get worn enough that they didn't work well in snow but still had plenty of tread left for rain at the same time my summer tires got actually-bald, I decided to just leave the snow tires on in the summer to wear them out the rest of the way without buying new tires.

But now these stupid tires are SO LOUD! It sounds like all four of my wheel bearings went bad at the same time (which they didn't because I just replaced all four), and they got significantly louder from the beginning of my weekend trip to the end, over like 400 miles. I noticed they were a bit louder than they used to be last week sometime, but then as I started home yesterday and it was 85 degrees outside, they just got louder and louder all the way home to the point where I had to yell over them to talk to my wife in the passenger seat.

Is this normal? Can I un-do the wear that causes this by running them backwards or something? They have a directional pattern, but I wouldn't be too concerned with that part.

 

Yes. Snow tires are LOUD!

If you run them backward they might tell you to go to hell.

 

They're not meant to be used above ~40 degrees, of course they'll be loud in the summer heat, they were begging for mercy lol.

 

Hear's the solution:

 

That is what I expected. I did end up wearing ear plugs for part of the ride.

 

Hell, snow tires are loud below 40º!

 

You should hear snow tires on a Miata with a hardtop, reverberation city.... just waaahwaaahwaaahwaaahwaaahwaaahwaaahwaaah. Turn up the radio. I was honestly shocked how quiet my Miata got when I got summer tires for it.

 

I effing laughed out loud.