Hi Guys,

Just wondering what if anything anyone has done on their cars to treat issues like tyre roar, wind noise and crashy ride.

I love my VRS but am interested in working on the above which I think let's the car down just a bit, in so far as I don't mind any of it but my sweet OH grumbles endlessly about them. Although the car for me is acceptable as a sporty car, I acknowledge it's no golf for refinement.

My car is currently stock and running Hankook Ventus Evo tyres 205/40/17 on Gigaro's, these are rated at 70db.

I am trying to tackle some of the tyre roar by switching tyres to Vredestein Ultrac Cento rated 67db, already ordered for fitting some fronts tomorrow, if I get any benefit I will switch the rears.

Beyond that I have read good things on the Bilstein Dampers so given I would like to lower the car anyway I'm planning on getting the car booked in, in a fortnight to receive the B12 pro kit with Bilstein Dampers and Eibach Springs.

I think the slightly crashy ride and tyre roar is probably most things dealt with if the above works butI'd love to know if anyone has looked at any other refinement fixes like additional sound dampening or anything to improve wind noise.

I repeat, I know this is a sporty car and something's come hand in hand with that, like a firm ride and a little extra noise from wider low profile tyres etc but it would be interesting to know if anyone has the same complaints and more importantly if anyone has found any good solutions.

Thanks in advance guys

I'll add, I am not mentioning the engine on purpose as I think it does a great job of being hushed when it should be and noisy when you want it to. None of the above relates to engine noise.

Shame you've already ordered some tyres as changing to a different size may help the noise 205/45/17 or 215/45/17.

Let me know how you get on with the Vredesteins as I've been looking at some of them for mine, as I am also running on a pair of Hankooks and still on the original Conti's so am ready for a set of tyres sometime soon.

Shame you've already ordered some tyres as changing to a different size may help the noise 205/45/17 or 215/45/17.

Let me know how you get on with the Vredesteins as I've been looking at some of them for mine, as I am also running on a pair of Hankooks and still on the original Conti's so am ready for a set of tyres sometime soon.

Thanks Matty, I had my doubt that more rubber in contact with the road would reduce tyre roar, although Goodyear have got some eagle f1 GSD2 or 3's, can't remember, but they are only available at 215 and drop to 66db rating!!! Plus the tread pattern is way better looking. The downside is paying the thick end of five hundred quid fitted to 'experiment'. The way I'm going my fronts are due anyway and will maintain same dimensions as rears which still have tread aplenty, so no legal issue mixing widths, and I can keep an ear out for any noise benefit.

The Vrede's get good reviews so I'm hoping for a result, will keep you posted, I find the Hankook's dissapointing, quite noisy and to say the tyre wall is quite soft do nothing for the ride, also my inner and outer edges are shot to pieces, think this is a symptom of the soft tyre wall, some on here claim 215's improve this iirc.

Will also drop an update on with a review of the Bilstein Kit.

And if all else fails I can follow some on here and trial some 15" rims and 195/50/15 tyres, maybe pick some steeliness up and give this a bash with some winters on later in the year.

I have 215/40/17 on, cheap Goodride, & these have M+S Markings.

£50 each, just to be used for the rest of the summer.

Quite quiet compared to Dunlop, Pirelli and Bridgestone tyres i have run on a vRS

 

The marked width of a tyre does not mean the Tread is Wider than say a 205.

The Markings is the tyre width not necessarily the Tread Width,

that can include Rim Protection on some tyres.

The 215/40/17 i have on are actually smaller than Pirelli Zero Nero in 205/40/17

That is Total Diameter and Tread Width is the same.

 

Basically you need to compare tyres side by side, by brand and tyre type/tread.

 

Wind Deflectors might give you a sligtly noticeably less Wind Roar which some of comes from the Mirror.

 

george

I have 215/40/17 on, cheap Goodrider, & these have M+S Markings.

£50 each, just to be used for the rest of the summer.

Quite quiet compared to Dunlop, Pirelli and Bridgestone tyres i have run on a vRS

 

The marked width of a tyre does not mean the Tread is Wider than say a 205.

The width is the tyre width not the Tread Width, that can include Rim Protection on some tyres.

The 215/40/17 i have on are actually  smaller than Pirelli Zero Nero in 205/40/17

 

Basically you need to compare tyres side by side, by brand and tyre type/tread.

 

Wind Deflectors might give you a sligtly noticeably less Wind Roar which some of comes from the Mirror.

 

george

Hi George

Interesting, maybe 215's were the way to go, I bet the Goodyear had the chance of being epic, and unfortunately I don't have the inclination to spend time in a garage putting different brands side by side and freely admit I don't have the i depth knowledge of some so had to go with advice from a few car enthusiast friends my lay persons understanding of the 205 vs 215, plus the db ratings. Will report if I get any joy with the vred's. Also as above, if I went 215's it would have had to be all four corners, big investment on a 'maybe'.

I have seen a few people on here have trialled the Heiko wind deflectors, maybe not a fashion statement, but I have been considering these, woth it for a thirty pound punt. Agree that the larger mirrors fitted to new cars, EU legislation im guessing, add to wind noise, but I would say some cars do block this noise better than the Fabia does. but also out of ride, tyre roar and wind noise, wind is definitely the lesser of the three annoyances.

Does anyone know if any window tinting companies out there have anything that would replicate acoustic isolating glass, believe higher spec golfs and more expensive cars have this, could help?

I have 215 on the front now and have often before, with 205's on the rear, no need to have the same size front and rear.

 

Some 205's on the front or rear of a different brand might measure differently anyway.

You can compare tomorrow.

 

The Mirrors are not large on a vRS though,

its just the way the wind comes along the side and why the front windows get so dirty and wet.

Wind Deflectors keep the windows a bit clearer.

 

Some cars like VW & Audi have double glazed windows and the seals as the windows close come down further on the glass.

Something they make a big deal about.

 

Personally i like to hear the car, the tyres the engine and if i wanted to hide them there is Music.

I only notice how noisy the car on journeys if carrying a passenger means i have to go slower or listen to them.

 

Maybe go try a Polo GTI, not very quiet IMO.

Like the A1 & the Seat it is on 215's as standard.

The lower powered A1 comes on 235 x18's it is a noisy car.

 

george

Well, I followed advice from the handful of tyre people I spoke to, who, rightly or wrongly, lead me to believe having 215's front and 205's rear was dicey from a legal and insurance point of view. I'm sure this gets quite a technical argument from here on in which I didn't see as worthwhile, It's hard to know what to believe sometimes.

Just popped an order on fleabay for the wind deflectors, as I said, worth a punt.

I know there are bigger mirrors out there than on the Fabia, I was just observing that generally all cars are getting fitted with bigger mirrors than they would have received a few years ago. You can see the problem the Fabia has with air passing between the mirror and windows when you use screen wash on the windscreen, as it gets slathered up the side windows as you said. Just an aside but does anyone else get annoyed at the wiper gap that allows so much windscreen wash to scoot up the middle of the screen, not relevant to the thread but worth a mention.

I think the seals and acoustic glass are touches that come at a price, hence not found on Skoda Furbs, however I am frantically googling a laminating equivalent of double glazing : )

Cheaper option?

Best follow the professionals advice.

 

What do they recon on the likes of BMW's, Porsche etc with different tyre sizes front and rears.

I suppose that is how they are designed to be.

What do they recon if the fit your new tyres tomorrow and the Total Diameter is More or Less than the rears fitted, will they refuse to fit them?

Will the fitter advise that the new tyres should be put on the rear?

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/284288-tyres-new-on-the-front-or-back

 

http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator

 

george

 

I have a bit of a tyre fetish so tend to get what suits the moment,season, vehicle, use,

and listen to Experts which is not always someone that works in Tyre Fitting Centres.

Regarding ride comfort I think you are correct to say stronger damping is required.

However,for someone who wants to experiment I would say leave the standard springs alone,but add the stiffest roll bars you can find front and rear then you just might get the utopia of better handling and better ride comfort which I think will be compromised once you go with lower and stiffer springs.

It won't look "cool" retaining the standard ride height but it might just be the best compromise solution.

I can't even spell kool

Best follow the professionals advice.

 

What do they recon on the likes of BMW's, Porsche etc with different tyre sizes front and rears.

I suppose that is how they are designed to be.

What do they recon if the fit your new tyres tomorrow and the Total Diameter is More or Less than the rears fitted, will they refuse to fit them?

Will the fitter advise that the new tyres should be put on the rear?

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/284288-tyres-new-on-the-front-or-back

 

http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator

 

george

 

I have a bit of a tyre fetish so tend to get what suits the moment,season, vehicle, use,

and listen to Experts which is not always someone that works in Tyre Fitting Centres.

I think I mentioned earlier that from here on in things get more complicated than I am equipped to debate : )

However the point on BMW's and Porsche's is a valid one, iirc the comments to me were that I couldn't have 215's on the front with 205's rear, this came about because I had been talking about replacing the fronts. I am now wondering if I could have actually taken the 215/40/17 66 DB Eagle F1 GSD's but had them fitted to the rear and just moved my Hankook's to the front, long term ending up with 215's and my first choice tyre all round when the fronts go. Face palm.

I am also quite sure that technically you are right George on tyre dimensions potentially being out between different brands with same 205/40/17 declared specs. My concern is that the police and insurers might have their blinkers on to the technical argument and just read off whats printed on the tyre wall.

Currently waiting on an (overdue) message from the garage that they have had the Vredestein's delivered. If they aren't in before lunch as promised for fitting I will investigate possibility of changing rears to 215.

The Police , that is trained Police vehicle inspectors, VOSA Examiners & Also Insurance Loss Adjusters and Motor Engineering Vehicle Inspectors,know that it is OK to have tyres with the correct speed & Load Rating on.

The matching tyres on the same axle.

The MOT tester is also OK with that, but will look at the Direction Arrow in the tyres, and give an Advisory probably.

(if carrying only one proper size matching spare and you have directional tyres, there is a 50/50 chance its right to fit to the vehicle.

so it could go on temp and stay or will need changed again.)

 

The Tape measure tells the 'actual size' better than Numbers on a Tyre, but front and rear tyres do not need to be matching sizes,

No 'Construction & Use' Regs say they must be.

 

Fitting your Winter Tyres which you mentioned of a Lower Speed Rating is usually accepted by your Insurance Company, but then they would expect that to be in the Cold or Winter Months, That could be any time in the UK, but i would not risk that Grey Area.

 

Why not the 215's on the Front and the 205's on the rear during the summer, and change them to the rear come the colder months?

 

george

 

 

Beyond that I have read good things on the Bilstein Dampers so given I would like to lower the car anyway I'm planning on getting the car booked in, in a fortnight to receive the B12 pro kit with Bilstein Dampers and Eibach Springs.

I thought that they didnt do a B12 kit for the vRS. Last time I spoke to DPM they said that no kit was yet available and that you would need to buy the dampers and springs separately

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/276404-fabia-5j-vrs-bilstein-30mm-b12-pro/

Just thought I would mention so that you make sure the place is putting the correct kit on for you

Well just had the call that i was expecting from the Garage who faithfully promised to get me in the Vred's today when all others said they couldn't and (drum roll)...............................they haven't got them.

 

Usefully offered to get them tomorrow, after I had already told them I will be halfway round the world for the next ten days.

 

Ho hum, maybe opens up to getting some 215's on my return.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/231359-lowering-options-mk2-fabia-vrs

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/231359-lowering-options-mk2-fabia-vrs

 

?!

Just a link for anyone to save doing a search.

You should be able to get the Bilstein kit Sparkly, I've got a set of Bilstein dampers with h&r springs that I've used on my vRS and Monte Carlo currently and the ride did firm up at bit but went less crashy, so I personally think they were a good purchase

You should be able to get the Bilstein kit Sparkly, I've got a set of Bilstein dampers with h&r springs that I've used on my vRS and Monte Carlo currently and the ride did firm up at bit but went less crashy, so I personally think they were a good purchase

Thanks Sean, think a kit is definitely on the cards, haven't read anything much negative on the Bilsteins, Awesome GTI offer them with Eibach progressive springs, that's what im looking at.

Just a minor update, having some 67db Vredestein Ultrac Cento's finally fitted. Will report back after a bit of running in.

Will shortly be getting an H&R RARB (poss front and rear)

Plan is to see what results and then plan some more

This is what I tried. Worked for me

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/289809-skoda-fabia-mk2-vrs-soundproofing-guide/