Hello,

I am new to this forum and this is my first post.

I am now a "senior citizen" and decided to treat myself (and wife), to a new car, for the first time in our lives !

I purchased a 1.2 TSI, SEL, DSG and the car now has 1,000 miles on it. 

I am very pleased with the car and enjoy driving it.

BUT, last week I went on a road trip to visit my daughter, the first time it has been driven out of town.

I just can not believe how bad the road/tyre noise is inside the car, after two hours driving I just had to get out of the car, have an Ibuprofen tablet with a strong cup of coffee, so noisy!

I set the cruise at 60 mph, the tyres fitted are Bridgestone Turanza 215/45 R16 86H.

I welcome any advice on how to improve this noise issue. 

Do I start with sound proofing the complete car ?

Fit new tyres that are known to be quiet running ?

Fit 15" wheels ?

Or worst of all, trade the car in !!! (only joking).

Thank you.

 

I didn't find the road noise a problem and I have same size tyres on my 1.2TSI SEL 90 ps but it's a manual on Dunlop sport maxx's until I swapped to my winter tyres which are Goodyear ultra grip 9's tyre size 185 60r15 84t . These were one of 3 sizes recommended by Skoda technical and the car is notably quietler even though the tyres are 1 decibel louder at 68db they are 30mm narrower . I do hear more engine noise though which is I think sounds great . Hope this helps you .

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Edited 15 November, 201510 yr by Mick 50

I got the ultra grip 9 185/60 88T and don't really notice any tire noice, just the engine. I was planning on buying 16" next summer, but thinking about staying with 15" if it's so laud as you described.

In my experience, Bridgestone tyres are loud.  I have Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres on my mark 2 Fabia and find them OK.  Don't think soundproofing will help.

cadwell, welcome!  I am also an old duffer and yes, wide tyres = big noise!  I am currently "minding" my daughter's late 2009 Ibiza SC and it has 215/40? X 17 tyres, Goodyear Excellance - and a few days ago, going back to driving that car, I did find it quite noisy when compared with wife's new Polo 1.2TSI 110PS SEL - which comes with 215/45 X 16 tyres, Conti Something. Strangely now that the Polo has its 185/60 X 15 - maybe with "extra load" side walls winter Michelin Alpin on, the noise level have not changed much, though the road noise with the original wheels was a lot quieter than the Polo I mention below on its summer wheels/tyres.

 

On both the Fabia and Ibiza, soundproofing will be minimal unfortunately.  When wife had a 2003 Polo 1.4 SE with 195/55? X 15 alloys running Dunlop Sport and Michelin Exalto - the change to 185/60 X 14 with Michelin Alpins for winter made a huge difference to the noise level - which was "nice".

 

Husband of a friend of my wife, had an Audi A4 S-Line, and when we drove them to a wedding in my old 2000 Passat 4Motion with 205/55 X 16 with Michelin Alpins on, he was amazed at how quiet my car was, even although my car was about 6>8 older than their Audi A4 - in that case, I'd say it was down to the Audi S-Line having big-wide tyres and stiff suspension, while having far better sound proofing than my old Passat.

 

Car designs have come on in leaps and bounds, but some times road noise "wants" gets overlooked by fashion!

Edited 15 November, 201510 yr by rum4mo

Sorry for not welcoming you to the forum Cadwell it was very remiss of me we are a friendly bunch honest [emoji6]

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I have a Mark11 - REGRETTABLY fitted with 195-55-15 Bridgestone Turanza's - so I can ensure the OP that he will find no gain in going to 15" wheels.

 

These tyres in fairness are good for wear and grip, BUT, are horrendous for road noise. People on the MK11 forum are beginning to use Michelin CrossClimate's - with good results, and especially a dramatic reduction in road noise.

 

I have commented before that if I stop and listen while my wife drives down the road - even at a slow speed I can hear tyre roar - its that bad.

Like the OP, I find this devalues the whole car driving experience.

My wife's hearing is not too clever, so she does not share my point of view. I have 12750 mile on the car, BUT, no real signs of wear yet. I feel that I have no alternative than to get these swapped prematurely - or jump off the nearest bridge after a long drive !!!!      

Someone on this forum (sorry, getting older means also affecting my mind. Hello Mr Alzheimer!... ) described the Turanzas as very loud. Got them too, but as I never use the hearing aids when driving its not a big problem to me. But the whole level of in-car noise was lowered radically when I changed to the winter-wheels two weeks ago, so probably the Turanzas are to blame.

My 1.2TSI/110 SE L came fitted with 215/45/16 Dunlop SP Sportmaxx tyres. Road noise is acceptable and no worse than my previous Volvo S60 on 225/45/17 Continentals. I'm afraid "low profile" tyres are noisy...some moreso than others. And you don't find out until they're fitted. As I understand it, tyre dB ratings are for drive-by noise, not noise in the cabin. Lots of things contribute to cabin noise, unfortunately.

Bridgestone Turanza's are really loud, but grip well & wear very well.  We had them on our 2012 Seat Ibiza FR, & by rotating at each service they lasted 28,000! Replaced them with conti sport 2's & the difference was unbelievable.

Hi Cadwell and welcome to Briskoda.  Another old duffer here...

 

My previous Roomster (Scout) was fitted with Turanza 205/45 R16 tyres.  I found these noisy and harsh - both at high speed on motorways, and at low speed over Birmingham's pothole-strewn roads. 

 

My current Roomster (SE) is fitted with Hankook 195/55 R15 tyres.  I find these a lot quieter and more compliant over poor surfaces.  My SE is a far more pleasant vehicle to drive than was my Scout.

 

Wide, low-profile tyres look good on any car but in my experience, there is a price to be paid for them in terms of noise and quality of ride.

Thank you all who have replied to my post and offered information to my "noise" issue.

 

It appears that my spec. Fabia could be supplied with three types of tyre, Dunlop Sport Maxx, Kumo K31`s and Goodyear Turanza. 

The Bridgestones have a good name for grip and wear but are the worst for noise, I guess I was unlucky on the day that my Fabia was built !

 

Before I purchased my Fabia, I had a test drive and the road noise was not an issue, if it had of been I would have walked away from the purchase.  

 

If I want to lessen the road noise, I really have no option but to replace the Bridgestones with another brand of tyre.

This option is madness when you have just bought a new car.

So, if you see a set Turanza tyres for sale on E-bay, with 1,000 miles on them, they could well be mine ! 

 

This moves on to what tyres would I fit which are know to be "quiet", after all, imagine fitting new tyres with the same problem.

Any suggestions very welcome. 

 

I could also look at trying to better insulate the car, in the hope it would reduce the noise level, before changing tyres.

Again, any suggestions very welcome. 

 

Alan.

 

I have good experience of Continentals (Sport contact 2 if I remember correctly). Also the tail gate is fairly easy to isolate - the plastic sits with one screw (under the rubber strap) and then a couple of clips. Then there is lots of room to add insulation. I am not sure on how much the road noise was reduced (I don't think the car is particularly loud), but at least it won't get any worse. I guess you really need to get at the wheel wells for any insulation to do any good, but I have not felt it necessary (did it in my Roomster I had earlier, and the effect was huge!)

Maybe best find a Dealership that has a Demo car with the same engine as yours, and ask them what tyres are fitted.

If different maybe try it for a longer road test.

 

Too risky to just change tyres, 

and pointless going down a wheel size unless going for tyres with less tread on the road, 

and again best to be sure before doing that.

 

Maybe someone has winter wheels / tyres not yet on their car you could try,

or the Dealership might have 4 'take offs' you could try out with the intention of buying.

I suppose that this could be called one of the disadvantages of these car specific motoring forums, in as much as you have access to the thoughts and experiences of a group of people with the same car as you might be ordering, and so know of some of the things to try and avoid, like tyres fitted, but unfortunately don't seem to be able to do anything about changing the manufacturer of tyres the car comes with - there is a specific option/build code for specifying "your choice" of tyres, but I'm guessing that no VAG dealer, certainly in UK, would bother trying to use that option - although that could be due to Audi-UK & Volkswagen-UK & Seat-UK & Skoda-UK not really wanting to be bothered with "trivialities" like that, just usual "give us your money!".

Its a feature of the Turanzas

My car had them on when new. I got fed up of the noise and changed them at 15k

Its soo much quieter now.

rum4mo :-  You make good points which I appreciate.

                  I did not specify my new car, it was at one of the dealers other branches.

                  At the time of purchase I did not know about the Turanzo tyre noise issue, hindsite is a wonderful thing.

                  My two test drives (in two different Fabia`s), before purchase, did not have this tyre noise issue.

                  I believe that it is wrong and out of order for Skoda to sell a car knowing there is an issue with tyre noise which totally destroys the driving pleasure of this car. 

                  Based on this, you could argue that my car is not fit for purpose with the tyres fitted to it as delivered ? ? ?

 

fabiamk2SE :-  I do not think that I can live with these Turanzo`s for 15,000 miles, I have just got 1,000 miles on them and they are ready to go now.

                        Your say that your car is much quieter now, would you mind telling me what brand, size and type you have fitted.

Hello,

I am new to this forum and this is my first post.

I am now a "senior citizen" and decided to treat myself (and wife), to a new car, for the first time in our lives !

I purchased a 1.2 TSI, SEL, DSG and the car now has 1,000 miles on it. 

I am very pleased with the car and enjoy driving it.

BUT, last week I went on a road trip to visit my daughter, the first time it has been driven out of town.

I just can not believe how bad the road/tyre noise is inside the car, after two hours driving I just had to get out of the car, have an Ibuprofen tablet with a strong cup of coffee, so noisy!

I set the cruise at 60 mph, the tyres fitted are Bridgestone Turanza 215/45 R16 86H.

I welcome any advice on how to improve this noise issue. 

Do I start with sound proofing the complete car ?

Fit new tyres that are known to be quiet running ?

Fit 15" wheels ?

Or worst of all, trade the car in !!! (only joking).

Thank you.

 

I have the same type of tires mounted on alloy wheels, but I have no problems with tire noise.

I have now switched to winter tires. Continental winter contact TS850 - 185 / 60-15 on steel wheels.

Road noise is reduced even with winter tires - But another "problem" now appears, engine noise. Not so much when you just roll quietly down the street, but when the car has to work even the smallest, one can hear a faint "duk duk duk" sound.

It can be difficult to describe but if you find road noise a problem you will surely be crazy about this sound. It becomes audible around 1800 rpm. and up, in all gears.

When the clutch pedal is depressed, the sound disappears, even if the car is up to speed. So it is not a sound from the wheels.

 

Possibly drive shaft or similar. It is weak but it is there.

Perhaps there are others who are experiencing this- and may have a better idea of ​​what it is?

The car is generally poorly silenced and are easily influenced by external noise.

 

It is true that others probably will not notice this sound. But now that he would like to eliminate one type of noise - I just want to mention that it is not always for the better.

Edited 19 November, 201510 yr by ME@DK

cadwell,

?

Have you tried adjusting the tyre pressures up or down by a few PSI within their range.

If set for light load put them up a little,

or if already high drop them a little, just to see if there is any change in noise.

 

The tyres are in no way, not fit for purpose because a bit noisy,

 someone else might not even be bothered by the noise if there is any excessive.

 

PS

If your car has only covered 1,000 miles, it is just getting run in, (or Driven in) as Skoda call it in the Owners Manual.

Brakes and Drive Train loosening off, greenness coming off the tyres etc.

?

Have you checked and reset the Tyre Pressures since collecting the car from the PDI?

Edited 19 November, 201510 yr by goneoffSKion1

..

I just can not believe how bad the road/tyre noise is inside the car, after two hours driving I just had to get out of the car, have an Ibuprofen tablet with a strong cup of coffee, so noisy!

I set the cruise at 60 mph, the tyres fitted are Bridgestone Turanza 215/45 R16 86H.

I welcome any advice on how to improve this noise issue. 

..

 

Give the dealer a call and ask them if they are willing to change the tyres for some other tyres that are not so noisy, maybe they'll even do it for free.

 

Tõnu

ME@DK,

 

I appreciate that the Fabia will always have some level of engine, tyre, wind noise etc.

 

All I would like to do is reduce cabin noise to what I consider an acceptable level, I am not trying to make it into a limousine !

 

 

goneoffSKion1,

 

On delivery from the dealer, all the tyres were over inflated, I reset them for two passengers.

I have not adjusted them since.

 

I have contacted the supplying dealer and they have asked me to leave the car with them next Wednesday, to "check it over".

 

I will gladly do this.

 

However, they told me that they have not had this noise issue with any other Fabia`s but it has been reported on Octavia models.

 

I am sure that this will be a "lip service" visit and I am not very optimistic of a satisfactory outcome. 

 

But, nothing ventured, nothing gained !

Who told you about never having heard of that before,

 a Service Desk Receptionist / Manager,  a Master Technician or a Salesperson?

 

Always worth asking them how long they have worked at a Skoda Dealership and are they partially deaf or have a memory retention 

problem.

 

Good luck with it.

Heloooo.

 

I got Dunlop 185 fitted by default when I picked up my car and tyre noise is ok.

 

HOWEVER, i fitted winter tyres Yokohama w.drive v905 recently and its pretty loud. Forget about driving without loud music over 100km/h.

After my A3 the Fabia is a lot noisier. I had a £75 extra in the A3 that they called Acoustic Glass. It was a stately ride. I looked at a soundproofing kit for the fabia but as the wife drives it 90% of the time and it does not bother her I will just try and live with it.

What I think really would improve sound isolation are some extra door rubber seals, p- or z-shape applied to the inside of the doors outer edges.

As found on a bit more expensive cars

It certainly would keep the sills cleaner.