One thing that I have been wondering is the spare wheel option vs no spare wheel and the influence it may have on the "rumble".

On my car, I don't notice anything particularly bad, but when compared to my previous Saab, this is a way more noisy car.

 

Also, when I got the car, it was winter and it had winter tires on - it was ok with those - but after changing to the Summer 17" Bridgestone tires, the noise was unbearable. I got 19" with Nokian tires as a replacement and even those are more silent than the 17" Bridgestone were, so, tires do play a role in this also.

If a car is fitted with noise cancellation then there must be a way of turning it off/on to determine its effectiveness or whether it is actually contributing to the problem?

My car is definitely not fitted with it, and I find it pretty quiet compared to other cars I have owned including the previous mk2.

Having said that if I let the tyre pressures get a bit low then it is a lot noisier and there is even a hint of the pressure problems that others refer to.

I'd agree there is an enormous amount of subjectivity regarding opinions. Pity we are not all equipped with noise meters

 

I did take some readings from an iPhone DB meter which is supposed to be pretty good as far as those things go...it seemed to read pretty much in line with other cars of that grade...

 

As I have mentioned in other posts, for me it isn't the volume so much as the timbre/resonance/frequency of the sound which is grating.

Save yourself some time and money, do the tyre well and see if you can live with that improvement alone. All the boom comes from that drum shaped part of the floor pan.

Regards

T

 

I agree, just do the wheel well and as much as the floor as you can see while that carpet is up.

For further improvement, add some underlay (Cloud 9 or similar) under the boot carpet above the spare wheel.

 

Huge difference, for minimal effort.

I wonder if the variable boot floor on an estate will make a difference? it has an extra layer to block sound out!

I've had my Octavia for three months and 3000 km.

The drumming/humming/droning noise has been extremely annoying since day one

but the Skoda people here aren't interested.

It's unfortunate because I quite like the rest of the car.

The noise in mine starts as early as 20km/hr and then never stops.

I have exactly similar symptoms in my car as "chellaman", the  humming (220-225 Hz constant frequency)

noise has been there right from the beginnning.

I've had three sets of tyres in the car, but the noise is always present :

-Bridgestone Potenza 225/40/18 (factory summer tyres, quite noisy in general)

-Goodyear EffiecientGrip Performance  225/40/18 (summer tyres, silent tyres was main reason for choosing these)

-Goodyear UltraGrip Ice II 225/45/17 (winter tyres, should be very quiet ones)

I stated the issue to Skoda Finland and the dealer, but got no help.

Skoda Finland test-drove and said it is a feature of the car...which is strange since I haven't heard this

noise in any other mk3 Octavia vRSs, and I have test-driven a few of them..  

Dealer technician claimed he did not hear the noise even though I used online tone generator to help him "grab" the correct frequency.

I have done sound proofing to my car (boot, boot lid, rear wheel arches from inside, rear seat, all doors),

and the road noise in general is somewhat less compared to original, but sound proofing had NO effect on this annoying noise.

At least in my case, I don't think the humming noise is related to tyres.

What I have observed is  that in warmer conditions (20+ C degrees or more) the noise is less evident compared to colder conditions.

In some cases washing the car makes it quieter, I have no clue why.

Perhaps the very powerful pressure washer I use  cleans something from suspension assembly, dirt that makes

springs resonate differently and when washed...?

 

Anybody else with same kinds of symptoms to mine and "chellaman"? Any solutions / any ideas where to investigate?

Can't say I've noticed an issue with mine but I've had the Skoda heavy rubber boot liner fitted since I picked up the car, may be worth a punt before stripping stuff out...

 

I also have one of my 17" winter wheels as a spare which will also cut down any boom...

 

Anybody else with same kinds of symptoms to mine and "chellaman"? Any solutions / any ideas where to investigate?

 

 

Start by wading through the epic "Boom" thread on here and hassling your dealer/Skoda - especially if you can note a difference between your VRS and others.

 

If you haven't tried adjusting your boot lid (and asking the dealer about the alternative stoppers - again, see the thread above) that would be a good place to start, especially if you have gone through the soundproofing route already.

 

Do you have a spare wheel in the well? That helps some...if not, you could always load it up with something heavy and see if that helps.

 

Re: temperature, as all the components and body of the car expand in the heat, it will close gaps, join parts tighter and present less resonance throughout the body, with the opposite happening when it gets colder so it is not surprising you notice a difference. Mine certainly rattles more at 5 degrees than it does at 20!

 

Wheel bearings and wheel alignment has been something which others have had issues with - you could take the car to a reputable independent with a Hunter machine and get a full rebalance, rotation and alignment and ask them to check the tyres for feathering or uneven wear.

Edited 2 August, 20169 yr by Item

Thanks Item for good comments!

I've read the "Boom" thread a while ago, but I don't think my issue is similar (could of course be me lacking proper language skills..).
I hear the noise  when driving the car slowly, boot lid slightly open.  

This noise has constant frequency and  continuous.  You get a fairly good idea of it by going to :

http://onlinegenerator.com

Put 220 Hz as frequency, and Sine wave. That's how the noise sounds, except in the car it has a more hollow tone. The frequency  is independent from driving speed, I typically
hear it from 20-30kph and upwards. It becomes louder when increasing driving speed.

I don't have a spare wheel in boot well. In addition to Dynamat butyl aluminium carpets attached to well there's acoustic foam carpets glued to Dynamat butyl carpets.

All the rest of the empty well space is filled with various stuff including polyurethane foam carpets.

Ive tried with heavy material in te well  but there is no difference.

Wheel bearings could be one cause, I did ask (twice) the dealer to check them. Their comment at both times was that no issues with bearings.

They also said that in case of wheel bearing issues the noise frequency should change along with driving speed. I did not ask how they checked the wheel bearings.

I don't know if any other bearings could cause this? Perhaps I should have the bearings checked somewhere else?

Steering angles have been adjusted a couple of times : one time by the dealer when the front radar needed re-calibration,

one time by an independent company when I wasn't sure about the quality of my dealer's work.
All wheels have been balanced, especially the existing GoodYear tyres : they've been balanced a couple of times by independent wheel/tyre company.
I drove the GoodYears after first balancing, and the car was shaking like an epileptic squirrel. Could not get rid of the shaking problem after
multiple balancing efforts, the wheel company ended up in putting a new set of tyres, and no more shaking after that. The noise was there no matter if the car was in shaking mode or not.

The original Gemini rims have also been checked by an independent rim dealer. No issues found on them.


I am pretty much out of ideas how to get rid of the noise, changing the car could be one solution....I test drove the new Volvo S90 today, what a beautiful and fantastic
piece of a car !! I wish I had the money to buy one :(
 

I think you meant

http://onlinetonegenerator.com/

I think it unlikely that we are going to get a consensus on what the problem really is because of a number of factors.

Not everybody experiences the issues and those that do are usually not near enough to others for comparisons. 

The issues as described in the larger thread are so varied as to suggest there may be a number of problems and there may be a number of causes.

The reporting is largely subjective and everybody is different.

 

My personal situation is that my hearing is not very good, even for my age and not being exposed to noisy environments (apart from the occasional gig). I was technically hearing impaired up to the age of 11 years until my tonsils and adenoids were removed and then it was near normal but I probably incurred some damage as a consequence.

I cannot hear below 100hz or above 7000hz where tones merge into my near permanent tinnitus (white noise type hiss/shriek). I find loud noises uncomfortable so rarely have the radio at high volumes but can still hear it clearly so I consider my car is reasonably quiet and others (much younger) with better hearing than I have confirmed this opinion.

I normally drive with tyres inflated to 34psi, however I have noted that if I allow the tyres to go down to about 27psi (measured cold) then there is a uncomfortable tone and feeling of pressure waves especially on rougher/uneven surfaces. I was aware of similar issues when the rear was heavily loaded and the rear tyres were not inflated sufficiently.

With normal inflation/loads then road noise is dependant on surface quality ie dead quiet on smooth blacktop and much noisier on a course surface but still better than many others I have driven. The 16 inch Nexen space saver spare tyre on steel rim that came with the car is very noisy on all surfaces at all speeds but is different from the under inflation issue, and remember this was with just one tyre fitted. Normal tyres are 26k km old 17 inch Dunlop sports maxx.

 

Looking over all noise related threads there have been successes reported with a variety of solutions.

Bearings replaced ( diagnosed at dealer on ramp with stethoscope?)

Dampers replaced - mainly a problem with early batches and affected a number of vehicles across the VAG group but may be ongoing.

Tyres replaced - this varies to specific brands/wheel models, or poor wear (saw-toothing) due to bad wheel alignment, or under quality tyre from a good brand.

Seals around doors or just rear hatch replaced.

Changing the rear hatch bumper stops or just re-adjustment to eliminate movement.

 

A post referred to Tyre Cavity Resonance noise as a possible issue and the source document is a very interesting and possibly relevant read as well, it seems to tie in with my inflation issues.

 

I have always maintained there is probably a number of different noise and 'pressure' issues and if you have one then the lightweight MQB based construction with extensive use of thin very high tensile steel with high resonant capabilities will amplify the effects more than an old heavy mild steel based construction would.

 

I don't think that anyone has claimed that use of sound proofing has actually cured the problem, only reduced it.

Although I think one of our Scandinavian contributors did mention that one guy (on their forum) was claiming benefits from soundproofing the roof, but I know no more than that.

In case you have some sort of resonance in the tyre cavity, the frequency should vary with speed or at least noise should be present/dominant at some specific speed/-s (resonant frequency and its harmonics).

If problem is tyre related, I guess trying different pressures may be a good way to trouble-shoot it.

If the problem comes indeed from either tyre itself or gas in the tyre cavity, by varying pressure you change the density of gas and tension on rubber. As a result you induce a specific frequency shift. In other words - pump it up and there should be a higher freq. noise occurring at higher speed; if not - look elsewhere for the noise source.

I've only scanned the text about Tyre Cavity Resonance but it seems that where it occurs then resonance frequency does not change with speed, which makes sense, but you are right that there are lots of factors that can influence the 'volume' and the specific frequency (which happened to be about 230hz in the experiments). Steel wheels were found to be worse than alloy wheels.

 

I'm thinking that if you have a couple of resonating wheels  and the natural resonance frequencies are close but not identical then you would get a pulsing effect, a bit a like a twin engine propeller aircraft where the revs are not identical.

Could explain why some people complain of a pulsing sound that ( a bit like when one window is open) that is quite disturbing for some.

Just a theory but it also would explain the excessive noise from my steel spare tyre which was at a pretty constant frequency irrespective of speed. My daughter was a passenger at the time and even she remarked on it.

The resonant frequency of a tyre (or cavity) will not change with speed. It is fixed and can be varied slightly given the pressure. You find that when you drive on a bumpy surface like that awful concrete they use on some roads, the surface is ribbed, and speeding up and slowing down increases the frequency of that vibration into the tyre, and at some point you often hit the rf of the tyre (or anything else on your car for that matter) that makes it sound like a bloody prop plane taking off

Reducing cabin noise is split into 3 main areas, damping panels to reduce resonance, blocking outside noise and damping

This link(albeit to a shop) explains the three in a simple way

http://www.deadening.co.uk/pages/tips

I've stripped cars out and deadened them and as much as could be bothered to do it to the Skoda, what would annoy me more is that once you take trim off, it NEVER goes back quite the same and the road noise reduction is replaced by rattling trim and squeaks you didn't realise you had before

Really, the best solution is to strip the whole front half of the car out and deaden and isolate the wheel arches and floor pan

Edited 3 August, 20169 yr by Mallettsmallett

Reducing cabin noise is split into 3 main areas, damping panels to reduce resonance, blocking outside noise and damping

 

Plus a fourth way, of which I was one of the original development team over 20 years ago at Lotus, active noise control.

 

We had systems working back in the 1980's that reduced engine noise, road noise and even open sunroof noise - but the bean counters at car manufacturers didn't want to spend the extra £20 that they would cost :$$$:

Edited 4 August, 20169 yr by PetrolDave

Yup and the upper spec octavii ( plural?) with canton are supposed to have that capability but I have never seen a post about its efficacy or otherwise.

That's a big hint to anyone who has some info to contribute by the way.

Even though my car won't have it I am interested on the technology.

Since starting the topic of tyre cavity resonance, I have tried a simple little test of tapping my tyre sidewall with the plastic handle of a large screwdriver, and comparing the sound with 230Hz on the online tone generator.

The frequencies are the same!

To me, this confirms it is the cause of the annoying noise inside the car, and why it starts at such a low road speed because only very little affect on the tyre is needed.

So, the problem is the transmission of the noise from tyre to cabin via the suspension.

The suspension is the weak point, and this is why many Germans are changing theirs!

Of course, only a comparatively small amount of work by Skoda would be needed to cure or reduce the problem!

I've got a VRS with 19" Extremes and had some noise issues initially.

Resolved by having full size spare, thick rubber boot mat and floor mats with textile mats on top. The rubber floor mats are cupped and hold the textile mats perfectly.

Also turns out you can fit standard mudguards absolutely fine, don't know why they say you can't. Common sense tells you the metalwork is the same and clearance is fine.

I had the 'NoiseKiller' kit fitted to the Yeti, made a great difference, company are based in Bolton and will fit for you or you can just order online and do the job yourself.

I had the 'NoiseKiller' kit fitted to the Yeti, made a great difference, company are based in Bolton and will fit for you or you can just order online and do the job yourself.

How much did you pay if you don't mind me asking? I'm reasonably local to Bolton so it's an interesting option.

How much did you pay if you don't mind me asking? I'm reasonably local to Bolton so it's an interesting option.

If i remember correctly it was £140 including fitting, its a really comprehensive kit. 

If i remember correctly it was £140 including fitting, its a really comprehensive kit.

That seems like a good price including the fitting, is the company called NoiseKiller?

That seems like a good price including the fitting, is the company called NoiseKiller?

Here's a link:

http://www.nkgroup.co.uk

Here's a link:

http://www.nkgroup.co.uk

 

Thanks, will take a look

On 27/07/2016 at 21:12, VRjest said:

So I've had my 63 plate vRS TSI Estate for 4 months and 3000 miles now and although I knew about the '' booming noise'' before I bought it, 

 

I've decided to go down the sound proofing route to improve the drive.

 

The car is still a lot quieter than I'm used to after having driven a diesel for the last 8 years, but  because the engine is super quiet you can  

 

hear the rumbling noise in the rear of the car.

 

I've purchased Silent Coat 4mm from Amazon. A total of 23 sheets for £73

 

This should be enough to cover the boot floor and the rear wheel arches.

 

The scary bit now will  be the strip down of the boot to start installing the 4mm thick sheets.

 

I will take pics as I go and post on here for anyone interested to see.

 

Wish me luck as I may need some

 

Cheers

 

Jase

Tell me how did u ever get on with the sound proofing in the boot did it make a good difference