Hi

I also have the 2.0TDi Octy 2 Elegance with DSG. Unfortuntely (from a noise point of view) it also has the 17" Wheels and sports suspension which olny makes the matter worse. I find mine annoyingly noisy. I was so concerned that the amount of noise was not normal and have had it checked by the dealer but they blame the 17" wheels an the Bridgestone Tyres. I suspect that the DSG box allows more noise transmission to the body and the extra weight makes a difference.

My advice to any prospective Octy 2 buyer would be have a good long test drive in the model you are thinking of getting (with all the options you want like DSG and 17" wheels) to mke sure you can live with the extra noise, as I am dissapointed with mine for being so noisey.

Hi

I also have the 2.0TDi Octy 2 Elegance with DSG. Unfortuntely (from a noise point of view) it also has the 17" Wheels and sports suspension which olny makes the matter worse. I find mine annoyingly noisy. I was so concerned that the amount of noise was not normal and have had it checked by the dealer but they blame the 17" wheels an the Bridgestone Tyres. I suspect that the DSG box allows more noise transmission to the body and the extra weight makes a difference.

My advice to any prospective Octy 2 buyer would be have a good long test drive in the model you are thinking of getting (with all the options you want like DSG and 17" wheels) to mke sure you can live with the extra noise' date=' as I am dissapointed with mine for being so noisey.[/quote']

Can I ask what Bridgestone tyres you have fitted? From what I have read there seems to be a big difference in noise levels between the Potenza RE040 and the RE050 (RE040 being the worst for noise).

Hi

I also have the 2.0TDi Octy 2 Elegance with DSG. Unfortuntely (from a noise point of view) it also has the 17" Wheels and sports suspension which olny makes the matter worse. I find mine annoyingly noisy. I was so concerned that the amount of noise was not normal and have had it checked by the dealer but they blame the 17" wheels an the Bridgestone Tyres. I suspect that the DSG box allows more noise transmission to the body and the extra weight makes a difference.

My advice to any prospective Octy 2 buyer would be have a good long test drive in the model you are thinking of getting (with all the options you want like DSG and 17" wheels) to mke sure you can live with the extra noise' date=' as I am dissapointed with mine for being so noisey.[/quote']

This confirms my worst fears re: the Octy mk11. The Vrs I wanted had excessive road noise, I had to almost shout to my passenger at 70mph!.

I did consider Elegance or L&K, but fear it will be not that much different. Sure , wheel size and tyres have some effect, But do not make up for what is just an inadequately soundproofed car. They have skimped in this area. Just not good enough.

You should not feel the need to add soundproofing to a car that costs this much!!

This confirms my worst fears re: the Octy mk11. The Vrs I wanted had excessive road noise' date=' I had to almost shout to my passenger at 70mph!.

I did consider Elegance or L&K, but fear it will be not that much different. Sure , wheel size and tyres have some effect, But do not make up for what is just an inadequately soundproofed car. They have skimped in this area. Just not good enough.

You should not feel the need to add soundproofing to a car that costs this much!![/quote']

Well, the 1.9 TDi Ambiente we had for a 24-hour test drive yesterday had a DSG gearbox and was impressively quiet - didn't even rattle as much as our present 110bhp 1.9 TDi on start-up.

But it was on 15" wheels, which look awful - the L&K comes on 16", which should look better. However, in my experience the bigger the wheel the worse the ride and the more noise - possibly because bigger wheels are fitted with lower-profile tyres with less flexible sidewalls?

And do Skoda tune the suspension for different-sized wheels, or have a "one setting suits all" approach? If the latter, some wheel/tyre combinations will inevitably be worse than others.

Well, I bit on the bullet and had Noisekiller come and work over our Octy Mk 2 2.0 TDi DSG estate. The guy certainly knew his stuff, though it was the first Octy 2 he had worked on. Everything he could reach was damped with high-tech materials - under both the boot floors, under the wheel arches, as much as he could get at of the bulkhead and the underside of the bonnet. Finally, he did some measuring and decided that as an optional extra he could fit an an acoustic blanket to the engine. This is the most low-tech thing you could imagine - a very heavy mass-loaded (lead?) fireproof mat which is secured by a couple of plastic ties at thr front and simply drapes over the top and rear of the engine - about 2 feet wide by 3 feet long.

But the complete kit has made a real difference. The engine is much quieter at all speeds, but especially so on start-up, when the usual clatter is muted. And the whole car feels even more solid, with road noise being much less noticeable.

The cost? Well the basic kit, fitted in our driveway, was £310, and the additional acoustic blanket £50 - £360 in all. But I reckon it's well worth it, particularly if (like us) you intend to keep the car for a decade. Strongly recommended for those who appreciate peaceful motoring.

Nice one - did he do your doors, as when Steve did my Fabia he didn't (want to?)

I've since fitted two little pads to the rear doors, I may upgrade my front speakers and at the same time stick the two pads I've got to go in there still

Definitely worth it IMHO, didnt get an acoustic blanket on mine though.

Glad you're happy with it as well, Steve did an ace job on the Fabia as well and I highly recommend him

Nice one - did he do your doors' date=' as when Steve did my Fabia he didn't (want to?)

I've since fitted two little pads to the rear doors, I may upgrade my front speakers and at the same time stick the two pads I've got to go in there still

Definitely worth it IMHO, didnt get an acoustic blanket on mine though.

Glad you're happy with it as well, Steve did an ace job on the Fabia as well and I highly recommend him [/quote']

No - the doors were left alone. Noisekiller's line is that modern doors have so much electrical equipment in them that, in disassembling/reassembling, something would end up going wrong and they'd be responsible. In any case the doors on our L&K with Audience audio (3 speakers in each door) sound pretty inert - can't hear any noise coming through there.

Think it was Steve who did our job - whoever, he was very efficient.

Sounds excellent John, do you have contact details?

http://www.noisekiller.co.uk/contact_us.php

John,

Is the cabin noise reduction really that noticeable? I find the noise in my VRS estate quite intrusive at anything over 60. Of course road surface / tyres has a lot to do with it, but living in the UK and not wanting just yet to change the contis, means I am looking for other options.

Would be interested to hear how you think the noise in the cabin is less.

Many thnks

In short: yes

John' date='

Is the cabin noise reduction really that noticeable? I find the noise in my VRS estate quite intrusive at anything over 60. Of course road surface / tyres has a lot to do with it, but living in the UK and not wanting just yet to change the contis, means I am looking for other options.

Would be interested to hear how you think the noise in the cabin is less.

Many thnks[/quote']

It's quieter at all speeds, but particularly at start up, when the harsh diesel rattle is noticeably muted - still as noisy from outside, though! At the cruise, the loudest noise is (no, not the ticking of the clock) the climatronic fan. And the whole car feels somehow solider - presumably a variety of road-induced vibrations is being dampened out.

But I can only speak from TDi experience - I would have thought that a petrol-powered VRS would be quieter anyway, so the soundproofing might not make so much of a difference.

And any passive soundproofing will have most effect on high frequencies, doing less about the tyre/road noise you mention. Active noise cancellation of course works best on low frequencies, but that's another story. Whatever happened to Lotus's active system, which was hailed as the great coming thing some years ago.....?

Thanks - yes the car is quiet in terms of engine noise, no complaints there, but the roar from the tyres on rough m-way services is just a few decibels above what could be considered pleasant. I had a very old Mereceded 300TE 24 before this car and it was the epitomy of calm even at a ton, despite being 15 years old. Obviously it was knackered in other respects which is why I bought the VRS, but it just seems a shame that the refinement is not quite up to scratch. I'll sleep on it for a bit more.

Walkie has some sound deadening stuff for sale in the classifieds on this site

Hi All,

Just had my Octy II Ambiente 2L TDI PD DSG Estate given the NoiseKiller treatment by Steve.

I had it done because although I am deaf at high frequencies my low frequency hearing is nearly normal, and an excess of low frequency noise can blank out by hearing of speech.

Very quick - about 1.5 hours - in the college car park.

There is a definite reduction in noise but its not dramatic,

I can hear passenger voices more easily now.

I think you could end up wondering if its worth

I reckon it is worth it mainly as it makes the car more refined on longer journeys, and it does make a decent difference - it is just lowering the background noise a bit.

Value for money, hard to say, but IMHO well worth it and Steve did a great job on mine soon after I bought it

And any passive soundproofing will have most effect on high frequencies, doing less about the tyre/road noise you mention. Active noise cancellation of course works best on low frequencies, but that's another story. Whatever happened to Lotus's active system, which was hailed as the great coming thing some years ago.....?

Active reduction is ideal if you want to kill noise in a specific area, e.g. drivers head area. Working on negative interference, moving out of the deadened zone can lead to increased noise, as sound waves become in phase. This is a little wierd when you lean or move about in the car. For a 5 seat car, the acoustics would be a nightmare to sort out:eek: .

Funnily enough, you can get large construction equipment with active noise deadening!

Phil

I'm bringing this old thread up because of the

"Road Noise"

debate about road noise and tyres. Noisekiller does the job for engine noise, and it's even better now our TDi has done 15,000 miles, but it can't do much about road sound intrusion. Steve wasn't going to disassemble the car to fit soundproofing on the wheel arches - and I suspect in any case that much of the noise is coming via the suspension picking up tyre vribations and feeding them into the structure. Or maybe not.

Whatever, the tyres start by making the noise. So tyres are important, as shown by the dramatic dfference in acoustic intrusion when travelling on French roads. As for concrete in the UK.....!

So very interested in which tyres best for quietude on English roads. Happy to sacrifice some other qualities such as absolute grip, for a tranquillity which makes one a more relaxed - and hence better - driver. Remember: "Relaxed but Alert"!

Falken 452 and Michelin Pilot Exalto 2 are both a lot quieter than the factory fit bridgestones.

I'm bringing this old thread up because of the

"Road Noise"

debate about road noise and tyres. Noisekiller does the job for engine noise, and it's even better now our TDi has done 15,000 miles, but it can't do much about road sound intrusion. Steve wasn't going to disassemble the car to fit soundproofing on the wheel arches - and I suspect in any case that much of the noise is coming via the suspension picking up tyre vribations and feeding them into the structure. Or maybe not.

Whatever, the tyres start by making the noise. So tyres are important, as shown by the dramatic dfference in acoustic intrusion when travelling on French roads. As for concrete in the UK.....!

So very interested in which tyres best for quietude on English roads. Happy to sacrifice some other qualities such as absolute grip, for a tranquillity which makes one a more relaxed - and hence better - driver. Remember: "Relaxed but Alert"!

It's a shame about the wheelarches as I think a lot of the noise comes through there (rear arches at least) , plus the boot floor. Probably more of a problem on Estate cars.

J.

From my Octy, I'd say do the boot floor and spare wheel well first, then under the rear bench.

After that you have to start taking trim off so costs go up, but then the rear arches and floor/arches at the front of the car and may as well do the rear while you're at it.

The latest ear plug from E

Definitely agree with what has been said about the Bridgestone tyres they are extremely noisy! I have just replaced mine with a set of Avons which seem to perform just as well but have made the car so much quieter

I've just fitted the noisekiller kit to my 2007 2.0D L&K. A definite improvement but still a lot of tyre noise (17" Bridgestones). The booming from the boot has lesened considerably and this alone warrants the cost of the kit.

It's a pity Skoda don't take this problem more seriously, it would put me off another Octy.

Had a NoiseKiller kit fitted to my 2L TDI DSG Estate just over a year ago and it was worth it for high frequency noise reduction but didn't change the low frequency noise from the tyres much (as expected).

Service was excelent though, done in the car park where I work in avery short time. Neat finish.

According to figures I've seen the quietest tyres are only 3dB quieter than the noisy ones, and thats only a just noticeable improvement, not dramatic.

So the solution lies with the chassis and suspension design - which I can't do much about.

My daughter's 07 Corsa is much quieter in terms of road noise, and that's a smaller car.