Evening folks, when it comes to decreasing levels of road noise, is there a start point of replacing components within wheels/suspension/bushes. The car is at 103k on the clock, the only items replaced are two rear springs. A set of bilstein b6's will be fitted with new oem front springs shortly, however, I get the feeling that replacement bushes would be a good idea, but in what order of priority? A friend replaced the bushes on both arb's on his car and noticed a considerable improvement in handling and reduction in ambient road noise. As this one set of bushes made such a difference, he changed no further items. I have to admit, Im a little sceptical that changing  just these bushes would make such a profound difference. 

Any ideas/info appreciated.

 

Should have said it's the 1.9 o2 fl estate.

Edited 14 May, 20179 yr by Canders

I always thought fitting stiffer bushes increased road noise. It did when I built a kit car many years ago, however it didn't half reduce axle tramp though

Just now, bigjohn said:

I always thought fitting stiffer bushes increased road noise. It did when I built a kit car many years ago, however it didn't half reduce axle tramp though

Thats whats confusing me. My understanding was fitting a bush of a more solid structure, such as those fitted to audi s3's, which I know has been done as an upgrade, is surely going to transmit more vibration, which can translate into noise.

When I had my S3 consoles fittee it didnt increase the road noise at all. It is still made from rubber and in fairness even with polyutherane bushes fitted onbmy Fabia I still couldnt hear any extra noise transmitted into the cabin. The main cause of road noise is down to tyre and tread design/rubber compound.

..............and maybe wheel bearings.

The tyres have not done 103,000 miles have they, when were they last changed?

5 hours ago, Awayoffski said:

The tyres have not done 103,000 miles have they, when were they last changed?

Haha, I wish! 4k on these ones. I tend to stick with what works. These are not the first set of these ones that have been fitted, which is why I was starting to explore other avenues of investigation. 

 

6 hours ago, Tilt said:

..............and maybe wheel bearings.

Now heres one thing I've not given a second thought. Previous wheel bearing failures on other marques, have produced totally different symptons. Most noticeably a rumble and steering issues. Having just had it serviced, two months ago, no isues noted, other than a slight misting on the front near shock. 

I mentioned wheel bearings as iirc they were mentioned in some other post, although not showing any issues on the mot they were found to be a little knackered.

Possibly an issue with mine too.

 

Surely a "rumble" would equate to increasing road noise???........

The actual level of road noise is a constant presence. The rumble from previous bearing issues/failure is distinct in that it is very noticeable and specific to the particular bearing in the course of failing. The increase i've noticed  is general front end and neither increases or decreases with maneouvering, hence the train of thought on a common item, ie farb. Having searched the tinterwebnet for possibilities, bushes could well be an issue, but not on the running gear, more on the engine mounts which would make sense I suppose. 

On Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 14:20, Tilt said:

I mentioned wheel bearings as iirc they were mentioned in some other post, although not showing any issues on the mot they were found to be a little knackered.

Possibly an issue with mine too.

 

Surely a "rumble" would equate to increasing road noise???........

Having taken out swmbos yeti, much newer, over the same patch of road, bearings are looking increasingly like the culprit as I've noticed on mine far more vibration on the steering wheel. Going to get it on ramps shortly and have a look.

Finally got round to replacing the bearings, as after close inspection they were on the point of failure. New bearings and all is well. Strange both fronts exactly the same state of wear. Never had both go simultaneously before.

On 6/29/2017 at 21:23, Canders said:

Finally got round to replacing the bearings, as after close inspection they were on the point of failure. New bearings and all is well. Strange both fronts exactly the same state of wear. Never had both go simultaneously before.

 

Is it just both fronts you did then, and made how much of a noticeable difference re-noise???

 

Did you diy and what (either way) were the costs???

 

Mine is horrendous on road noise, but engine noise due to 1.9pd isn't good for the ears either. It's a little older than yours, pre fl.

Tilt,

just both fronts, did diy with the aid of Haynes, not a difficult job.

 

One of the issues I looked at was engine noise as well. I did find that quite a lot of nise was generated by two things. One was the engine cover, suprisingly. On mine, it appears to be a single unit, but it's actually two parts. There is a single securing bolt and rubber washer, and for some reason it wasn't fully tightened up. With the engine running I just pressed and pushed on it and found It made quite a difference to ambient nise. The second was the air intake ducting box at the front of the engine bay. It's connected correctly, but was knocking against the rear of the radiator. A judicious placing of some rubber has cured that one.

 

I went for SNR branded with hubs for 160 for both. Indy were going to charge about 160 per side and stealers over 200 per side.