Hi all,

 

i know there have been various posts/threads on here already re booming and road noise, but I wanted to check whether anyone can relate to my experience of driving our mkIII vrs tdi on the motorway.

 

Ever since owning the car I’ve found that it is very fidgety when cruising on what should be smooth roads. It’s as if the suspension manages to pick up every imperfection in the surface, manifesting itself in a vibrating sensation that can be felt/seen through the steering wheel/floor/pedals/sun visors. It seems to affect it at all speeds above 50 mph, and can make it very annoying to drive on long journeys.

 

I’ve always assumed it’s just the manners of the car, but after my passenger today suggested that could be a wheel alignment issue, I wanted to see if anyone else can relate to this vibrating problem before investigating it further? The car has recently had a new set of Goodyear F1s on the front and is running on xtremes. I don’t think it can be anything to do with the tyres, as it’s always done it in my ownership.

 

I’ve read reviews that have praised the car as a competent cruiser - are other owners just a lot more tolerable of the issue, or is there anything that could/should be looked at to address this?

 

Thanks in advance!

Sounds like front wheel balancing is incorrect if you are experiencing vibration through the steering wheel etc. Get the wheel balancing checked first, then alignment if it continues. Had your tyres worn evenly before they were replaced?

 

I've literally just completed a motorway journey at 70mph about 10 mins ago. I don't experience any of the issues you have described; it's fairly smooth bar the road noise on rough surfaces. What you have described is definitely not normal.

Edited 1 May, 20197 yr by ahenners

1 hour ago, Nutsyduts said:

Hi all,

 

i know there have been various posts/threads on here already re booming and road noise, but I wanted to check whether anyone can relate to my experience of driving our mkIII vrs tdi on the motorway.

 

Ever since owning the car I’ve found that it is very fidgety when cruising on what should be smooth roads. It’s as if the suspension manages to pick up every imperfection in the surface, manifesting itself in a vibrating sensation that can be felt/seen through the steering wheel/floor/pedals/sun visors. It seems to affect it at all speeds above 50 mph, and can make it very annoying to drive on long journeys.

 

I’ve always assumed it’s just the manners of the car, but after my passenger today suggested that could be a wheel alignment issue, I wanted to see if anyone else can relate to this vibrating problem before investigating it further? The car has recently had a new set of Goodyear F1s on the front and is running on xtremes. I don’t think it can be anything to do with the tyres, as it’s always done it in my ownership.

 

I’ve read reviews that have praised the car as a competent cruiser - are other owners just a lot more tolerable of the issue, or is there anything that could/should be looked at to address this?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

buy a set of 16s and some fat tyres and you will notice the difference. big rims and skinny tyres will always transfer a lot of noise anyway. The Octavia is not known for its insulation either, Ive stripped mine back and couldnt find any bar a few tiny hard pads on the inner door skins... this is what you need to do for starters...

 

 

it will help no end. Ive already added 30 kilos of deadening and ive only done the floor, the rear and one door.
 

I don't have a VRS,but from what I know of them suspension ETC is supposed to be lively but vibration @ anything above 50 is not right at all.

initially it sounds like a wheel  balancing issue.

you might have a problem finding somewhere that offers an ON car wheel balancing service but it can be done, it will check the balance of wheels but also check balance of brake discs .

7 hours ago, JohnnyType2 said:

 

buy a set of 16s and some fat tyres and you will notice the difference. big rims and skinny tyres will always transfer a lot of noise anyway. The Octavia is not known for its insulation either, Ive stripped mine back and couldnt find any bar a few tiny hard pads on the inner door skins... this is what you need to do for starters...

 

 

it will help no end. Ive already added 30 kilos of deadening and ive only done the floor, the rear and one door.
 

There is a video on YouTube of a guy demonstrating how that butyl dampening works. He puts a small 10cm² piece on a cymbal, smacks it the cymbal with a spanner and there is no reverberation at all. 

 

The point I'm trying to make is you don't need full coverage like that, you're just wasting money on material and adding more weight than you need too. 

Wheel balancing from the sounds of it regards the vibration and twitchy feel. Get each corner done at a tyre place (pence to sort) and I'm sure it'll become more stable.  Perhaps invest in all-round tracking just to be sure. ATS will likely do you a deal if you buy both (~£50 all in) 

 

Sound wise, I get quite loud tyre/road noise on my Continental's which at 70mph can give off a boom noise in the cabin, which I guess can be overcome by quieter tyres, or deadening mats as shown above. 

No vibration though, and I have a MK3 vRS. 

11 hours ago, JohnnyType2 said:

 

buy a set of 16s and some fat tyres and you will notice the difference. big rims and skinny tyres will always transfer a lot of noise anyway. The Octavia is not known for its insulation either, Ive stripped mine back and couldnt find any bar a few tiny hard pads on the inner door skins... this is what you need to do for starters...

 

 

it will help no end. Ive already added 30 kilos of deadening and ive only done the floor, the rear and one door.
 

 

How much difference has it made in the doors? I did the boot last year which has improved things and the bass from the sub too. Doors are on the list this summer. What's that on the back of the door card?

5 hours ago, ahenners said:

 

How much difference has it made in the doors? I did the boot last year which has improved things and the bass from the sub too. Doors are on the list this summer. What's that on the back of the door card?

Its a kind of soft egg shell closed cell foam, very light and flexible theres more butyl under it.

 

It makes a massive difference, i tried with just a few pieces as mentioned above and the damping effect was minimal, not noticeable at all (a flat cymbal is so much different than several different complex shaped panels spot welded together), but with full coverage and the fast rings the difference is night and day, couple that with a top end speaker and you have a whole difference sound experience. Im not bothered about the weight as i'm not running time trials  

Edited 2 May, 20197 yr by JohnnyType2

To calculate the position required to damp the natural frequency of a cymbal would be relatively straightforward. As Johnny says the system of panels pinned and welded are much more complex, so to find the right place to put a blob would be quite difficult and probably cheaper just to chuck material at it as Johnny has done.

Hi all,

 

Many thanks for the responses - looks like I’ll have a look at the balancing/alignment then. I used to have a focus that had uneven wear on a brake disk that sent an awful vibration into the cabin, so its always semi-annoyed me that the Octavia seemed to do it as standard!

 

I’ve also thought about the sound deadening/proofing route, but don’t really trust myself to dismantle the car. It’ll probably end up a squeaking/creaking mess!

 

Thanks

After using a Mk3 as a motorway commuter for over a year I'd be the first to admit it's far from where I expected it to be. The noise from all sources is poor and not helped by a thin sounding sound system.

 

Mine was on 17's with torsion beam rear so thudded over motorway imperfections.

 

Saying all that there should be no vibration on smooth tarmac.  For a start get the wheels balanced and if you have one near find someone with a road force balancer. http://www.balancemycar.co.uk/

 

My current car is night and day difference from the Octavia on the motorway even with 245/40x19's but as new list price is over double then that's expected. But I still think the Octavia lags behind it's rivals even from Ford and Vauxhall for high speed refinement especially noise insulation.

Edited 3 May, 20197 yr by logiclee