Road Noise

[Icebun]

I am hoping to move from my from my current Golf 7  GT to a Karoq SEL and am interested in the level of refinement especially at motorway speeds.

 

Can anyone comment on this especially those coming from a Golf?

 

I ended up getting my Golf professionally soundproofed which has made a difference so really interested to see if I need to do the same with the Karoq.

 

 

[shyVRS245]

Owned 3 Octavia Mk3 which are based on the Mk7 Golf MQB platform and I would not call them quiet motorway cruisers. However we have owned a 1.5TSi manual Karoq SEL for nearly 2 years and it is much quieter than any of the Octavia's and nearly as quiet as my Superb Sportline petrol at the 70mph limit.

[Guest]

Not sure if any of this helps.

 

Had a Mk7 GT from 2013 to 2015 - I'm sure it was Michelin Pilots - 225/45/17.    Soundproof the car    Our GT was really quite.

 

Had an Ateca with Bridgetone Turanza T001 215/50/18 from factory. ( I believe that's the size Skoda use on SE-L? ) Road noise was especially low. Only issue I had was tyres seemed soft and needed all round replacing after 20k miles. Changed to Hankook tyres which were rated very low for noise but in practice turned out to be much more noisy than Bridgestones.

 

1.4 SE-L Octavia came with Dunlop Sport Maxx 225/45/17 which I found out by accident were the source of the terrible road noise, so bad I was seriously considering changing the car. These were replaced by Goodyear Vector All-Season and I can't begin to tell you what difference it has made - road noise is minimal.

 

1.5 Edition Karoq. Now that comes with 225/40/19 Bridgestone Turanza T005 - similar to the originals on the Ateca only more low profile.  Road noise is pretty loud.

 

I think the choice of tyre makes has a far greater effect on cabin noise than soundproofing will.

 

 

Edited 6 January, 2020 by Guest

[shyVRS245]

10 hours ago, Scot5 said:

Not sure if any of this helps.

 

Had a Mk7 GT from 2013 to 2015 - I'm sure it was Michelin Pilots - 225/45/17.    Soundproof the car    Our GT was really quite.

 

Had an Ateca with Bridgetone Turanza T001 215/50/18 from factory. ( I believe that's the size Skoda use on SE-L? ) Road noise was especially low. Only issue I had was tyres seemed soft and needed all round replacing after 20k miles. Changed to Hankook tyres which were rated very low for noise but in practice turned out to be much more noisy than Bridgestones.

 

1.4 SE-L Octavia came with Dunlop Sport Maxx 225/45/17 which I found out by accident were the source of the terrible road noise, so bad I was seriously considering changing the car. These were replaced by Goodyear Vector All-Season and I can't begin to tell you what difference it has made - road noise is minimal.

 

1.5 Edition Karoq. Now that comes with 225/40/19 Bridgestone Turanza T005 - similar to the originals on the Ateca only more low profile.  Road noise is pretty loud.

 

I think the choice of tyre makes has a far greater effect on cabin noise than soundproofing will.

 

 

Agree our Karoq 1.5TSi SEL came with factory fitted Michelin Primacy which are very quiet and very long lasting. 22,500 miles so far and should do at least 30,000 mies before replacement but then they are not cheap and you are right they are 215/50R18 size.

[Sanqhar]

I find the Bridgestone Turanzas noisy. I think they are rated at 71 dB. 

 

Tom

[Guest]

10 hours ago, Sanqhar said:

I find the Bridgestone Turanzas noisy. I think they are rated at 71 dB. 

 

Tom

 

I was taken in by that noise rating lark...  choose a quiet tyre I said to myself.

 

The Hankooks were rated at 69dB. Perhaps they're tested on smooth French motorways or something, but on our beautiful tartan patchwork Scottish tarmac, the Hankooks were so much louder than the  71db Turanzas.

 

The factory fitted Dunlops on the Octavia were rated at 69db and that was embarassingly loud ( many folk on here saying the road noise down to basic rear suspension - not in my case it wasn't ), but changing the tyres to Goodyear 4 seasons Gen2 which are also rated at 69db and it's the difference is night and day. I know we all tend to use poetic licence, but the difference really is that much.

 

I'll never pay any attention again to those noise ratings on tyres. I don't know how they test them but in the real world, their results have proven to be total bullocks.      

Edited 7 January, 2020 by Guest

[Sanqhar]

“Goodyear 4 seasons Gen2 ”

 

If only they did them to fit my Karoq on 18” rims. 

 

Tom

[Canders]

Agree with Sanqhar, Bridgestone Turananzas on my FL O2 Estate were noisy. Now on Karoq 1.5 SEL manual (69 plate), and find that I have to turn the music down when driving as I find the overall level of noise very low. I tend to find myself looking at the dash to make sure that the engine is still running. I would recommend getting a test drive on a motorway and drive at the speed you would normally. From my experience so far, It's a much much quieter beast, even with brand new suspension which I thought would have transmitted more noise until it softened up.

[croquemonsieur]

I deliberately wanted the smallest diameter wheels, highest profile tyres, so opted for the SE Technology with 17" wheels 5 months ago, so as to minimise road noise and for the best possible ride.  Road noise is not bad at all in my Karoq, still some but rather better than in my previous Yeti and previous to that Saab 9-5 and E39 BMW 523i, none of which incidentally had low profile tyres.  Before buying, I tried a Karoq SEL - 18" wheels and a 2.0 TDI 4x4 - 19" wheels and these progressively had louder road roar and were thumpier & bumpier over broken surfaces, as the tyre profile got lower.

 

I do find any road noise annoying and tiring & on many road surfaces it is still the biggest source of noise in my Karoq, but then the 1.0TSI engine is amazingly quiet most of the time & little wind noise mostly and I do repeat the road noise level in mine is pretty subdued on Bridgestone Turanza Evos.  It mostly seems to come from the rear and did apply some bitumen style damping pads around the spare wheel recess and boot floor and somewhat better still.  A few other measures too that I've noted before.

 

I'm heartened by what Scot5 says about how quiet are the Goodyear 4 Seasons tyres as I intend to replace the 17" wheels with 16" wheels shod with those, next autumn and my car should hopefully then drive like a limo.  They do very well in Auto Express reviews for noise & comfort at the expense of a bit of loss of sharpness in dry road handling and say a couple of mpg in fuel consumption.

 

Interesting that shy finds Michelin Primacy tyres quiet - a friend has just bought a S/H BMW 200 Active Tourer with these on 17" wheels and says there is some road noise compared with some other cars he knows - also the ride a bit firm, but that just shows that it's difficult to generalise.  Tyres can be matched to a particular car - original Jag XJ6 famously had a specific version of the Dunlop SP Sport developed to optimise ride / noise.

 

It's a bit simplistic to rely on quoted noise figures of tyres - these are measured outside the car and while of some significance inside, often more important is transmission of vibration from the tyres, through wheels and suspension bushes to car body panels, setting up vibrations.  Different tyres affect these in different ways.

 

Sorry to go on but I find this whole topic of noise / vibration very interesting and a lot more could be said - similar to another interest of mine - hifi and vibration in loudspeaker cabinets and how loudspeakers interact in rooms, but won't go on about that.

[Karock]

I have found that Goodyear Turanza tyres drum quite noticeably on my 1.5 SEL it appears to be worse where the surface has been rippled by heavy goods vehicles.

 

Regarding Hi Fi loudspeaker vibrations in cabinets, Quad Electrostatic loudspeakers do not have a conventional cabinet so sympathetic vibrations, colouration  etc. are not a problem. They also sound great!

[Sanqhar]

Turanzas are made by Bridgestone. 

 

Tom

[Berisford]

4 hours ago, croquemonsieur said:

I deliberately wanted the smallest diameter wheels, highest profile tyres,

 

Goodyear 4 Seasons tyres as I intend to replace the 17" wheels with 16" wheels

 

I'm in the same camp - I like taller rubber to take on the ****e roads we have around here.

 

Here's our Karoq wearing its winter wheels and tyres - Michelin Cross-climates.

[Karock]

Yes , Senior moment, Turanza's are Bridgestone not Goodyear, but they are still very  noisy on some road surfaces!

[Guest]

7 hours ago, croquemonsieur said:

Interesting that shy finds Michelin Primacy tyres quiet - a friend has just bought a S/H BMW 200 Active Tourer with these on 17" wheels and says there is some road noise compared with some other cars he knows - also the ride a bit firm, but that just shows that it's difficult to generalise.

 

Not knowing what tyres are on an Active Tourer, my best guess would be they are runflats ( like most BMW's ). If that guess is correct then it would account for the extra noise and firmness.

Edited 8 January, 2020 by Guest

[SurreySlowCoach]

Coming to the Karoq from a Fabia the difference in cabin noise levels was very noticeable and made a massive difference to tiredness levels on long journeys. My model came with 16 inch alloys and 215 60 tyres which suits me with their softer ride and offer a lot of protection from kerbing the alloys. Came shod with Bridgestone Turenza T001's which seem to be wearing faster than I expected on the front despite my sedate driving style. The Bridgetsones say 71 db whereas most alternatives are rated at 68 Db which in theory should make them quieter. I recall putting some Goodyears on a Kia and finding them quieter than what was on before though for many years I also fitted pricier Michelins but which seemed to wear far slower. Will be very interested in real life experiences as people change their tyres.

[croquemonsieur]

'Karock', a What Car Review commented on the small bodywork boom & I soon became aware of this - brought on by coarse gravel road surfaces + broken road surfaces/potholes, but also by the 1.0 engine @ 1500 - 2000rpm when working hard - say going uphill.  I do wonder if it could be the volume of air of the car interior resonating at a frequency that is intermiitently activated by the above sources (maybe most cars must have to work around this).

 

It seemed to come more from the rear & I found firmly tapping the removeable fibreboard boot shelf cover, seemed to also activate this boom - putting a couple of fairly heavy car blankets on it, damped the shelf vibration down substantially, coupled with adding thin foam isolating pads where the shelf rests on its supporting edges in the car.  That together with the bitumen pads on the boot floor, I mentioned before, tamed the slight boomy noise significantly and doesn't seem to be so rear orientated - don't think I'm imagining this improvement.  The SEL has a different shelf arrangement (roller blind) & maybe doesn't drive any boom, but on the other hand the thickness & weight of the blankets on my rigid shelf, may also partially filter out any noise coming from the boot.

 

I'm hoping the change of tyres and further reduction of wheel size will more or less eliminate this low frequency sound, together with all the other more mid-rangy road noises - I'll report back in maybe one year's time.  Actually on those 'smooth bitumen' road surfaces that are fairly common, there is virtually no road noise even at motorway speeds & engine still not prominent - the biggest noise source being other traffic.  Just want to get this nice level of hush on all road surfaces.

 

Re the engine activation of the thrum, it was an incentive to get familiar with the DSG gearstick Sport position, which means I can now make the engine stay out of this rev range on uphills (+ also engine more responsive so safer overtaking etc.).  Never used this Sport position on previous cars & now kicking myself as it's such a ridiculously slick easy way of improving car responsiveness when wanted - using & coming out of it it really adds to my driving pleasure.

 

Coming on to loudspeakers, I have to tread carefully - people get almost as upset and angry about criticism of their chosen units as they do about their cars.  Yes, Quad electrostatices are very fine speakers, amongst the best.  The original Quad57 was a revelation when it came out and they still sound very good.  The newer reconfiguered 63 models developed the idea and in their 4th or 5th version now.  Also due to the open baffle configeration (no sound coming from the sides) and general dispersion characteristics, they are more independant of listening room effects, which is arguably desirable.  However like all speakers they do have some issues, some of a mild resonant kind, but not resonances from any box vibrations - as no box.

 

I seem to have ended up with all BBC inspired speakers in 3 rooms, they have critically damped thinnish plywood 'flexible' (as opposed to very rigid) cabinet walls - also the main loudspeaker cone unit material developed for these, moved forward the state of the art of conventional speakers.  They were too a revelation when they first came out, maybe 10 years after the Quad 57s - different virtues and problems to the Quads, but the BBC research department from those days is now part of Audio folklore - sadly it doesn't exist any more.  They do have the advantage of a slightly more neutrally accurate mid range than the Quads + also a warmer mid-upper bass, but there are pros & cons of course.

 

They have also been subject to much development by one or two firms & many gradual improvements over the years - my recent 2 cu.ft volume Stirlings are terrific speakers - for best results, as for most boxes, they are best placed so as to minimise serious side and rear wall reflections.  I still like the original Quad 57s (my wife helpfully likes the looks) so may just end up with a pair to swap around with my main speakers - always refreshing thing to do.  There are other interesting & good speakers around, naturally - a few I'd also love to own, but I am very happy with what I've got & still do hear much of the the competition, when I regularly attend the annual Bristol Audio show amongst other locations.

 

Anyway, that's enough of that off topic stuff from me, or I'll be moderated out of existence.

[croquemonsieur]

'Berisford', I changed my previous 1.2 Yeti wheels from 17" to 16" & fitted Michelin X Climates (Mk1, now come in Mk2 version) - ride improved and road noise lessened substantially, but my Karoq 1.0 DSG SE Tech on standard 17" Turanza Evos is quieter still (even before my sound damping improvements) and ride is better.  I don't but any of that down to the Bridgestones - more the different suspension settings.

 

A friend changed tyres to X Climates on his BMW Mini, a year after I did mine on the Yeti.  He said the road noise was much less, but interestingly the ride worsened - no wheel size change for him though.  The X climates do have stiffer sidewalls that make them more robust and this may partly explain why Auto Express found the Goodyear 4 seasons even quieter and more comfortable, but I suspect they may be less robust and with a shorter life.  Turanzas have actually come out well in at least one review Auto Build?, but from what I read and what I find, may not match optimally with the Karoq.

 

One or 2 people report here that the X Climates work well with the Karoq, as do Michelin Primacies.  Presumably the various compliances of tyre sidewalls, springs and isolating suspension bushes just happen to work well together (but don't so well in the BMW mini).  I imagine the Goodyears will also work well with the Koraq suspension system, hopefully even better, but only buying and fitting them will tell me this for sure.  Haven't read here about anyone using them on Karoq yet though.

 

Michelin have a reputation of giving long life and I believe in the motor industry, are highly regarded for their accuracy of construction + their good performance for much of their life - latest versions even better in this latter regard.  However, at least for now, still sticking with my intention of going for the Goodyears this Autumn.  Another complicating factor is some tyres seem to work better in some sizes and cross sections than in other dittos - nothing's simple in this world.

[Karock]

Croquemonsieur,

Thanks for your  interesting reply, yes although our car is the 1.5 manual I too find that on decent newly surfaced roads there is hardly any noise. I will try your heavy blanket idea in the boot. When we first had the car I stopped to collect some car spares and left the engine idling for a good 10 minutes, being used to  the racket of the previous Diesel  Octavia I had not noticed that the engine was still running.

 

Regarding loudspeakers, we bought the Quad 57s in 1970 and have kept them ever since even accompanying us to the West Indies for a few years. They do have their problems being a bit thin on Bass that the 63's I believe improved. Visitors not familiar with them tend to think that they are radiators, The treble units have been replaced but that is about all. You do need to have them some distance from a wall for optimum results so another disadvantage. Our children opted for compact B&W speakers made I seem to recall to BBC spec, I used to work at the BBC in Bristol and it was always a standing joke that the Sound Engineers were deaf! They used to monitor programme material at such an intensity that they went progressively deaf so needing even higher sound levels.

[AGR100]

Have a new (330 miles ) Karoq which is , generally, a nice car but, on our uneven roads, I have been complaining about a lot of "resonance" noise a low speeds on the "bad" roads. Visited dealer yesterday and he said all is "normal" . 

The Bridgestone Turanza T001 does, however, have a high decibel  rating, which may be part of the problem, causing the annoying "noise".

Thinking about fitting an acoustic kit but would appreciate advice from members as to whether this is a good investment or not? Dealer can arrange to have this fitted by one of the engineers 

[delitfol]

The factory bridgestones are rubbish, cant wait to get rid of them. 

[shyVRS245]

10 minutes ago, AGR100 said:

Have a new (330 miles ) Karoq which is , generally, a nice car but, on our uneven roads, I have been complaining about a lot of "resonance" noise a low speeds on the "bad" roads. Visited dealer yesterday and he said all is "normal" . 

The Bridgestone Turanza T001 does, however, have a high decibel  rating, which may be part of the problem, causing the annoying "noise".

Thinking about fitting an acoustic kit but would appreciate advice from members as to whether this is a good investment or not? Dealer can arrange to have this fitted by one of the engineers 

Our 2 year old Karoq SEL came with 18" Michelin Primacy tyres from the factory and they are very quiet and lasting incredibly well. After 23,100 miles still 5mm on the fronts and 4mm on the rears (rotated at 17,500 miles) and I can't recommend them enough. They are an expensive choice but like most things in life you get what you pay for it seems.

[Guest]

On 08/01/2020 at 13:50, Berisford said:

Here's our Karoq wearing its winter wheels and tyres - Michelin Cross-climates.

 

No offense but I'd rather do a Van Gogh and cut off my ear than drive around on wheels that look like that. 

[Berisford]

1 hour ago, Scot5 said:

 

No offense but I'd rather do a Van Gogh and cut off my ear than drive around on wheels that look like that. 

 

No offence taken........Austerity Blue and my 13 year old Audi alloys fitted with tyres that shrug off kerbs.....little point in making it look too smart......☺️

[shyVRS245]

44 minutes ago, Berisford said:

 

No offence taken........Austerity Blue and my 13 year old Audi alloys fitted with tyres that shrug off kerbs.....little point in making it look too smart......☺️

They have a massive advantage over most modern Skoda alloys because they appear to be really easy to clean.

[J.R.]

Its not so much easier to clean as they just dont get dirty from brake dust.

 

I have had steel winter wheels, genuine OE with Skoda hubcaps (bought on this forum) on the car for a couple of months and whilst the car is filthy with road dirt the wheels are pretty much spotless, its usually the other way round.