Droning (not me, the car)

[Bugginbob]

I'm often acused of droning on by my wife but this time it's the car. 69 plate VRS Challenge estate DSG, 6000 miles.

 

So it started to develop pretty much from new but was only a faint noise at first, i've not driven much during lockdown but over the last month i've been driving for work again and noticed the droning getting louder. It's a faint drobe, very specifically between approx 45 and 65mph and accompanied by a very light vibration in the wheel. It's barely noticeable but now I have it's really annoying me and definitley getting worse.

 

Dropped it off at the dealer today for them to investigate. 6 hours later I get a call telling me it's the low profile tyres. As one was replaced at 3k after bulging from a pothole encounter I figured maybe  it had thrown the alignment out and they were cupping and that was the problem (even though I had a full front and rear alignment afterwards). They swapped them round and rebalanced them . At this point I arrived back at the dealer to collect the car but promptly sent them back out again to check if the noise had gone. It hadn't. They then checked the wheel bearings (which is what I thought it was), then even the engine sound generator in case it was the cause - no joy. They then told me it is a characteristic of the car, the low profile tyres and large wheels. I politely disagreed and they admitted that they've had a few other vrs's in with the same issue but didn't know the cause. They have opened a ticket with Skoda HQ and want the car back for two days to try and diagnose it in a few weeks. 

 

So i'm aware of the estate "boom" (it's not that), the tyres have been eliminated and they think the wheel bearings are fine - anyone got any thoughts. I've searched and seen the same issue on here but always seems to be bearing related.

 

So a day wasted plus I got a blowout on my road bike when I was cycling back to collect it so now need a new tyre for that as well. Ok I have droned on a bit.

[Ecomatt]

Droning can be caused by certain makes and design of tyres when worn down a bit. I would imagine if you fitted a different brand of tyre your noise will be gone. I dont get any drone with my Goodyear F1 Asy 5's. 

You can also fit increased noise absorption in the boot quit cheaply.

[Mickvrs220]

Ive still got the original bridgestone potenzas on the rear of my vrs estate and will be glad when they wear away their a noisy tyre ,different brands make such a difference 

[rejdzik]

Is it an engine rpm related problem ?

[Bugginbob]

 

 

will check whether it’s at a specific engine speed tomorrow.

 

could still be the tyres and I won’t keep the pirellis when they wear out but at £150 a corner I need to get more than 6k out of them before changing.

[ExSEAT]

2 hours ago, Mickvrs220 said:

Ive still got the original bridgestone potenzas on the rear of my vrs estate and will be glad when they wear away their a noisy tyre ,different brands make such a difference 

Had these on 2 successive VRSs, they start out noisy and just get worse. They're about to die so I'll be glad to see the back of them. I've driven back to back on them and the Goodyears and what a difference it makes

[Bugginbob]

So after pumping up the tyres for a full load trip to Cornwall I can confirm that the droning is even louder (even audible above a roof box and bike rack wind noise. It happens on or off throttle and in neutral So I think it is definitely The pirelli’s. 
 

it’ll go back to Skoda for double checking in a week or so but I guess until I wear the tyres out I’m stuck with the noise.

 

what 19 inch tyres do people run?

[Ecomatt]

6 hours ago, Bugginbob said:

So after pumping up the tyres for a full load trip to Cornwall I can confirm that the droning is even louder (even audible above a roof box and bike rack wind noise. It happens on or off throttle and in neutral So I think it is definitely The pirelli’s. 
 

it’ll go back to Skoda for double checking in a week or so but I guess until I wear the tyres out I’m stuck with the noise.

 

what 19 inch tyres do people run?

I have the Goodyear Asy 5 in 19s. I went 235 as opposed to 225 for the extra rim protection they provide. Although I wish I had gone for Apollo Aspire XP, as they came very high in tyre tests and cost about £80 a tyre. I'd have saved nearly £200 getting those fitted instead. My dad had them fitted and they are an excellent tyre.

[Bugginbob]

Dealer has had my car for the last day and after checking everything over again, playing around with tyre pressures and swapping them from side to side/front to back again they are 100% definite that it's the tyres causing the vibration/drone. So guess i'm living with the noise until I wear all four tyres out. Bit annoying really. I didnt expect them to offer to replace £600 worth of rubber for free but am a bit frustrated that it came with the tyres that make that level of noise. Never had it before on 50+ cars, especially not from new (with the exception of a mini with cupped/sawtoothed runflats - that was insanely loud).

 

Was pleasantly surprised that they only charged me £14 to stick a litre and a half of oil in the car though. They weren't so happy when I returned the courtesy car in limp home mode and a engine light on. 

[TrinityJay]

22 hours ago, Bugginbob said:

They weren't so happy when I returned the courtesy car in limp home mode and a engine light on. 

 

Meanwhile my Frenchie specialist would be surprised if it doesn't come back like that

 

I have P-Zeroes on my RS230 sedan, new ones up front and (I assume) the originals on the back. There is definitely some tyre roar at freeway speeds, but still not as much as my 20yo GTi6 (which is wearing Goodyear Eagle F1 D5) so it doesn't bother me. I suppose that's not very helpful...

 

One thing I will say though is that despite the overall NVH reduction, there's a noticeable difference in the way the 19"s sound over a rough surface compared to the 15" 195/55s on the GTi6. Hard to put into words exactly what it is...more echo-y perhaps? I run 40psi on both cars for reference.

[Bugginbob]

52 minutes ago, TrinityJay said:

 

Meanwhile my Frenchie specialist would be surprised if it doesn't come back like that

 

I have P-Zeroes on my RS230 sedan, new ones up front and (I assume) the originals on the back. There is definitely some tyre roar at freeway speeds, but still not as much as my 20yo GTi6 (which is wearing Goodyear Eagle F1 D5) so it doesn't bother me. I suppose that's not very helpful...

 

One thing I will say though is that despite the overall NVH reduction, there's a noticeable difference in the way the 19"s sound over a rough surface compared to the 15" 195/55s on the GTi6. Hard to put into words exactly what it is...more echo-y perhaps? I run 40psi on both cars for reference.

thanks. It’s specifically between 58-67mph and more noticeable on smooth surfaces. Definitely a drone with accompanying vibration. The normal loud Pirelli tyre noise is present all the time 😂. They are up to 40psi now so will see how they go. 
 

plus I’ve just bought my daughter a 10 year old Citroen so suspect I’ll get familiar with engine lights 😂

[nidza]

This description doesn't look like tire related issue, but this is all fairly subjective topic. Is it loud as much you need earplugs or just it exists there and is annoying? I had Pirellis, exchanged them to PS4S, although there is sometimes noise from the tires, it doesn't occur on the smooth surfaces as you describe. It is really silent car on smooth roads, but load on coarse asphalt, which is unfortunately, quite common in my country. 

 

Let's be honest, Škodas aren't really silent cars, but not terrible as well.

 

Wheel bearing issue maybe? 

[Jon TDI]

I have a drone noise between 20-35mph & suspect the front tyres are the culprit, as they are worn to the point of requiring replacement. The noise isn’t loud but is noticeable.

Luckily I am getting them replaced next Monday whilst the alloys are being refurbed.
 

I shall report back next week to see if there is any difference.

 

 

Current Tyres are Michelin Crossclimates & will be replaced with Crossclimates+ as I am very pleased with how they perform in all weather conditions.