Road noise

[hittchy]

At the moment, I'm using both my A3 and A4 until the lease on the latter ends in a week or so.

One thing I've noticed is much more road noise in the A3. It's the only area I've found in which the A4 feels more sorted. Mind you, it's not that the A3 is bad or that the noise is particularly intrusive.

Just wondering if those moving from 8P A3s have noticed the same, or if it's down to the A4 being a larger car, or even the choice of tyres.

Any thoughts?

 

[spirosdimos]

i think that if u use the same tyres u dont have this problem....

At the moment, I'm using both my A3 and A4 until the lease on the latter ends in a week or so.

One thing I've noticed is much more road noise in the A3. It's the only area I've found in which the A4 feels more sorted. Mind you, it's not that the A3 is bad or that the noise is particularly intrusive.

Just wondering if those moving from 8P A3s have noticed the same, or if it's down to the A4 being a larger car, or even the choice of tyres.

Any thoughts?

 

[TreborA4]

At the moment, I'm using both my A3 and A4 until the lease on the latter ends in a week or so.

One thing I've noticed is much more road noise in the A3. It's the only area I've found in which the A4 feels more sorted. Mind you, it's not that the A3 is bad or that the noise is particularly intrusive.

Just wondering if those moving from 8P A3s have noticed the same, or if it's down to the A4 being a larger car, or even the choice of tyres.

Any thoughts?

I changed from an A4 Avant to an A3 Sportback a few weeks ago, both S Line models.

I too noticed the increased road noise and wondered if it was due to the Continental tyres on the A3.

I had either Bridgestone or Pirelli on the A4.

Not missing the A4 though even after 3 years and over 81,000 miles.

Both A4 and A3 are very good cars!

 

[Zig]

What suspension (SE, Sport, S Line - I assume it is standard S Line), what size wheels (I assume 18" '5 parallel spoke' as it is a S Line) and what make, type & size (I assume 225/40 R18 as it is a S Line) of tyres do you have fitted on your A3 S Line?

 

[Chelmersteve]

My new A3 has Pirelli Cinturatos on it and they're quieter than the Continentals that were on my A1

 

[hittchy]

I changed from an A4 Avant to an A3 Sportback a few weeks ago, both S Line models.

I too noticed the increased road noise and wondered if it was due to the Continental tyres on the A3.

This was my thinking. The A4 has Pirelli whereas the A3 has the Contis although I'm not sure it's all down to the tyres.

Both cars have sport suspension and standard 18" wheels (granted there's a slight diffence in 40 v's 45 profile).

Not missing the A4 though even after 3 years and over 81,000 miles.

Both A4 and A3 are very good cars!

It's been great being able to change back and forth between cars to compare, and to be honest I think the A3 wins hands down as the better car. I've never bonded with the A4 - it's the longest I've kept a car, but even after 50k it leaves me feeling cold.

I'm sure I'll get used to the road noise in time.

 

[hittchy]

What suspension (SE, Sport, S Line - I assume it is standard S Line), what size wheels (I assume 18" '5 parallel spoke' as it is a S Line) and what make, type & size (I assume 225/40 R18 as it is a S Line) of tyres do you have fitted on your A3 S Line?

Both sport suspension rather than S-Line.
A4 has 245/40 x 18 Pirelli P7
A3 has 225/40 x 18 Conti 5

Over the last three years I've had Bridgestone, Dunlop, Michelin and Pirelli on the A4 and never noticed a difference in noise.

 

[hittchy]

My new A3 has Pirelli Cinturatos on it and they're quieter than the Continentals that were on my A1

That makes sense.... the A4 has Pirellis on at the moment. Maybe the smaller cars in the range are more susceptible to tyre choice.

 

[markwiggy]

I'm sure I'll get used to the road noise in time.

you payed £750 for B&O, just turn it up. Lol :thumbsup:

Mark

 

[Zig]

Hittchy - The tyre side wall height on your A4 is 110.25 mm where as on your A3 it is 90 mm, which will mean less isolation from road noise, transmitted via the suspension/chassis/structure on the A3, assuming spring and damper chatacteristics etc are the same.

 

[synthdood]

I think it is simply a case of the A4 being larger. Larger cars are usually better insulated from road noise.

 

[hittchy]

you payed £750 for B&O, just turn it up. Lol :thumbsup:

Mark

That made me laugh... very good point though.

 

[c_w]

The 8P A3 is noisy for road noise IMO and the S-Line I had was no worse or better than the Sports on smaller wheels and softer suspension - it's disappointing then that it's not been sorted in the new 8v. You can try and fit "quieter" tyres but it will always remain noisy in its size class for road noise.

 

[hittchy]

Hittchy - The tyre side wall height on your A4 is 110.25 mm where as on your A3 it is 90 mm, which will mean less isolation from road noise, transmitted via the suspension/chassis/structure on the A3, assuming spring and damper chatacteristics etc are the same.

Sorry - I had a typo in the A4 size above. Apart from the 245 width compared to 225, the other stats are identical.

My understanding was that the difference between the height of the two tyres should be less than a centimetre (i.e. 20mm x 40%). I guess it could make a little difference but I don't remember my previous A3s suffering from noticeable road noise on the same size rubber. Those also had the harder S3/S-Line suspension.

Both A3 and A4 are very different cars with different suspension set-ups as you say. It's very difficult to make a direct comparison I guess.

 

[PjDali]

I've found the new A3 SB to be quieter than my previous SB and noticeably so.

Wife says the same as did my dad so quite surprised by the comments here.

 

[hittchy]

I've found the new A3 SB to be quieter than my previous SB and noticeably so.

Wife says the same as did my dad so quite surprised by the comments here.

You're probably right. Both TreborA4 and I have come from A4s rather than A3s and noticed it straight away. I can't remember what my 8P A3s were like but don't recall ever noticing road noise. It may well be that the A4 is particularly well insulated and we've got used to it making it more noticeable on the new A3.

 

[Daveotto]

The 8P A3 is noisy for road noise IMO and the S-Line I had was no worse or better than the Sports on smaller wheels and softer suspension - it's disappointing then that it's not been sorted in the new 8v. You can try and fit "quieter" tyres but it will always remain noisy in its size class for road noise.

I drove an 8P and 8V over the same road circuit a few weeks back, see previous thread(8P v 8V test drive) and put the extra road noise down to the 8V being quieter overall so picked up more road noise against the background engine and wind noise etc. through the larger wheels, that's why I deselected sports suspension on my order, see below.....still no build date for me



8P v 8V test drive
Started by Daveotto, 3 Weeks Ago
Replies: 4
Views: 353
mjcourtney
3 Weeks Ago

 

[deci]

My 8v is much quieter than my old 8p. And that's comparing a new S-line to an old Sport model on 17s. I've not been in a car in its class that's quieter either.

 

[Sootchucker]

Don't know how true this is (could be utter BS), but my mate who took delivery of his 3 door A3 about a month ago, also commented that whilst the engine and wind noise was almost non existant, he was a bit surprised mt the amount of tyre noise coming in.

What he said made a difference was lowering the rear boot height false floor to the lower position. He said he had it at the higher position with nothing below it other than the spare wheel, and he thought that the chamber it created created a sort of echo chamber that amplifed the noise. He said when he lowered the boot floor his car got quieter. Like I said could be a placebo effect or utter BS, but thought it was worth posting ?

 

[Zig]

Sootchucker - it could be that in reducing the engine and wind noise, the noise from the tyres becomes more noticeable, however it may be at much the same level as it was at before, it is all relative. I agree that the position of the boot floor may make a difference as it the upper position it may start to act as a sounding box.

 

[dieseldoug]

Tyre noise is a know fact in any vehicle when the speed is greater than 50MPH. This can be from anything cars to trucks, again looking at road surface between new and old surfaces, concrete can be the worst of all.

 

[c_w]

It's true that if the engine and wind noise is quieter then something else gets relatively louder, but in general the A3 (8P at least) is on the noisy side for road noise and the 61-plate A5 S-line Sportback I had for a short time was noisy too and that's a fairly big car. On my first A3 I dynamatted the whole rear of the car and purposesly selected quiet rated tyres to try and combat it! Never felt the need in other cars to do this. It's as if they are not tuned for the rougher road surface in the UK somewhow, when you're on very smooth tarmac they go silent but on rougher tarmac with stones in can get fairly noisy when other cars don't tend to. Call me crazy but the same platform MK5 Golf seemed quieter in all respects.

It's also true that a lot of noise comes from the boot, with the rear seats down it's noticeably louder; needs a sound deadening mat fitting I think!

 

[squiretolley]

It's true that if the engine and wind noise is quieter then something else gets relatively louder, but in general the A3 (8P at least) is on the noisy side for road noise and the 61-plate A5 S-line Sportback I had for a short time was noisy too and that's a fairly big car. On my first A3 I dynamatted the whole rear of the car and purposesly selected quiet rated tyres to try and combat it! Never felt the need in other cars to do this. It's as if they are not tuned for the rougher road surface in the UK somewhow, when you're on very smooth tarmac they go silent but on rougher tarmac with stones in can get fairly noisy when other cars don't tend to. Call me crazy but the same platform MK5 Golf seemed quieter in all respects.

It's also true that a lot of noise comes from the boot, with the rear seats down it's noticeably louder; needs a sound deadening mat fitting I think!

I'd have to disagree about the mk5 Golf. I've just p/x my mk5 Golf GT Sport which had 225/40/18 wheels and tyres and replaced with an A3 8v sline and the road noise in the A3 is considerably less.

 

[c_w]

Sorry what I wrote was probably confusing, I was comparing to the 8P (I know the thead was about 8v but as that hasbeen described as having louder than normal roadnoise it was one thing I'd havethough they'd improved; I bet they have of course relatively speaking but it is a newer car)

 

[manor13]

I currently have both the 8V sport and the 8P sline i was greatly surprised by the noise in the 8V and commented on it in another post, the 8P is worse so much so if i could swap it I would as its driving me mad. I came from a MKV ED30 and it was way quiter than the 8P & 8V. my boots always full on the 8V so maybe will try this on the 8P and see if this helps any or dynamat the car.

 

[EdSant]

I currently drive the 8V s-line and agree that road noise is much higher than expected for this class of car. Having said that, I would recommend everyone to check your tyre pressure. I have noticed that a deviation as low as 1-2 psi makes a huge difference.

No, it won't bring road noise down to A4 levels, but when tyre pressure is wrong it is enough to make it much worse on the A3 to a point where the noise reverberates in the cabin to unbearably annoying levels! Adjust the tyre pressure to the recommended Audi figures and you'll have a much more pleasant driving experience. At least this is what I noticed in my car.

 

[TomoK12]

Would road noise be different on the A3 saloon compared to normal A3's? Anyone?

 

[h5djr]

Obviously the type of tyre can make a big difference to road noise. I had Hankook Ventus S1 tyres (225/45 17") fitted to my previous 8P and they seem quiet. Several members in previous threads had complained about tyre noise on an 8V but this had improved quite significantly when they changed to a tyre with a quieter rating. One of the tyres that always gives a good noise rating on tests is the Dunlop SportMaxx RT tyres. When I ordered my 8V I decided that, depending on what tyres the car came on, I would probably change to one of those two.

When I was test driving 8Vs before placing my order I found the S-Line versions on 18" wheels were quite a bit noisier than the Sport models on 17" wheels and most were on Continental tyres which also seems noisier whichever wheel size was fitted. This was just one of the many reasons I did not want an S-Line and placed an order for a Sport on SE suspension. When it arrived it had Dunlop Sportmaxx RT tyres fitted to the 17" alloys so I was quite happy. I have just had to change all four tyres (it's a quattro) and I have had the same Dunlop Sportmaxx RTs fitted because I am very happy with them, especially from a noise point of view.

 

[cuke2u]

My car is probably the quietest one I have owned, quieter than my mk3 focus or mk4 mondeo and quieter than our fiesta. I don't think there are any noise issues at all...

 

[h5djr]

My car is probably the quietest one I have owned, quieter than my mk3 focus or mk4 mondeo and quieter than our fiesta. I don't think there are any noise issues at all...

What wheels size, suspension and make of tyres do you have on your car?