2008 A6 3.0 Tdi Quattro Avant Lemans - road noise

[gary280670]

2008 A6 3.0 Tdi Quattro Avant Lemans. I've owned this car for almost 6 months now. The road noise on most road surfaces can be almost unbearable. Sort of like a droning noise. As you'll all know Lemans A6's have 255 35 19 tyres. Mine is fitted with Michelin Pilot Sports. Still have a good bit of wear left yet. Tried playing about a bit with tyre pressures, without success, as recommended ones seem a bit high to me, 38 psi rear 44 psi front. I've had wheel bearings checked and appear to be fine. Car has done 32000 miles.
This is spoiling the car for me and I'm close to the point of getting rid of it.
Anyone got any ideas ?
Anyone have similar problems ?

 

[elan2s]

Those pressures seem very high and with the rear being higher than the front would suggest that they are the fully laden pressures rather than the ones for normal driving. Are they the ones given on the tyre pressure chart (found on the fuel flap or drivers door pillar or try here Tyre Pressure Search)? Another thought if the Pilot Sports are unidirectional tyres then it would be worth checking they are mounted correctly as that could cause additional noise (and many other things!)

 

[rezulteo]

As the tyres are worn, it may be that the tyres have spot wear. Rotating your tyres might eliminate problems.

The links in the text should help you a little more.

Good luck sorting the problem out!

 

[gary280670]

That's right, pressures are from the filler cap and they are laden ones. Tyres are fitted correctly. Thanks

 

[gary280670]

Just read your reply and noticed i'd made a mistake in my post which i've now changed, front and rear pressures the wrong way round.

 

[crispin]

Wide tyre = noisy, the only thing I can say is maybe the tyres are old as in the rubber compound gets harder as the get older and they get noiser. Mine are 245/40/18 and the rear of my car used to make a noise until I changed, the tyres still had tread but just were a bit old. Check out tyre web sites as they will tell you if the brand you are using are noisy. Harder compound, last longer BUT noiser and less grippy. I run sport contact 3s and they are a great all round tyre! I would try new tyres before selling car for sure......Good luck

 

[gary280670]

Looks like it's new tyres then !!!!
Hopefully that'll do the trick.

 

[elan2s]

Looks like it's new tyres then !!!!
Hopefully that'll do the trick.

If you have not used them before (and providing they cover your location) I cannot recommend Event Tyres (Tyres for car van or 4x4 - tyres online up to 40% cheaper) highly enough. Their prices are some of the best, they fit the tyres at your location and they have yet to damage a single alloy wheel in over 8 years of using them

 

[Gavin0478]

where abouts are you located as my lemans is whisper quiet

 

[gary280670]

North East of Scotland, close to Aberdeen. Wish mine was whisper quiet !

 

[scott1]

hi there just new to the forum. I have just bought the 2.7 a6 avant le mans but im also have trouble finding the correct tyre pressure. can anyone help. thanks

 

[elan2s]

Welcome! Should be a sticker either on the drivers door pillar (low down and visible when the door is open) or on the fuel filler flap

 

[joedredd]

My A6 had 19" fitted as standard but got dealer to change them to 18" due to poor road conditions, and they are whisper quiet. Fitted with a mix at the moment with Contis up front and Vreidsteins at the rear.

 

[crispin]

sport contact 3s great all round tyre, used them on current car and on S6 before...

 

[hazey7]

Regarding 255/35/19 tyre pressures, there is quite a history of people thinking 44 at the front is too high, I was told to run them at 38 all round.... 10 months later, low tyre tread depth, time to change I could actually see that the outsides had worn faster than the insides - a clear indication that the pressures were too low.

have to agree that 44 makes for a pretty rough ride, now run 40 at the front, will see what happens, am watching closely for any sign of uneven wear.

My Falkens are not too noisy though... you have to expect a bit of noise from a 255 tyre at 35 profile on a near 2 ton car....

 

[gary280670]

I've changed 2 of the tyres only as the other 2 were about a year old I was told and still had plenty wear left in them. Michelin pilot sport 2 fitted without any noticeable change in road noise. So as you might gather at £520 for the pair I'm a bit disappointed. So it's back to the drawing board........

 

[Tuddie]

Regarding 255/35/19 tyre pressures, there is quite a history of people thinking 44 at the front is too high, I was told to run them at 38 all round.... 10 months later, low tyre tread depth, time to change I could actually see that the outsides had worn faster than the insides - a clear indication that the pressures were too low.

have to agree that 44 makes for a pretty rough ride, now run 40 at the front, will see what happens, am watching closely for any sign of uneven wear.

My Falkens are not too noisy though... you have to expect a bit of noise from a 255 tyre at 35 profile on a near 2 ton car....

Any update on this mate? How much has the wear changed running at 40 than 44 is it uneven or fine?

 

[hazey7]

Hello again Tuddie,

To be honest I have maintained between 42 and 44 at the front and between 38 and 40 at the back. Wear seems OK, I changed my rears 1 month ago, they weren't new when I got the car and they have done over 25,000 so I'm well pleased with that. I bought Falken FK452s again as I saw no reason to change. They have actually gone down in price, bought 2 a year ago for the front they were £205 each, this time they were £180 each. They are not too noisy at all. Grip has been phenomenal, even through the winter I've never had so much as a tiny twitch.