mk8.5 GTI road noise

[fredgroves]

The BS S005's (which i assume are the ones you have) are rated at 72db

Now bear in mind that the noise ratings are not what you hear in the car, thats different...

72db is in the worst bracket for noise.

Shop around but it looks like the Eagle Asym's are maybe a little quieter.

[chrisgolf1]

Exonian - yes, funnily enough I did that yesterday. Makes the ride a bit less fidgety but doesn't help with the noise.

Somehow I don’t think you and this car are going to gel which is a shame.
It might be worth test driving a few other similar cars to see if it’s unique to yours and maybe try a few other marques too.



There’s going to be a lot of interested people on this forum in your experiences with the Pirellis @CarbonGTD

I have a feeling you are right. It is a bit of a shame as I was looking forward to picking it up for a long while, but my first long trip in it put me right off it. To my mind my 2013 mk 7 GTI 3 door was the best of the three I have owned. Cheers

[chrisgolf1]

Hi Chris - I feel very much the same way about my new 8.5 GTI on the hard and noisy Bridgestones, which is why I am (prematurely) swapping them for a whole new set of Pirelli PZ5's this coming weekend (which are supposed to be the quietest and smoothest riding tyres currently available on the market).  I had a 7.5 GTI previously (non DCC) which I ran on PS4S's (not PS4s) which I loved - but I am taking the gamble on the new design Pirelli PZ5's as the PS4S's are now a 10 yr old design, and the new Pirellis really are supposed to be v good (plus currently available with 20% discount which is helpful) - I'll let you know my verdict on them once they have bed in.

Good to hear I'm not alone! I look forward to hearing what difference it makes to the driving experience. Thank you.

[chrisgolf1]

The BS S005's (which i assume are the ones you have) are rated at 72db

Now bear in mind that the noise ratings are not what you hear in the car, thats different...

72db is in the worst bracket for noise.

Shop around but it looks like the Eagle Asym's are maybe a little quieter.

Thank you. They are Potenza Sports which I presume are similar. Db ratings only differ by a few Db's for external noise as far as I can tell. Why there is no assessment / rating for internal noise is a bit baffling but I guess that's down to soundproofing and engineering in individual cars and so would get very complicated.

[fredgroves]

the difference between a "quiet" tyre and a noisy one (ie A to C rated) is only 6db.... but db's are funny things - thats actually perceived as 4 times quieter!

BTW the whole noise things about tyre ratings is environmental... apparently noise can make people physically unwell... so now the EU force tyre makers to say how noisy their product is.

I've also read somewhere that the Cross Climates seem to massively reduce noise but nobody can explain why.

[flipflops]

Could be worth getting the alignment checking too, could the noise be the rears saw toothing?

[chrisgolf1]

Could be worth getting the alignment checking too, could the noise be the rears saw toothing?

Hi, I've had that on a previous car, but this one's only done 1200 miles, so probably not the case. cheers.

[SRGTD]

Bear in mind that the noise levels quoted by tyre manufacturers relates to the noise levels outside the car,  not in the cabin. However, if VW are fitting less - or poorer quality - sound deadening material in their cars in an effort to save a few £££’s IMHO it’s reasonable to assume more road noise would be transmitted into the cabin by tyres with a high dBA rating than those with a low dBA rating.

There are various sound car deadening kits and materials that can be bought for DIY installation. I have no personal experience of these products but installed in the most noise prone areas of the car (e.g. boot floor, spare wheel well, doors) they should improve things.

[chrisgolf1]

I've tried sound deadening / proofing in other cars without much success. Seems to be a 'dark art' involving either dampening panels more with 'dynamat' - although VW will have already damped them - or adding a barrier between you and the noise, which doesn't seem to work well with low frequency road noise (although other manufacturers seem to manage it better than VW).

The main problem to my mind is that it's hard to get a car these days with small enough wheels to not make much noise. The most bog-standard family saloon comes with low profile tyres and 18/19 inch wheels. A Triumph Dolomite Sprint I had 40 years ago had 13 inch wheels, although cornering wasn't necessarily its strongpoint...