[OldCroc]

Ok - so Volvo UK are not interested in the fact that I have excessive road noise and have recorded over 80 dBA in the car.
As I cannot afford a change in vehicle (which i considered) I will go it alone with some DIY soundproofing and am looking for some help. I plan to start with the wheel arches and any then bare metal in the boot. Any other ideas will be greatly appreciated.
OldCroc

 

[lmafudd]

This is a problem. I currently have Michelin Pilots that seem to be known for high road noise but fantastic grip.

These have been recommended - Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2

Anyone know/used them?

 

[DarrenCC]

I did post something similar a few months ago under the heading of "which manufacturer" and because I was interested in which tyres worked/did not.

@OldCroc...which tyres are on your car? Mine has Pirelli P7 Cinturato and are probably good for 45,000 miles on the front, good grip in the wet, fairly quiet...which is all positive as I'm not a huge fan of Pirelli. If this post continues, perhaps the answer may come out as to which tyre manufacturer is the best for road noise?

 

[Mr Fro]

Before you go throwing loads of cash at new tyres and heaps of Dynamat, have you checked your tyre pressures?

I've been tyring to eek a bit more mpg from my D4 so pumped the tyres up to "Eco pressure". When I finish up the current tank of fuel I'll be putting them back down to fuel gobbling pressure as the ride is now mega harsh and the road noise is much worse than it was before I pumped them up.

Same goes for the mrs Lotus - 2psi makes all the difference between a twitchy, harsh and noisy ride and a gloriously poised sports car.

 

[Yellowbelly]

.......... Volvo UK are not interested in the fact that I have excessive road noise ..........

What size tyres have you got ~ width, profile and diameter? Standard or optional? Large diameter wheels with low profile tyres will tend to create more noise regardless of the make of tyre. http://www.blackcircles.com/general/tyre-labelling/tyre-label

 

[OldCroc]

Have you ever tried to read a tyre size in the dark with a Torch? I will have to check tomorrow but I do know that they are Touranza and I think they are 15s. Defo not low profile.
Mr Fro - I have been running Eco pressures but Volvo let the pressures down when I took it in to try and hide the noise. It did not seem to make too much difference to the noise but did make the ride smoother. They acknowledged that as well.
Imafudd I am surprised about the mitchelins - you would have thought that they would have been a quieter tyre just from the cost.
I will get my tyre size tomorrow.

 

[bari]

I thought the road noise was vastly reduced from my Nissan Note. The concrete parts of the A180 into Grimsby are now quiet enough for me to hear the radio. Mine is fitted with Continentals

 

[v40d4rdesign]

Ok - so Volvo UK are not interested in the fact that I have excessive road noise and have recorded over 80 dBA in the car.
As I cannot afford a change in vehicle (which i considered) I will go it alone with some DIY soundproofing and am looking for some help. I plan to start with the wheel arches and any then bare metal in the boot. Any other ideas will be greatly appreciated.
OldCroc

Hi, do you think it is structure or airborne noise?

I personally think with my 2014 V40 R-Design road noise is very good, as good if not better than its German competitors, my v40 is fitted with 17" Pirelli P7 Cinturato.
The only noise issue I have which I consider poor and requires further improvement is the cold start up of diesel clatter and a high frequency sound like an ancillary belt which soon goes away, I think this maybe a normal op for the vehicle yet annoying.
You can do all sorts but unless you know the answer to Structure or Airbourne you could be wasting your time.
Where is the noise? from Back / Front of vehicle I would probably guess rear, if you run 18" Tyre and wheel combination then you would have to expect higher road noise than the 17" because of the profile and tread etc. don't forget technically the tyre is generating compressed air as it tries to flow thru the tread blocks.
Are you running the tyre pressures on ECO or Standard pressures.
Could also be as simple as production misbuild e.g door seal under door not clipped into body or door correctly causing noise to enter vehicle.

 

[Toolmantim]

well my car is very noisy it is 75 % wind noise around the doors and the rest from the front wheel arc as there is no steel under the plastic wheel arc noise enters from behind the dash both sides i have installed sound mat in my boot as i have removed the stupid plastic cover over the spare wheel to fit a std wheel which helped a lot and having a sub fitted i had to increase the sound matting to stop the rattles.but have also recorded 83 db centre car and 86 db at both front wheel wells .i have michelin on my car and cant wait for them to wear out so i can throw them away .lucky that wont take to long 15000 km tops

 

[OldCroc]

Right. My tyres are Touranza T001. 205. 55. R16. With a speed rating of 91H. You can't get much less sporty than that!

To answer some of the questions:
I have run the pressures on both standard and Eco and there is a difference but not a great deal.
In Lincolnshire many of our roads have been 'bandaged' (resurfaced) with a course stone and these are the roads that are the worst for noise. The noise difference over different road surfaces is very noticeable which is what makes me sure that the noise is from the tyres and not wind or engine. I have been very pleased with the engine noise or lack of it unless I just don't hear it because it is drowned out by the road noise.
Front or rear? I believe mainly front but the rear also contributes and when the car boot is loaded the noise from the rear is reduduced.
Toolmantim I agree with the plastic in the wheel arches and I think this may be the main cause of the problem and will be the first area I will tacckle but I am not sure how yet. I thought of spray foam over the exposed area which can be seen from within the engine bay? Any thoughts?
v40d4 - the front door seals have been an issue and Volvo have already replaced the drivers door seal twice as it had collapsed.
I am pleased that this thread has elicited such response and look forward to the views of others. I just feel that as a small, unsporty family hatch the noise is excessive.
OldCroc

 

[v40d4rdesign]

Course Stone Chippings will always give the worst case scenario when assessing tyre noise.
I am assuming on smooth Tarmac such as say the M6 Toll road motorway the Road Noise would be totally different and acceptable.
Its no consolation but it is not really the issue of Volvo tbh, Their NVH dept would spec x amount of tyres brands and run tests at a Test Track, unsure where Volvo do their testing for Europe, there are a number test tracks in the UK and Spain to establish best overall performance on specific Noise Generating Surfaces etc.
Please also be aware it is not just NVH who have a final say on tyre procurement as there are other depts who will have to test the tyre proposal like ride & handling, driveability just to name a few.
As said previous MY 2014 R-Design I think is really good compared with its competitors, this was one of the 5 areas I was interested in prior to purchase.
My suggestion would be for you to go and test drive a new similar competitor vehicle on the similar roads you mention, VW Golf, Audi A3 would be its closest competitor and compare like for like, the only difference would be possibly tyre brand.
On course chip roads you have to expect a higher degree of road noise or cavity noise which the V40 has on these types of surfaces, that said most other cars would also have this characteristic also.
Incidentally are the wheels Alloy or Steel as this can also make a difference in some cases.
I would advise not to use spray foam on to the back of rear wheel arch liner. Some manufacturers use a material known as acculite but it would sealed in a bag and attached to the inner side of wheel arch liner.
I think if you used spray (Expanding) foam I think Volvo or any other manufacturer dealership for that matter would possibly refuse to work on the vehicle.

 

[worm59]

Very interesting comments.

 

[OldCroc]

V40 - thanks for the interesting comments. Yes, the road surface does make a difference, as does the car. I am afraid I will have to disagree with you regarding it not being the issue for Volvo. As I see it I do not make cars nor do I construct the roads. However, I do drive cars on the roads so in my opinion it is up to the car manufacturer to ensure that its cars are up to scratch on the roads they have to drive on. My bad is that I did not do a full enough test drive as I probably would have taken my second option which was a fully spec'd Octavia.
I have just given back an Audi A3 (business car) which was way quieter and I traded an Astra J (latest model) for the V40. The Astra was also quieter - at 6-7 grand cheaper.
My wheels are alloys but not low profile. Thanks for the tip about acculite - I will look into it. Continental make a tyre called ContiSilent which has a foam band inside and reduces road noise but they only make them for a couple of Audis. They have told me that no other manufacturer has shown any interest so they are not making them in a full range of sizes - unfortunately. Anyway, the quest continues.......:thumbup:

 

[lmafudd]

I have to agree OldCroc, this car should be quieter. I also agree that some British roads are more grit than tar and that definitely doesn't help.

I think mine is much noisier at the front than the back. I will definitely be trying a different front tyre in the next few weeks.

 

[v40d4rdesign]

A few years ago I test drove a VRS Octavia Diesel and was impressed until at Motorway speed on a newish Tarmac dual carriageway found I could not of lived with the road and cavity noise on a daily basis so unfortunately decided not to purchase the vehicle specifically because of this.
Regards to the Conti I think they were especially developed (maybe wrong here) for a 21" Alloy running a very low profile, probably very expensive in any case.
I can only think your vehicle has some sort of leakage path into the cabin causing this.
I would now probably speak to Volvo Dealership and either have them check the vehicle over and try arrange for a test drive in an exact same V40 not that you should have to do this as they should investigate to assess whether this is abnormal or not, shame you are in Lincolnshire and not closer.
A very quick check would be to acquire/hire a Sound Level meter calibrated at 94dB and measure using your outer ear position whilst driving, e.g someone sits in rear and has the sound level meter next to your outer ear, that's how Road Noise is measured normally.
Whereas I would have up to 8 mics in car, using many thousands of pounds worth of test equipment to collect and compare data.
as Imafudd has suggested he might change brand, yes that might knock a 1 or 2 dB off but the tread blocks may be softer leading to quicker wear possibly. handling and braking characteristics may also change.

 

[OldCroc]

V40d - I used a sound level meter and measured the sound around the driver's head area and this was where I measured over 80 dBA.
Had the car back to the dealer twice and they have messed with tyre pressures then referred it back to Volvo UK who basically are just not interested which I think is a pretty poor show and will certainly be a factor in my next purchase.

 

[lmafudd]

I had my car services at Tolbar in Warwick last week and the nice folks there arranged for an S60 R Design loan car for the day.

Still the D2 variant but it certainly rode the bumps well and the cabin seems better sound-proofed. The TFT display is an option that the loan car didn't have and the standard dash looked very old fashioned but otherwise very similarly appointed as the V40.

Overall the S60 doesn't have the visual "wow" where the V40 certainly does but as my bones get a little older I fear I may be forced to migrate to the better degree of comfort in coming years.

 

[Kev]

Overall the S60 doesn't have the visual "wow" where the V40 certainly does

Subjective of course, not a fact. There are quite a few S60 drivers that would likely disagree. :thumbup:

 

[lmafudd]

Clearly it is 'subjective' but then I am writing about my own view. I thought that would be obvious.

 

[Kev]

Of course.

Apologies, seems we are off topic.