Road noise

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Road noise

Postby 04_LibertyGT » Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:59 am

Hi all just wondering if you guys experience excessive tyre/road noise with the Liberty. I have particularly found it annoying on long drives. Tyres seem to play an important part but the cabin seems to let a lot of that road noise in as well. What are some of the quietest tyres to run and has anyone done insulation with results. Thanks.
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Re: Road noise

Postby HardwareBoB » Sat Apr 01, 2017 10:55 pm

It's not wheel bearing noise?
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Re: Road noise

Postby 04_LibertyGT » Mon Apr 03, 2017 9:33 am

I have just put in new bearings all round. I'm sure tyres also play a role but in comparison, i'm finding a 1996 ford quieter. There might be something else wrong.
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Re: Road noise

Postby tom_kauf » Mon Apr 03, 2017 10:59 pm

Tyres are definitely the biggest source of noise, if you have a quiet (stock) exhaust and don't have any other issues like bearings (which you said you've replaced). Wind noise can be a factor as well, but shouldn't be major if all seals are good condition.

I find my Facelift GTSpecB very quiet. But I have pretty good Bridgestone S001 tyres on mine, which is their high-end sport/luxury tyre. I wouldn't trust any cheap tyre brand to have low road-noise. Some tyres start off quiet, and then develop a drone (I had Yokohamas once on another car that did that). My Bridgestones are actually pretty worn, so they've done well to stay quiet.

Road noise with the Lib is probably similar to the work cars I used to have: a 2010 Falcon Wagon and 2007 Commodore Wagon. All of which always had Michelins or Bridgestones. But the Liberty's Boxer engine is smoother and quieter than the above cars, even though I have an aftermarket Dump Pipe on my GT.
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Re: Road noise

Postby 04_LibertyGT » Tue Apr 04, 2017 7:23 pm

Thanks for the input the car is stock. For some reason, it doesn't seem like wind noise but more like road noise coming from the firewall and wheel arches. Unfortunately the tyres were new when I bought the car however the guy had different brands on the car - Bridgestone and Goodyear. I have tried rotating with not much change. Not sure if i should just bite the bullet and buy a new consistent set. It's starting to add up and I was thinking of trying dynamat in the wheel arches to see if it makes any difference at all definitely cheaper than new tyres.
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Re: Road noise

Postby tom_kauf » Tue Apr 04, 2017 10:13 pm

You have good quality tyre brands on your car, so they shouldn't be too loud. But I guess it's still possible that they're the cheapest of those brands.

I don't know if the Facelift cars got better sound insulation, but if you get a chance to ride in a similar car to yours (eg at a meet), you can see if they're the same or quieter.

The Dynamat sounds like a good idea! I hadn't thought of doing the wheel arches. I only have a tiny bit above my fuel pump (because my aftermarket pump is a bit louder than stock).Usually the doors are also an area a lot of road noise gets in, so Dynamat can make a difference there as well.
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Re: Road noise

Postby norbs » Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:04 pm

Get a loud exhaust to drown out the nouse :mrgreen:
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Re: Road noise

Postby 04_LibertyGT » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:02 am

Thanks they are actually top of the range but might be warped.

I'm not one to usually complaint about road noise but this seems excessive and really lets the car down for me as cabin comfort is important. I can't even hear my music without it being really loud but then when I come to a stop its like my music is blarring through the speakers. As I said the 1996 ford is quieter so this is crazy.

Haha exhaust might drone out the riding straight on asphalt noise.

I guess i'll have to buy some dynamat and trial and error sound proofing/insulation.
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Re: Road noise

Postby fedaykin » Wed Apr 05, 2017 12:28 pm

Which tyres though? What do you mean by "top of the range"?

I went from cheap MOMO M3 tyres to Hankook K120, noise was halved. Wagons are noisier though.
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Re: Road noise

Postby 04_LibertyGT » Wed Apr 05, 2017 1:18 pm

I would have to take a look at the model name again but they aren't cheap unknown knockoff brands so one would assume quality would be decent and the difference in db would be minimal if any.
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Re: Road noise

Postby Adrian2627 » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:07 pm

Stock suspension? Aftermarket bushes, coilovers, tower bars, etc can lead to increases in road noise.
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Re: Road noise

Postby RX25SE » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:20 pm

Tyres are a huge part of road noise.

Typically tyres that have large solid tread blocks (ie performance tyre) are noisier, and so are directional tread patterns. Quiet tyres have the tread blocks broken up with grooves and are not directional or asymmetric in their tread pattern.

I have Bridgestone RE003s, they are an OK tyre, sold as a performance tyre, while their grip is good they are a bit on the noisy side but nothing annoying. When I bought my car it had Federal FD *something or other* on it. Absolute rubbish for grip, but really quiet.

One thing i noticed with the RE003s is they seem to flat spot overnight when its cold. They are lumpy on the freeway first thing in the morning, but after a few kms they become round again and are fine.
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Re: Road noise

Postby 04_LibertyGT » Thu Apr 06, 2017 8:51 am

Thanks exactly the type of info i'm after.

Stock suspension with aftermarket bushes but not sure of the brand, it was already on when i bought it. All 4 are directional tyres had a quick look at the front ones and they are Goodyear Eagle F1.

According to wheelsmag there is only about 6db between a couple of different brands. Then it becomes about how significant 6db is. Best value for money would it be tyres around $400-$600 or some dynamat type product for less than $100.

https://www.wheelsmag.com.au/features/1 ... s-compared
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Re: Road noise

Postby 04_LibertyGT » Sun Apr 09, 2017 9:42 am

Quick update - Bought the sound deadner and carpet underlay material for $110. I'll do the wheel arches and floor first as this is where i believe most of the noise comes from. If i have enough material left, i'll do the doors. Keep you guys updated with the results and might post some pics of it. Cheers.
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Re: Road noise

Postby 04_LibertyGT » Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:01 pm

Been chasing a rough idle which is now fixed. :D

I have since my last post put dynamat on the wheel arches which actually to my surprise made a tiny difference, then proceeded to do the boot and front driver's door. Funnily enough the previous owner seemed to have tried his hand at soundproofing the door as well but did a terrible job. Seems like the noise was bothering him too.

With a sound meter app on the Monash heading in the Pakenham direction, I recorded a peak 83db cabin noise (not sure to how accurate they are) but 83db is excessive imo. :shock:

I suspect the noise to be coming from 1 tyre in particular but thinking may be I should replace all 4 directional tyres with the Michelin 3ST as they get a good rep for being quiet. I'll see if a tyre shop will tell me more about potentially that 1 tyre before buying a set.

Anyone else experience the same issue?

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