Road noise / tyre roar

[keiron99]

I have to admit, perhaps contrary to what I'd earlier said, after a couple of months of ownership of my GS300h I think the noise levels in the cabin are higher than my old E Class when cruising on the motorway.

I think this is largely because of the road noise. My old Merc had 17" wheels and Continental tyres. My Lexus has 18" wheels with Dunlops.

On long stretches of the M56 (my miserable, daily commute!) the surface is "dressed" with chippings. The road noise is high, but I think it's the relatively high frequency of the sound which is irritating, It's a blessed relief when the surface changes to the smooth black stuff.

Are there any ways to reduce the noise? I was reading the other day on a blog somewhere that the plastic wheel arch liners are so thin on cars these days, you can improve matters by painting them with some kind of waxy underseal or similar. That seems a bit unlikely to me.

I guess the only other alternative is applying a Dynamat material to the floor and panels, but that's seems like a heck of a challenge for uncertain rewards.

Anyone tried any of these measures or anything else...or is it just me that's bothered?

 

[AmbroseJohn]

My old BMW 5 series with 17 inch budget tyres, was much quieter than my GS450h with 18 inch Pirelli tyres

[rayaans]

14 hours ago, keiron99 said:

I have to admit, perhaps contrary to what I'd earlier said, after a couple of months of ownership of my GS300h I think the noise levels in the cabin are higher than my old E Class when cruising on the motorway.

I think this is largely because of the road noise. My old Merc had 17" wheels and Continental tyres. My Lexus has 18" wheels with Dunlops.

On long stretches of the M56 (my miserable, daily commute!) the surface is "dressed" with chippings. The road noise is high, but I think it's the relatively high frequency of the sound which is irritating, It's a blessed relief when the surface changes to the smooth black stuff.

Are there any ways to reduce the noise? I was reading the other day on a blog somewhere that the plastic wheel arch liners are so thin on cars these days, you can improve matters by painting them with some kind of waxy underseal or similar. That seems a bit unlikely to me.

I guess the only other alternative is applying a Dynamat material to the floor and panels, but that's seems like a heck of a challenge for uncertain rewards.

Anyone tried any of these measures or anything else...or is it just me that's bothered?

 

The GS is actually one of the quietest cars in its class according to some figures that have been obtained.

The road noise is probably down to the tyres and also, they are probably quite a bit wider than your previous Merc.

I believe the GS already has significant noise deadening material in the wheel arches.

 

[Carl911]

Sadly the poor motorway surfaces do cause a fair bit of road noise. I think if you drive a Bentley you'd still hear it. I had the is250, GS450h and rx450h and of the three cars the GS is by far the most quiet. Tyre choice certainly plays its part but you also get very used to how quiet the car is then it starts to sound noisy again.

just drive around in a Ford Focus or something similar for a week then see how quiet the GS is.

its a bit like driving a performance car and you get used to the acceleration and so it gradually starts to feel slower.

guess we get used to it very quickly.

 

[Ten Ninety]

I don't think the GS is as quiet as it should be, for a car of its size. I don't doubt it's quieter than a family hatch, but that's hardly the point - I mean, yes, it's certainly less noisy than my wife's Mk1 Auris hybrid but given that the Auris has a terrible road noise problem anyway that's not really saying a lot. I'm not sure it's about getting used to it, either. The first time I stepped out of my Gen3 Prius and into a GS I was disappointed to find that whilst the Lexus was quieter, the difference was nowhere near as great as I had hoped it might be. That GS was on 17s, too, and I can't say my car is appreciably worse on 18s so I don't think it's a wheel or tyre size thing.

I suspect my own disappointment might have come from inflated expectation. I just thought such a large car would be significantly quieter, especially given that there's no shortage of reviews and tests suggesting the GS is a quiet car. Presumably the reviewers tested it in Europe where they have proper roads and not our surface-dressed trash. Or perhaps they were used to dirty diesel rattlers braying away up front and were lulled into thinking the lack of engine noise makes the GS quiet. In my view it doesn't - it just highlights that the road noise is not suppressed as well as one might reasonably expect it to be.

I was, and still am, interested in the Infiniti M/Q70 with its active noise-cancelling but after visiting three Infiniti dealers and finding not one of them had a Q70 to test I have yet to discover if it's anything more than a gimmick.

At some point I might therefore experiment with Dynamat or similar, but I suspect the issues are more structural than anything a bit of padding can resolve.

[RichyRich]

My IS300H F-Sport is quite noisy on certain road surfaces too. I wonder if taking a bit of air out all 4 tyres, say 5 psi would help

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[Carl911]

I read a few reviews on the Infiniti and owners complained of noisy cabins. If you get to drive one it would be interesting to have your comments.  

[marrat]

Tires are extremely important for hybrids since any noise is magnified because the car itself is so quiet. My 3rd gen Prius was extremely loud and it was driving me nuts, especially on the brick roads we have here. During a maintenance the mechanic told me the tires were unusually noisy, the car had Dunlops at the front and Bridgestones at the back when I bought it. After doing a lot of reading, I bought Michelin CC tires and road noise is significantly reduced (as much as can be expected in the Prius with its bad isolation). 

Change the tires I'd say, read some reviews on internet first. From test drives, I found the GS300h and the IS300h very quiet, I do drive a Prius though.

[royoftherovers]

Most, if not all,Tyres have been allocated a db rating and this is often ignored by purchasers.

Low ratings (69?db) coupled with the purchase of good quality tyres, on cars with exemplary build quality (Lexus) has a wonderful effect on the ambient noise level.

 

Regards

John

[rayaans]

Agree with the above.  

I should also point out that auto decibel database has the Lexus LS and GS as one of the top 10 quietest cars and rated higher than the 2016 Merc E and 2016 BMW 7 series

I would assume other cars on the same road would make a louder noise and it's probably a combo of crap roads and relatively noisy tyres

[Britprius]

I could not agree more concerning the choice of tyres for noise levels. 

Coming from a Prius to the Lexus was a revelation noise wise. However the OEM tyres on the Prius were Bridgestone's , and changing to Hankooks reduced the noise level considerably while also improving the mpg figures in spite of the fact that I went from 195's to 205's.

I now pay great attention to the tyre labels for economy, grip, and noise level. I have also learned the higher the price you pay for tyres does not always translate into a better tyre.

John. 

[J Henderson]

Summer tyres always sound louder at this time of year. I noticed a huge reduction in road noise after swapping to my winter set, despite the winter tyres having a higher db rating.

[cruisermark]

55 minutes ago, Britprius said:

I could not agree more concerning the choice of tyres for noise levels. 

Coming from a Prius to the Lexus was a revelation noise wise. However the OEM tyres on the Prius were Bridgestone's , and changing to Hankooks reduced the noise level considerably while also improving the mpg figures in spite of the fact that I went from 195's to 205's.

I now pay great attention to the tyre labels for economy, grip, and noise level. I have also learned the higher the price you pay for tyres does not always translate into a better tyre.

John. 

I recenty replaced the tyres on my 430.

When i was looking at all the labels info it was very confusing - there were £50 budget tyres with very good noise and grip ratings compared to top brands whch were between £100 and £150 with very similar if not worse ratings.

In the end I went and bought mid range Avon Tyres and my choice turned out to be spot on.

The original dunlops gave alot of tyre roar even at local driving speeds, they were very unforgiving on uneven surfaces and dragged on full lock.

With the Avon all this is sorted - they are very quote (car has never been so quite in the last 4 years), very supple and forgiving on uneven surfaces and the dragging on full lock has gone - very happy indeed.

[Ten Ninety]

Tyres are definitely a big factor. However, I think the problem with using the db ratings is that they measure external noise, not internal. Given the differences in car construction, I imagine there are too many issues around harmonics / resonant frequencies to be able to state with confidence whether one tyre is quieter than another inside any given car. I know that in two cars I've changed from tyres that were rated 71/72db to tyres rated 66/67db and heard no appreciable difference at all either time. 

Given that the GS isn't a big-selling car, I don't expect the 'wisdom of crowds' will prove to be much help in finding a quieter tyre than the OEM Bridgestones, either!

[royoftherovers]

A sensible series of statements Jay.

As the great poet might have said "noise lies within the ears of the listener"

 

Regards

John

[Zotto]

Usually I found Michelin tyres quiet, at least for some thousands of miles.

But if someone finds GS noisy, may be he needs a flying carpet.

[hondansxr]

I recently had my exhaust replaced I wanted it noisier as I could here the fan on the heater running whilst doing 50 mph ?

 my wife has a leaf (all electric) and there wasn't much diff in my gs 430  ?

re tyres .. Michelin tyres are one of the quietest on the market

[keiron99]

On 11/26/2016 at 3:34 PM, cruisermark said:

 

The original dunlops gave alot of tyre roar even at local driving speeds, they were very unforgiving on uneven surfaces and dragged on full lock.

With the Avon all this is sorted - they are very quote (car has never been so quite in the last 4 years), very supple and forgiving on uneven surfaces and the dragging on full lock has gone - very happy indeed.

3

Interestingly, the Dunlops on my GS300h exhibit this "dragging" effect. I've never experienced it before, and it frightened the life out of me the first time I pulled into my drive (when I use full lock).

Is this right? Is it a wheel alignment issue? Could this in some way relate to the tyre roar I am hearing?

[cruisermark]

I think it is the characterisitic of the tyre that makes the car do this - I had a 4 wheel alignemnt done on my car but that did not cure the problem so i had to live with with untill the tyres needed changing - the fact its quite a  wide tyre does not help - thankfully the new tyres have cured this

[arkviz]

It is very interesting to read about tire noise here. From my previous cars, i had an experience that Bridgestones are very loud, Pirrelis and Dunlops are quiet. But switching to Lexus with Bridgestones from factory showed me, it is not the same to have Bridgestones made in Poland on BMW (loud) and Bridgestones made in Japan on Lexus. I have to say Lexus on BS is quieter than BMW 5 on Pirrelis, both 17". I am also having some noise issues with my GS, but they are rather engine than tire related.

[royoftherovers]

I have just fitted 4 Kumho All Season Tyres and the car is just as quiet (to me) as it was when I had the Summer Kumho`s on.

Lexus Chester have retained my Summer tyres and will refit them for me in the Spring. They will then again retain the All Season Tyres and refit them for me in late Autumn in 2017.

 

Regards

John

[keiron99]

At the risk of sounding dim...what's the difference between summer and winter tyres?

[royoftherovers]

My understanding Kieron is that there are Summer Tyres which are best used when the temperature is above freezing and Winter tyres which are best and most effective when temperatures are below-7 and then there are All Season Tyres which can be used all year round and best used down to -6 and in winter rains and winter snows.

It is not necessary to change from All Season Tyres in the Summer months,but my Summer Kuhmo Tyres had a good deal of tread and I did not just want to throw them away.

Sorry if this sounds confusing.

 

Regards

John

[Funkyboy]

In a recent head to head between Audi A6 Mercedes E class and GS300h the GS came bottom for amount of cabin noise.

this reflected a test drive I had in a GS. I was really surprised as I expected it to be more cocooned from road noise. Also has a fair bit of wind noise on motorway.

Ive cut and pasted the bit below 

Another noise level to report next: how much wind, road, engine and transmission noise fills the cabins on the same motorway surface, in the same weather conditions, at a steady 70mph cruise. You might expect a hybrid Lexus with a quiet petrol engine to rule over its diesel rivals here, but the GS300h’s ride turns out to be conductive and sensitive to an even slightly coarse surface.

As recorded by our decibel meter, the GS300h is actually the noisiest car here, at 66.5dB. It’s beaten by the A6 2.0 TDI (65.5dB), the S90 D5 AWD (65.1dB) and the E220d (64.1dB). The Mercedes’ advantage seems to be mostly accounted for by better wind noise suppression than its opponents. Its engine raises its voice when worked but settles to a remote hum at cruising revs when driven through the tall ninth gear of its automatic gearbox.