Help - Road Noise on vRS

[cooliospoolio]

Hi, I was hoping I could get an objective opinion. Finally convinced SWMBO to accompany me on a test drive of an 06 Furby vRS. This was a MAJOR achievement as she is a real badge-snob etc. I had a test drive last year so knew what to expact performance wise. We do 18k miles a year so was concentrating this time on cruising refinement as we spend loads of time on the m/way. I thought with the 6-speed this would be ideal.

However, it was a HUGE MASSIVE disappointment. The road noise was absolutely deafening. Also the tyres picked up the tiniest imperfections in the road. I can't remember the '05 being this bad - but I was more knocked out by the grunt so I can't be certain of this.

I know the Furby is a "hot" hatch with stiffer springs and all that but the noise made the thing way louder than the Ka I've just sold. It was the sort of incessant drone that gives you a headache really quickly!!

When I got back to the garage and told them, the sales guy said he'd noticed that car was noisier than the one he had before. He said it was tyres, as the '06 was on Michelins, his previous one was on Conti's. Do I need another test drive on different rubber or is the Furby generally noisy?? By the way the engine itself was amazingly quiet (especially compared to my Renault "Tonight Matthew I'll BE Impersonating a Transit Crewbus" Scenic DTi).

I really need to sort this as I fear SWMBO has now turned her back on the whole idea and its tearing me up!!! I suppose I could consider an Octavia L&K...

Any help would be appreciated.

[jamesr]

Well I've got an 06 with Conti's and the road noise is still pretty bad.

[Tom_vRS]

It really does come down to the tyres.

I found Pirelli Neros pretty quiet.

[cooliospoolio]

Just had a thought. Do Fabias ship with transportation blocks in the springs that should be removed in the pre delivery inspection? I read somewhere once that leaving these in can cause bad noise.

[ric04vrs]

bridgestones are the worst of the lot , mine had michelins but i didn't really notice a lot of road noise , IMO you won't notice it after a while especially when you're flying down the lanes with a grin from ear to ear ,just turn the pretty good stereo up when you're on the m/way

[MikeW]

Mine's on Michelin's, no real issues for me on road noise at all, it's the QUIETIST car i've ever owner!

[MikeW]

In fact the noise is probably down to the road surface, roads that have "chipped" coverings are terrible for noise even after the chips have settled.
If you do most of your miles on the motorway try and have another test drive on the motorway itself.

[Neily03]

Fabia vRS is a warm hatch. If you really think the tyre noise is bad then don't drive a proper hot hatch.

When i test drove one i didn't notice any tyre noise!

[The The]

[quote=cooliospoolio]
However, it was a HUGE MASSIVE disappointment.

If you test drive a car and dislike it that much you need to look elsewhere, try a VW or a Seat

[Chris GB]

I have driven two vRS. One on Conti Sport Contact II (my car) and one on Toyo T1R. The Toyo shod car was very quiet by comparison. However, my car on its relatively noisy Contis is still a decent way to cover a 300 mile drive without driver fatigue setting in and I am yet to drive anything with a similar blend of econmy and performance that comes close to cruising comfort.

To put it in perspective, my other car is a V6 Omega. This is very quiet at any speed and its top notch sound system and super comfy seats would make it the ideal choice for long journeys. Fuel cost is not an issue for me. Since getting the Fabia, I have not used the Omega for any journeys unless I need a lot of boot space. As I regularly travel to appointments over 200 miles away, I think this speaks volumes for the Fabias abilities.

Chris

[WW_VRS]

Tyre noise on the Conti (Sport Contact IIs) is noticable for sure.

I added a load of soundproofing to my car and it makes a difference. That said tyre noise is still the worst part of the noise inside the car depending on surface. On a reasonable surface the noise is ok. If you get a concrete road it is worse for sure.

To compare against a petrol (?) Ka is quite a difference. It's a PD so more engine racket to start with. The tyres are low profile, wide tyres compared to 'standard' shape and that in itself causes more roadnoise.

If you're after a comfortable cruiser I'd definitely give the PD100 in say Elegance trim a go, they are on 'standard' tyres and have great performance too as standard, it may be nearer to what you guys are looking for.

[bryand]

My Fabia vRS came with Michelins and I got so fed up with the noise that I changed them for Toyo Proxes T1-Rs which were much better.
The vRS suffers from road noise more than unlowered Fabias. Not sure whether sound deadening under the carpets would help.

[blueheart]

Michelins are definately noisier and harsher than the Contis, the main reason I specified the Contis to be on mine when I picked it up, only to find it was sitting on Michelins, they swapped them over for me while I had a cuppa though. I won't be getting Contis again though, Eagle F1's or Toyos for me!!

[HellFire]

Originally Posted by Neily03

Fabia vRS is a warm hatch. If you really think the tyre noise is bad then don't drive a proper hot hatch.

I disagree. My brothers Clio has virtually no road noise, neither do the following:

new Golf GTi, Focus ST, VXR Astra.

It's all down to the tyres. Whilst some tyres are better than others, no tyre completely erases the noise unfortunately.

2 quick ways and relatively inexpensive ways to reduce noise is to:

Get "Sounkiller" at £160 - basically a guy comes and fits sound deadening everywhere (wheel arches, boot liner, door cards to name but a few areas).

The Ibiza TDi also has sound deadening around the engine (£30 IIRC) which fits the vRS 1.9 TDi perfectly and further reduces noise.

[Ma$er]

I've had my VRS for over a month now and I have to say the road noise seems fine (I have Conti's). Just drove 150 miles yesterday and was really impressed with the overall performance of the car.

[viewer]

I found that original Michelins were nice and quiet for about 15K then became progressively noisier. Eventually very annoying although plenty of tread within legal requirements. Changed for a new pair of Michelins and quiet again. Suspect that this is common with several makes of tyre (I've had it on other cars and vans). Suggest comparing tyre wear when comparing noise in different test machines. Don't ask me how now; but I'll measure tread left when tyre noise becomes noticeable again. Or.. has anybody done this?

[HellFire]

It seems that certain roads affect the car more than others. Motorway tarmac is excellent and the car makes little noise, however the flip side of this is Motorway concrete where the Fabia really suffers badly and the road noise is literally deafening.

[Roger M]

'04 vRS came with Michelins. Did 40k miles, then put on Avons. '06 has Bridgestones - should have come with earplugs !! Don't know what to think about when they're done - Avons brilliant in the wet, but very poor wear. Probably go for Contis or Michelins again.

[Neily03]

Originally Posted by HellFire

I disagree. My brothers Clio has virtually no road noise, neither do the following:

new Golf GTi, Focus ST, VXR Astra.

It's all down to the tyres. Whilst some tyres are better than others, no tyre completely erases the noise unfortunately.

2 quick ways and relatively inexpensive ways to reduce noise is to:

Get "Sounkiller" at £160 - basically a guy comes and fits sound deadening everywhere (wheel arches, boot liner, door cards to name but a few areas).

The Ibiza TDi also has sound deadening around the engine (£30 IIRC) which fits the vRS 1.9 TDi perfectly and further reduces noise.

My CTR has bridgestones and very little sound deadening, the vRs is silent compared to that!