Glacier6

I'll def check that out later. I would think the dealer would set them at the normal level but who knows.

KIRA

I just got thru reading all 5 pages regarding road noise .I had a 2010 A6 Avant 3.0 t prestige that came with Dunlap tires, They where so noise that I changed them too Michelin sport tires which improved things to a acceptabel noise level.
And I was reading about all the problem folks had with the Peralli tires.
I just took delivery of my new 2014 A6 Prestige with Peralli tires. After reading all the problems I checked the car yes they are Peralli but there Cinturato P7 255/40 /R19 100H M&S.
After driving the 2010 for 4 Years the new one was a pleasure to drive without any notisable road noise.


Hans

snagitseven

That would be nice but in my many years of dealer service they almost never, ever use the manual's PSIs but use the door jamb label instead. I assume it's because they can't memorize all the different wheel/tire size requirements and they won't take the time to look them up so, at best, they just use the door label as it's faster and easier.

BTW, be sure to check the pressures when the tires are cold.

keithl

I love my A/S 3s. Do they make some noise, sure, it is the nature of UHP All Season tires. I find the to be some of the best tires I have every driven. I had Potenza summer tires on my M37S and I'll take the AS/3s as they handle as good or better and are more comfortable. They handle great in the rain as well.

Glacier6

So I checked the tire pressures on the A/S 3s and they were actually set at the normal recommended PSIs from the manual. I also checked the sound level on a pretty smooth stretch of freeway at 75 mph and it was averaging 82db, which is comparable to the Pirellis. Something doesn't seem right. Michelin has a 30 day return policy I may need to check out.

MCRN

just so we are comparing apples to apples here - at least as much as you can without a controlled experiment. Are folks using the DB Meters testing while driving 70 mph on concrete or asphalt. There will always be a difference between the two surfaces when it comes to tire noise.

I don't have that many asphalt roads in my area that allow highway speeds, travel often to AZ and thats all they have - so I think we need to start caveating our results with the road surface.

Glacier6

I'm in AZ and it was on asphalt. Although, I wouldn't say it's exactly smooth in most places.

subterFUSE

Long overdue follow-up on this.

We have completed my new stereo system upgrade and one of the areas of focus was improved sound dampening. As stated before, when driving on the highway @ 70mph the average road noise level was 80 dB.

We took the interior apart, and removed the seats and carpet. Focal BAM dampening was added to all metal surfaces we could find. Careful attention was made to lift all OEM wiring and put the dampening underneath it, so that the wired would still be serviceable.


Seats Out:





Interior removed:



Focal BAM dampening:





On top of the Focal BAM we used 2 layers of Luxury Liner Pro, which is a combo layer of mass-loaded vinyl & closed-cell foam. The MLV is a soundproofing layer, while the foam serves as a decoupler.



The rear deck also got treated. Both sides.



Door panels, too. Focal BAM and Luxury Liner Pro, cut to fit each door panel.
The doors are as solid as a bank vault now.



Net result?

On the highway at 80mph, using the same dB meter, the average is now 65dB. Previously was 80dB+. There is still some noise from the tires depending on how smooth the road surface is. Unfortunately, that kind of noise is very tough to stop. But overall, a 15dB reduction is a huge improvement.

Now I just need to start the tuning process for the audio. New stereo build log coming soon, too.



Edit: I just re-read my old post. My old testing was at 70mph on a freshly poured asphalt road. Averaging 80+ dB with peaks above 90dB.

With the new sound dampening I tested at 80mph, so I was going even faster. Theoretically, I would expect the old setup to be louder at 80 mph than 70mph. And at 70 it was pushing above 80dB. I'm now averaging 65dB @ 80 mph on smooth asphalt. That's a very dramatic difference.

NoahWeb

^^^impressive!!

How much weight was added to the car??

Any advice on how to remove the panels, seats, and etc?

PepeA6

But that massive dB reduction makes me want to tear into it right now! I'd say up to 100lbs is absolutely justified for the dB drop. What would be a good, cost effective route to source the sound deadening components?
I'd be interested in knowing the fragility level of this interior removal. Gutted the C4S6 couple times in the past...