drwahoo

I am looking at buying a new car in the next month or so. I spent a good part of last weekend driving many cars under wet conditions (off and on rain). I have narrowed my choices down to the Audi A6 (2.7T or 4.2) or BMW 540i or Lexus GS430. I really like the fit and finish of the Audi A6, including rear seat legroom since I have 2 children. My only concern was that the Audi (stock tires) seemed to have significantly more road noise and wind noise than the BMW or Lexus. For a car this expensive, this was somewhat disappointing. Have others noticed this and also does a change in tires help with the road noise. I am not sure much can be done about the wind noise, which was related to a crosswind most of the time. The BMW was not as nice inside (wood and plastic trim), but was a much quieter ride. I will do a few more test drives to see if different weather conditions have an effect and how "bad" the wind noise is. I did my test drive on the highway and a very winding, partial cobblestone road in a large business park. All three cars stuck to the pavement very well under agressive driving in wet conditions. I have been reading various posts on this forum the last month and have found the comments very helpful.

DWP

The Audi Quattro will stick much better than the other two especially in the wet if you push it to edge. I found Pirellis much quieter than the stock GoodYears. The one you drove probably had some other kind of rubber, though.

drwahoo

What size Pirellis do you have on your A6. Thanks

avdh

Before I purchased my A6 2.8 Q Avant I test drove the BMW 528i (now 530i) as well as other cars, but not the Lexus.
I am a bit puzzled with your comments, as I found the demo A6 to be the quietest of the bunch.
I also find my car very quiet and have no problems whatsoever with wind noise, even at high speed it is quite ok. For instance, when I get a phone call through the car's cell phone kit, the person on the other side does not even realise that I'm driving...
My tyres are Dunlop SP 8000

GB27t

My conti's on my 2.7T make a lot of noise, depending on road surface, my 1 complaint about the car. I plan on changing the tires next year.

timcar

I find both road noise and wind noise on my '01 2.7T to range from very good to acceptable depending on speed and road surface. Above 80mph, wind noise is noticeable. I've read other posters complain about wind noise, which suggests either a variance by car, or by driver. Fortunately, both these issues can be addressed.

There is a new ultra performance all season tire made by Yokohama (SP?) named the AVS dB. All reports are that it is one of the quietest tires ever sold. The '02's should be out in a couple of months. Audi has provided thicker glass and different door seals, evidently, to address wind noise. So, the '02's should have significantly less wind noise. If you decide you want an A6, I'd wait until '02 models, and have the dealer swap out the stock tires for a set of Yokohama AVS dB's. I think that would take care of both of your concerns. Stock tires are 215X55's, however either the 225X50's or 225X55's Yoko's will fit with minimal speedo error.

Capt Ron

But they make up for it by not gripping very well <g>.

Regards

STEVE2.7T

Wind noise. I find that under certain conditions wind noise can be quite loud and at other times at 100+mph it is non-existant. I think cross winds are the culprit. I have S4 wheels and Bridgstone 45 series tires (changed from the original Continentals) and find the car very quiet in terms of road noise.

The May 2000 Car and Driver Best 40K sedan test (that the 2.7T won out of 8 cars) had the BMW 5 series and Lexus GS300 at 65 db at 70mph cruising the Audi and Lincoln Ls at 67 db and all the other competitors were over 70 db. At full throttle the Audi and BMW were the same and at 70 coasting the BMW was 1db better. The 2002 A6 has supposedly improved significantly on these figures!

rmg

of the excessive wind noise and tire noise that came into the cabin. There were some other issues as well but for $50k I expected more.

I had a 4.2 with 16" tires and no mods.

On the other hand I liked the sound of the engine.

I'll be ordering an 02 (hopefully, the S6) model as soon as the dealers get the order sheets.

By the way, AoA ways very helpful in buying out my lease.

Le Chef

Will changes apply to all A6 models, including allroad, or are the changes, whatever they may be, specific to particular models? Also when will the '02's be available?

Many thanks

Le Chef