Audi A4 S Line Black Edition - Road noise, alternative wheels?

[converse420]

Hi
Firstly, I'm new to the forum, so my appologies if this question has been raised before, I've searched to no avail!

Ive just picked up a 2011 A4 S Line Black Edition, which looks stunning, but with the 19" wheels the road noise is staggering on most surfaces (it probably doesnt help that my last car was a VW Phaeton)!

As a consequence of this, I'm looking at picking up a spare set of 17" wheels/tyres to (hopefully) alleviate the noise to some extent! So my questions are:
1. Do you guys think this will make a noticeable difference to the noise?

2. What should I be looking at for the replacement 17" wheels (offset, clearance of brakes etc.)

Its a real shame to have to do this, but my ears are litterally bleeding, so any help would be greatly appreciated!


Regards

Dale

[theskyfox]

Hi, Welcome to the forum,

I've got a set of 17" wheels that I use on my car for winter tyres. I can't remember off hand the exact sizes, but you can get official Audi 17" alloys that will fit your car without any issues. If I get a spare 5 minutes later at home I will find out my sizes and post.

1. Yes it will reduce the road noise, and the ride will be much less bumpy. Be aware that a lot of tyre noise is also down to the brand of tyre, and these are now sold with labels telling you the expected decibel rating of road noise to expect from them

2. I'll dig out my sizes later.

Additional notes worth considering:

-Tyres on 17" wheels are substantically cheaper to buy than 19", so you will be saving money
-Fuel economy will improve marginally as the 17" are lighter/contact less road surface
-If you have a driving style of "drive it like you stole it" then you will find that the road-handling of
17" wheels isn't as good as the 19"; however this will not be a problem for 99.9% of people driving
on the road.
-If you change your wheels, you *may* need to inform your insurance company as it is technically a modification

[converse420]

Thanks theskyfox, much appreciated!

Dale

[eob]

Hi Dale,
as I said in the other Black Edition thread, the road noise in mine is not obtrusive.
As theskyfox says, the make/brand will have a lot to do with it.
Your other post didn't mention that your car was a 2011 so chances are it won't have the Continental Conti Sport Contacts.
That could be the main contributing factor.

Edit: Also, welcome to the forum. A friendly bunch of know-it-alls who will gladly help with any issues your've got.

[c.grex]

I'll swap you my standard 18" S line wheels for yours if you want!? only because I feel sorry for you....:D

[Guest 2]

wide tyres + low sidewall = horrendous noise. if you dont like it you should'nt of got a BE ;)

[Fulty74]

How much are the 19's lol, I take it they're these wheels

[converse420]

wide tyres + low sidewall = horrendous noise. if you dont like it you should'nt of got a BE ;)

They were part of the deal, coming from a big 2.7 tonne VW Phaeton with a fantastic ride I always knew the BE would be noisy and always expected to change the wheels even if it doesn't look as good!

[converse420]

How much are the 19's lol, I take it they're these wheels
Those are the ones, although I have no immediate plans to sell, I guess I will have fun when I part ex for a new one in a few years if the stock wheels aren't on it.

[boom1]

Just turn the Bang & Olufsen up!;)
Think its more to do with the road surfaces TBH. Around my way they have recently resurfaced using bitumen then chippings, the noise is horrendous. When you get on a good bit of tarmac though its very quiet (using Conti 3's)

[113brucey]

cheeper brand tyres cause this also if tyres are getting down in tread

[converse420]

It seems like I have a mix of tyres, which isn't helping, however in this scenario I accept that the car is OK, its me that's at fault, so I need to work out an alternative wheel/tyre combination!

[theskyfox]

For what its worth, I had a quick look on a major tyre site last night at 255/35/19s tyres. Contis contacts 5 were 73db, with a set of Dunlops and Goodyear claiming 69db road noise. Thats a difference of basically 4db...which if my science is not too far off a volume reduction of close to 50% (assuming that a 6db increase is doubling of volume and that all the figures quoted are spot-on)

-Andrew

[converse420]

Looking at getting these as a spare set of 17" wheels. Does anyone have any experience of Lenso?http://www.wheelbasealloys.com/17_Inch_Lenso_Elegance_BKI_Alloy_Wheels__1496 .Alternatively what are brands are recommended as the choice from Audi is quite limited.

[fat controller]

For what its worth, I had a quick look on a major tyre site last night at 255/35/19s tyres. Contis contacts 5 were 73db, with a set of Dunlops and Goodyear claiming 69db road noise. Thats a difference of basically 4db...which if my science is not too far off a volume reduction of close to 50% (assuming that a 6db increase is doubling of volume and that all the figures quoted are spot-on)

-Andrew

I'm running Goodyear EfficientGrip on all four corners, which claim to be 69db -however I am doubtful. On a nice smooth, new road surface the car is nice and quiet; however, on the older style road surfaces (I think its the type were there is a larger proportion of stones in the mix) the noise is terrible.

This (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ll=51.438146,-0.375166&spn=0.011089,0.033023&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.438096,-0.37527&panoid=yRjndo4526njWVmzgERr7Q&cbp=12,237.49,,0,16.14) is a road that is local to me, and the transition at the line shown is remarkable - tyre roar on the first section is hellish, and then as soon as you cross onto the section that goes up the bridge, it instantly drops dramatically.

I am running bog standard 17" wheels on mine, with 245/55 tyres, so I dread to think what low profiles would sound like on surfaces like this.

[A4BlackEdition]

Cheap tyres can make a big difference. Honestly cant say mine is any worse for tyre noise than my passat that had 17" wheels....overall its a very very quiet car.

Michelin Pilot sport made a massive difference on my skoda vrs, the car had nankang ns1 when i got it and was noisy and crashy, but transformed by the michellin.

It is not your wheel size! Dont do it!

[converse420]

I have to say, the car is growing on me to the extent that I am mostly able to ignore the noise as it looks so good (IMHO).
Picture attached.21357

[apache24uk]

HI,

I'm currently running 19's (255 35 19) at the moment on my Sline using Barum Bravuris 2, they are ok not too much noise. They need replacing in at the end of the year, I'm thinking of trying something like Kumho or Yokohama, softer compound so hopefully less noise

[Kdminx]

For what its worth, I had a quick look on a major tyre site last night at 255/35/19s tyres. Contis contacts 5 were 73db, with a set of Dunlops and Goodyear claiming 69db road noise. Thats a difference of basically 4db...which if my science is not too far off a volume reduction of close to 50% (assuming that a 6db increase is doubling of volume and that all the figures quoted are spot-on)

-Andrew

6db is a 75% reduction in noise. Sound is measured on a logarithmic rather than numerical scale with a 3db difference showing a doubling or halving in Sound Pressure Levels.

That said my A4 BE has the same 19" rotors with conti sportcontact 3s and I really don't notice the additional noise. The ride is pleasingly firm though. I have thought about getting an additional set of 17"s with winter tyres but would expect noise levels to increace significantly with those.

KD

[mr mugello]

I had a mega amount of road noise coming from my 2012 Black Edition on 19's. Dealer had to replace my car due to fault with engine and found the replacement BE built July 2013 so much quieter with regards to road surface noise and grit or gravel flicking up under vehicle. To me it seems like the newer car has had more improved soundproofing in place. Make of tyres are same, just the suspension was different with sline sports suspension compared with standard on last BE. To be honest my two BE's I've had are chalk and cheese with the previous one having noise issues around door frames as well as underbody.