Passat road noise

[spockley]

I have owned a Passat Diesel Auto Estate for a few weeks, and am disappointed with the degree of road noise. This reduces markedly when driving on the smooth French roads, and so seems to confirm that it is indeed road noise and not some other problem. Has any other Passat owner (a) thought the noise excessive and (b) found a cure - eg a particular brand of tyre?

[westie383]

Hi spockley,
I also have a Passat TDI 130 estate, and to say it's a diesel, I think it's very quiet once it's up to speed and up to temp. I've also done quite a bit of driving in France, and their toll roads, particularly the concrete ones feed back a fair bit of road noise compared to tarmac.
The tyres I'm using are Continental Premium2's all round and seem fine for general use and touring.
My wifes Polo, on Firestones, on the other hand, are a right pain in the ****, very noisy, like driving on solid tyres...

Cheers,
Trev.. :beerchug:

[alba_tdi]

Hi Sprockley,
I have a 2001 130bhp TDi estate that also suffers from road noise quite badly. I suspect that it does not matter what tyres are fitted, if the surface is poor the noise is more prevalent.

Cheers. alba_tdi

:friday:

[spockley]

Thanks Alba. When my tyres need replacing, I will do some research to locate the quietest available. But, in the meantime, so far, it looks to me as if the sound-deadening qualities of the Passat are not as good as they might be. (I also hear a rubbing sound on applying the brakes). So I suppose another thing to look into would be fitting more sound-deadening material such as "silent-travel" - is it still available, I wonder? My previous car was a Vauxhall Omega diesel which was beautifully quiet. So perhaps I am just asking/expecting too much from my Passat.

Spockley

[Sam]

Tyres make a huge difference in road noise.

When I bought my Passat (3Bg/B5.5) it was fittted with 4 Conti sports which were awful. After some disagreements with my dealership we went halves on new tyres. I replaced them all with P6000 (I think!) and have had no problems at all since.

There's a wealth of information out there on this particular car and which tyres work best for various situations, a google search will take you there - I don't want to take traffic away from this great site.

[spockley]

I have tried a google search - again - and can reach no conclusion as to the quietest tyres. Some people say Pirelli P6000 are quiet. One, at least, says they are the noisiest tyres he has ever tried ! This is just one example of widespread confliction of views.

One likely-looking tip seems to be using tyres with non-steel walls. I will do some research on this. Many thanks for your comments.

[blackie]

Before I became a VW owner, the previous owners club website always had threads about noisy tyres. P6000s were generally good for low levels of noise.

[spockley]

The tyre noise on my Passsat is really spoiling the car for me now, and I just cannot seem to find a majority, let alone unanimous view on which tyres are best for minimum road noise. I have Michelin Pilot Primacy on the front, and this seems to be where the noise emanates, and have just read two reports on the "Tyre Rack" site agreeing that these are noisy. However - as said, cannot yet find a definite quiet alternative. Do VW themselves have a helpline perhaps?

Edit - have now checked the rear tyres (Contisport Contacts) and find that they are for "high performance" and also deemed noisy ! So it seems a full set of boots needed - but which ones??

[Sam]

cough-P6000-cough

Falken Ziex ZE329 seems to get some good reviews as do the 512s
Dunlop SP Sport A2 Plus
Mich Pilot Exalto A/S
Bridgestone Potenza G009

Tough choice to make, I tend to just replace like for like, but then I've not had any noise issues as yet.

I do know a lot of Passat owners avoid the Contis as they're frequently noted as being noisy and quick wearing.

[spockley]

After copious research, I finally had Kumho KU30 fitted to the front on my Passat at a cost of £140 - and can detect no improvement in road noise!
So I have to conclude, sadly, that the sound-deadening on this model is just not up to the standard of my Omega. Can anyone please advise whether the Audi A4 Estate (diesel) is silent inside compared to the Passat ? If so I may well decide to change.

[Dozz]

I've got a passat saloon now but a few years ago I has a 99 A4 estate 110 diesel. Got to say the Audi was more noisier than the Passat but your always get that with an estate. As for fitting Kumho tyres and expecting a great reduction in noise was a waste of money after all they are budget tyres (I wait to be hung from all you kumho users). I changed from a Peugeot 406 saloon GTX to the passat and the difference in road noise was staggering if you want to hear road noise take one of them for a test drive no wonder i'm going deaf.

[spockley]

Dozz - firstly, I have to disagree with you - although many estates are noisy, not all are. For example the Vauxhall Carlton and then Omega diesel estates that were my last two vehicles, and which were dead quiet, and hence my disatisfaction with my Passat. Also, as stated, I did a lot of research on tyres, and concluded, not only that Kumho are reckoned to be excellent - more of a bargain, rather than budget, but also discovered that Kumho say they have a contract to sell 200,000 tyres per year to none other than Volkswagen - admittedly for the Polo, which may well be described as a budget car, I suppose.

[Dozz]

Sounds like you done your home work. It also sounds like you have a duff Passat. I can do direct comparison between the Passat and the Carlton as I have both. My diesel passat is quieter than the my Petrol Carlton. Granted the Carlton in a GSI3000 with a straight 6 engine but the road noise is definitely louder.The tyres on the Carlton are Bridgestones and I have Goodyear NCT 5's on the passat. I was just wondering if your tracking was out and this was causing the road noise to increase (long shot) failing that I wonder of a previous owner removed some sound deading material for some reason as for the tyres we'll just have to agree to disagree. Of course I can only comment on the Saloons

[spockley]

Many thanks Dozz. I like your ideas. The tracking was checked when I got the car, but could be worth another try in case they cocked it up. Also will investigate possible removal of sound-deadening - and the possibility of adding some more!

[Dozz]

No problem only trying to help

[spockley]

Well I had the track checked as you suggested, Dozz, and, sure enough, it was toeing out about 2mm, when (according to the garage) it should be toeing in about 2.2mm ! This has certainly helped. Many thanks. As regards extra insulation, I think this is not really practicable as all the carpets etc seem firmly fixed down, and I can't face stripping the lining off the doors etc. One last thing now is for me thoroughly to investigate the wheel bearings. I have ruled these out up to now on the grounds that the apparent tyre roar changes according to the road surface, and so if the noise was mainly from the bearings this would not happen.

[Dozz]

I really think you should have a go in another passat before you do that. Wheele bearings don't tend to give the same problems your having. Before you chuck any more cash at it it may pay to find another one to have a test drive in.

[spockley]

Another very sensible point, Dozz. Will do.

However - I did take a test drive in a new Saab 9-5 2.2. diesel estate yesterday, and found the tryre noise even worse that the Passat! So am rapidly realising that I was spoiled with the Omega. and it seems that excessive tyre noise is now the norm with these lower-profile tyres.
So may try a sound-deadening kit from Noisekiller.co.uk, as recommended by "Honest John", or perhaps investigate fitting smaller-diameter higher-profile wheels and tyres - or just put up with the noise until next car change. Many thanks for helpful messages.

[spockley]

Have tried nearly everything, now, to reduce the road noise on my Passat Estate - except fitting higher-profile tyres with smaller wheels. (I assume these would have to be 205/165/15 instead of 205/155/16. Firstly, are there any such wheels which fit the Passat (2001 130TD) and secondly, has anyone on this Forum ever tried this, and does it make ny difference (to transmission of road-noise)?

[snapdragon]

I myself have just bought a 2002 Passat tdi V6, after a 1997 Omega Elite 2.5TD.
The Passat is not in the same league at all, but I didn't really expect it to be, my Omega had a list price of £31k so was more like an older 5-7 series BMW without the badge or style but with the luxuries and engineering.
The Passat is just a family car. I very much miss the Omega, the Passat is noiser, rattles and squeaks over speed humps, generally lighter (thinner glass and interior mouldings etc...) but there are no cheap large rwd luxury barges these days, it's a bygone era.




Have tried nearly everything, now, to reduce the road noise on my Passat Estate - except fitting higher-profile tyres with smaller wheels. (I assume these would have to be 205/165/15 instead of 205/155/16. Firstly, are there any such wheels which fit the Passat (2001 130TD) and secondly, has anyone on this Forum ever tried this, and does it make ny difference (to transmission of road-noise)?

[spockley]

Thanks for reply Snapdragon.

Regarding smaller wheels - I have discussed this with a local VW spares dealer, and he assures me that having 65 mm tread depth rather than 55mm would make no difference. It looks as if I will have to wait until Lexus produce an auto diesel estate and then save for about 5 years to buy one - by which time I may well have given up driving. I would still like to hear whether anybody has found an Audi A6 diesel is any quieter than a Passat. I tried an A4 the other day, and found it worse than the VW!