A6 2.7tdi Le Mans

[Aliboo]

I have a brand new Audi A6 2.7 TDI Le Mans. The road noise is the loudest I have ever had in over 40 years of driving Saabs, Mercedes, BMW,etc.
It is much louder than the test drive car I had although that was an S line 3.0.
They did not have a Le Mans for test drive but I was told that the car sent was the same speck except that the Le Mans had slightly bigger wheels. No mention that it would also be so noisy. The road noise can be heard above the Bose sound system even with it turned up very loud. Has anyone else had this experience ? Any recommendations ?
Many thanks.

[masonj]

I have a brand new Audi A6 2.7 TDI Le Mans. The road noise is the loudest I have ever had in over 40 years of driving Saabs, Mercedes, BMW,etc.
It is much louder than the test drive car I had although that was an S line 3.0.
They did not have a Le Mans for test drive but I was told that the car sent was the same speck except that the Le Mans had slightly bigger wheels. No mention that it would also be so noisy. The road noise can be heard above the Bose sound system even with it turned up very loud. Has anyone else had this experience ? Any recommendations ?
Many thanks.

At the moment I drive a current model Passat and had a test drive in a 2.7 Le Mans. My impression was that it was no louder than my Passat SE 2.0TDI 140.

[gtiller]

The S-Line that you test drove would have had 18 inch wheels on it.

The Le Mans will have 19 inch wheels.

The 19's are a much lower profile (the circumference is near identical on both, which means that the tyre wall is a lot smaller on the bigger wheels)


The lower profile the tyre gets, as a rule the noisier it will be in terms of road noise.


You can get quieter tyres next time you get new boots.

The new Goodyear Eagle Asymetric is getting good views (this is the replacement for the outgoing F1 G3-D3)

I think Continental have just produced one espicially for the Audi - which is supposed to be quite good for road noise.

Look out for a continuous untreaded band around the centre of the tyre, as this will stop it from drumming so loudly when you are on the motorway.

Also stay clear from run flat tyres, as these are also very loud!

[Aliboo]

Many thanks for the information.
Audi should be collecting the car today to try to resolve the problem.
They do seem to think it may be caused by the tyres.
I will use the information you sent me when I talk to them later.
Fingers crossed !!

[Aliboo]

Many thanks.
I have also been in the Passat and would class that as having low noise levels so if you say the Le Mans you drove was about the same then this strengthens my view that there must be something wrong with my one. Most comments I have had and also all the press reviews suggest that the Audi A6 is a very quite car.
I know 2 people with 2.7 TDI S Lines and they say their cars are very quite.
Even though the Le Mans has bigger wheels I cannot imagine that Audi would deliberatley make it such a noisy drive. I certainly hope not !!!
It is going back to Audi this week so I hope they can fix it for me.

[masonj]

Many thanks for the information.
Audi should be collecting the car today to try to resolve the problem.
They do seem to think it may be caused by the tyres.
I will use the information you sent me when I talk to them later.
Fingers crossed !!

Please let us know how you get on with this. My Le Mans should be turning up at the end of this month or beginning of April. Why make of types does your car have?

[Aliboo]

My car is now back with Audi but I think it has Michelin tyres type ZR and I know the depth is only 35mm and the tyre pressure is 44 front and 38 back, from memory. As a colleague said, 'that must be like driving on wheels of rock' and I must admit that is a bit what it sounds and feels like.
Audi have assured me that they have had no other problems with the Le Mans and are confident they can resolve the issue.
I truly hope your car does not display the same issue as it is a fantastic car other than my , apparent, isolated experience.
I hope to get the car back later this week.

[Aliboo]

The car has been back with Audi again this week and it has just been returned. They have changed the wheels from 19 inch to 18inch and it now has Pirelli PZero Rosso Tyres.
These wheels and tyres came from their S Line demonstrator which I drove and it was quieter than my Le Mans.
I obviously now need to test them on my own car which I will do over the Easter break.
They have asked me to call them after Easter to advise if I am now happy with the level of road noise.

I ordered this car last August and ,at that time, there were apparently very few Le Mans so even Audi UK did not realise the difference that the 19 inch 35 depth tyres would make compared to the car I test drove which was a standard S Line.

If anyone has ordered a Le Mans but never test driven one, I would certainly recommend that you have a test drive before you part with any money, to make sure you are happy with the noise level. As with all cars, it is a matter of personal choice and many people may well be happy with the road noise levels but I was not and have had a lot of hassle to solve the problem (at least I hope it is solved).

[nz02dv]

Aliboo,

How did you get on with your tyres, I pick my Le Mans up in a bout 6 weeks.

[Aliboo]

Still no luck. The car has been back to the dealer again and tested again and they agree it is noisy. I als test drove their demonstartor (they have one at last) and that was also noisy but not quite as badf as mine.
Considering I got this car on the 4th March and complained the next morning , the level of interest and customer service from Audi is the worst I have ever experienced from any company. I am still waiting to hear what they are going to do about it. Their technical people are supposed to be investigating but I never hear anything unless I contact them and usually it takes 3 or 4 letters before I get any response.
I am appalled at Audi's complete lack of customer support and very dissapointed in the noise levels that this car generates.
Make sure you are happy before you give them any money.