Road Noise

[sedj]

This is new to me having owned a few cars over the last 20 years, i find the Yaris the noisiest car i have owned. I may add its the base model "S" with no frills, but still a car which started production in 1999 i would have thought would be more refined? As against the last car i had which was originally designed a decade before it ?

The main problem and more noticeable is repair sections on the road it makes a real racket when it hits these or any other changes in surface texture :(

If anyone has any recomendations on tyres which may help matters then pipe up :D

Its a nice car otherwise but for this problem.

[Madasafish]

First thing o check are the tyres.

Make . Are they a well known brand?

My Yaris is no noisier on bad surfaces than the Fiesta I had before.

[Chris81]

What was the last car you had? Many would put it down to the Yaris being jap cr@p though of course I'd disagree. I would have thought your high profile rubber would absorb most of the bumps. The t-sport, particularly on its oem bridgestones is pretty noisy and harsh, but that's the price you pay for the better handling. I've been in a 1.0S and I don't remember it being particularly noisy, it was certainly a much softer ride than the t-sport.

[reece]

Depends what you are comparing your 10 year old base model 1 litre Yaris too. I’ve had larger more refined cars which (with a diesel engine) are noisy.

Newer small cars are more sophisticated and quieter.

[Johan007]

Check tyre pressure are not too high or you are using cheap hard tyres.

[sedj]

Last car i had was a Rover 214sei with 185x55x15 tyres which were no name tyres, the Yaris has 13inch alloys with 165x80x13 Barum on the front and Nexus on the rear running 34psi to help a little with the fact it has no power steering.

It may have something to do with the shocks being firmer on the Yaris? It does sit high looking at the wheel arches and the Rover probably had clapped shocks in comparison.

[Johan007]

Last car i had was a Rover 214sei with 185x55x15 tyres which were no name tyres, the Yaris has 13inch alloys with 165x80x13 Barum on the front and Nexus on the rear running 34psi to help a little with the fact it has no power steering.

It may have something to do with the shocks being firmer on the Yaris? It does sit high looking at the wheel arches and the Rover probably had clapped shocks in comparison.

The extra 4spi (presume you are running 28 in the back) would make a significant difference to ride quality and traction/braking because it hardens the tyre. I had the Rover 214is and the suspension on that was very soft and as a result the ride was compromised unless you corner very slowly. More expensive cars can combine both a soft ride and firm suspention such as the Auris/Golf/Focus etc...

The tyres you have are budget tyre that will add to the hardness.

[Gunzi]

Possibly worth trying some sound proofing in the boot and rear quarter panels? Flashing tape from B&Q is good for this. I've just done the boot and it's completely removed the droning from the TTE exhaust on the motorway.

[sedj]

The extra 4spi (presume you are running 28 in the back) would make a significant difference to ride quality and traction/braking because it hardens the tyre. I had the Rover 214is and the suspension on that was very soft and as a result the ride was compromised unless you corner very slowly. More expensive cars can combine both a soft ride and firm suspention such as the Auris/Golf/Focus etc...

The tyres you have are budget tyre that will add to the hardness.

4psi should not make that much difference, but the fronts are not far from the wear limit so i shall see if the proper 155x80x13 tyres will fit these alloy rims. I would agree the Rover handling was not the best, but i think with any car there is compromise between handling and ride. There is far less body roll in the Yaris which is good, it feels more planted :D

Possibly worth trying some sound proofing in the boot and rear quarter panels? Flashing tape from B&Q is good for this. I've just done the boot and it's completely removed the droning from the TTE exhaust on the motorway.

Sounds like a plan, will take a looksee and way up the options .. cheers

[alfiejts]

Definately the tyres that make the difference in road noise.

If you go to the online sites for tyres (such as mytyres.co.uk) they contain tyre test results for each make and that includes a noise rating.

Different makes and different tread patterns make a big difference to the noise over different surfaces.

As stated above, Barum is a cheaper brand so less "research & development" will have gone into noise reduction.

Some road surfaces are also very noisy though and you can really tell the difference between some "patches" or stretches of motorway these days on any tyre - just a fact of life I'm afraid on that.....