RAV4 MY21 Road Noise

[Encayoh]

As you may have seen on previous threads, I have taken delivery of a 2WD Excel.

On the whole, I'm very pleased with it, however, I took it out yesterday for its first decent run, covering a fair few miles on the motorway.

I was very conscious of the persistent road noise - far more intrusive than I remembered from the motorway run I did when doing a test drive, on a MY20 with 18"

Reviews at the time said it was a bit of an issue compared with the Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-5, however on balance I preferred the Toyota.

I took deliver recently of a Model Year 21 Excel. I was a little concerned that the wheels jumped from 18 to 19" - I have always selected the higher profile tyres as my preference has always been comfort over performance or aesthetics.

The new tyres are 225x55x19, so the ratio is the same. Ride over the bumps is fine, but it is the issue with road noise that I'm looking at.

• Are the standard tyres particularly noisy - I'm wondering if its worth changing to quieter rubber
• Are these new tyres wider than the 18s?
• Has anything happened to the sound deadening on the model bump?
• Are 18s worth the swap? Will try and find one to try in a dealer if I can.

Your thoughts and insights would be appreciated

Keith

[philip42h]

Keith,

The 18" wheels are 225 x 60 x 18 - so the widths are identical, the 18" are higher profile so a little more compliant and the rolling radius is pretty much the same. (So, you could bin the 19" wheels in favour of the earlier 18" without messing with the speedo or anything but I'm not really advocating doing that ... 😉 )

What tyres do you have fitted?

Mine came with Dunlop Grandtreks fitted - the same as the car that I test drove - but I had them replaced with Michelin Cross Climates before I collected the car mainly because I wanted all season, cold weather certified rubber and because I knew that I'd get a quieter more compliant ride. (Having previously replaced the Bridgestone Duelers on my 4.4)

Toyota have always equipped the RAV4 with summer tyres that are geared for low rolling resistance, good fuel economy and lower emissions. I suspect that the ride on your car would be vastly improved if you simply swapped to a tyre better suited to your preferences.

[182_blue]

Both myself and my wife's Ravs MY 20.5 s with 18s are brilliantly quiet on the road, hers has Dunlops on and mine has Bridgestones on, I'm kind of glad I didn't get 19s now, that said if you want to swap I'm willing too 😉👍

Before this Rav I had a VW T ROC R and that had Hankooks on it, the car was hideously noisey in the road!, so it can be down do tyres choices and sizes etc. 

[Rav Rob]

I replaced my dire Dunlop Granteks PT's for Continental Sports Contact 5 tyres which according to its EU noise rating should be louder but they are certainly not, they are lovely and quiet and so smooth rolling.

But best of all was the handling step change, it was like I traded the car in and bought a sportier one, grip is phenomenal, my enjoyment and trust in the car increased 5 fold.

[duncerduncs]

Strangely, I've found the Dunlops fitted to mine are noiser if they are under inflated?!

I run mine at 34psi as I have an analog dial and cant be bothered to work out where 33psi is! They are definitely quieter at the right pressure. 

[Encayoh]

23 hours ago, philip42h said:

What tyres do you have fitted?

Morning

The tyres fitted as standard to my MY21 Excel are Toyo Proxes R46

Will have a read up on their relative qualities. I was reckoning on Cross-Climates at  some point - this may well accelerate that decision.

16 hours ago, 182_blue said:

if you want to swap I'm willing too 😉👍

Thank you for the offer - will keep it in mind 😀

16 hours ago, 182_blue said:

hers has Dunlops on and mine has Bridgestones on

Thanks for the info - will have a look at Black Circles to see how all of the noise and performance figures compare

Thank you all for your responses - food for thought...

Keith