Toyota Corolla Sound Insulation

[mjjferreira]

7 hours ago, Persimmon said:

After driving several different Corollas (HB's and TS's, my own and rentals, old a new models), and applying a lot of sound insulation, including the outsides and insides of wheel arches, floor and boot, and trying out different wheel sizes (16, 17 and 18 inches) with various tyres (Continental Viking Contact, OEM Falkens, Davantis, Nokian Hakka Black), and driving several other cars to specifically compare sound insulation (BMW 2-series coupe, Audi TT, Mazda CX-30, old Lexuses and Audi A6's), I can tell this:

TNGA platform cars seem to be fundamentally noisy. Tyres, wheels, insulation can make a small difference, but the "hum" on non-perfect road surfaces always remains. Seems like the whole platform/chassis/suspension is structurally prone to vibration, which generates this airplane-like hum. 

Adaptive suspension (AVS) on some Corollas (like my new TS) makes a tiny difference, but I believe it is simply impossible to make a Corolla be as quiet as e.g. current gen. Mazda 3/Mazda CX-30 or prev. gen. VW Golf and Passat (I don't want to compare Corollas to luxury cars like Lexus or BMW). The only car which I found noisier in this class is the current gen. Kia Ceed — that got uncomfortably loud on a highway. 

Many people of this forum seem to defend Toyota, and repeat the same things like "the engine is so quiet which makes road noise more noticeable", or "all cars are noisy on bad road surfaces", or "it's all about the tyres". In my opinion, these are not helpful. Yes, noisy tyres and bad road surfaces make a difference to cabin noise on ANY car — you can't deny objective physics. But Corolla is noisier than MANY rivals in its class (my opinion of course, take it or leave it).

(One theory I have is that noisier petrol and especially diesel engines generate more vibration and sound in certain low frequencies, which interferes with the road noise making the whole sound stage feel less obtrusive. Corolla Hybrid + eCVT may lack that benefit. In general, I'd love to hear a nice V8 rumble, but not a slight road humming, even though objectively the engine would be louder...)

Now, it's a compromise. I loved my Corolla so much that I swapped my HB for a TS, and it's an upgrade for me, and I'm happy. It's quieter, but it's still noisy. TBH, it's the noisiest car I had since my first cheap 2006 Honda Jazz. 

I'm rambling here simply because I want those for whom the road noise is important to see this. It's not a huge deal, and it's one of the things you have to take into account when choosing a car. I'd say the road noise is the only negative I can think of about the Corolla. It's a 95% perfect vehicle 🙂

I agree with you 100%!!

[mjjferreira]

6 hours ago, Gerhard_Corolla said:

Of course it's a multifactorial issue, as is always...

 

But the worst combination of them all for sure is:

poor road surface + Falken tyres + absence of acoustic glass + terrible sound system = drives people crazy

 

In continental Europe the most, literally, loud complaints come from Spain and Portugal, where road surfaces tend not to be optimal. I have now driven the car in Germany and Italy, and I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary in this class segment. It's a non issue even in B-roads in the former, and a small issue on those same roads in the latter, but because in Italy you're fighting for your life in every corner, the sounds tend to blur on the background!

 

'Class segment' is little bit dodgy nowadays, at first we were looking to lease a car, and there were pretty good deals on BMWs 118, a car that drives extremely well. But at the end we crunch the numbers and thought that leasing was not the right thing for us, so we researched within a certain budget what cars were available, and in each head to head comparison the Corolla beat the competition. I really liked how the BMW drives, but within the Corolla price tag, you're looking into the 116 territory and the Bavarian company only gives you four wheels and a windscreen, while the Japanese gives you extremely good security features and a better engine...

 

Moreover, I loved the looks, so we naturally decanted for the Corolla TS 2.0...

 

A BMW with the same engine output and near the security features of the Corolla would be around the 40k eur mark, which is well above the Corolla version we bought in Germany. In my opinion the Corolla has a little bit too much equipment and features, like the parking and driving assisted systems for example, that only adds complications and costs that could have gone to other areas of the car like better paint quality, handling feeling, door seals, general sound insulation, or a better sound system. But the security features are just outstanding! The emergency braking system, blind spot monitor, and airbags are noteworthy.

 

They even give you an airbag for your coffee in front of the cup holders!

 

 

Here in Portugal i already drove in roads where absolute silence prevails...it seems the car isn't touching the ground...amazing.

On the other hand, some roads just drive me crazy...noisy af! 
 

TNGA platform is very sensible to some tarmac types...it can go from complete silence to an insane noise disaster!

However, i still love my TS 2.0. 🙂 

It just pisses me off because if this noise issue didn't exist, i think this car would be very close to perfection!