Northern Auto Tech - ECU and Blue & Me Repairs

General Road noise

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General Road noise

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I haven't noticed any more noise than there was in my very old Panda nor the Seicento Sporting - then again I'm used to small cars so perhaps I am just hearing what I've always heard?! I have the boot liner and there is always a kids buggy in the boot too so perhaps that helps with the sound reduction?

The last car I had was a noisy diesel cmax so this car is positively quiet compared to that in any case!

Just enjoy the raw sound of the 500 and whack that radio up!

(got no idea what tyres i have - whatever they put on at the factory!)
 
Its interesting reading various people's views on these things as I think it is really subjective. Ive only test driven the 500 for about 35 mins but in that time both my mrs and I agreed that the 500 seemed quiet, certainly a lot quieter than the panda 4x4 we are trading in, so Im with Heidi on this really. We drove a cinquecento for a number of years as our sole car and did lots of miles in it, we never felt that was particularly noisy but Im sure it would compare unfavourably to the present 500. Im interested to check out all these various opinions on ride, noise etc and compare them to my own impressions when I start living with my 500 in the new year!
 
My 500 diesel engine is very quiet - in fact it would be difficult to know that it was a diesel from inside the cabin. There is very little noise from the front of the car at all. including road noise.

However, the rear is not so good in this department. On really smooth roads it's good, but there aren't many of them round here. If I drive with the rear seats folded down the road/tyre noise is excessive so I know that is where the noise is coming from.

As previous members have stated there is little in the way of serious sound proofing in this area.

This a such a shame as it wouldn't have cost much extra at production stage to have improved this.

However, I still think the 500 is the most likeable car I've ever owned.
 
Ive noticed in most of the cars Ive had if u fold the back seat down and take out the shelf, they sound a lot noisier! Maybe its also because theres less stuff to absorb the sound so it can bounce around more, not because the car is inherently noisy. Ive read the guide on doing the sound proofing, and I wouldnt mind having a go at putting some in the boot area under the carpet etc, but I would totally poop myself doing all under the carpet and front doors etc by taking the seats out, so respect to anyone who gives it a go!
 
nottsfiat07 said:
Ive noticed in most of the cars Ive had if u fold the back seat down and take out the shelf, they sound a lot noisier! Maybe its also because theres less stuff to absorb the sound so it can bounce around more, not because the car is inherently noisy. Ive read the guide on doing the sound proofing, and I wouldnt mind having a go at putting some in the boot area under the carpet etc, but I would totally poop myself doing all under the carpet and front doors etc by taking the seats out, so respect to anyone who gives it a go!
Click to expand...

You would think that it would be easy and inexpensive for a manufacturer to produce a moulded sound proofing material that could just drop into place over the whole of the rear floor areas before the seats etc are fitted.

I normally always drive with the seats in place but they do not prevent all of the rear tyre road noise from intruding. The flimsy parcel shelf probably doesn't help the sitation. Taking the rear seats out doesn't look too bad - I might be tempted in the Spring.
 
I'm currently working on some accoustically decoupled absorbers for specific parts of the car that will give more targetted results, probably won't have much more info before the spring though as it's a bit cold frigging about in a car this time of year!
 
You could have hit on a market there. There are probably quite a few of us forum readers who would buy a set off you.
 
Going back to the issue of road noise, my 500 diesel is very quiet for a small car. The only exception is rear end road noise which I feel could easliy be reduced.

I have just had to have a tyre replaced - had a Stanley Blade embed itself through the centre of the tyre cutting through the webbing.

The tyres fitted to mine are Dunlop SP Sport 01. The fitter said that they are one of the quietest tyres around so perhaps the is why my 500 is very quiet against some of the adverse comments from other 500 owners.

I looked up the Dunlop Spec on these tyres and they look quite special.

They should be special as the best fitted price I could get locally was £74. The dearest quote was £89!

I must admit that they do corner well with no squeal even when pushed.

So, it would appear that tyre choice is particularly important on the 500 with regard to tyre noise.
 
Does anyone know if there are different levels of sound proofing between the 1.2 / 1.4 / 1.3d and/or Pop/Sport/Lounge?? This is sometimes the case with other makes. The Sport has some little bits missing that the Lounge has (eg the boot light! ) so maybe they left out some of the padding??
 
all my work has been on the diesel lounge so can't comment on other models. Although logically you'd expect the lounge to have the most. Then again the diesel went down from 111g CO2 to 110g CO2 when the new bands were announced so perhaps this particular variant has less (to save weight).
 
baxwalker said:
Going back to the issue of road noise, my 500 diesel is very quiet for a small car. The only exception is rear end road noise which I feel could easliy be reduced.

I have just had to have a tyre replaced - had a Stanley Blade embed itself through the centre of the tyre cutting through the webbing.

The tyres fitted to mine are Dunlop SP Sport 01. The fitter said that they are one of the quietest tyres around so perhaps the is why my 500 is very quiet against some of the adverse comments from other 500 owners.

I looked up the Dunlop Spec on these tyres and they look quite special.

They should be special as the best fitted price I could get locally was £74. The dearest quote was £89!

I must admit that they do corner well with no squeal even when pushed.

So, it would appear that tyre choice is particularly important on the 500 with regard to tyre noise.
Click to expand...

I shall be replacing the stock Pirelli's with some Dunlop SP Sport 01 when they eventually wear out, still at 5mm after 20K lol:bang::bang:

Also looking at some soundproofing so following the thread with interest.

try www.blackcircles.com for cheap tyres.
 
Just for ref, I emailed a chap in Sheffield who I noticed mentioned here after doing some audio / soundproofing work and he said the whole car could be dynomatted, inc front doors, underfloor and boot areas for £450.

I am still thinking about it myself, having just spent a load of cash on some gaming stuff.

Mine is a 1.4 lounge, just gone over 6200 miles since May
 
pearce_jj said:
all my work has been on the diesel lounge so can't comment on other models. Although logically you'd expect the lounge to have the most. Then again the diesel went down from 111g CO2 to 110g CO2 when the new bands were announced so perhaps this particular variant has less (to save weight).
Click to expand...

Yep maybe, how much influence do the UK road tax bands have on european cars? Do the manufacturers actually take any notice? As with the diesel, the 1.2 is 119g CO2, adding a bit more sound proofing might make it 121g !

I'm looking into adding some in the rear end and maybe under the front footwells as I can feel the noise in my feet on the floor (but when the weather isn't so cold and damp)...
 
Even cheaper!
 

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