Road noise

[RDATLTE]

It's a mix of both in southern california. Which road type is louder?

Concrete with the grooves in my experience.

 

[Throat Yogurt]

It's a mix of both in southern california. Which road type is louder?

Concrete is way louder (and grippier).

 

[BimmerFan]

Resurrecting an old thread. Part of my daily drive is on a concrete highway, and it's loud. It's the tires, they are high performance and that's one of the trade-offs. Of course, it's also the reduced sound insulation.

I had a similar complaint (among others) in my M2, and some forum members had bought all of the missing pieces (from the "base" 2 series) to remedy it. I followed their lead, spending hundreds on gen-u-wine BMW parts, and many hours taking apart the trunk and interior trim bits to install it. What a PITA! It must have saved all of 13 ounces in total, and honestly, I didn't notice much difference, although I'm sure it helped. I never measured it.

I don't like noise, and I added a bunch of extra sound insulation in my C7 Corvette coupe. Those things have zero insulation, and the big plastic tub back there really resonates with road noise. I've got some leftover stuff (forgot the name) made from asphalt and foil that I may add over the wheel wells in the 5BW. It will add weight, but all in the right place. Anyone else tried this?

 

[solo40oz]

I purchased a BW4 road atlanta in Oct 2023. The road noise is unbearable at speeds over 50 mph on most surfaces. I can hear the normal tire noise that varies in frequency based on speed and surface, but that's not what is bothering me. There is a drone/howl/echo that stays the same frequency, but gets louder as I go faster. I drove from Austin to Dallas and it was 15 mins of none to minimal, 2 hours of extreme annoying and 45 mins of unbearable. It does change volume based on the surface. When it's bad, it's louder than my camaro 1LE, louder than my C7, and louder than my wife's traverse. I feel certain it's tire noise- has anyone tried a different brand with better results?

 

[bl4ck_wng]

I purchased a BW4 road atlanta in Oct 2023. The road noise is unbearable at speeds over 50 mph on most surfaces. I can hear the normal tire noise that varies in frequency based on speed and surface, but that's not what is bothering me. There is a drone/howl/echo that stays the same frequency, but gets louder as I go faster. I drove from Austin to Dallas and it was 15 mins of none to minimal, 2 hours of extreme annoying and 45 mins of unbearable. It does change volume based on the surface. When it's bad, it's louder than my camaro 1LE, louder than my C7, and louder than my wife's traverse. I feel certain it's tire noise- has anyone tried a different brand with better results?

pilot sport 4 all seasons are notably quieter at highway speed from my experience

What tire pressure range were you running on the summers when you noticed the excessive road noise?

 

[solo40oz]

pilot sport 4 all seasons are notably quieter at highway speed from my experience

What tire pressure range were you running on the summers when you noticed the excessive road noise?

I dropped cold pressure down to 30 hoping it would help (33 warm)... not so much

 

[solo40oz]

Another observation as I was driving from Dallas back to Austin today... I can barely hear the drone noise if I move really far forward, chin over the steering wheel... as soon as I move back its like the noise is aimed right at me

 

[solo40oz]

Has anyone tried continental? ECS02 or other?

 

[DCV]

Get some dynamat and have at it.

 

[Throat Yogurt]

I purchased a BW4 road atlanta in Oct 2023. The road noise is unbearable at speeds over 50 mph on most surfaces. I can hear the normal tire noise that varies in frequency based on speed and surface, but that's not what is bothering me. There is a drone/howl/echo that stays the same frequency, but gets louder as I go faster. I drove from Austin to Dallas and it was 15 mins of none to minimal, 2 hours of extreme annoying and 45 mins of unbearable. It does change volume based on the surface. When it's bad, it's louder than my camaro 1LE, louder than my C7, and louder than my wife's traverse. I feel certain it's tire noise- has anyone tried a different brand with better results?

This doesn't sound right to me at all. I know you think it's tire noise, but could it be coming from the diff?

My car on the stock tires doesn't seem loud at all, and neither have any other 4BWs I have ridden in or driven.

 

[G.Newt]

Has anyone tried continental? ECS02 or other?

I'm in the Killeen area although I rarely take my Blackwing to Austin (3-4 times a year). I didn't notice any excessive noise. It's not as quiet as my '23 Audi A4, but I also have 305 Continental ECS 02's on the rear. There is some good sound deadening in the car, the wheel wells are carpeted, etc.

I mostly hear wind noise the most. Not so much tire/road. Going up/down I-14 and I-35.

 

[jbawden]

I agree that @solo40oz may have something else going on (like faulty ANC or other mechanical issue), but to argue the the BW series has zero or very low road noise on ALL surfaces is odd to me. Maybe its the anatomy of your/my ears, subjective level of "loud", road surfaces one regularly drives, or just plain unwillingness to see someone else's perspective, but the shit is loud AF on 25% of the road surfaces that I drive (which is mostly the good twisty backroads and mountain roads that this car lives for).

 

[Barstoolman1127]

Another observation as I was driving from Dallas back to Austin today... I can barely hear the drone noise if I move really far forward, chin over the steering wheel... as soon as I move back its like the noise is aimed right at me

Kindly take a pic of yourself, driving in that position, chin over steering wheel.

 

[rubberduck]

Maybe you have a defective tire.

 

[solo40oz]

Kindly take a pic of yourself, driving in that position, chin over steering wheel.

 

[SynisterAZ]

Road noise went down noticeably when I swapped over to Conti DWS06+ all seasons.