stewz Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 I can't believe how much road noise I'm getting in this car. Now i know that i haven't got the double glazing, but i never have had that in any of the luxury cars that i've owned, and none of them were particularly noisy, especially the Lexushhhhhh.. some threads on here talk about different tyres and the fact that the A8's are four wheel drive, and i appreciate that this must make a difference, but when i'm driving along it can sound like the windows are slightly open and before you ask they aren't, i've checked). Is it just mine that does this, is there anything that can be done to reduce it, do they have a history of bad window or door seals??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsYcHe Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Which tyres do you have? I had SP Sport 9000's when I got mine and they were essentially silent. When I got the new alloys I forgot to specify decent tyres and got Enduro Runway 916 (or 926, can't remember and it's dark and cold outside) and I was thinking I had a wheel bearing or driveshaft on the way out. They have a very aggressive looking tread pattern which is noisy as hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostKiwi Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 The 8s are a bit noisier than most other luxury cars of the same class, but the benefit is that they handle better (especially true of Sports and the S's). Tyres do make a massive difference - I had Nangkang budget tyres once - noiser than a 4x4, Pirelli P-Zeros on my old T5 - noisy but better, Kumho Ecsta 701/702 - better still, Toyo T1R/S - silent. The A8 has SP9000s and I'm hugely impressed... fairly silent and bags of grip. What tyres have you got (brand/diameter/width and profile). Bigger rim diameter lower profile wider tyres will always make more noise than smaller rimmed taller profile narrow tyres for a given tread. Similarly sports suspension will always be noisier than standard suspenbsion too all other things being equal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alera Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 I had a bit of wind noise from the drivers door on the motorway my 3.7 d2. I always thought it was a seal on the door. Otherwise it was a very quiet and refined car.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10bellys Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 I also bought some new alloys which came with budget tyres it was that bad that I had to buy some dunlops and now all is quiet again. I found that my xjr was noisier than the S8 BTW. Edited to say that another reason for changing tyres was that they were absolutely crap in the wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewz Posted December 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 [ QUOTE ] The 8s are a bit noisier than most other luxury cars of the same class, but the benefit is that they handle better (especially true of Sports and the S's). Tyres do make a massive difference - I had Nangkang budget tyres once - noiser than a 4x4, Pirelli P-Zeros on my old T5 - noisy but better, Kumho Ecsta 701/702 - better still, Toyo T1R/S - silent. The A8 has SP9000s and I'm hugely impressed... fairly silent and bags of grip. What tyres have you got (brand/diameter/width and profile). Bigger rim diameter lower profile wider tyres will always make more noise than smaller rimmed taller profile narrow tyres for a given tread. Similarly sports suspension will always be noisier than standard suspenbsion too all other things being equal. [/ QUOTE ] I'm not sure what tyres are on the rims, i know that they are 18,s with a 40 profile, i will look tomorrow, but to be honest I'm of the opinion that the noise sounds more like wind than road. I may be wrong, but like a lot of the chaps on here, i'm thinking of replacement rims and tyres, probably a budget set off E bay, with a 45 profile tyre, someone has suggested trying Toyo, but never having used these before i'm not too familiar with brand...Ultimately i would like to establish whether it's the seals or the tyres before i purchase any new ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomic Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 My 2.8 was kinda windy around the mirrors. One of the downsides of a non double-glazed A8 imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickGUK Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 is the sunroof out of adjustment ? ie:- to high at the front when closed ? that would produce a lot of wind noise. ps if your tyres are a 40 profile, they are to small, they should be 45 on the 18's, what width are they ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IT_S8 Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 [ QUOTE ] I can't believe how much road noise I'm getting in this car. Now i know that i haven't got the double glazing, but i never have had that in any of the luxury cars that i've owned, and none of them were particularly noisy, especially the Lexushhhhhh.. some threads on here talk about different tyres and the fact that the A8's are four wheel drive, and i appreciate that this must make a difference, but when i'm driving along it can sound like the windows are slightly open and before you ask they aren't, i've checked). Is it just mine that does this, is there anything that can be done to reduce it, do they have a history of bad window or door seals??? [/ QUOTE ] Just double checking here - Do you defo not have double glazing? - Single glazing was only on the 2.8, and although you never mentioned your engine size, with Nav plus, Phone prep etc, you have one heck of a spec for a 2.8... Possible but rare.. If you dont have a 2.8, then you *do* have twin pane. I'd check door seals. I had one on my S8 that wasn't quite sat right. Made a right noise at 70ish from the passenger side. Got to Germany and the noise was unbearable. Had to pull over and check the car over. Eventually found a seal on the passenger door that wasn't sat right. Perfect since that. Note though, that with a seal leak, or a windscreen leak, the noise will come from a very specific direction. If you are hearing a noise from no where in particular, then its time to consider sunroof drag, noisy tyres etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenamesross Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 I just went from pirelli ditch finders (P6000) to Goodyear Excellence and the difference in road noise is amazing. Its sooo quiet now compared to the pirellis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewz Posted December 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Quote: Just double checking here - Do you defo not have double glazing? - Single glazing was only on the 2.8, and although you never mentioned your engine size, with Nav plus, Phone prep etc, you have one heck of a spec for a 2.8... Possible but rare.. If you dont have a 2.8, then you *do* have twin pane. I'd check door seals. I had one on my S8 that wasn't quite sat right. Made a right noise at 70ish from the passenger side. Got to Germany and the noise was unbearable. Had to pull over and check the car over. Eventually found a seal on the passenger door that wasn't sat right. Perfect since that. Note though, that with a seal leak, or a windscreen leak, the noise will come from a very specific direction. If you are hearing a noise from no where in particular, then its time to consider sunroof drag, noisy tyres etc. [/ QUOTE ] No mines a 4.2sport with all the extras, but they certainly don't look like double glazed units, not like the Merc ones i've seen anyway (two panes of glass) When i'm driving it appears to come mostly from over my right shoulder, as if it's from the rear right window. And i'm not sure if it's the same from the rear passenger side as i haven't been in the passenger front seat whilst the cars been moving yet... Does anyone happen to have a piccy of the A8 double glazing so as i can compare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffy3074 Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Just wind a window down a little and look at the top of the glass, if you've got it, it easy enough to see the two panes of glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsYcHe Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 It's not like a double glazed window unit, it's more like 2 slightly thinner panes sandwiched together, you'll see a little groove down the middle of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IT_S8 Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Sounds definitely like a window / door seal... Get someone else to drive and sit in the back, narrow it down to within a few inches then carefully check that area out and poke / prod the rubber. You'll probably find something astray. The twinpane glass as has been said is two panes of glass very tightly bonded together, at first glance it might just look like a single pane of thick glass, but you can see clearly its two seperate panes if you look closely.. Definitely standard on the 4.2.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenamesross Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Another thought, if its at your right shoulder it might be the rear aircon vent on the door post. Try closing it to see if the sound changes. Heard mine a few times and was convinced the rear window was slightly open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewz Posted December 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Cheers all for the advice, will investigate tomorrow when i'm off work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewz Posted December 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 Checked out the glazing, it is double, and the tyres i'm running on are 245/45 Pirelli P zeros with the rotational tread pattern, and i checked to see if they were going the right way. was out yesterday and i let the wife drive whilst i sat in the passenger side to see if it was as bad, and it wasn't, so maybe i do need to check the door seals out . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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