Wind/road noise at highway speeds?

[Kieranz]

Hey guys.
For the lucky guys that have one already, how much road/wind noise do you hear at 70-85mph? I've heard of mixed feedback. Some saying its quiet enough for a conversation, others saying it is pretty loud due to lack of insulation.

I do long hauls quite often and I wonder if this is closer to driving an econobox (corolla/impreza) or something like a legacy/camry. I remember way back when I had an Integra, I would be nearly deaf after a 4 hour drive on the highway.

thanks.

[Superhatch]

I drive my BRZ an hour to and from work each day, and my previous rides were a 2011 Civic Si, and a 2008 Scion Xd (wife's). We drive in to work together so we often have conversations and/or listen to music. Neither of us think the cabin noise is any different than the Scion or Civic. I think it's on par with the large majority of cars in it's price range. I travel for work and drive TONS of different cars each year. The BRZ doesn't stand out as being very loud or very quiet to me.

I took delivery on the 24th, so I've had a couple of days last week, the weekend, and all this week to get a feel for the road noise. In my 91 Civic Si (my fun/weekend car prior to the BRZ) I had to wear earplugs otherwise the road noise would wear you down if you were going for an extended drive. I don't feel worn down, or tired after driving to and from work, and this past weekend we took a trip from Milwaukee to south of Madison, about 1.5H, felt fine.

[BigFatFlip]

I've just picked up my BRZ today and from what I could tell from the 1 hr drive from the dealer to home, wind noise wasn't too much of an issue (like alot have mentioned, I was able to have a conversation with my wife on the way back no problem). On the other hand, I found road noise to be more dependent on what you're driving on. On the way back, we went over a combination of smooth black top and ridged concrete (really common in CA freeways) and we definitely noticed quite a bit of noise difference between the two surfaces. Not too annoying, but there was definitely a sigh of relief once we were back on black top.

[Kieranz]

thanks guys.

coming from a TL type S, so I guess you can say I am kind of spoiled. Not expecting Lexus quietness here, but I am hoping that it would be quieter than say a Focus, Impreze, Civic or Elantra.

[Mavrik]

I've had my BRZ upwards of 70-80 and wind noise was minimal. I would suspect that with wider tires that will all change.

Still a lot quiter then my 2.5RS or the 07 Sti I used to own.

[Dave-ROR]

A hell of a lot quieter than my other cars.

[WingsofWar]

If your wondering is noise noticeable (ie not mutted)..yeah you can definitely hear tire/road noise, and of course intake resonance since there is a intake acoustic speaker installed.

Overall its pretty quiet IMO, even with aftermarket exhaust i didn't have any high RPM and hwy speed noise discomfort.

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by WingsofWar

even with aftermarket exhaust

What exhaust did you install?

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by Kieranz

thanks guys.

coming from a TL type S, so I guess you can say I am kind of spoiled. Not expecting Lexus quietness here, but I am hoping that it would be quieter than say a Focus, Impreze, Civic or Elantra.

I feel ya, man. I was in a noisebucket MR2 for years then I got an Audi S4. DAMN is it quiet inside! Except for the road noise from the 245-width Michelin Pilot Sports, it's dead silent in the cabin. As long as the BRZ is Corolla-quiet I'll be happy.

[WingsofWar]

Originally Posted by sportsguy83

What exhaust did you install?

This was on the Nameless Performance axleback

[Redmist]

I find the FR-S/BRZ one of the worst modern vehicles I've driven as far as road tire noise goes but I haven't driven many sports cars to compare. Wind noise is not an issue. I used to own a first generation Mazda 3 which were heavily criticized for their cabin road noise but it was considerably quieter than my BRZ. I was driving a new diesel Ford Ranger today and it was depressing how much less road/tire noise it had than the BRZ too. It sounded like a luxury car in comparison.

Installing CLD (Dynamat) only makes a minor improvement. I'm going to try installing mass-loaded vinyl decoupled with closed cell foam. I've got a feeling that the rear quarter panel cavities are the real problem area but the front wheel wells, firewall and floor aren't great either.

[roddy]

I have no wind noise to speak of, but there is some tire/road noise. This is partly due to the car being light on insulation/sound deadening materials, and partly due to the tires...the OEM Michelins are noisy tires. On every other car I have driven in the winter, I notice a big increase in tire noise when I switch to winter tires (and a big decrease when I switch back in the spring). That's not the case here.
This car is not as quiet as the '06 Accord I traded in on it, but more quiet than some Civics (pre '06 body style) I have had.

[kevman_101]

I think the BRZ has a bit more insulation and might be a tad quieter on the road. I've got an FRS and drove 130kph with the TRD exhaust and could still hold a pretty normal conversation. I find it pretty quiet for a sub 30k sport car. Even with the windows down, the wind noise isn't extreme either I find.

[infinite012]

Originally Posted by Redmist

I find the FR-S/BRZ one of the worst modern vehicles I've driven as far as road tire noise goes but I haven't driven many sports cars to compare. Wind noise is not an issue. I used to own a first generation Mazda 3 which were heavily criticized for their cabin road noise but it was considerably quieter than my BRZ. I was driving a new diesel Ford Ranger today and it was depressing how much less road/tire noise it had than the BRZ too. It sounded like a luxury car in comparison.

Installing CLV (Dynamat) only makes a minor improvement. I'm going to try installing mass-loaded vinyl decoupled with closed cell foam. I've got a feeling that the rear quarter panel cavities are the real problem area but the front wheel wells and floor aren't great either.

Rear quarters are drums. Any amount of damping/void filling material will help.

I have CLD everywhere in my car and it's quiet enough to have a conversation. The aFe intake booms over road noise and is kind of annoying at anything above 72mph.