I agree the car is Too quiet. I traded my 04 Tl (which has mid muffer removed and replaced with the OEM with magnaflow resonator) for a 07 RL w/ teck package. The TL sounded very good when rev at 2.5K -3K.

For the 07RL, I love the car for its quiet noise than my TL before mod.
Tested BMW530, RL>BMW in term of quiteness.

Overall, the car is fine (60 plusDecibel)

 

I traded up from a sweet-but-squeaky 04 TL to an 06 RL with PAX tires. The RL is much quieter inside at highway speed. You do notice tire slap on concrete roads. The stereo sounds GREAT.

So far, no rattles!!

 

This is my first luxury car..... and the car is very quiet. I am pleased with the ride and comfort. Best so far that I have every owned.

 

[QUOTE=neuronbob]I upgraded from a 2004 TL and the cabin is much quieter. I can hear the engine when I accelerate, but that's about it. I have a minor dash rattle already. But it's my fault, the dash was taken apart for the iPod install.

The tire noise is noticeable on any concrete roads. I am hoping this will improve (for a while, anyway) with the Toyo Proxes 4 I've purchased for my A-Spec wheels.[/QUOTE


Did the Toyo Proxes deliver a quieter ride at highway speed? Also did the vehilce get quieter, louder, or no affect when you installed the A-Spec suspension and wheels.

 

The tires are the main problem with the road-noise. A bit noisy. The car otherwise is very quiet. The engine when revved though is a bit more noisier than my TL which I don't like but we rarely get on it much.

 

I know people are all different, but it still surprises me when I hear something like this.

Fo ME (and again, I know we're all different, and that's OK), engine/exhaust system noise sounds like STRAINING. If the engine is making a lot of noise, it's straining its guts out. But if it's whisper quiet as it mashes you back in the seat, it makes it feel like it's so powerful it's not even breaking a sweat.

So, for ME, loud exhausts take away big time from the feeling of power. My ideal dream mega-powerful engine wouldn't make ANY noise at all ... it would just crush your spine and mash your face all out of shape when you floored it, and it would hurtle you down the road like Cap't. Kirk's Enterprise engaging warp drive.

Leave it to 120hp Civics with bazooka mufflers to make noise. I want my cars to be quiet.

(No offense to anyone who likes noise. )
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Electric motors are quiet and torquey. I know what you're saying.....bigger engines "feel" faster because they don't seem to work as hard. I like that too.

 

I'm not sure if this is related to quietness or not (the RL is extremely quiet in my opinion) but my daughter always asks me why I'm going so slow when she drives in my car with me. I'm not going slow at all but it "feels" slow to her because it's so smooth and quiet.

She typically drives with my wife in our SUV so it's understandable but she never asked me in my Audi A4 about driving too slow.

She's 5-years-old by the way.

 

It depends. A Ferrari howling as it flys around a track is sheer music in my opinion.

There's noise and there's sounds like I just mentioned.

 

Truth. But a Ferrari's "ripping linen" note is MUSIC, not noise.

For my RL, I'd like a little more engine growl (i.e. exhaust note, not intake whine or VTEC clatter... Japanese engines just don't sound that great...) and a lot LESS tire noise.

Ahh, the days of my old Alfa, with a free-flow header and straight pipes... top down, summer day, and that little cough on downshifting and that sweet roar on accel.... mmm.

 

What he said. Its all a car should be. One word describes the RL "SMOOTH" I could not got baack to the 05 TL we had. Quiet will not be your concern.

 

No. The Toyos give off a quiet, very high-pitched whine at freeway speeds. Not too annoying, but for the perfectionist could be a bit much to take. I plan on trying the Pirelli Pzero M+S next time as others on this board describe them as quiet with good performance; I didn't this purchase them this time only because they were effectively unavilable anywhere at the time I wanted to order.

There was no effect on noise with the install of the A-Spec suspension and wheels. There was a huge effect on the RL's fun-to-drive meter, though! I drive it like I did my TL--spirited. Love love love this car.

 

the vehicles are nitght and day from one another, the tl is on the honda accord platform, the rl is on it's own platform, had a tl, noise was fairly high, the thing we could not live with was the rattles in the tl, got tired of filling in spaces with toothpicks (it works), rl is a far superior vehcile.

 

I have stock tires wheels and suspension, and except for the noise on concrete freeways, I absolutely love the way this car handles. I have noticed that the bose system has to go up about three notches on the volume control to drown out the road noise when on a concrete frwy.

Your talk about the A-Spec suspension really has me drooling. But one thing:

1. Do you think or know that there is an obvious change in handling just from the A-Spec suspension (without A-spec wheels and corresponding tires)?

I wish there was a way to test drive an rl with A-spec but then again it looks like everyone does.

 

Actually the RL is on the Honda Accord platform. All of the cars are. It's just a stretched platform.

TL is about 5db probably quieter than our RL. Isn't a huge difference.

 

I think you may have gotten a lemon. My RL is way quieter than any TL I have ever ridden in.

 

I meant the RL is 5db quieter than my TL. I was backwards on that! lol



Though the engine in the RL is noiser when revved.

 

[QUOTE=pimpin-tl]Actually the RL is on the Honda Accord platform. All of the cars are. It's just a stretched platform.

TL is about 5db probably quieter than our RL. Isn't a huge difference.

C&D posted db level for TL is 67 db. Most quiet car compares with other cars in its class.

Do you know exact numbers of db level in RL? ( I have read somewhere in 60 range plus.)
Did you use sound level meter to check both car @ highway speed?

 

I read it somewhere I just don't remember the exact numbers.

 

Found this just now. 3 db is definitely nothing to write home about. Let's not forget the RL has the sound system that helps with the noise, the TL doesn't.

BMWtrack.com

Interior Noise Levels (dBA)
Car Idle Full-throttle Acceleration - Max 1st gear Cruising Source
BMW
330i 41 73 66 (@70 mph) Car & Driver, Apr 2005
545i 41 72 63 (@60 mph) Autoweek Oct 10, 2004
545i 42 73 63 (@60 mph) Autoweek Mar 7, 2005
745i 40 69 59 (@60 mph) Autoweek Dec 17, 2002

Acura
TL 40 73 70 (@70 mph) Car & Driver Jan 2004
RL 39 70 67 (@70 mph) Car & Driver Dec 2004

Infiniti
M45 45 75 67 (@70 mph) Car & Driver Feb 2005

Cadillac
CTS-V 47 81 65 (@60 mph) Autoweek 10 May 2004
CTS-V 50 81 74 (@70 mph) Car & Driver Mar 2004
STS 44 73 64 (@60 mph) Autoweek 7 Mar 2005

Chrysler
300C 50 75 64 (@50 mph)
69 (@70 mph)
Road & Track May 2004

 

Errr.... the decibel scale is logarithmic. A 3 db drop represents a drop of ONE HALF the sound pressure energy... so, 3 db is definitely something to write home about.

 

Exactly. A loudspeaker producing DOUBLE the volume of another loudspeaker would register as a +3 dBA difference.

Reference

So 3 decibels is a bunch!
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