bobwied

I love my RL. Everything, that is, except the road noise generated on some of the course freeways around my house (it's wonderful on newly paved roads). I'm considering changing the tires (of which there are limited choices in the stock size) and/or adding some sound deadening products to my car. Currently I'm looking into both Dynamat and another product from www.cascadeaudio.com. I talked with the owner of Casecade Audio Engineering and he was very knowledgeable. Has anyone taken this approach already?

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

You probably don't need the sound deadening. Most of the people have mentioned that replacing the tires with either the Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S or the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and the road noise was dramatically reduced.

I would go this route first before attempting to do the sound deadening because to do the sound deadening properly, you'd have to remove the interior panels.

bobwied

I am considering that approach, but I'm not really interested in investing in a new set of wheels (18") at this time. I understand that changing the rubber should help a bit, but there doesn't seem to be much of a market for a set of OEM tires with 2k on them. The pilot sport certainly looks like a much better tire. It's a shame Acura didn't just put this tire on to start with. It's from Michelin, their preferred vendor.

Also, I am a bit concerned about ripping up the interior to add any aftermarket products. The car is rattle free at this point and I'd like to keep it that way. Nevertheless, I'm still trying to assess the effectiveness of the sound deadening from people that have actually used it already. Everyone knows that all the promises made by people seling these products can be overstated.

acurafox

If I find the time, I plan to try out a sound deadening coating on the insides of the wheel wells (ie, remove the plastic liners and apply the coating to the inside of the liners). BTW, there are a couple of threads on this subject here in the forum. This strikes me as a better way to deal with tire noise, since it is not dependent on the specific tire that one selects. A quiet tire would make it even quieter, but I would like to have a somewhat permanent solution if possible.

vp911

There is a product called quietcar (www.quietcoat.com) that has been discussed here in the past. Perhaps putting this in the wheel wells (like acurafox mentioned) will resolve the issues you are talking about.

The biggest improvement you are really going to get is replacing the tires as CGTSX2004 mentioned. The Pilot Sport A/S in the 17" or 18" size makes an enormous difference in terms of road noise.

bobwied

I believe the correct link is www.quietcoat.com

vp911

Indeed you are correct I changed my link. Thanks!

acurafox

I just ordered a gallon of Quietcoat and their special spray gun. I plan to do the front and rear wheel wells and see if there is a noticeable difference with my stock tires. I have a Radio Shack sound meter, which I will use to measure before and after sound levels. I will report my results here when I am done.

vp911

Please do let us know! I would be VERY interested to find out how it works.

bobwied

I went out with an audio installer this last weekend and he brought along his sound meter. We determined that there were some significant spikes in the 1k (and other) regions. By moving the meter around while driving it appears a good deal of noise is coming into the cabin through both the wheel wells and doors. I'm thinking of attacking the doors and wells with some VB-Max products from Cascade Audio. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before I get the work finished. I'll post some before and after results when the job is completed.

AcuraRLBlue

I second CGTSX2004. You should change the tires first for a few reasons. First, a few owners, including myself, have identified that the tires are the main source of noise in the RL. Second, changing the tires to better one would also improve the handling of the car. In my own experience, it also shortened the braking distance. Third, you would potentially cause more noise in the form of rattles by breaking or deforming trims and clips.

bobwied

Good points. Which tires did you switch to, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S or did you upgrade to an 18" wheel?

vp911

Personally I had the pilot sport a/s on the 17" wheels and the pirelli pzero nero M&S on the 18" wheels.

JonFo

Resurrecting this old thread to see if anyone followed through with the quiet coat in the wheel wells.

Also, I am very interested in low-noise tires. I've owned Pilot Sport A/S on other cars, and my WRX has a set right now.

I don't know that I'd qualify them as super-quiet.

The majority of my 50 mile commute is on large aggregate paved road, so there is pretty significant intrusion form that surface.

But I've ridden in other cars on those roads and there was less noise than I'm getting from the RL.

Which tire is the quietest anyone has tried?

Chas2

I currently run Pirelli PZeroNero M+S on my 1995 Legend, and they are pretty quiet, better than the OEM Michelins, way better than Conti ExtremeContacts, and I think better than Dunlop SP5000 A/S. The Pirellis have the least siping of any of those tires, which I think contributes a lot to the noise.

I would be surprised if the quietcote or anything like that affects the sound coming from those lightweight felt like fender liners. I would be interested in hearing anyone's experiences. Of course, that is all this car needs, is another 50 lbs of weight from undercoating materials.

You have checked to see that the ANC is working?

JonFo

Thanks for the tip on the Pirelli's, I'll look into those.

And yes, ANC is working. But I beleive ANC focuses on frequencies below 250Hz, and the road noise from that large aggregate has a wide spectrum, with peaks into midrange (1Khz), so ANC is not as effective.

bobwied

Back when I started this thread I was very disappointed in the sound level in my RL. I did go ahead and soundproof the whole interior. It helped quite a bit, but still not to the level I would like. It became very apparent again last weekend when I took my snow tires off and put the OEMs back on. It's amazing, the snow tires were actually much quieter than the all season tires. That's never been my experience before. My originals still have a lot of tread on them (with about 20k accumulated so far), but I'm once again considering finding a replacement tire. Have you made any decisions yet yourself?

Jaysmith2000

I recently upgraded to 19" rims and was somewhat concerened how my ride would suffer both from bumps in the road and noise. To my utter shock, my car seems quieter. I can definitely feel the bumps more, but the stock RL tires are crap. You'll be amazed when you get new ones.

neuronbob

Bob, I agree with the posters from way back when you posted your thread. Get rid of the OEM tires and just upgrade the tires. You'll get better 3-season handling as well.

Jay, which tires did you go with on your 19's?

Treblig

I went 19" tires too (Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3) and have to agree with Jaysmith. Oddly enough, they are smooth and quiet on the road. Much more so then you would think for a low profile high performance tire. And the performance !

JonFo

Uhm, sounds like an 18" rim package with the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 might be the ticket.

Combine improved handling and looks with quieter ride.

Would a OEM sized F1 be even quieter, or would it just ride smoother?

I'd take quieter...

bobwied

Has anyone that's stayed with the 17" rims tried any off-size tires?

Jaysmith2000

I went with Yokohama Advan S4's. They're great tires thus far, but I'll give everyone an update after 10,000 miles. You never know with how they'll wear.

bluemule

I've been riding on Pilot Sports in the 245 tire. I decided to try them out to see if I could get a smoother and quieter ride. You can search my posts about my experience with them...in addition to my previous comments, I've determined that they add about 200 rpm to obtain the same speeds as with the OEM's...ie, 2000 rpm at 70mph instead of 1800 rpm. This is what makes the car feel somewhat quicker around town...it's in a more responsive rpm range.

I've probably got over 10,000 on these and have been through one tire rotation at a regular service with them...I have mine at MID specified intervals...and now have 60% left on that last one.

The balance job at the last service was better than the initial one when the tires were new and high speed vibrations are reduced.

Right now and only addressing my personal driving habits, I've decided that these tires are not as practical as the OEM's. These tires are quieter overall, but not enough for me to put another set on the car. My personal concerns are with increased rpm's on the open road at higher speeds, the speedometer being off slightly, and wear, although, with the wear issue, I've not determined how long they will last. With the slightly lower profile, I'm having to be more careful with road hazards at high speeds...just normal spots in the road can make some incredible thumps and I find that I worry about the tires/rims with the lower profiles.

With all that said, I think most folks would be very happy with them.

My driving is taking me over a variety of roads in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama...with many of these being chomped up with construction and just regular deterioration...from Dallas to Birmingham...and in spite of what some posters have said here in other threads about "bad" roads causing noise in the RL, certain roads everywhere I go are noisy in this car...it matters not where I drive.

'05RL with delivery June, 2005. Somewhere near 75,000 miles, I think.

TampaRLX-SH

bluemule,

Thanks for that meticulous comparison. I too have considered swapping the OEM Michelins in favor for a tire with less whine on the coarse southern roads. I do not want to change the OEM rims, so that severly limits the choices in the OEM tire swap.

My hesitation being the OEMs are OK for my tastes and I have had very good luck with Michelins in the past (aside from the high pitch whine the Bose ANC does not address). I fear spending $$$ on an alternative tire that may not offer enough reduction in noise or improvement in ride to justify the cost. And worse case, is I find a tire that does not wear as i expect the Michelins to do.

So thanks, your viewpoint very much covered my curiosity and I will stick with the OEMs. Likely by the time they are ready for replacement, newer tire models will be on the market, in the OEM size as well as some reviews to determine the effectiveness over the Michelins.

In the mean time, the sound deadening added in the front wheel wells might be a consideration if I find a vendor to do a neat, tidy install.

bluemule

AFAIK, I'm the only poster not completely happy with the Michelin Pilot Sports, and my concerns are pretty specific with my driving habits...so you might give them a try. They are quieter and smoother. One post did mention that they don't wear as well as the OEM's. BTW, I got over 65,000 on the OEM's and that was with the alignment being out a little...as I later found out. I've decided that the alignment needs to be checked more often.

Clarifying my original comment, this car makes loud thumps even with the OEM's...the lower profile tires aren't responsible for that...I just find myself checking the tire pressures more often in the MID after experiencing one of those thumps with the lower profile tires. The new Volvo S80 brochure has a comment regarding road hazards with lower profile tires on their cars, so this can be an issue.

'05RL with delivery 06/05
+75,000 miles

Chas2

Wow,

You got 65K miles on the Pilot MXM4s? I wonder if I can expect the same on my PAX Pilot MXM4s...I hope

dwboston

I don't know if you've priced replacement tires or not but the OEM Michelins are pretty expensive and the alternatives are almost guaranteed to be less expensive. Even the Pilot Sport A/S is cheaper than the MXM4 - the Pilot Sport A/S is $68 cheaper per tire than they were when I bought my Pirellis 6 months ago. Check out Tire Rack.

TampaRLX-SH

This is good news. Anyone who stuck with the OEM wheels and changed out the OEM Michelins, I would like to hear your comprisons. I am not as much looking for more performance as much as a quieter, possibly smoother tire.

JonFo

+1, as I'm keen on hearing what options are quieter.

Chas2

What is also interesting to note is that the UHP All Season Pilot Sport A/S gets a 400 UTQG vs the 300 UTQG for the Grand Touring All Season Pilot HX MXM4.

In my experience with a variety of UHP tires, both summer and All Season, they do not last very long, 20-25K miles, but usually less, and I do not consider myself a particularly aggressive driver, attacking every curve for max performance, peeling from stoplights or threshold braking.

Does anyone have real world experience on how long the Pilot Sport A/S "lasts" in comparision to the Pilot HX MXM4?

JonFo

While not on an RL, I have put three sets of Pilot Sport A/S on the following Cars:

- '02 Audi A6 Quattro 2.7T - w/17" rims. Got about 22K miles on them. They did get noisier after 12K.

- 04 Subaru WRX wagon w/16" rims. At 10K miles and showing little wear except for outside shoulders due to lots of slow-speed curvy mountain driving, very little Hyw. Good traction, somewhat dispointing sidewall flex. Maybe a 17" lower profile might fix that.

- 05 Legacy GT Wagon. When I traded in on the RL, it had 14K miles on the A/S and they looked like new. Very aggressive driving, so I was impressed. But noisy.

jhummer

I ran stock tires for 15k and than went to the Acura 18" rims with Pilot A/S tires. I agree with others this is a big improvement over stock. It isn't as quiet as my son's Toyota Solara. I think Acura engineers relied too much on the Bose noise canceling technology. It will be nice if someone gets some after market upgrades and reports. I have about 8k miles on the Pilots and, although it isn't as quiet as other cars in this class, it isn't bothering me like the stock tires were. The car handles better with the Pilot tires also.

bluemule

Oops...just noticed that my original comment is in error. The tire is a 45 as opposed to the OEM, which is a 50. The Pilot Sports I'm using are 245/45/ZR17's.