Well i have been reading the latest GT Porsche Mag for the second leg of the 997.2 carrera s australia tour. There seems to be alot of complaint about road noise inside the cabin. Is this true? When I get my p-car im going on a US tour and would like to know.

Thanks, Richie

 

Road surfaces play a huge part in road noise. Although I have a 997.1 I don’t find there to be a lot and I assume they would not make the 997.2 louder, that would be stupid.

 

Very true. Thanks gloves. I just dont get what there complaining about. They said if you can wait, wait for next gen 911 for the problem to be fixed.

 

I get some interior road noise but like has been said the road conditions contribute a lot to the overall interior road noise. Don't forget that our lower profiled tires don't absorb noise as well as taller tires, plus some brands tend to get very noisy on their own as they wear. I had a set of Goodyear Runflats on another car that were unbearably noisy after about 15K miles.

 

Very very true. I just figured he would have stock tires. You should always look and see what noise level each tire gets. www.thetirerack.com is great for that!

And saying to wait for the next gen to come out in 2012 is stupid.

 

IMHO, I don't consider it noise...

It's more like.....ambiance.

 

Porsche IS a sports car, some road noise is present but not unbearable.

Lexus i hear is very quiet!

 

Road surface is critical. On the nice smooth roads in Germany its a non-issue.

On the cheaper and more extensive US road networks its sometimes an issue.

On new asphalt, its smooth, but when I hit the stretches of old concrete with very rough (exposed aggregate or shells) concrete roads, its an awful rumble from the road. There is nothing that can be done about that... firm suspension, proximity to road, wide tires, light car.. all counter the ability to call a rough pavement noise and vibration.

I can feel the center console area vibrating when I'm driving over the very rough concrete... hence the rattling from things in the ashtray or glove box or in the dash.

 

I agree that road surface is the single biggest issue. One of you pointed out various factors which lead to road noise, one of which is a light car. And part of what makes this a light car, I assume, is lack of insulation or sound deadening. In my 997.1 I hear every little piece of sand and gravel that is kicked up into the wheel wells, whereas my BMW's are totally quiet. Only time the noise really bothers me is at the end of a really long day. Like today.

 

I agree with others here that it can be a PITA on rough pavement. Some rough concrete freeways and rough blacktop freeways (which I experienced in Oregon) can be very tiresome on a long trip and can make conversation or music listening almost impossible. The tire type and amount of tire wear can have a big bearing too, as stated by others.

On my recent trip from LA to Vancouver in my cab, which has added noise of air rumbling over the soft top), I tried using ear plugs. They were fantastic! They shut out the tiresome noise but still let me listen to the stereo (with the volume cranked way up of course). It was so much less tiring than normal, that I was able to drive 875 miles from LA to Bend Oregon on the first day without ever feeling groggy from the normal noise fatigue.

On smoother roads I didn't wear them, and on some stretches I had the top down too, which is the only way to fly of course when conditions permit.

For a US tour, I recommend having some ear plugs on hand just in case. These are WONDERFUL cars to tour the country in.

 

Bigger tires are on teh 997 cars than others before it. So bigger tires more road noise in general. Want less road noise get a luxury car instead of a sports car.

 

Has any one here added any dynamat or that type of product to reduce the road noise? I added it to my C6 and really made a big difference.

 

Road noise is there in all sports cars due to lower levels of insulation. This is to keep weight down. 911's have rear wheel wells within the cabin area with some insulation but not much so more noise is apparent.

While tires can make a difference it would be possible to drastically reduce this by installing better sound insulation such as Dynamat.

http://www.dynamat.com/

Note that Tire rack test tires for noise and this should be looked at when replacing tires.

It is up to you how much you want to reduce noise based on how much weight you are willing to add. I have a feeling that 20 lbs would do wonders and would not be noticeable to most drivers. Unsprung weight is a far bigger issue that most people do not pay enough attention to.

PCCBs save about 40 lbs and is probably equivalent to 80 lbs of cabin weight.

 

Thank you all for some very useful info!
Would any of you do a road trip of 20's or 19's?

 

Yep it the road. That y I dry with sport mode so I can listen to my tubi