the car has 11000km and so do the tires, michelin pilot ss, i think, car is from 4/2008 and the tires about the same...i am surprised at the noise that gets to me with the windows up, the noise varies with the quality of the road surface, and when i hit a new patch of hiway that i believe is that new super quiet asphalt, which i think has old tires mixed in, the noise virtually disappears, but when its noisy, man, is it loud...after an a8 with the dual pane glass i guess i am spoiled...is there any way to make it better?

 

I believe road surface and tires (low profile) are the major contributors to cabin road noise. Of course suspension components are an inherent contributor as well. Some portions of Southern California freeways are really bad (noise-wise) due to the anti aquaplaning grooves (water dispersion) applied to the concrete surface.

"Make it better" . . . . . . Put big 'fat' tires on and 'soften' the suspension

Turning up your audio volume also helps.

 

The road noise in my '08 C2S with 19" pirelli p zeros can be fatiguing. I'm planning to take it to a mechanic, just to make sure it isn't bad bearings, or wheel balancing issues, or something mechanical. I also get some visible vibration in my steering wheel on most road surfaces, and I think it varies with time of day-- perhaps due to road surface temperature (???).

 

I can't even hear the road over the sound of my 2008 C2S's stock exhaust. Seriously. Pirelli P-zeros stock engine, stock exhaust, only hear the loud (no complaints) engine from the cabin.

 

My wife and I just drove our "new" 06 911C2 coupe from Jacksonville Florida home to Bismarck ND. 2600 miles including some Interstate but mostly two and four lane highways, through 11 states. The tires were Michelin PS2, with the rears mostly worn (just replaced them today). Road noise ranged from no big deal to pretty bad, depending on the road surface. I think it is more due to the age of the road surface (worn roads are much noisier) than whether it's asphalt or concrete, though concrete is usually noisier.

What a great car, though!

 

That's the thing... I can't hear the engine over the road noise!

 

You don't say which body you have but I have a Cab. and it's near silent with the top up. You can get a lot of noise from old tires. Get a new set of good tires on there, and I bet your noise goes way down. I let one of my past P's get a little worn on the tires and it is a different world from new tires.

 

my 'audio' is my open all the time pse...i disconnected the electrical connection for the flaps since with just the button pushed it still is quiet when accelerating and at certain speeds or rpm's...something to do with german noise reg's or some such...ANYWAY, i don't even turn on the radio except for traffic reports, the engine is better than any bose...! but the road noise is competing with motor noise on some road surfaces, the tires being 4+ years old probably adds to it...

 

oh, i have the 2S x-51 coupe w/o sunroof,,, LOVE THIS CAR!!!

 

I'm planning to take it to a mechanic, just to make sure it isn't bad bearings

 

Waste of time. Concentrate on the tires. Check for even wear and consider replacing the fronts if they look tired. Concrete surfaces and expansion joints will be loud. Smooth asphalt pkwy is like heaven. Nature of the beast my friend. The 991's reportedly have addressed this but are so well insulated they have to pipe the engine sounds in. If your ears are really sensitive you may need to get a pair of Audio-Technica noise cancelling head phones. Seriously consider this before you switch to a Lexus. These cars are loud on the road. I use the headphones when my ears are bothering me. Great and you can still hear traffic.

 

just a heads up here, i just got the note from 6speed that there is a response in thread sub'd and at the end were 4 links that were supposedly related to the thread...but they were ADS for some internet sh't, anyone else get this?

 

I might be your tires, they will get harder over time, especially in the hotter areas. If I read you original post correctly, it sounds like your tires are 4 years old...you may want to look into that before spending money looking at things that are probably OK.

 

Just like was stated previously...It's just due to the inherent nature of the car and how it's built. Virtually no insulation and big wide tires in the rear. I had pilot sports on 19" wheels that even when new were still loud IMO. I now have some BBS in 18" with pilot sports and that has made a big difference in overall road noise now that the beefier side will absorbs more.

 

+1. These tires get very loud as they age, and once the tread gets below about 50% of life.