[Mike]

Like most people here i've noticed the tire noise since owning my new i30.  My car is a 20011MY Comfort.

Whilst driving to work I noticed that a lot of the tire noise was coming from behind me, and it was at a fairly high frequency that should easily be attenuated by carpet or soundproofing.  I came to the conclusion that it must be coming from the hatch area.  When the thin boot carpet was lifted I could see no sound deadening pads like every other car I've owned.  Looking at the accesories for the i30 on the Hyundai website I bought the carpet boot mat, I already have a set of floor mats.  This has reduced the high mid frequency road and tire noise I was hearing.  I now hear a more general tire noise that seems to be coming from everywhere.  I don't plan on stripping the interior & door panels to fit heavy soundproofing, but I am looking at Pirelli P6 all Season Tires.  Here in the UK we have 2 to 3 Months of Summer & Winter, the rest of the time it's neither one or the other so all seasons with the softer rubber should make the car quieter and be ideal for our weather.  My Tires are 16", i believe the lower the profile the noisier the tire.  The Pirelli tire has good reviewes by proffesionals in a test environment, and people say they're very quiet.

A few days later I got a phone call from my local dealer saying my underbonnet sound proofing / paint heat shield had arrived from the factory.  I drove over to Riverside retail park and fitted it in their car park so I wouldn't have to drive back if it didn't fit.  The under layer looks like loft insulation, the outer is black and hard.  It was easy to fit and the 15 clips just pushed in.  I believe earlier cars had this fitted from new.  I wasn't expecting to notice any noise reduction until my drive home on the dual carriage way, but straight away I noticed that the starter motor was quieter.  At low speed in first gear the engine also seemed quieter.  After doing the rest of my shopping i drove home.  The engine was quieter, but this also made the tires seem louder.   When I arrived home for a split second I thought the engine had stalled but i just wasn't used to the quieter sound.   I know the fire wall sound proofing makes most difference but as the sound can bounce around the engine bay and is now absorbed by the bonnet pad it makes a difference.  Also less sound will be transmitted through the bonnet and windscreen.

I'm sensitive to sound from being an electo-accoustic engineer, my love of music and having slight tinnitus thats affected by mid range noise (like tire noise), so the quieter the better.  From my time designing speakers I know that paper cones allow much more reflected sound through than polypropylene.  As the doors have drain holes and open to the outside world i can't help wondering how much is coming through the paper speaker cones.  I still recon the next step is to change to the P6 Four season tires but maybe next year.

Thanks for reading.  Anyone else found a good, quiet all season tire?

[eye30]

Glad to hear that the soundproofing was effective.

I'd be interested to hear how it fairs once you start doing your "normal" trips as you will be able to tell whether it has done its job in reducing noise.

[Shambles]

Nice résumé Mike... you put a lot of work into researching, fitting and reporting - we like that on here

I am lucky in that Fergie came with all that padding pre-installed, as part of the as-it-was-then Premium package. My ride is also very smooth & quiet because of it (I guess).

Can't help with the tyre info I'm afraid (my Kumhos are superb).

[Seoul-mate]

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the detailed feedback re the sound deadening.
I fitted Pirelli P7 (17") tyres about 12 months ago....it made
an immediate difference to the noise level along with a very
noticeable improvement to handling and cornering.
Cheers, Russ

[asathorny]

That was excellent Mike, thank you.  Any chance of a photo of the soundproofing I would love to see that...   

[Dazzler]

Great post Mike .. thanks 

[2i30s]

welcome aboard mike.    excellent post.  the new 2012 i30 should be sound deadened a lot more than the past i30's,hopefully. 

[tla]

Welcome Mike,

I fitted an under-bonnet liner as well.

https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=9721.msg113330#msg113330

I didn't notice much difference below 80kph, but above that speed the reduction in engine noise is quite significant.  Strangely, I find that the engine is most noisy at around 90 kph; even noisier than 120kph.

[asathorny]

MMmm right, the other side of the coin.  What we need then, is, a double blind trial 

[Mike]

i would have thought engine speed would make more difference than Road speed.  At  50 -80 MPH the engine noise is masked by tire and wind noise.  Pulling away at low speed in first gear at a busy roundabout, and reving to around 5200 RPM for quick acelleration most of what I hear is the engine (and less now).  The tires aren't turning fast enough to be heared at this speed and there's little wind noise at 23 MPH.  When I'm driving along the dual carriage / Motorway way in fith the engines usually at 3200 - 4000 RPM.  Not sure what the RPM was when I was doing 90 MPH but the engine seemed fairlu quiet. The handbook does say to vary the speed sometimes when running in and they don't give a maximum speed  . 

You're right, the car is quieter at higher road speeds as well.  There's definitely less echo inside the engine bay now, and as the tires are underneath maybe its also reducing the front tire road noise on certain roads?

Anyway I'm happy now its fitted.  I think we both agree the cars are quieter with it fitted.   

[Phil №❶]

5200 revs,
90 MPH,
running in.

bit early for that IMO. 

[Mike]

The cars now done around 450 miles.  Honest John recommends keeping upper revs when running in to a max of 4000 to 5000 RPM. The Hyundai handbook says don't drop below 2000 RPM and after 600 miles its run in.

Some people these days say with modern engines the best way to run them in is to drive them hard from the start.  An example of this is when Police motorway cars get delivered they are used that way from delivery and perform all the better for it later in life when compared.  i don't recommend this but take a middle of the road approach.

In rush hour traffic, with people crossing the roundabout on the dual carriage way at 36 MPH it's a case get out of the way quickly or get rammed.  Its hard not to hit 5000 RPM in first in that situation especially with short gears.  The most efficient speed (torque) of my Gamma DOHC engine is 5000 RPM (max power is at 6200).  Half of my journey to work is mostly taken easy at 50 - 55 MPH.  The other half is at 2-5 MPH stop and start.   
My Toyota Celica was rammed from behind on the same roundabout when the cars in front came to a stop because of a Lorry.  Once I'm up to a safe speed I'm soon into 5th doing 60 MPH.  Strange but the i30 Gamma engine reminds me of the Celica 16V DOHC.  Torque designed to be way up the rev range. 

From all of the information I have read on the internet I believe its best to avoid high revs for a new engine especially for a prolonged period of time.  Then to gradually drive it normally.  As soon as I was up to 90 MPH I gradually eased off back down to 70.  Below is a "its already run in buy the manufactures" answer.  Everything in moderation seems to work well for me.


http://www.privilege.com/motor/running-in-new-cars.htm

I follow honest Johns advice:
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/running-in-a-petrol-engine/

[Phil №❶]

Based on the power & torque figures you've quoted, the engine is happy to perform there. What country are you in? In my location the max legal is 68MPH, so over here, you'd be contributing to paying off some of our state debt quite regularly. Sounds like you've done your reaserch. 

[Surferdude]

I'm sensitive to sound from being an electo-accoustic engineer, my love of music and having slight tinnitus thats affected by mid range noise (like tire noise), so the quieter the better. 

Can't help you with an all season tyre. We don't need them here. But I used a hire car in the UK last year which had a very quiet Continental assymetric tyre fitted.
 
 But I am interested in your comment above. Are you saying that with tinnitus you hear certain sounds in th ecar more loudly. If so you've just borne out my own experiences. I can hear wind and tyre noise very clearly at highway speeds, almost to the exclusion of the sound system. But my wife and daughter who don't have tinnitus, don't notice it and can hear the radio clearly.

[Phil №❶]

I've got tinnitus too, I often wonder what absolute silence is like, as it can be in the bush. Even there i have the ever present high pitched sound. 

[Mike]

My Tinnitus is mostly in my left ear and is at roughly 2-3 KHz.  It's not too bad but is affected by noise at the same frequency depending how loud it is, my ears then begins to ring.  My left ear rings with the tire noise at 50 - 60 MPH.  I would then have difficulty hearing other people in the car or the radio clearly.  The same thing happens at noisy parties with everyone talking, I struggle to hear the person across the table.

I bought some custom made ear plugs for when I go to concerts as the music is so loud I just hear a horrible screeching sound in the mid range.  It's nice to be at home where I'm in control of the volume.  The audiologist when I had the moulds made did a hearing test.  Although my left ear is slightly down compared to my right she said I have normal hearing.  She showed me the results and explained I could hear better than the average person.  If she had done a different test without plain, quiet test tones and added lost of harsh mid range noise I wouldn't have done so well.

It's strange I can hear a pin drop in my quiet house and can appreciate the highest of highs but can't hear someone talking with a bit of background noise.  I also suffer a bit with my balance and can stagger sometimes.  Lifts or elevators don't help.

Surferdude its just like you said.  Its almost like I can hear certain sound more loudly, that then masks other sounds. 

847563  I'm in England UK.  People seem to ignore the speed limits especially on the dual carriage / motorway.  A work friend of mine sold some parts for his RX7, when they met up the guy said he had done either 120 MPH or 150 MPH.  My friend said good job no cops were around.  Later on he asked the man what he did for a living and he said he was a Police man 
 UK Roads are a bit competitive at times, its can almost be like a race track.  Outside of rush hour I can take a leisurely drive through the countryside.

[Dazzler]

I don't have the Tinnitus but fairly average hearing.. and rattles drive me crazy. 

Like you, just a bit of background noise and I can struggle to hear someone on the other side of the table.. 

The other thing is I often have no idea of which direction a noise or voice is coming from