Noisy A3 Tfsi-e S-Competition

[JeffA3]

I've recently taken delivery of a 45 Tfsi-e S-Competition, the hybrid version. I'm very pleased with it, the electric range easily enough for local use, and very clever switching to and from the petrol engine on the open road. Considering its weight (same as my A4 Allroad) it rides and handles very well too.

BUT it's noisy - a lot of road and tyre noise when driving at more than 30 - 40 mph; I'm thinking Audi has skimped on the noise insulation to save weight and probably money.

Has anyone else found this? Any suggestions on how to make it quieter? Or is it just me making a comparison with my bigger and much quieter estate car?

[Shadow79]

Jeff, what wheel size / tyres are on the car? My S-Line came with 18” Nexus N’Fera SU2 (I’ve never heard of these before, but apparently they are also OEM on Porsche) and I have found it to be a lot quieter than my old A3 8V that was on 17” wheels / tyres. 
Also, as you say, comparing with a larger model will never be a fair comparison. 

[JeffA3]

Hi Imran. It's got 18" wheels (no idea what they are called) with 225/40 Bridgestone Potenza tyres. So they are quite low profile tyres, although I haven't noticed a particularly hard ride. But I've never liked Bridgestones, I always change to Michelins as soon as I can, and I've noticed on the A3 (road) to London that some stretches of the road surface are much noisier than others. Which suggests tyres as much as general sound insulation.

So I think that the tyres are certainly part of the problem and I'm thinking of biting the bullet and getting low noise ones fitted although I've only done 1200 miles.

Thanks for your comments.

[El Dingo]

Hi Jeff, I have exactly the same car and Bridgestones. IMHO this is mostly the tyres to blame. One can hear a huge difference between different road surfaces.  But you could be right about sound insulation, as VAG Group have been steadily cutting quality over the last few years. Just look down in the cabin and backwards to find cheaper materials. The carpets in the latest 8Y are actually inferior to the ones in our 5 year old Skoda.

Keep a look out for tyre reviews. I transformed an old Skoda VRS simply by changing the tyres from Michelin to Dunlop Sport Maxx RT. And a Ford Focus from Dunlop to Michelin Cross Climate. And avoid P7's at all cost!

[JeffA3]

Thanks Martin. I have in fact changed the tyres to Pirelli Powergy, they were the quietest tyre available for what appears to be an unusual tyre size and speed rating (which is stupidly exaggerated, but the garage wouldn't fit a more sensible speed rating as they said it might invalidate the insurance), and there is a noticeable difference - it is generally quieter.

So now I have a spare set of Bridgestones, to go on eBay. I was thinking of going down to 17" rims with more rubber between the rim and the road and even quieter tyres, but a new set of tyres is one thing, a full set of wheels and tyres is another...

And I agree with you about the sound insulation: I also have a 15 year old A4 convertible, 3.2 Sport Quattro etc etc and the ride is quieter than the new A3. It has thick carpets and sound insulation everywhere.

[Steve Rogers]

I have made a similar observation after having an A3 courtesy car.