Man this car is noisy on the freeway, so much road noise
 

Man this car is noisy on the freeway, so much road noise. My car is a Z51 Coupe 3LT Auto.

At freeway speeds, one has to almost shout to hold a conversation with the person sitting next to you.

The stereo sounds great at slow/no speed, but speed up, and the road noise all but drowns it out unless you to crank it up to “give me a headache” volumes (and yes I do have the volume compensation thingy turned on).

This is not engine or wind noise, it appears to be coming from the tires.

And I can hear little stones hitting underneath the car quite a lot, it’s like there’s little or no sound deadening on this car.

I have no idea what the other generation cars interior noise level is like, since this is the first Vette I have ever owned.

I love the sport with a luxury touch ideal of the 3LT trim level, which is why I ordered it that way, but man that road noise is just spoiling it for me.

I installed a “partition” from Exoticvette as I had read in another thread that it helps with the road noise coming from the rear, and while it looks good and functions great as a partition, it did nothing to suppress any road/tire noise.

I suppose, since I think it’s mostly generated from the rock hard tiny super stiff sidewalled run flat tires, that my best option will be to hurry up and wear out the Michelins and look for a softer and quieter riding set of tires, and even maybe going up a smidge on the sidewall size, like from 35 to 40 for the fronts and from 30 to 35 on the rears, if they even come that size. Just thinking out loud here.

I really don’t feel like removing all the interior to install Dynomat to everything, but maybe I will have to if I’m to enjoy this car, which is my dream car, that I have been saving/planning for for the past 7 years.

Sorry for the long winded rant, I’m hoping to get some advise from others on this topic, maybe some advise on which tires brand/types would be best for me on this car.

whats current air pressure?

I have a non-Z51 3LT, manual. I drive daily on the freeway and actually am very pleased with how quiet the car is compared to my Z51 09 coupe. It might be the fact that your car is a Z51.

Sounds like you have some lousy roads out there. I doubt air pressure has much to do with it as the tire pressure sensors would be throwing off warnings on your dash. You could try increasing your tire pressure a bit. The only other thing I could suggest would be getting a set of non run flat tires. I know my Invos were much more quiet than the Goodyear run flats that came on my Z06 but the only real time I noticed road noise was on certain types of concrete pavement. Most of our roads out here are asphalt which is damn near silent compared to other highways.

Carefully examine your top for proper fit and seal. When first got my car, I had to wear ear plugs for the long drive home because the noise was so bad. When I got to investigating it, I could have sworn it was coming from the back, possible the hatch, or tires, as you say. But I ultimately chased it down to the right front top area. Here's a post I made about it. It's very quiet now.


The pebbles hitting the fender wells is because the Z51 Michelins are really sticky. That sorta bothered me too, and went away when I put all-season tires on for the winter.

First I've heard anyone really complain about a noisy C7...

:iagree:

check the pressure...these cars come off the transporter sometimes with greater than 40 lbs in them and ride like crap and are noisy...try 32-34 and see how it sounds...run flats are noisier but no so much so that you should be complaining...this is not a problem written up here to any great degree, and if it was systemic, it would be here a lot...

I drove a new Z51 car and it wasn't any quieter than my C6 Z51.
I consciously listened for differences and didn't notice any...may be me.

:iagree: 2 I have only 500 miles on mine but 300 plus are on the GSP and I or my wife have not noticed that it is noisy.

Corvette have alway been noisey, no matter how good a radio,
the tire and road is persistent. Considering how low to the ground you are. C7 being new is gonna be worse
for 2014. gm will add sound deadening once complaint roll in

GazUK
 

If you decide to change them out to another tire I will give you $800 for them shipped to 32550 if they have less than 2,000 miles on them.:thumbs:

My 3LT C7 is much quieter than the 4 C6s I had. One of my tricks is to add a Lloyd Ultimate or better cargo mat. It helps a lot. My audio is much more pleasant to listen to at normal volume levels. I have the Z51tires also.

Mike. :thumbs:

your first vette?

They already did...something NASA developed. Can't find the write up though.

My C7 Z51 is quite and I live in SoCal and the roads are fine. You should not have loud road noise unless your tire pressures are wrong. Like another post, is this your first Vette? I've had 4 Vettes and this one is the most quietest one out of the bunch.

:iagree: they added new insulation that quieted it down and cooled it off.

Mike. :yesnod:

This is my second vette, I had a C6 before. Trust me the fit and finish and especially the road noise is much better on the C7, My C6 was a non-Z51 and my C7 is a Z51 with mag ride and don't think the road noise is that bad. Maybe its just me :thumbs:

Selif, you are correct that on asphalt surface freeways the car is much quieter, but here in SoCal, where I drive the 210 allot, which is all concrete, makes for a very noisy C7.

Yes this is my first Vette.

CM, thanks for the advise on the top seal, I had already read post and so went to checked the lid fit, which is OK. As are the window seals.

I have the tire pressure at 30 psi per the door post sticker.

I think the blame lies with the run-flats, and I’ll be researching tire options on the Tire Rack website. I have had good luck with Continentals for ride quality and quietness in the past with my Jaguars (XK8 and XF), but I don’t see they make any in Z51 size, yet. As time goes by I hope new tires will become available that are Z51 size but moor geared towards ride quality than driving 100 mph round a track, which I will never be doing.

I figured the base car would give a better quality ride but, like others, I don’t like the look of the wheels and little black spoiler, and for the money, the Z51 pkg is a must have option for me. And knowing myself, I would regret not getting the best/most car available for my dream ride that I intend to keep. I spent many long hours on this great forum trying to decide on Z51 vs. non-Z51. In the end, I knew I had to get the Z51, highest trim level, most options including MR. I’m starting to get used to the stiff ride (in Tour mode), but the road noise, that may take me some time to get used to, if ever.

Looking forward to my tires wearing out!

You have no idea what you're talking about.
S.