Motorway cabin noise

[mrfil13]

What are people's opinion on the noise when travelling at 70 on the motorway with the stereo off and the windows up?

I'm so finding kind of annoying after a few long trips.

Has anyone found a way to make it any better?

[Boddney]

Has anyone found a way to make it any better?

I took the engine out of mine and cut holes in the floor Fred Flintstone stylee.
Its much quieter but a little tuff on the calf muscles.

[Polypedates]

It's a 20 year old sports car. In that context it is fine.

I suggest you forego the tyranny of the trunk road network and rediscover rural Britain - much more fun even if the journey time is longer.

[cartledge_uk]

Buy sound deadening, fill the cabin with it. make the car weigh loads and ruin the performance.

Check the window alignment, sometimes there are gaps when up.

[mrfil13]

Thanks for the constructive suggestions, i may try the remove engine idea, it doesnt seem to be the engine load though as travelling down hill with no throttle makes very little difference.

Do the tyres make a major difference?

The windows do need alligning but its more like resonance, opening the windows, even 120 miles of the A1 with the t-bar off was fine.

If the issue was just a panel or two that needed deadening you wouldnt need much at all, just a kg or so. Not much considering the weight of the 4 litres of oil in the boot, tools and spare wheel.

[cartledge_uk]

Do the tyres make a major difference?

Yes, as does road surface. The concrete motorway surface is terrible for noise.

[mrfil13]

The surface didn't make difference.

I had a rev2 turbo with decat and dep2 exhaust, that was a dream in comparison.

[Clarky_X]

It's all subjective, I doubt you'll get an answer you're happy with. I find mine noisy personally too. I put it down to being a 25 year old car with no stereo.

If it's not tyres or road noise or panels, it could just be wind noise over the A pillars. It's all pretty guttural around the windows.

Does the speed make any difference, i.e. more wind pressure around the screen, roof and doors?

[mrfil13]

It seems to be absolutely fine until just after 60mph, i should have dropped into 4th or 3rd and tried at 3.5k then I would have known if it was engine related or road/wind, doh.

I very rarely take it on a motorway but when I do its for a Damn long distance and typically ii need to do a few of them this month. May just need to put the stereo on.

[kaiowas]

You do get a fair bit of wind noise at speed in a mk1. The designs of the seals and gutters etc are pretty primitive compared to modern cars.

[dmb89]

Yeah it does get a bit loud at speeds 60+ turning the music up is your best bet! I have found opening the sunroof helps quite a lot! Only reason i can think of for this is it allows any air coming in the cabin to escape easier?? However I avoid opening the sunroof on the motorway as it certainly wont help fuel economy!

[Lauren]

Surely a tilting sunroof is going to make a negligible difference to the economy?

[JMR_AW11]

The last time I did a very long motorway trip in a mk1 was a few years ago where I had to get to Preston 'in a hurry'

I used ear plugs and did the 130mile? trip at high speed.

However, for me the worst bit is the seat as it gives me shifty dead bum syndrome after about 60 miles.

Without the ear plugs I reckon I'd have been knackered from the noise from the car and engine at high speed within 100miles.

Also, you do have to 'drive' the car at all times as the car can't track as well as modern cars partly due to the layout of the car and also the sensitive steering. This is fun for about 50 miles but then gets tiring. Then the seat kills my bum and then the noise slowly frazzles my head.

[mrfil13]

I wonder if they were much better when new.

The previous owner had the leather seats restored so they are pretty comfortable.

[uglee]

I changed my Mk1 for a Mk2 as the mile munching was killing me in the Mk1. When I see how unrefined a Mk2 is compared to most modern cars I realise how bad the Mk1 must have been.

I remember driving overnight to Dartmouth from Bradford, arriving at 3 in the morning. Getting out of the car and my ears were ringing. Okay I had a magnex exhaust on but it wasn't that loud.

You could probably line all the bulkheads with sound proofing material, sort the door seals/window alignment and that will improve things a lot. Also I don't think it would add to the weight to make any noticeable difference.

[Lauren]

Ten years ago, I used to do 20K miles a year in a MK1 SC. That was mostly motorway driving. From what I recall I just used to turn the stereo up and sing along on the motorway, didn't seem to be an issue.

You think a MK1 is noisy? Try an AE86 (maybe they are just similar) but that car makes me want to cruise at 70mph and no more really as it's really low geared (seems more so than a MK1). A decent stereo is the answer for a long trip I think and also an exhaust that doesn't drone at speed.

[un1eash]

I have a janspeed and k&n and don't think its that bad. My mate even slept on the way home from London one night.

[mrfil13]

Maybe its a technique to try and slow you down?

Looks like i will need to sort the stereo out i never normally use it as the sound of the engine keeps me more than happy but i rarely use it on the motorway, saying that this month im going to be doing near 800 miles on the A1

[Tiamat]

Get a new exhaust with a nicer note and you won't notice it. To be honest, I rarely hear any proper road noise in mine, if I do its normally down to the quality of the road not the vehicle.

I also find it odd that people find them uncomfortable, I have done over 660 miles in a day my MK1 and found it to be comfortable, actually more so than a lot of modern cars as you sit "in" the chair instead of "on" it.

[ryan]

Is it wind and traffic noise or engine/exhaust youve a problem with?