[vgb]

I'm tired of seeing all the infotainment firmware update threads on this sub forum

So, I'd like to hear what others have attempted (successfully or not) on their 3's wrt taming the road noise.

For my part,
I've changed out to quieter tires & selectively treated (I didn't go to town with the stuff, only a little is needed) the outer doors skins (and spare wheel well/ hatch floor) with dampening mat. I've got rid of about half the noise I originally have.

I added some roofing cement (about 1/3 of a gallon total) to the metal skin of the outside wheel wells (just because , ...LOL) and it actually did help some (probably as a dampener, rather than as a true noise blocker). I only did the fronts so I'm not done yet.

Maybe I'm picky but I feel there is more potential for improvement without adding tons of weight. I feel mazda skimped on this area to keep the weight down. Exterior sounds make it into this car much easier than our other older cars made by BMW and toyota.

I'd like to pull the carpet and see what's underneath. I have an ample supply of mass loaded vinyl sheets (MLV) lying around that I can use .At this point, I'm not sure how to get the carpet out or remove the rear interior hatch trim.

Thakns

 

[Cheatz]

I've hard the stock tires are to blame for a lot of the road noise in the new 3. My first plan to quiet my ride is to replace them with quieter tires. Then I'll probably look into putting some sound deadening material in the spare tire well and maybe the floor.

 

[vgb]

I've hard the stock tires are to blame for a lot of the road noise in the new 3. My first plan to quiet my ride is to replace them with quieter tires. Then I'll probably look into putting some sound deadening material in the spare tire well and maybe the floor.

Correct, I changed them out (to pirellis) the first week I bought the car. The stock tires felt (and sounded) like tractor rubber in comparison . That said, changing out the tires isn't the magic pill that will magically make the car tomb quiet.

Might try michelins whenever the next tire change rolls around (just to see the difference)

 

[bcroft686]

Am I weird for liking the road noise?!

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[rolanie3]

Correct, I changed them out (to pirellis) the first week I bought the car. The stock tires felt (and sounded) like tractor rubber in comparison . That said, changing out the tires isn't the magic pill that will magically make the car tomb quiet.

Might try michelins whenever the next tire change rolls around (just to see the difference)

These wouldn't happen to be the Pirelli's you got, are they?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...autoModel=Mazda3+5-Door&autoModClar=s+Touring

I'm looking to switch out the OEM to these. I don't need it to be luxury quiet - but the Dunlops are a bit much for low - med speeds.

 

[GASAVER14]

Am I weird for liking the road noise?!

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YES!! But that also make you unique

 

[rvoll]

I've had a number of tomb quiet cars. If that's what you want, you shouldn't have purchased this car. A certain amount of road noise is part of the open road driving experience. If you've ever owned a convertible you know exactly what I mean. Trying to turn this car into a Cadillac limo is a joke. I have no problem with the Dunlop's on the asphalt roads around me. They are excessively noisy on concrete and grooved roadways, however. Once I have the infotainment unit audio going, I hardly notice the road noise. I will get better tires when these are about half gone.

To me, the fun of this new Mazda 3 is the feel of the driving experience. A little road noise is a part of that experience. If quiet were my objective, I probably would have purchased a Genesis (which is quieter than a Mercedes or BMW).

 

[vgb]

I've had a number of tomb quiet cars. If that's what you want, you shouldn't have purchased this car. A certain amount of road noise is part of the open road driving experience. If you've ever owned a convertible you know exactly what I mean. Trying to turn this car into a Cadillac limo is a joke. I have no problem with the Dunlop's on the asphalt roads around me. They are excessively noisy on concrete and grooved roadways, however. Once I have the infotainment unit audio going, I hardly notice the road noise. I will get better tires when these are about half gone.

To me, the fun of this new Mazda 3 is the feel of the driving experience. A little road noise is a part of that experience. If quiet were my objective, I probably would have purchased a Genesis (which is quieter than a Mercedes or BMW).

Greets,
I used "tomb quiet" as a figure of speech, not as an end goal. That said, point taken but my goal is to minimise tire "growl", It's fine over short journeys but gets irritating over road trips. I agree with you that the noise is minimal on asphalt but we have mostly concrete roads over here.

Driving, to me, is about how the car responds to my steering, pedal and gear shift inputs. I'm not trying to drown out a loud exhaust note or engine but at the same time, I don't equate higher than average road noise to the driving experience.

At the same time, I don't want to numb down (or weigh down) this car to feel like a toyota people carrier which is why I'm trying to be selective with my treatments.

YMMV

 

[vgb]

These wouldn't happen to be the Pirelli's you got, are they?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...autoModel=Mazda3+5-Door&autoModClar=s+Touring

I'm looking to switch out the OEM to these. I don't need it to be luxury quiet - but the Dunlops are a bit much for low - med speeds.

Correct, though I paid a bit less for them and got credit for my OEM yokohamas at discount tire.

It's pretty much between these or the michelin mxv4 (I have the michelins on our toyota and they're great tires too)