Noise ratings by car

alexthecheese

alexthecheese

alexthecheese

Soldato
Joined
10 Mar 2006
Posts
3,975
Hi. Just wondering if there's any site that details what kind of noise can be expected whilst sitting in a car at a given speed?

I just drive a crummy '08 Astra diesel to and from work, and it can be fairly noisy driving above 70mph.

Is there any way of comparing how noisy my car is, compared to, say, a top-end Merc?

Bit of a parp thread I know, it's just out of interest really.
 
Last edited:
One find (figures are decibels @ 80mph):

1995 BMW 728i 66

1995 BMW 523i 66

2003 BMW 730i 66

2009 BMW 330d 68

2009 Mercedes C350 CGI 68

2009 Renault Megane dCI 69

1996 Mercedes C280 69

2008 Mercedes C250 CDI 69

1996 Citroen XM V6 69

1995 Audi A6 2.8 69

2006 Mercedes E220 CDI 69

2006 BMW 520d 69

2000 Ford Mondeo 2.016V 69

2009 Ford Mondeo 2.5 Titanium S 70

2006 Audi A6 2.7 TDI 70

1996 Mercedes E230 T 71

2003 Toyota Camry 2.2 71

2009 Toyota Auris 2.0 D-4D 71

1995 Honda Civic 1.5i VTEC-E 72

2009 Honda Civic 2.2i-CTDi 72

2002 VW Golf 1.9 TDI 72

2009 VW Golf 2.0 TDI 72

2009 Opel Astra 1.9 CDTi 72

1996 Opel Astra 1.6 16V 73

2003 Toyota Corolla Compact 1.4 73

2009 Porsche Carrera 73

1995 VW Golf Cabrio 1.9TDI 73

1996 Ford Mondeo 1.8GT 73

1995 VW Golf CL 1.6 74

1995 Mercedes E230 74

2000 Toyota Corolla 1.6 76

2009 Ford Ka 76

1996 Renault Megane 2.0 16v 76
Click to expand...

Sauce: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/the-art-ofnoise/
 
Good find on the noise data, though it does surprise me. I kind of expected a good few cars to be quieter than my E46, yet it's close to top of the list.
 
Reading that now, it's actually quite an interesting article.

I've never been in a particularly up-market car, so don't know what to expect of the best, but most cars do seem to be fairly noisy. It's quite remarkable that out of all of those cars, a car that's 15 years old tops the quiet test. How on earth can that be the case?

The last point regarding in-car noise-cancelling comms system would be quite amazing, but why is it that despite improvements cars aren't noticely less noisy?
 
Would have been interesting to see what the Jaguar XJ's turn up, I've been in a lot of different BMW's and the Jag is quieter than any of them I reckon.
 
80 mph (130 km/h):

It’s a civilized speed (at least here in Germany) at which one would want to be able to hold a civilized conversation, even with a back-seat passenger.
Click to expand...

Definitely a civilised speed. ;)
 
Moeks said:
Would have been interesting to see what the Jaguar XJ's turn up, I've been in a lot of different BMW's and the Jag is quieter than any of them I reckon.
Click to expand...

The list doesnt really have anything particularly good for the test in question (going by the 2003 730i's entry) on it..it would be semi-interesting to see a lot of cars.
 
Just had a look around for various luxury cars, inc the XJ, various S-Class, Flying Spur, Phantom, etc. Could only find the following for an old boxy 1991-1998 model S-Class. All of the cars i have mentioned are definitely more refined than a W140 at speed assuming they have a lot of sidewall fitted, so at least its a benchmark. Maybe someone else will prove to have better google skills than myself.

I have the following values for the W140 (S 500)

At idlle 43 Db(A)
At 80mph 65 Db(A)
At 125 mph 76 Db(A)
Click to expand...
 
[TW]Fox;15716169 said:
They wont be Sport model BMW's though.
Click to expand...

Yea I imagine that's the case, I've only been in a few SE's tbh, almost always Sports. Both of Dad's 7's have been Sports too, the last one had 20" wheels with runflats, which to be honest I didn't like much, was trying just hat bit too hard to be something it isn't really.
 
[TW]Fox;15715847 said:
E39 joint top.

IS GREAT SUCCESS.
Click to expand...
Kind of wrecks my world order, because if 1995 E39 is as quiet as car can get, then one of the main criteria in my car search is out of the window. I don't find E39 noticeably quieter than new Mondeo or new Superb. Which means if I don't notice that +4/-4 dB difference then no matter what I choose as my future car I will still have to raise my voice above comfortable level during conversations when travelling on M25. :(
 
v0n, you could whisper to your passengers in my car at 80mph, and faster actually (not that I have ever been faster of course!) If you want it to be really quiet at those kinds of speeds you need a proper luxury car, with a big engine and no super low profile tyres either.

The Mondeo ST220 I had was pretty quiet on the motorway though, quieter than my E46 330 was.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom