How noisy is your car

[obi_waynne]

Some cars seem really quiet and refined and others let you hear every engine note, rattle and bump in the road.

How does your car compare? Which do you prefer? Silent or Acoustically active?

Mine is fairly refined and smooth (for a diesel) but I do feel every road bump and road noise is quite loud due to the tyres and sline suspension.

 

[HDi fun]

The Passat is far noisier than my Peugeot 406 was, both of which are powered by 4 cylinder diesel units. PSA's HDi engines are a world away from VW's PD engines when it comes to mechanical refinement. Both are hideously crude compared to a BMW straight six, whether diesel or petrol. The E39 528i I had was superbly refined at all speeds. Not far off Lexus territory in the quietness stakes.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

I see you still pine for your old Beamer

 

[HDi fun]

Don't really pine but I do miss the bullet-proof reliability.
It was old too!! In it's 15th year when it got bent. In some ways that was more impressive than a new one. Any new car is pleasant, especially a premium model.

But the real magic is when a car drives like new with approaching 200,000 miles on the meter. OK, servicing was always done on time and I did get a few suspension bushes etc replaced to keep things working properly. The biggest point is that it was so cheap to own and run. Far better than this bloody Passat (in fairness it was a second-user panic purchase and I chose badly).

I liked the P406, too - that was rapid with the remapped 2.2 HDi engine. Again, reliable and cheap to service. Very hushed inside but muscular in the 300 plus lbft kind of way.

I need to keep the Passat a few more years yet as money is tight here now, my wife has an epilepsy diagnosis so her license has been revoked and I can only work from home now as I am her primary carer. I need the Passat estate luggage space to carry the extra things we need with us. That plus two teenagers who take half the planet with them anytime we go anywhere.

 

[T9 man]

Mine is quite noisy, which is a statement of fact and not a complaint
If cruising around 68mph however it becomes quite sedate, must be hitting the sweet spot

 

[bax]

hmmm My Rexton in particular is louder than other Rextons , probably due to my heavy foot over the years , but its still silent enough to enjoy long trips .. however that might change because as we speak a bigger Downpipe is being installed on it and the catalyst is saying its goodbyes .... not sure how loud it will becomes but since im keeping the original mufflers/exhaust i might not even notice a difference

 

[HDi fun]

'Silent enough' ??

 

[bax]

Well lets say we can have a decent conversation inside the car with all windows closed and going at 3k Rpm (Keep in mind its a diesel so 3k is like 5k in Petrols) ... also i got the car back today with the bigger downpipe and the deleted Cat , cant say i notice a difference in noise (putting aside the spooling sound)