20" Wheels - excessive road noise
 

Hi all,

There has been much discussion already regarding excessive road noise on 20" wheels, spread across multiple threads. I wanted to start a single thread dedicated to this, which I hope can stay on topic.

I have had my XC90 D5 PowerPulse Inscription for 4 weeks now and have done over 1000 miles. I am very happy with the car, and love its looks, practicality, ride, comfort and technology. However, there is one very big negative for me, and that is the road noise generated from the tyres. Of relevance to this topic, my specification includes:

MY2017 Inscription
D5 PowerPulse
Wheels 20" 10 Spoke Alloy Wheels (Diamond Cut/Light Grey) with 275/45 Continental Tyres
Air Suspension
Standard Audio System with optional subwoofer.

I would describe the noise as always there as soon as the car goes over 30 - 40mph. Its a noise that is always there in the background, the pitch determined by the road surface you are on, and you hear every minor change in road surface. Only on the very best and smoothest surfaces does the sound drop to what I would consider acceptable for a car in this class.

I appreciate that noise levels are subjective, but all I can say is that my XC90's road noise levels just don't seem to be at one with the rest of the package. Comparing to cars I have owned, tested or ridden in recently, I would conclude:

2007 Audi A6 Avant Le Mans, low suspension, quite hard ride, 19" 255 x 35. Similar levels of road noise at motorway speed, but quieter than the XC90 at lower speeds.

2008 BMW X5 xDrive35d M Sport on adaptive suspension, 20" 285 front, 315 rear. Way way quieter than the XC90 at lower speeds and a reasonable amount quieter on the motorway.

2015 BMW X5 M50D - 22", 3xx rears, not sure about front, all v low profile. Again, way way quieter at all speeds.

2016 Audi Q7 272PS - this was a car we test drove, not sure about the wheel size, but they certainly weren't small... Unbelievable levels of refinement, very very low road noise.

2016 BMW X5 M Sport - again on test drive, lowish profile tyres but don't have the size, as above M50D.

VW Touareg 2013 - 19" wheels, very quiet and refined compared to XC90.

We also had our dealers R-Design (MY2016, D5, different 20" wheels but on same continental tyres, air suspension, B&W) for a few hours last week and did approx 80 miles. The road noise was still an issue, but it didn't seem quite as bad, it somehow seemed to be a lower pitch and wasn't quite as intrusive). I cannot understand why it felt different, it just did. Could it be that the B&W system has some form of active noise cancelling?

Another observation is that I am 6'2" and sit with the seat far back. When I lean forwards of move my seat forwards, there is a definite point where the noise level changes, its louder if you ear is further back, level with the B pillar.

I know there is an argument that you should go for the smaller 19" wheels on the Momentum if you want a quieter ride, but we like the features and looks of the Inscription, not all of which can be specified on the Momentum. Also, Volvo market the Inscription as 'the ultimate in luxury', I don't believe you should have to trade lower road noise for extra luxury, quite the opposite in fact.

Some have suggested that its the Continental tyres. Possibly, but would changing to a different tyre brand really make that significant a difference?

Others have stated they don't have any issue with road noise on larger 22" wheels.

I have open a case with Volvo UK who seemed concerned, but claimed they had not heard any similar reports. There first step has been to arrange for my dealers technician to take a ride in the vehicle with me and assess it himself. I can't really see where this is going to go to be honest, I imagine they'll just say it sounds fine and jus like any other XC90. Bu I felt I had to try something, there no point in moaning about it on the forums for ever.

I would encourage anyone who has issues with road noise to note your experience in this thread, and hopefully if enough of us point Volvo UK at it, they might at least start to recognise an issue.

:wq

As a 2015 MY First Edition owner, I agree with 2 points that you make.
Firstly, that Volvo market and price the XC90 as a luxury vehicle, which it is not. It's a great looking car, technically advanced, practical, safe, roomy, etc. But its ride and road noise levels are not in the same league as its closest competitors. And this even after I have changed my original 21" wheels for 19" replacements (which has brought some improvement, but shouldn't be necessary in a car at this price).
Secondly, I doubt that either of us will get anywhere with our concerns. I've written directly to Håkan Samuelsson in Gothenburg in a very positive way to ask for his views on the software and noise issues that so many of us seem to be struggling with. There must be a point at which even the most enthusiastic owner starts to ask questions around "fitness for purpose". But my best guess is that there's too much riding on the success of the XC90 for Volvo to admit to any general failings in the car.
I'd be quite happy to be proven wrong, in which case I'll update this forum.

Ok so I will state my position for this thread.

I have a steel sprung t8 momentum on 19s Michelin wheels and tyres. I have laminated glass.

I regard my car as next to silent on the motorway and would say it is the quietest car i have owned. I have had a couple of audi a6s and an xc70 in recent past.

I drove a steel sprung, d5 non laminated glass inscription on 20s which belonged to the dealer. I drove this for 150 miles or so on the motorway and definitely noticed the increased noise compared to my t8.

The software stuff will sort itself out in time. Each update removes some bugs and we will get there in the end. The master techs are learning more and more as we go along too. The noise issue seems more difficult. It has been here from day 1. There was a guy on here talking about it over a year ago who had been driving round the m25 with his dealer who agreed the noise was not acceptable. Dont know what happened to him. You might be able to trawl through old threads and find him? I am sure that there was a suggestion to reduce tyre pressures too?

If the XC90 is so important to Volvo then they should be keen to fix it and keep customers happy. If you keep pushing problems away then they will eventually come and bite you.....

Did the 21 to 19 conversion lead to a step change in noise for you? What tyres are the 19s running?

Philip, do you think the laminated glass has made a difference to the road noise.

+1. Momentum on 20s on air. Really surprised at how loud it is. I would say there is also quite a lot of reverberation inside the cabin. The din on concrete sections of m25 is more from resonance inside the car than the original noise of the tyres. The thing with resonance is that it needs certain frequency to work. The hope is that with different tyre that has different noise frequencies the amplification can be reduced. I don't use car enough to justify the experiment with Goodyear eagle f1s - those are the things they fit standard on RRS and is supposed to be the quietest tyre in our size. If I knew it would definitely work I would swap but 750quid as an experiment is too much.

Another thing I found helps is driving with the roof open - that is consistent with my theory about amplification inside the car.

Volvo uk is fully aware of the problem a lot of people from this forum complained. Who knows how many more not on this forum complained, but they are playing dumb - probably some tactic to minimise the fall out. 80% of the real people feedback in the uk since the car came out were mentioning tyre noise. Some people sold the car they found it so bad.

There is an old thread (could be on swedespeed) about this where someone tried experimenting with different cars, wheels with Volvo engineer. In the end it all comes to nothing - unless Volvo U.K. quietly sorts it out for those who keep complaining on the condition of non-disclosure. I was very surprised they didn't fix this on my17 - at least the tyres. May be that would have opened the door to my16 recall claims - car makers have ethics standards like banks, they measure cost of fix against the liability and in some cases it's worth not fixing it.

I've got an R-Design on 20" standard wheels, continental tyres and sprung suspension, the noise is an issue, but I am learning to accept it as I love the car. If there was a solution I'd jump at it, once my tyres are worn out they will be replaced with another brand but for me it's going no to be a while yet, currently done 4,500 miles since 1st March, unless someone can prove a different brand are better then I may change early.
As for pressures, mine were set at the Eco pressure of 40psi, I've dropped them to 36psi, they still resonate but not quite as much but the road noise I would say is very similar as at 40.
It is something Volvo need to address and I would test drive a new model before I thought about another in 3 years time. What a fantastic car though!

I have laminated sides. I think they are a waste of money as the noise is coming through the chassis

Thanks Phillip. Your car being 'next to silent on the motorway' just seems worlds away from what I am experiencing! How can a 1" smaller wheel size and laminated glass make such a difference!

:wq