Picked up my XE last weekend. Love the looks, love the handling, etc. But don't love the interior noise. I hear a humming sound at all speeds on the motorway (40-80 mph). The humming changes at the change of tarmac, so it must be tire noise. I've got the 18" matrix with Contisportcontact 5 tires. Has anyone the same problem?
Tire noise
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You have better roads ☺Marc said:I have the 19", no noise..
Where are the pics?
I spent 5 days travelling over 2500 miles across Europe twice this year and difference is very noticeable. Although my 19's on my 5 series are quiet here on all but concrete motorways. My avensis however is very noisy on 17's.
It's all in the build quality.........
I have 17" wheels -- I think with the 163 PS cars the wheels are also narrower. No doubt this is for reduction of rolling resistance to get under the magical 100g/km in the lab.
Anyway, I'm more than happy with the tyre noise level. I was something that I expected to be better than in German cars and I'm pleased that, from my experience, it is. I travel to Germany a lot, because my wife comes from there. Their roads are typically in a better state of repair and they use a finer surface dressing or so I believe. I have driven Audi's & BMW's in the UK and while the engine is quiet, the tyres are roaring away. I would say that Mercedes generally pay more attention to coping better with rougher road surfaces.
Of course someone with with a recorder/analyzer could prove that the above is a load of subjective tosh
Anyway, I'm more than happy with the tyre noise level. I was something that I expected to be better than in German cars and I'm pleased that, from my experience, it is. I travel to Germany a lot, because my wife comes from there. Their roads are typically in a better state of repair and they use a finer surface dressing or so I believe. I have driven Audi's & BMW's in the UK and while the engine is quiet, the tyres are roaring away. I would say that Mercedes generally pay more attention to coping better with rougher road surfaces.
Of course someone with with a recorder/analyzer could prove that the above is a load of subjective tosh
Not driven an Audi but on BMW at least all you need to do is switch out the run flats to eliminate tyre noise and improve the ride.v0lterra said:I have 17" wheels -- I think with the 163 PS cars the wheels are also narrower. No doubt this is for reduction of rolling resistance to get under the magical 100g/km in the lab.
Anyway, I'm more than happy with the tyre noise level. I was something that I expected to be better than in German cars and I'm pleased that, from my experience, it is. I travel to Germany a lot, because my wife comes from there. Their roads are typically in a better state of repair and they use a finer surface dressing or so I believe. I have driven Audi's & BMW's in the UK and while the engine is quiet, the tyres are roaring away. I would say that Mercedes generally pay more attention to coping better with rougher road surfaces.
Of course someone with with a recorder/analyzer could prove that the above is a load of subjective tosh
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Tyre noise is from the continual compression and release of compressed air from treads. Good roads now use porous surfaces which prevent air compression in the tread, and, coupled with a smooth surface to minimise rough rumble, provide a very quiet ride. This, I believe, is now an EU spec for fast urban roads close to housing - my local bypass had it laid 5 years ago and the tyre noise is almost undetectable.
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