Road noise sound dampening

[Tony64]

Has anyone done any sound dampening on the A3 sportsback models?

I’m over trying to get tires that don’t produce road noise and that irritating rumble on some road surfaces,

Tried my third different tire selection now and still have the same road noise issues once they wear a little on the 18 inch rims.

I’m thinking about  putting in some sound dampening in the doors and wheel arches and under the carpets myself if I can.

To be honest for a premium brand car that I’ve had for now four years, I don’t think I will buy a second A3 until Audi does something about the road noise as I drive 120km per day to work and back 

cheers
Tony 

[Steve Q]

Sorry to hear this Tony, thankfully there's a large variety of products available which are often used in the classic car scene. The hardest bit would the carpets as the whole interior has to come out. 

[JohnHa]

Tony

I have just done some tests on my recently purchased 2005 A3 Sportback 1.9TDI. 

My previous car was a high end Vauxhall Omega which was very quiet and I was quite surprised to find out how noisy the Audi is.  As a quality car I had expected it to be far better soundproofed.  The main problem I find is I cannot hear the radio unless it is set unreasonably high.

I have some thick foam cushions for wheelchair users and I distributed them over the boot floor and in the footwells in front of the rear and passenger seats.  The difference was amazing!  Suddenly the car radio was easy to listen to and the whole car sounded much quieter and more luxurious.  I concluded it was road noise coming up from the floor which is the main problem.  After adding it the engine noise did not intrude so it does not seem to be noise from the engine bay.  

I had come to the forum to see if anyone had fitted soundproofing mats and to see what they had used, how difficult it was to lift the carpets, how effective it was reducing noise and whether it made a mess of the interior because the carpets no longer fitted properly.  I need to do that search ...

A web search of car soundproofing found sites like How to Quiet Road Noise in a Car in 4 Simple Steps which recommended Dynamat (best, expensive) and the cheaper FatMat.  Both are fairly thin with a self adhesive side and you roll them onto the metal as in this video.

I will be very interested in anything you discover.

[Tony64]

Thanks John, I am experiencing the same kind of road noise.

Having gone through different tyres I can tell you it has to be sound damping lacking in the floor pan, boot and side wells of the doors.

‘I saw on another Audi forum a chap did it himself for under $1000 and another chap in the EU had it professionally done for about €1500 

it’s the removing the seats that scares me, but I am going to see if I can do it with out the seat removal at the front and just the back seats and carpet

I’ll keep you updated 

[JohnHa]

Tony

I did some Googling with searches like audi carpet, audi trim etc and came across lots of posts and videos.  I then found Socket Socket's youtube videos where he has 41 videos showing in great detail how he stripped the carpets and trim and doors; and how he applied sound proofing to his BMW.  There are two videos showing how effective it was and it was magic.  I haven't watched all the videos yet.

It took him a long time - I am sure he said 6 days to lay the stuff in the cabin (number 35). 

It looks like he used Car Builders Sound Deadening glued direct to the metal, in some cases doubling it, in others laying four layers.  He then applied mass loaded vinyl of two thicknesses (number 37) and? or? foam acoustic liner (number 34).  Car Builders is an Oz company.

Removing the Audi front seats seems dead easy - I saw videos Audi TT Interior Teardown and MK1 Audi TT: Remove The Carpet which showed exactly how.  I doubt the A3 is much different.

Edited May 29, 2022 by JohnHa
added about seats

[JohnHa]

I bought one of these Hatchback Car Boot Sound Proofing Bundle from www.deadening.co.uk for £79.99 and installed it.  It made a huge difference.

It was very easy to do.  I removed the trim at the back (where the tailgate lock goes) by pulling it up.  I removed the two side trims (two screws along the top edge plus two clips - it just pulls out (though you need to unscrew the trim panel screw near the seat belt exit to get access to the second screw). 

I laid the butyl on the floor, in the wheel well, over the wheel arches and then used up the scraps wherever it seemed sensible.  I added the foam below the parcel shelf, under the carpet covering the wheel well and used the rest on the inside of the trims (I did not cover in front of the speaker).  I put back the trims and all was done.

The car is now much quieter, quieter even than when I had filled the boot with sponge cushions.

I would definitely recommend doing it.

[Steve Q]

On 7/9/2022 at 10:41 PM, JohnHa said:

I bought one of these Hatchback Car Boot Sound Proofing Bundle from www.deadening.co.uk for £79.99 and installed it.  It made a huge difference.

It was very easy to do.  I removed the trim at the back (where the tailgate lock goes) by pulling it up.  I removed the two side trims (two screws along the top edge plus two clips - it just pulls out (though you need to unscrew the trim panel screw near the seat belt exit to get access to the second screw). 

I laid the butyl on the floor, in the wheel well, over the wheel arches and then used up the scraps wherever it seemed sensible.  I added the foam below the parcel shelf, under the carpet covering the wheel well and used the rest on the inside of the trims (I did not cover in front of the speaker).  I put back the trims and all was done.

The car is now much quieter, quieter even than when I had filled the boot with sponge cushions.

I would definitely recommend doing it.

Glad you got sorted 🙂