When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Have a 2017 Grand Sport Convertible. Very unhappy with road noise in cabin. Dealer tells me it is normal. This is my 14th Corvette and have never had this problem. Am I alone? Any suggestions? Are there quieter tires than the Michelins that it came with?
Here is my experience. I have tested the zero pressure tires and the non zero pressure tires from Michelin. There is no discernible difference in road noise anymore like there used to be years ago. The car is noisy. It's part of the deal when you buy one of these C7 cars. It's a good thing you have a convertible. It's noticeably quieter than a coupe. I really don't mind the noise. I expected the car to be noisy. I tested both versions of the tires for noise and handling at a request from a friend of mine who happened to manage the Discount Tire facility. To late now, but a Stingray would have less noise, as the tires are 2 inches narrower. My son has a Z06 coupe with wide tires like yours. You talk about cabin noise! But it is a much better car than my Stingray and well worth the noise, as is your Grand Sport.
You'll get used to it. Just talk louder to your passenger and keep the throttle to the floor. The exhaust notes will drown out the cabin noise. You have one terrific car! Drive it every day, and drive it hard.
Some have tried expensive sound blocking mats (Blockit is one) with mixed results. Try googling such items & see if you want to speed the moohla. Seems one of the best options is other tires that are not runflat (Continentals) & I believe that finally Michelin has begun shipping the new A/S tires for our GS/Z06 sizes. But, as your dealer said with the runflats it is quite noisy.
I find the current run-flats MUCH better than the crappola that came new on my C5 (which I still have out in a shed somewhere). I don't think tire noise on the new base car with Z-51 tires and wheels is all that bad (admittedly, the GS may be worse), but it's not going to be a Mercedes sedan no matter what one does. I really cannot recommend "Block-It," from my experience. I think the entire carpet-out/insulation-in approach is the only "fix," or the closest thing to it. All the best!
I just picked up my 2019 GS last night. My last Corvette was a 2012 GS...first thing I noticed after getting on the road last night was how much more road noise there is. I attribute it to the tires.
You are not crazy, nor are you alone... search the forum for "cabin noise" and you'll have hours of reading enjoyment...
A VERY brief overview of some of the various solutions are
Sound deading mats over some or all of the interior floor
Block It mats
Lower tire pressure (26-28 seems to be the sweet spot without underinflation)
Replacing tires, either with different brand or non run flat
Reading mixed reviews on the $1500 choice to change the tires, and taking a dim view of tearing the interior out of a new car I was completely unfamiliar with, I decided a low cost option was to lower the tire pressure and add the BlockIt cargo mat and behind-the-seat panels.
I reduced the tire pressure to 28 first, as it was FREE, and perceived a slightly less harsh ride, but cannot say it reduced the noise level. After installing the BlockIt mats, I measured about a 2-3 dB reduction in overall noise on the same 10 mile freeway/city street route, as measured with my iPhone Decibel X Pro app.. Not spectacular, but definitely noticeable.
Where the mats shine is in blocking the thumping from the cargo compartment floor off the rear window to the cabin front...
Overall it was an easy, good value fix, and the noise level depends on the road surface. On smooth roads, it's nearly Cadillac quiet, but on rougher surfaces, the front tire noise is annoying and just something I've learned to live with.
Here is my experience. I have tested the zero pressure tires and the non zero pressure tires from Michelin. There is no discernible difference in road noise anymore like there used to be years ago. The car is noisy. It's part of the deal when you buy one of these C7 cars. It's a good thing you have a convertible. It's noticeably quieter than a coupe. I really don't mind the noise. I expected the car to be noisy. I tested both versions of the tires for noise and handling at a request from a friend of mine who happened to manage the Discount Tire facility. To late now, but a Stingray would have less noise, as the tires are 2 inches narrower. My son has a Z06 coupe with wide tires like yours. You talk about cabin noise! But it is a much better car than my Stingray and well worth the noise, as is your Grand Sport.
You'll get used to it. Just talk louder to your passenger and keep the throttle to the floor. The exhaust notes will drown out the cabin noise. You have one terrific car! Drive it every day, and drive it hard.
Yep it's noisy! My C7 Z51 coupe was and now my Grand Sport is noisier than my C6 Z51 coupe. Folks with Verts say it's quieter and the soft top and less flat area in the rear probably the reason.
I find the added subwoofer in the 2 and 3 LT a big help with my method of dealing with the noise. I have >1000 songs on a thumb drive that start playing in shuffle mode as soon as the car starts. It's seldom off! With all the distracted drivers I have my phone set at "don't receive calls when moving" so taking on it is not an issue. Never even set of Bluetooth in my 2014 Z51 or my current Grand Sport so not to be tempted. Spend my time looking for cars all around that are using their phones or looking at a screen to see who sent the last "useless" message! When my wife is in the car (fortunately seldom) I have to drive slow with the sound system off and it is very noisy even when she is not telling me to slow down!
I find Janis Joplin singing 'Cry Baby" (etc) at the volumes I use drowns out most noise!
If you think you can reduce the noise with insulation, the only folks who can quantify some benefit have used expensive, difficult to install kits that employ two layers of sound deadening and require removing all carpet and seats. From posts I have read, best done by a pro. The aluminum panels behind the seats and the torque tube tunnel are key noise generators. At best you'll get it slightly quieter but NOT quite. It's a sports car.
Tires are interesting. Yep they are a factor and get noisier when they wear. So folks who say non run flats are better who have changed when worn are comparing apples and oranges!
The only issue I had for 3 1/2 years in my 2014 Z51 and for a short time with my Grand Sport is setting the bass at a high level drowned out the noise BUT about 10+% of the songs on my thumb drive were too boomy. I often had to skip or lower the volume, which defeated my noise drowning efforts! A poster showed his solution and I made a detailed explanation of how to implement: http://netwelding.com/Boomy_Bass.pdf
Pic of what I have set- 3 different Bass setting I can change with the press of a preset button! Works great.
Just turn up the radio, or get a louder exhaust and problem solved. Kidding aside, non run-flats and sound dampening material are generally your only two sources to remedy. Surprising, I installed just a Lloyd mat in the hatch and it helped a little, so any additional dampening will certainly be an improvement. I’ve read on here where some use ear plugs, which I personally would be looking for another car before doing that... but you have a few choices. On a side note, I’ve heard that Verts are quieter...
That Chatter when below 50 F and gets terrible at 35 and 40F (or your jumping word is more descriptive) is caused my the OEM Michelin race car type tire constitution. They have very low race car type slip angles that provide the very high lateral "g" forces! When you changed tires the Ackerman steering angle, to which some attribute the "Chatter," DID NOT CHANGE, but the chatter went away. The PDF provides a detailed explanation of what slip angle is all about and why normal tire construction with higher slip angles also doesn't produce the very high lateral "g" numbers.
It also covers my simple solution! When below 45/50 F I don't use full lock when backing out of the garage in the morning as I do when warmer with no chatter. I turn the wheel less and make a "K" turn. For those getting ready to experience their first cold weather with their C7s, when it's below 50 F just don't turn the wheels full lock when backing out of a parking slot etc. Especially if you have a friend in the car as they will tell all your other friends what a "piece of junk" you bought! It feels that bad!
My '05 with Z51, factory runflats, and a Borla Stinger exhaust system is quieter at 70 MPH than my C7. (70 is the sweet spot for minimizing drone with the Borlas) I'll just live with it at this point as I'll probably trade it for a ME when available but the amount of road/tire noise is a bit disappointing. I agree it's gotten worse as the tires accumulate miles.
I added Block-It soundproofing behind the seats, Block-It mat in the back and added Dynamat to the underside of the wheel wells. I am completely happy with the results.
Cabin is quiet, my wife and I can have a conversation in a normal voice level,and when the radio is on I only need to turn the volume to 25% before had to turn it up 50% to hear the radio.
Funny, I have never considered the car noisy (2.5 years, 22k miles). Maybe it's because I drove a mitsubishi for 15 years and 130k miles before getting a C7. The C7 is like a friggin' Cadillac to me.
Same here... I'm coming from a 15 year old 350Z with 77k on it with wide tires, the C7 is much quieter.
Most of what I hear is road noise and run flats are well know for being "loud" tires. On my daily commute there is a stretch of several miles with new asphalt and the noise level drops dramatically there so road surface has a big effect too.
I added Block-It soundproofing behind the seats, Block-It mat in the back and added Dynamat to the underside of the wheel wells. I am completely happy with the results.
Cabin is quiet, my wife and I can have a conversation in a normal voice level,and when the radio is on I only need to turn the volume to 25% before had to turn it up 50% to hear the radio.
I added Block-It soundproofing behind the seats, Block-It mat in the back and added Dynamat to the underside of the wheel wells. I am completely happy with the results.
Cabin is quiet, my wife and I can have a conversation in a normal voice level,and when the radio is on I only need to turn the volume to 25% before had to turn it up 50% to hear the radio.
New to the car, in the top photo, did you take out the liner and apply the dynamat?
I've never really noticed my c7 being overly loud. I've had louder for sure! My '16 Genesis coupe was terrible .. Course putting it on 20's didn't help.
Cabin noise
x 2
