# Road noice **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** noises, civic, honda\ **Created:** [May 20, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109 "2010-05-20T16:24:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NancyRhodes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/49beb7/32.png) [@NancyRhodes](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NancyRhodes)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/1 "2010-05-20T16:24:21Z")
how can i reduce road noise on a 2010 Civic. I drive long distance on noisy road. It is very exhausting. I am trying to avoid buying a luxury car. I love my Honda. ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/2 "2010-05-20T16:28:14Z")
Appling an undercoating to the bottom of the vehicle can help reduce road noise. However, talk to the dealer about applying such a product and if it will effect the vehicle warranty. If it does, then you’ll have to wait for the vehicle to go out of warranty. Tester ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/3 "2010-05-20T16:29:41Z")
Only significant change that’s easy to make is buying a new set of tires. Go to [tirerack.com](http://tirerack.com) and check out the tires for your Civic, see which ones are noted for a quiet ride. However, Hondas are known for their road noise, so the improvement will be limited. ---
**Author:** ![NancyRhodes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/49beb7/32.png) [@NancyRhodes](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NancyRhodes)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/4 "2010-05-20T16:41:30Z")
Is there a difference between Honda civic and a comparable Toyota (Matrix, Corolla) or Nissan ? any suggestions. I suppose its what you pay for. Luxury includes reduced road noise. ---
**Author:** ![Goldwing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@Goldwing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Goldwing)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/5 "2010-05-20T16:45:45Z")
Tires. Search Consumer Reports or other sources for the quietest tires that will fit your car. I went to GoodYear Comfort-Tred tires on my Honda Odyssey and it reduced the road noise. Many new cars come with pretty cheap tires. ---
**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/6 "2010-05-20T16:51:32Z")
Hondas tend to transmit more road noise into the car than some other brands. You’d have to test drive the others and see if they suit you better. I’ve found that tire brand and type have a major impact on the amount of road noise I get in my Honda. It used to be so loud at highway speeds that I couldn’t listen to the radio. A new set of high-quality tires made a dramatic reduction in the amount of noise. The car is now pleasant to drive. There’s a product called DynaMat that can be applied to reduce noise, but it’s labor-intensive and adds weight to the car, reducing fuel mileage. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/7 "2010-05-20T17:56:40Z")
Which tires are you using now? ---
**Author:** ![edb1961](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/edb1961/32/122_2.png) [@edb1961](https://community.cartalk.com/u/edb1961)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/8 "2010-05-20T18:00:57Z")
My wife has Yokohama Avid Touring S tires on her Toyota Sienna. They are pretty quiet. I’ve found high performance tires to be on the noisy side. The Continental Touring Contact AS tires (OEM) on my 2010 Cobalt are also quiet. Grip and handling leave a bit to be desired though. The Cobalt is very quiet at highway speeds. Ed B. ---
**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/9 "2010-05-20T18:06:36Z")
Bridgestone Turanza Serenity. 205/55 R16 H on a '97 Acura 2.2 CL. Not cheap, but a very good tire. Formerly had Toyo Proxes TPT, which became very noisy for the final third of their life. Before that OEM Michelins, also very noisy after 25K miles of wear. I also have Bridgestones (though not Serenity) on my Subaru Legacy, and they are quiet tires. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/10 "2010-05-20T18:21:12Z")
Besides all the good stuff mentioned so far… Go to a place that specializes in Car Audio. They sell and install sound deadening material. I’ve used it before and it can make a HUGE difference. But don’t expect miracles…You’re not going to reduce the noise to the sound levels of a high-end Lexus. ---
**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/11 "2010-05-20T18:22:53Z")
In addition to the sound deadening material have them install a really good - and loud - stereo. Then just turn it up. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/12 "2010-05-20T18:28:17Z")
Honda makes very good cars, but the universal complaint with both Hondas and Acuras is their high level of road noise. For some reason, Honda’s corporate philosophy does not include taking care of noise reduction to the same extent as their competitors. Then, when you throw the OEM cheap tires into the mix, you have the perfect storm for lots of road noise. As has already been said, use a resource like Tire Rack’s website to locate the brands and models of tires for your car that have a low level of tread noise. The car will still be noisier than a comparable model from…let’s say…Toyota, Nissan, or Subaru, but at least quieter tires will improve the noise problem to a great extent. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/13 "2010-05-20T18:34:36Z")
[www.1010tires.com](http://www.1010tires.com) and [www.tirerack.com](http://www.tirerack.com) both have good consumer feedback sections. The feedback includes road noise. Visit these sites and perhaps you can find a quiter tire. Rubberized undercoating used to help in days long past, but so much acoustical engineering goes into car design and manufacture in modern cars that I doubt if that’ll help. road noise that propogates through the chassis components won’t be affected by undercoatsing, and that’s where the road noise comes from. The only approach is to address the origin of the noise, the tires. ---
**Author:** ![bscar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bscar/32/34_2.png) [@bscar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bscar)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/14 "2010-05-20T23:14:26Z")
Even then, they can only do so much. My 99 Civic is plagued with lots of road noise, even though the tires I have on it are rated really good for noise level(Michelin Pilot Exalto), driving on the chip’n’seal type of pavement is unbearably loud. Conversely, the RS-As on my new CX-7 are rated pretty bad for road noise, but you can hardly notice it when traveling the same road. Though this is an apples-oranges comparison since a low riding, 2513 pound coupe is nothing compared to a 4001 pound SUV ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/15 "2010-05-20T23:50:45Z")
The difference in your 99 Civic and your CX-7 emphasize the point. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Civic is a great car, with a lot of attributes, but it’ll never be a Lexus. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/16 "2010-05-21T00:02:56Z")
Nancy, as others recommend the only things you can do do slightly decrease the road noise is to shop for the quiestest tires available, and spray on some undercoating, a foamy material that hardens to a solid. Civics and Accords are the noisiest cars in their class. If I had to drive one, I’d buy a pair of those 75 cent foam earplugs that mechanics and other factory workers use. Any hardware store will have them. My hearing is very acute and I use those plugs during air travel. They will not shut out all traffic noise; you will still be able to hear car horns and loud truck noises. ---
**Author:** ![meaneyedcatz](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/meaneyedcatz/32/692_2.png) [@meaneyedcatz](https://community.cartalk.com/u/meaneyedcatz)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/17 "2010-05-22T03:39:13Z")
Auto body supply stores sell mats of sounding deadening material. It can be applied to trunk floors, inside doors, etc. Cut and apply. ---
**Author:** ![americar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/americar/32/42_2.png) [@americar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/americar)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/18 "2010-05-22T03:53:11Z")
It totally amazes me what people will put up with when they think they are buying something better. I was a back passenger in a Honda Odyssey, and the road noise was utterly ridicules. You could not even have a normal conversation with the passengers in front. I could not wait to get out of that box. ---
**Author:** ![meaneyedcatz](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/meaneyedcatz/32/692_2.png) [@meaneyedcatz](https://community.cartalk.com/u/meaneyedcatz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/19 "2010-05-23T01:20:09Z")
I dont take road trips in hondas but when I do get in them and drive for a short distance I get the impression they are “tinny” sounding. ---
**Author:** ![bscar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bscar/32/34_2.png) [@bscar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bscar)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109/20 "2010-05-23T02:32:50Z")
Only problem with that is that it adds weight, and weight kills fuel mileage that Hondas are known for [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/road-noice/49109.md?page=2)