Make the Supra quieter on highways

[michaeljeff]

OP, you should probably just sell the Supra now. With spring and summer coming, you'll get a good price. Take the proceeds and get a luxury sedan like an LS or an E-class, something along those lines. Those will be bank vault quiet, which seems to be what you're looking for. I wouldn't even bother with trying to swap out the stock PSSs for quieter tires. I doubt that will get you where you think you need to be.

My Supra is in storage, so I'm not driving it, but I'm not in a hurry to sell it. I don't think the 2022 is going to be any changes or be here any time soon either.

My Supra is by far the quietest "sports" car I've ever owned (and I've owned many)...The main emphasis here is on "sports car"...

And of coarse sedans and SUVs will have much quieter rides...All my past sedans and SUVs always had much quieter rides as expected...

Just turn up the music and enjoy the ride...That said, there are relatively inexpensive ways in which to reduce cabin noise in the Supra further such as adding some sound deadening, turning off faux engine noise, implementing wind buffeting fix, and recalibrating your expectations on how quite a sports car interior should be...

If you guys have an Apple Watch, could you drive your car on the highway for a bit and report back? I wanted to see if everyone else is getting 70+ db on the highway as well, and whether I need to adjust my expectations for this car.

Sponsored

 

[Bflood]

I did a road trip in my ‘21 and it was not enjoyable. Cabin measured about 70-75db on my Apple Watch on highways.

Is there a way to quiet the car down (road and wind noise)? If not, I will take the $10k loss since I’d rather have a convertible if I wanted a noisy weekend or track car.

Have the alignment checked since most are out of spec off the lot. Other than that it's incredibly easy to have the tires replaced with some "grand touring - old man" tires. Also, dynamat can reduce road noise up to 20db!!

 

[NitroYellowMKV]

Sound insulation and I guess you can code out ASD, but if you are already in normal mode, it is off anyway. try some dynamat in all the common places, wind buffeting kit like everyone says. this car is a lot quieter then my F-type S convertible.

 

[Tsar]

Only read couple of respodses above so this might be duplicative. I find that tire noise level really depends on the road surface. There are times the supra is so quiet that I think you can put a sleeping baby in it and it wouldn't wake up during a trip - other road surfaces, I practically need to yell to talk to my passenger.

 

[Munkeeboi]

With the windows up and ASD off, the Supra is quieter and smoother than my daily driver Prius

 

[michaeljeff]

With the windows up and ASD off, the Supra is quieter and smoother than my daily driver Prius

Can you drive your car a bit with your Apple watch on the highway and report back the noise level?

 

[Munkeeboi]

Can you drive your car a bit with your Apple watch on the highway and report back the noise level?

At the hospital with my first baby. Will be some time before I can do that for you

 

[ogun228]

Can you drive your car a bit with your Apple watch on the highway and report back the noise level?

It appears that your Apple wach rather than your ears is your criterion. Weird no? Try listening instead of watching a meter?

 

[michaeljeff]

It appears that your Apple wach rather than your ears is your criterion. Weird no? Try listening instead of watching a meter?

I've never really noticed road noise in a car before, until I bought this. My watch confirms my experience (intolerable highway noise, 70-75db), and I have to crank the music uncomfortably high, where it reaches 80db, the threshold for permanent hearing damage over prolonged listening. I currently daily a Rav4 while the Supra is store, which clocks in around 65db on the highway. Sound decibels are logarithmic, so 75db in a Supra is 10x times more sound energy than 65db, although perceived, it is not 10x louder, but it's significant.

In any case, just wanted to see if I can gather some more data points if others are getting 70db + on their Supras, and if so, decide on fix or sell and get a quieter sports car, maybe a Lexus LC-F or something next.

 

[BA9092]

At the hospital with my first baby. Will be some time before I can do that for you

Congrats!!! Hope all is well.

 

[Xxyion]

So theres a few things that i think are also not mentioned in this thread. You have to also remember that tire sizes matter a good amount when it comes to road noise. Michelin PSS are supposed to be pretty quiet tires, however my BRZ with the same tires was more quiet road noise wise. Why? Well a lot of it has to do with width as well as height. My BRZ was running 245/40/17 compared to the Supra which in the rear is running 295/35/19. I have aftermarket wheels and noticed a huge increase in road noise when i got the new wheels and tires on.

If you really want to keep this car and willing to spend a little bit on it. Look at getting smaller wheels (18") and increase the sidewall height. That will help a lot with the road noise sound.

Coding out ASD will be the cheapest option. Even though the ASD isnt fully active in Normal mode, its still active. I found the noise in the car went down considerably when i coded out the ASD using Bimmercode and a Bluetooth OBD2 reader. Costed me 60$ and i can revert it easily.


You also have to take into consideration you are now driving a Sports Car. This car by definition WILL have less sound insulation. Sound insulation is heavy and therefore not included in sports cars that are designed for speed. All the cars you listed before were either luxury cars or economy cars. They specifically installed sound insulation because those cars are modeled on being quiet and comfortable. Yes even the Convertible 4 series. If you were to drive my S2000 even in stock form i think you'd hate it. That car more than anything is designed to be thrown around the track. Honda didnt bother with any sort of sound insulation in that car. The Supra by comparison is quiet as a mouse.

Now you might think "hey i paid 50k for this car why isnt it super quiet". Well its because you paid 50k to have superior balance, over 300 hp, RWD, good track performance, one of the best modern inline 6 engines and a very modifiable platform. If none of that is what you want, then you dont want a sports car. You want a luxury car that can go fast in a straight line.

 

[MyCorolla]

A couple of other factors to consider: road surface and speed.

I didn’t expect the Supra to be a quiet and comfortable car, yet I find it overall quieter and more comfortable than other sports cars I’ve owned. Cruising at 70 mph on smooth asphalt is pretty quiet, but on pavement it is a bit noisy, and going over some bridges results in more noise. I did turn off ASD, but only because I wanted to hear the unadulterated exhaust sound. My hearing is quite sensitive, so much that I don’t like driving with the windows down, or staying in hotels next to freeways. I will have to measure the noise level next time I’m on a highway.

By the way, according to the NIH, “long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss”.

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss

 

[jchadwell]

Use BimmerCode to eliminate the engine noise from be piped throughout the speakers to start.

I have mine coded off but thought the fake engine sounds only played in sport mode?

 

[Paolo]

Put a glass wall behind your seat to reduce rear tire noise or better yet get some ear muffs or put the radio on.

 

[dethred]

Code out the fake audio, and adjust your tire pressure. Or sell the car and get a quiet sedan.

Sponsored