Peugeot 206 - Excessive road noise?

[praxibetel]

Hello all, pretty new on this forum, since my introductory post I've got another 206 2.0 HDI, with 40,000 miles in pretty good nick.

One thing that's really bugging me is the road noise. I started to notice it a few weeks ago and figured it was probably the cheapo tyres which were pretty worn out anyway, so I had them replaced with Michelin energy savers and front tracking done last week. Initially I thought it had solved the issue but as soon as I hit motorway speeds there's the same loud roaring which is really doing my head in!

Now obviously I don't expect a hatchback to ride like a Bentley but I'm sure the last 206 I had wasn't this noisy. I got the michelins because after reading reviews online people had found them quiet and they had pretty good ratings. I do fairly frequent long journeys so this really could be a deal breaker for the car if I can't sort it out. The noise seems to come mostly from the rear although that could be a trick of acoustics. On very smooth surfaces the noise dies down fairly significantly.

Should I look for quieter tyres and try to flog the michelins or could there be another reason for the noise?

[Peter.N.]

I have heard complaints of road noise on the 206, I don't know why it just seems to be a characteristic. I assume that you had one previously that wasn't noisy, as the tyres are about the only thing that can change the noise level you did the right thing in changing them. What tyres did you have on your original one?

If you have access to the latest 'Which?' tyre report it gives noise ratings for a whole host of tyres.

Peter

[praxibetel]

The old 206 had continental eco tyres on, and road noise was acceptable. Changing tyres doesn't seem to have made a huge difference. Most reviews I read before getting the michelins said they were quiet anyway. Could it be wheel bearing or something, since there's a drone/roar coming from the rear that doesn't change much with the road surface? It's kind of spoiling an otherwise decent car so hopefully something can be done.

[BX]

Michelin tyres are normally quiet. I once changed from a budget brand to michelin and couldn't believe how much quieter they were. Check for wheel bearing noise.
Wheel bearing noise often changes as you go round a bend. It often gets louder as the weight is transferred to the affected side and quieter as weight is transferred away due to the cornering forces. Another droning noise you can get on PSA cars is from the carrier bearing on the right hand drive shaft. Ihave seen garages change the right hand front wheel bearing only for the droning to remain. A 5euro bearing on the shaft eventually solving the problem. The carrier bearing noise normally doesnt change when cornering.

[praxibetel]

I'll have a poke around with an infrared thermometer I guess. None of the wheels seem to have any play or strange noises when I turn them by hand, but it's my understanding that that's not enough to rule out a wheel bearing? The noise seems to be coming from the rear of the car but I'll see if I can take a look at the carrier bearing.

[isisalar]

I recently got 4 new Goodyears on my Xantia, they have a good noise rating and I've been very pleased with them, mainly driving on the A1 and M25. Recently spent a few weeks in Southampton mainly driving on the M3 and the M27, the Tyre noise was horrendous and I was beginning to regret my choice as I couldn't stand the noise either. Returning home to North London, as soon as I was off the M3 the noise was no more!!!
Did a trip to Sawbridgeworth Saturday, A1/A414 there, A414/A10/M25/A1 home and all nice and quiet, It seems the road surface can make a huge difference to the road noise with these modern tyres.

[Hell Razor5543]

I agree that the road surface can have a dramatic effect on the noise generated. There are some sections of the M25 that are tarmac, others that appear to be a concrete mix, and you can hear the difference very clearly.

[CitroJim]

Eldest daughter had a 206 for a while and I can never recall it being at all noisy. Certainly no worse than her current 207.

Maybe it was because it was an early 1.4 TU engined model with skinny tyres...

It was certainly quieter than my C1!

[praxibetel]

I think the diesel models, or at least the 2 litre, have bigger tyres. I was wondering if it could be perished/brittle rubber bushings etc that should otherwise soak up vibrations causing the excessive noise? I drove my previous 206 to the moon and back in the ~4 years I had it, and never had any real concern about noise in the cabin. It definitely changes significantly with the road surface, although it would seem that most of them are rough enough to cause a fair amount of noise. I drove on a brand new, and very smooth surface and it was sublime, so I think that should rule out wheel bearings. I wouldn't have bought another 206 if the last one had sounded like this!

[isisalar]

I suspect that these new noise rated tyres are tuned to give the best rating possible on whatever surface the rating is done on, probably nice smooth tarmac. The noise on mine on the M27 was so bad I was checking door rubbers and pricing up other tyres. The previous set turned to jelly, badly affecting the handling and stability but had loads of tread left, tyres are not the same as they used to be.