Road Noise
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Another round of ICE
Some helpful reading. I don't know if any other changes have been made since our older cars were produced.
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...d-you-use.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...d-you-use.html
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From: Southwest USA
Another round of ICE
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2012 C300 Lux
I just came back from an one-week Yellowstone trip renting an Infiniti G37x. It was a very impressive car, but I like my C300 better. Regarding comfort and looks, C300 receives clear votes from my family, especially from my kids. C300 has a slightly larger interior and softer suspensions, and it runs a bit smoother and quieter. I also think C300 doesn't lose ground on the handling against G37x. The only thing that G37x does better is being faster and powerful, but that is not a factor for a non-aggressive driver like me.
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From: Bay Area, CA
2011 C300 Sport, P1, MM, Wood, Heated FS, DIY rearview camera.
I made a year 2011 comparison table out of Consumer Guide (Auto) including C300, 3-Series, Volvo, Lexus, Audi, etc., of the same category. C300 has a highest total score. Quietness level is also the highest. I already made decision on C300 but just wanted to double check if there was anything else I need to know to make last minute change.
I want to make it a bit quieter but evey time I think about it I said forget it.
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2004 Mazda6, 1993 RX7
For minimal road noise, in most cases it's very important to rotate tires and reverse the direction of rotation on the car (directional tires excluded). This should be done with every oil change, or sooner. That's why some have complained about road noise with the W204.
For ultra quiet, the aftermarket kits mentioned will definetly help.
.
For ultra quiet, the aftermarket kits mentioned will definetly help.
.
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From: SEATTLE WASHINGTON USA
'08 C300 Lux Barolo Red Beige Leather P2 MM 18" wheels '84 944
Where you have to instruct them is the ordinary tire store who mount wheels on F-150s all day where it doesn't matter.
But I wouldn't allow ordinary tire shop emplyess to mess with my wheels anyway. I recently replaced my C300's tires and I let the dealer mount them (drop shipped from Tire Rack) because I knew they would not damage them. And if they did would make it right. BTDT.
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'08 C300 Lux Barolo Red Beige Leather P2 MM 18" wheels '84 944
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2004 Mazda6, 1993 RX7
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LOADED 08' C350 & 14' GLK-350 Diamond White (P1, MM, AMG Pkg, Ln Trkng, Htd Sts, Keylss Go)
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2008 VW Rabbit
Thanks for the thoughts. I test drove one today over some pretty noisy roads and it seemed pretty quiet to me. It was definitely quieter than the same ride in my VW. The C250 is in the hunt for a buy.
Hadn't thought about rotation of tires as a component of road noise, so thanks for that, too.
Hadn't thought about rotation of tires as a component of road noise, so thanks for that, too.
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From: SEATTLE WASHINGTON USA
'08 C300 Lux Barolo Red Beige Leather P2 MM 18" wheels '84 944
"I know from my own observation that my dealer uses a torque wrench for the final tightening although they may spin the bolts on to that point."
That's what I do with my 28V Milwaukee cordless impact wrench and it saves time and effort. Different deep socket, also.
Last edited by RLE; Aug 21, 2012 at 08:34 PM.
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2004 Mazda6, 1993 RX7
---> IGNORE THIS POST !! <---I thought I was replying to RLE, and not rb23lb.
I was responding to you who had replied to this off topic question:
"Not to open a can of worms, but do any of you ask the dealer to hand torque the lugs or just leave them to their own devices? "
obviously
---> IGNORE THIS POST !! <---
I thought I was replying to RLE, and not rb23lb. Thanks to RLE for pointing this out..
.
"Not to open a can of worms, but do any of you ask the dealer to hand torque the lugs or just leave them to their own devices? "
obviously
---> IGNORE THIS POST !! <---
I thought I was replying to RLE, and not rb23lb. Thanks to RLE for pointing this out..
.
Last edited by kevink2; Aug 21, 2012 at 01:08 PM. Reason: Misread who the author was, the reply is meaningless
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2004 Mazda6, 1993 RX7
The only "issue" here is that you didn't read my post carefully enough. The first sentence dealt with torqueing the bolts. Spinning the bolts means with the impact wrench but not seating them and I though that was obvious..
"I know from my own observation that my dealer uses a torque wrench for the final tightening although they may spin the bolts on to that point."
....
"I know from my own observation that my dealer uses a torque wrench for the final tightening although they may spin the bolts on to that point."
....
If by "spin the bolts on to that point" you mean the final torque spec, then I have an issue.
IMHO the statement was a bit ambiguous as "that point" could be taken more than one way. You could have replied "golly gee KevinK2, they do the final torque-to-spec by hand with some additional bolt rotation."
I did read your post carefully, perhaps too literally.
I am cautious about shops that advertise hand-torqueing, based on what I witnessed:
I have seen shops that record your torque spec on the invoice, and advertise that they hand torque the bolts. I then watched them overtorque the bolts with the impact wrench, obvious by the lack of relative motion between the socket/bolt and the wheel when they were torqued. I saw this through a customer window to the shop. I was having race tires (Kuhmo V700) mounted on wheels I brought in .. I did the final install and torquing.
Bottom line, sorry for the confusion.
.
Last edited by kevink2; Aug 20, 2012 at 09:25 PM.
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'08 C300 Lux Barolo Red Beige Leather P2 MM 18" wheels '84 944
But the "spin the bolts" comment was mine, not the person you are now addressing. Hard to keep up sometimes, isn't it?
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
For minimal road noise, in most cases it's very important to rotate tires and reverse the direction of rotation on the car (directional tires excluded). This should be done with every oil change, or sooner. That's why some have complained about road noise with the W204.
For ultra quiet, the aftermarket kits mentioned will definetly help.
.
For ultra quiet, the aftermarket kits mentioned will definetly help.
.
Known noisy tyres on this chassis are the Conti Sport Contact range.
Known quiet tyres are some of the Bridgestones, the Michelin PS2 & Exalto PE2 & the Yokohama AVS db2.
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2011 C300 Sport, P1, MM, Wood, Heated FS, DIY rearview camera.
tirerack.com has all tire rating including the noise level. I am not sure if that is a good source of info. Once I bought a set of Michelin tires with much higher quietness level than factory eqipped Bridgestone for my SUV, based on tirerack, and found they are pretty much the same.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Unfortunately tyre noise transmission & it's harmonics is chassis dependent. Tirerack is a guide but not necessarily a good one for some vehicles.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Aug 21, 2012 at 08:47 PM.
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Another round of ICE
Having said that, but not having examined current production, I would still think about attacking the spare tire well first if it is still an unlined plastic tub.
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2004 Mazda6, 1993 RX7
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Feathering Wear
Feathering wear has become more of an issue as the tire spec's have changed for new cars. 205-55-16 tires used to be a common spec for Mercedes, Audi, and BMW. Tires/wheels have changed to:
lower aspect ratio tires
wider wheels/tires
larger dia wheels
So recently, 225-45-17 has generally become a base level size.
These newer tires are more sensitive to alignment for even wear, and to avoid accelerated feathering, primarily on the front outer contact edges.
To check for feathering wear, place your hand over the tire and with light fingertip touch, move hand forward and backward over the top of the tire.
The actual feathering wear leaves the tread blocks with a subtle saw tooth profile, looking from the side.
If the tire feels rough on the back stroke of the hand, and smooth on the forward stroke, that indicates feathering wear, that makes most tires noisy.
Another sign of feathering can be seen when the tire leaves a print on a smooth contact surface, either by water or dusty dirt on the tread. Rather than showing nice, perhaps square prints, you only see the trailing ( or leading ) side of the block.
The feathering wear process is based how the tire tread blocks first hit the pavement. So by reversing the direction of rotation, when rotating non-directional tires, you also reverse the feathering wear process. To be on the safe side, I suggest this type of tire rotation with each oil change.
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