Katie22

Hi all. I recently test drove a used 2013 sl 65 and now have a few questions. I had the top up when i was driving it and to my surprise it seemed pretty loud with lots of road noise and top creaking noises. Is this something that was addressed with the 2017 update? I just wonder because I was expecting the car to be pretty quiet with the top up.

Katie

okbarnett

need to go to r231 forum
No difference in any car 13-18. body and tops all the same
Oddly an SL is a sports car, not meant to be a super quiet luxury car, but they are very comfortable and have advanced technology and features and are very sophisticated compared to most other cars

Katie22

OKbarnett I got what your saying. The thing is I forgot to say that I did drive an AMG GTC at as best as I can remember it seemed quieter than this SL65 even with a soft top. That is why I was asking if they did any updates to the body noise insulation or something.

Katie

okbarnett

OK but its not a soft top. it is full metal. A soft top is fabric. A GT has a soft top.
The GT should have less sound insulation than a SL. A GT is equal to a porsche 911, a pure sports car , while a SL is made to be more luxurious. With features like an S.

Katie22

I totally understand and hence the wonderment with what seemed a noisier car with the hardtop.

Vader1

Road noise many times is a function of the tires on the car. There are tires that are quieter (like Michelin). You might want to check the tires on the car.

jmattioni

Road noise is probably from the tires. They get noisier as they wear out. The tops do occasionally produce some creaking noises, usually when something needs to be adjusted or tightened. How many miles are on the car?

Quadrobenz

We have both a 2017 S65 Cabriolet and a 2017 SL65. Until recently we also had a 2009 S600. Comparing like to like, the interior of the R231 is far quieter than the R230, Both cars had identical Michelin PS4s tires. None of the noise is from the top mechanism, there are no rattles or creaks. The R231 is pretty quiet on the highway, but not like the S65 Cab. The A217 is just about as quiet as our W222 S65 sedan. Both of those cars also have Michelin PS4s tires. In return for a little more noise in the SL65 we get a car 650 pounds lighter than the S65 Cab. Each serves a different purpose.