road noise

[newcar]

HI,
Its been awhile since ive owned a new car,and I know each car has its little personality. I have a '06 mazda3,had 14miles on it when I bought it.
It seems the suspension seems a stiff,is there a grace peirod for it to break in? Far as road noise, I dont know if its the tires just being new or the brand. Just seems little loud,little annoying,but maybe I'm expecting too much ??
Last issue is when car is turned off,hear like a whinding down noise,like a generator(example),is being shutdown(low pitch,barely hear it),again maybe I'm not used to this car etc.....
Thanks for bearing with me. Just used to my beretta I had for 11years

 

[Brian MP5T]

Road noise has alot to do with the road surface.

The beretta is also a heavier car that probably has more deadener in it..

 

[icspots]

The stock RS-A's are a relatively noisy tire. If you want your car to be quieter then here are some steps other people have taken.

-change out the tires to something with softer rubber (probably be 'stickier' too, but will not last as long)
-put sound deadener in the door panels, the floor, and above the headliner
-spray foam insulation in all the wheel wells
-turn up the stereo. 8)

I don't think people had too much success (maybe a little) with the foam in the wheel wells, and they had to use a can per well to get any effect. You'd probably be better off gutting the car and doing full noise/vibration deadening.

 

[bbrich57]

HI,
Its been awhile since ive owned a new car,and I know each car has its little personality. I have a '06 mazda3,had 14 miles on it when I bought it.
It seems the suspension seems a stiff,is there a grace peirod for it to break in? Far as road noise, I dont know if its the tires just being new or the brand. Just seems little loud,little annoying,but maybe I'm expecting too much ??
Last issue is when car is turned off, hear like a whinding down noise,like a generator(example),is being shutdown (low pitch,barely hear it),again maybe I'm not used to this car etc.....
Thanks for bearing with me. Just used to my beretta I had for 11years

If you have the 17's w/the BadYears (you don't want to hear about my experiences w/them...) they are a bit noisy, and inspite of their "all-season" rating don't trust them in the rain or snow either. The Ford Focus (sister to the 3) are even worse no matter what tire you have. Something about the shape/size of the wheel wells. If it bothers you, insulate as has already been suggested.
No, no break-in period for the suspension, except the usual wear of normal componants. The 3 does ride much like a German car.
The noise you are hearing is probably the cooling fan which runs for a few seconds after the engine is shut off. Other than that I suppose it could be the electric power steering motor, but I can't say that I have noticed that in my '04. Only a "robotic" whinning sound when turning the wheel while sitting still.
'Hope that helps answers some of your questions. I'm sure you'll have a few more before it's all said and done. Just ask. I'm sure someone here will come to your rescue. (lol)

 

[lelola]

HI,
Its been awhile since ive owned a new car,and I know each car has its little personality. I have a '06 mazda3,had 14miles on it when I bought it.
It seems the suspension seems a stiff,is there a grace peirod for it to break in? Far as road noise, I dont know if its the tires just being new or the brand. Just seems little loud,little annoying,but maybe I'm expecting too much ??
Last issue is when car is turned off,hear like a whinding down noise,like a generator(example),is being shutdown(low pitch,barely hear it),again maybe I'm not used to this car etc.....
Thanks for bearing with me. Just used to my beretta I had for 11years

I hear the same sound when my car is shut off too.
I was told it's the electrical relay shutting down.
I have no idea if that's true or not though....

 

[newcar]

noise

Thanks for the advice.
Where can i find the sound deadener stuff for door panels,floor,headliner. Also far as the foam for wheel wells? Im no mechanic so would dealer install that stuff or a body shop??

Tires would be something I would change if I have too or it really bothers me that much...I might try the deadener stuff if its not too expensive to do and install..

 

[icspots]

The Ford Focus (sister to the 3) are even worse no matter what tire you have.

Only the Euro Focus is "sister" to the Mz3. The US Focus has nothing to do with it.

Thanks for the advice.
Where can i find the sound deadener stuff for door panels,floor,headliner. Also far as the foam for wheel wells? Im no mechanic so would dealer install that stuff or a body shop??

Tires would be something I would change if I have too or it really bothers me that much...I might try the deadener stuff if its not too expensive to do and install..

There are different companies that offer sound deadener. Look at:
www.b-quiet.com
www.dynamat.com
www.secondskinaudio.com

Also check out this thread. The guy went pretty much all out in his sound deadening venture.

I wouldn't pay someone for installing this stuff, on the other hand I like taking apart my car. The wheel well stuff I mentioned before was a spray can http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=18984.0 , so you just spray it into the wheel well. It seems like the stuff this guy used is a bit better suited for actual sound deadaning though.

 

[bbrich57]

Only the Euro Focus is "sister" to the Mz3. The US Focus has nothing to do with it.

What I read somewhere a while ago (yeah, I realize that argument wouldn't hold up in court, so it's lucky we're not in court) was that yes, they were using that chassis in Europe but that it would be used in the US version Ford as well as the Volvo S40. Not being that interested in Focuses, I can't remember what model year they stated. But looking at the new ZX-3 my neighbors just bought, it seems to have a lot in common. The 2.0L engine and suspension look suspiciously like my 3 HB.

 

[tsunami]

bbrich...

only the euro focus as of now uses our platform... there may be some parts sharing as ford just did a refresh of the us focus but still same old platform..

also for sound deadening check http://www.raamaudio.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi
they seemed to be the best mix of high quality and cheap...granted its still not cheap

get an intake and you won't hear much of the road noise anymore or turn up the stereo... lol