ROAD NOISE

[Stiffarm]

@ Blackthought. You are absolutely right it’s a damn Lotus it is noisy so what. So @Stiffarm get over it.
This is the quietest lotus ever built.
Just don’t talk in the phone. Pay attention to how wonderful the car is
Talking on the phone is dangerous
Or just sell it and buy a Bentley no noise
Shoot me if you want but just get over it.
The negativity sometimes on this forum just blows me away.
Not to discuss personal issues but I have been dealing with my wife’s serious health issues the last year. That is more important to me than the bullshit fucking minor issues some people spew about a fantastic sports car. Just get a life or sell the car.
I make no apologies for my ranting here
EDIT my dear wife just drove 350 miles with me this past weekend and loved the ride compared to my Evora GT
I was grateful that she was able to be my passenger

Sunny rant from @MauriceR. I make no apologies either.

 

[Stiffarm]

Sorry for some of the less than stellar responses. You asked an honest question in a civil manner, and as a member of this forum you deserve an honest civil answer.

There have been reports of loose underbody pan panels on some cars. If you're the DIY type, try looking underneath the car for any loose or missing bolts in the under pan. You might also check to see if the plastic wheel well inner lining is secure in all 4 wheel wells. Whenever I've been hunting down the source of unwanted noise in a car, I'll use a rubber mallet or a wooden handle screwdriver, and tap on various areas (use the handle of the screwdriver). Listen for the same type of sound you've been hearing in the car to try and isolate the source. Just from your description it sounds like it might be a fairly large panel, like a wheel well liner, body panel, or even the rear trunk well. Road noise from tires tends to create resonance that can cause those types of panels to start humming at the same frequency.

If you take it to a dealer, depending on the quality of the dealer, they may or may not invest much time in checking things out. A mediocre to poor dealer will typically just go for a short drive, and bring it back saying they can't duplicate the problem. A better to good one will invest the time, but depending on what it is, it can take some time to track it down. By doing some pre-diagnostic investigating yourself, you can perhaps help isolate the area that the sound is coming from.

Record it with your phone if possible. If you can have somebody come with you, they may be able to help identify where it's coming from since they're on the opposite of the car. They can even do the recording. If you can post the audio file in here, maybe you can get some idea if others have that same noise or not.

Don't give up, it doesn't sound like what you're experiencing is typical. There may be an actual issue, and hopefully with some diligence and effort, it can be tracked down.

Very helpful, thanks.

 

[Stiffarm]

Sunny rant from @MauriceR. I make no apologies either.

By the way, this Lotus is not my first goat roping with mid-engine sports cars, so I am not a neophyte.
I have had many Ferrari BB 512's, a 288 GTO, a 296 GTB--none had anywhere near this high level of cabin noise. this could be caused by high tire pressure, loose or missing panels, bad wheel bearing, etc. --- all will be checked.

 

[Porter]

By the way, this Lotus is not my first goat roping with mid-engine sports cars, so I am not a neophyte.
I have had many Ferrari BB 512's, a 288 GTO, a 296 GTB--none had anywhere near this high level of cabin noise. this could be caused by high tire pressure, loose or missing panels, bad wheel bearing, etc. --- all will be checked.

In that case, there's definitely something wrong! No way that thing should be making that kind of noise.

 

[ttvetdoc]

Just another data point - I drove my Emira home at 80mph for 3 hours after pickup. Although not the level of BMW or Mercedes with sound insulation, I really didn't find the cabin too noisy. I did make some calls during the trip and had no issues hearing people. There would have been no issues having a conversation with someone in the passenger seat. I'm Touring with Goodyears. I agree with the other suggestion to try and find someone else with one (or a demo) and see if this is specific to your car or this is just 'the normal' that you will have to get used to.

 

[scc.131.fe]

... this could be caused by high tire pressure, loose or missing panels, bad wheel bearing, etc. --- all will be checked.

You could also ask the dealer to verify the alignment. We used to own a from-new 350Z and that has some serious tire roar until the front was adjusted.

I also had some unexpected tire noise on my E39 540i when I put new Conti DWS 06 on, and it was in conjunction with wheel bearing replacements and other suspension work. I was properly concerned until the noise just went away after about 1k miles. So I chalk that up to tires wearing in.

No matter what, let the dealer hear that your concerned. Good luck!

 

[khamai]

Collect some "data", download a dB app to your phone, use the A-scale, Slow response. Take a few readings at say 70mph in your Emira and other cars you drive (if possible on the same stretch of road in similar weather) and post your data.

Kiyoshi

 

[Speedy Emira]

I think I must be used to driving noisier modified cars because I don’t find it that bad.
Get an aftermarket exhaust with a 3rd car delete and all you can hear is an amazing V6 sound.

 

[Eagle7]

Very helpful, thanks.

You're welcome. Please keep us updated and let us know what you discover.

 

[Wonza]

The Goodyear tyres have very little noise, it’s not that unless there is a flat spot. They are a great tyre.

The noise you talking about is most probably the window alignment. Frameless windows are prone to this and Lotus don’t have a good record with QC hence some have issues and some don’t. Everyone’s is different.

Usually the whistling or wind noise comes from three areas a) bonnet intake vents when there is a strong SIDE wind. b) Wing mirror housing warped and not sitting flush at the base c) Window alignment not sitting right up-to the top of the seal. Tiny gap towards the front, top corner of the window and you can only see it if you kneel down or maybe jet wash and see if water penetrates the other side. I often notice that not all Emira door panels are aligned properly (panel gaps) because they are hand assembled.

I’ve experienced all these issues first hand. First batch.

 

[Porter]

Okay, I think I may have some info for you now that I have spent some time with the car first hand.

I picked up my car from my dealer in Winston-Salem, NC today, drove it off the lot and immediately north into Virginia and ran 150 miles of mountain roads at a sportive pace.

The Goodyear tires are extremely sensitive to the type of pavement in terms of how much road noise they make. On some of the state highways they were absolutely silent. And then I turned onto the Blue Ridge Parkway which has a more aggressive aggregate mix in the asphalt, and it was immediately deafeningly loud. Like, loud enough that I couldn't comfortably hold a phone conversation.

It was really surprising but I think might explain the experience that you are having. Now, I don't know whether your car has some other issue, but this was what I experienced today and I thought it might be relevant.

 

[K_Squared]

Okay, I think I may have some info for you now that I have spent some time with the car first hand.

I picked up my car from my dealer in Winston-Salem, NC today, drove it off the lot and immediately north into Virginia and ran 150 miles of mountain roads at a sportive pace.

The Goodyear tires are extremely sensitive to the type of pavement in terms of how much road noise they make. On some of the state highways they were absolutely silent. And then I turned onto the Blue Ridge Parkway which has a more aggressive aggregate mix in the asphalt, and it was immediately deafeningly loud. Like, loud enough that I couldn't comfortably hold a phone conversation.

It was really surprising but I think might explain the experience that you are having. Now, I don't know whether your car has some other issue, but this was what I experienced today and I thought it might be relevant.

Congrats on the delivery, @Porter! I'll try to pay more attention to the pavement types as I drive up to VA to visit family next week as well. I'm on Sport/Goodyear setup.

 

[Fasttoys]

If long freeway drives on the phone are the primary use case, you might not have the right tool for the job. Might I suggest:
View attachment 38789

AUDI EV Etron GT is faster and super quiet. That is my daily driver choice. I wonder if everyone is on Goodyear tires with these noise complaints? Tires & road surfaces are usually 90% cause of road noise. I am not a fan of Good Year tires, but once I burn through my Cup2 tires, I will get summer Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Best tires and are quiet compared to many other brands.

 

[Citizen]

Emira + Goodyear here , 10k km on it and all smooth driving it no issues

 

[Speedy Emira]

AUDI EV Etron GT is faster and super quiet. That is my daily driver choice. I wonder if everyone is on Goodyear tires with these noise complaints? Tires & road surfaces are usually 90% cause of road noise. I am not a fan of Good Year tires, but once I burn through my Cup2 tires, I will get summer Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Best tires and are quiet compared to many other brands.

Can I ask why you would swap the Cup 2 tyres for Pilot Sport S for the Summer? I thought the Cup2 would be hoot for the summer and the PS4S for the winter.

 

[denk0815]

By the way, this Lotus is not my first goat roping with mid-engine sports cars, so I am not a neophyte.
I have had many Ferrari BB 512's, a 288 GTO, a 296 GTB--none had anywhere near this high level of cabin noise. this could be caused by high tire pressure, loose or missing panels, bad wheel bearing, etc. --- all will be checked.

There is just no sound dendening at all.
Here in the Forum is a Vid about upgrading the KEF-system and the guys have to install a good isolation first too.

 

[Porter]

There is just no sound dendening at all.
Here in the Forum is a Vid about upgrading the KEF-system and the guys have to install a good isolation first too.

Honestly, the KEF seems fine when you're on the right kind of pavement. When the road surface changes though, it gets a little hard to hear detail LOL.

My solution is to roll the window down and drop a gear. 😂

 

[Fasttoys]

Can I ask why you would swap the Cup 2 tyres for Pilot Sport S for the Summer? I thought the Cup2 would be hoot for the summer and the PS4S for the winter.

The Cup2 are incredible tire but have a very short life span plus, my Emira will not be on the track. If I was tracking the car then Cup2 all the way. When I picked my Emira out I wanted the stiffer suspension and the cups were the standard set up. Like I mentioned I am not a GoodYear tire fan but they make a good tire. The better tire for me will be the MICHELIN PILOT SPORT 4S after I burn through the cup2 tires Regardless if the Goodyears were designed with the Emira. When I bought my Audi R8 it had Continental tires, I changed them to the Michelin tires a month after I purchased the car. It’s just my personal preference I have owned over 60 cars and my preferred tire is Michelin.

Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport Vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

Both tires offer excellent control on corners, with the asymmetric tread design providing higher stiffness at the center rib ensuring a proper grip throughout

comparethetire.com

According to reviews in same car under same roads/confitions. Both Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport tires exhibt almost the same average external noise of 72 dB on asphalt

 

[Honcho]

There is just no sound dendening at all.
Here in the Forum is a Vid about upgrading the KEF-system and the guys have to install a good isolation first too.

That’s not true at all. I had mine apart recently to install more sound insulation only to find it was packed with the stuff already, but this does not mean that there are not still a few places with space to add more. The doors have internal plastic covers which are rubber sealed and then covered with sound insulation as standard, and then the door card.

 

[trackday14]

I am not sure if the F1 supersport is a particularly noisy tire. I generally find Michelin Pilot Sport tires to be quieter than others in the same class.

I do not find the F1s noisy at highway speed (sport chassis)…but I’m accustomed to Cup 2s on other mid-engined cars that I’ve owned.