Road Noise?

[fraochdha]

I've a rental Mazda 3, and am looking to purchase one- but I've noticed that there is A LOT of road noise. The 2012 Mazda 3 has 2100 miles on it, and I can't imagine that this is caused by poorly worn tires- but is this a common issue with Mazda 3/skyactiv cars? And is it Tire based or is there more to this than I'm experiencing?

thanks

 

[VoleakySport]

If your rental has the Bridgestone EL-400-02 tires on it, it could very well be a tire issue. That particular Bridgestone is a very low rated tire for noise, comfort, and handling in most road conditions (last place on TireRack.com Standard Touring Tire category). I had them on my 2012 Mazda3 Skyactiv as EOM equipment, but I now have Yokohama Ascends. The Ascends have made a world of a difference in comfort, control, and they are very quiet.

 

[crsmclaren]

I have a Mazda 3 and some friends of mine have mazda 3's also. We all have road noise, that was actually one of the first things I heard about the mazda 3. This is on most mazda 3 models I have noticed. Still love my Mazda 3 hatchback though.

 

[Mazda_Rati]

From my experience so far, which is only 1600 miles, if the roads are the bad, you have a lot of road noise. If they are good, very little noise. I am one who can't stand a lot of road noise but it really hasn't been bad at all. And I came from a 4 door Tacoma Prerunner that has almost no road noise.

 

[WillD]

I agree, the most common cause of road noise is the tires. When you go and test drive a new 3 you'll be able to notice right away if it is going to be the same or not. Generally cars in this category don't have very good sound deadening so it can get quite noisy in the cabin. With my Wife's 3 I noticed a dramatic drop in road noise when I switched from the OE tires to Continentals.