Road Noise

[Tethmes]

20k miles
I rotate every oil change. It is due for its next service.

In that case, what is your oil change interval?

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[cvcsmkr]

In that case, what is your oil change interval?

Every 5k

 

[Tethmes]

Every 5k

Tires should be fine then. If it was 10k I would say it's likely cupping as a previous comment suggested. 5k rotations is fine for a ko2 though. Was it always this bad or only a recent development?

There's no speed where my soft top is producing enough wind noise to drown out the radio or conversation, so your SOT shouldn't be giving you that much noise as it's mostly hard top. I would lean toward it not being wind noise unless the SOT isn't sealing properly or something.

 

[JL ME]

Hello all.

I have a 2021 JLU with the Sky One Touch roof & Factory Rubicon wheels/tires.

The road noise over 55mph is terrible. I can’t hear myself think. I thought I could live with it but it sounds like a garbage disposal is constantly running.

I purchased a hardtop (not yet installed). after research it seems like that will help but minimally and that a lot of noise is coming from elsewhere.

im considering doing the full sound deadening, the armor lite mats, install the hardtop & linear.

I just don’t want to go down this path and it barely makes a difference. I’m not looking for it to be as quiet as a luxury car, it’s obviously going to be louder just based on the nature of the vehicle.

OR I just sell it and get something else.

Any input?

If noise is a problem for you ? Move on! A jeep is not for you.

 

[Bandit59]

Hello all.

I have a 2021 JLU with the Sky One Touch roof & Factory Rubicon wheels/tires.

The road noise over 55mph is terrible. I can’t hear myself think. I thought I could live with it but it sounds like a garbage disposal is constantly running.

I purchased a hardtop (not yet installed). after research it seems like that will help but minimally and that a lot of noise is coming from elsewhere.

im considering doing the full sound deadening, the armor lite mats, install the hardtop & linear.

I just don’t want to go down this path and it barely makes a difference. I’m not looking for it to be as quiet as a luxury car, it’s obviously going to be louder just based on the nature of the vehicle.

OR I just sell it and get something else.

Any input?

I have a 23 High Attitude hard top. Noise is not bad. Yes louder then my Ram but not bad at all

 

[KCSgtMaj]

This post made me laugh! “My jeep is loud, what can I do?” Well that narrows it down. Obviously your first Wrangler. What most people don’t realize the Wrangler is a cousin to the original Willys military 1/4 ton truck. I still consider the Wrangler a a basic 4x4 truck with a bunch of fancy gizmos and gadgets. I can see that you’ve never had the opportunity to own or drive some of the earlier cousins. My Wrangler is quiet as a church mouse if that church mouse was flying up a mountainside with its ass on fire.
My point is that the JL models right from the factory are probably the most capable 4x4 truck ever produced for the general public. Regardless of how many gizmos that FCA installs on the Wrangler, it is not and never will be an SUV. It’s a very capable high clearance multi wheeled vehicle designed for rough off road cross country use, and yes the occasional trip to the grocery store. Is it loud? Yes it’s loud. But “loud” is subjective.

But to answer your question “what to do?” Your tires are probably the issue, especially if there has been any modifications to your Wrangler, like bigger rims/ tires. Mileage, road heat, wear, and suspension out of wack can all contribute to road noise. I suggest you have your tires checked for unusual wear even check your tire size or even rim sizes checking offsets and such. Don’t give up to early.

More info would would help,
Mileage
Picture of the vehicle
Any modifications and so forth.

 

[cvcsmkr]

This post made me laugh! “My jeep is loud, what can I do?” Well that narrows it down. Obviously your first Wrangler. What most people don’t realize the Wrangler is a cousin to the original Willys military 1/4 ton truck. I still consider the Wrangler a a basic 4x4 truck with a bunch of fancy gizmos and gadgets. I can see that you’ve never had the opportunity to own or drive some of the earlier cousins. My Wrangler is quiet as a church mouse if that church mouse was flying up a mountainside with its ass on fire.
My point is that the JL models right from the factory are probably the most capable 4x4 truck ever produced for the general public. Regardless of how many gizmos that FCA installs on the Wrangler, it is not and never will be an SUV. It’s a very capable high clearance multi wheeled vehicle designed for rough off road cross country use, and yes the occasional trip to the grocery store. Is it loud? Yes it’s loud. But “loud” is subjective.

But to answer your question “what to do?” Your tires are probably the issue, especially if there has been any modifications to your Wrangler, like bigger rims/ tires. Mileage, road heat, wear, and suspension out of wack can all contribute to road noise. I suggest you have your tires checked for unusual wear even check your tire size or even rim sizes checking offsets and such. Don’t give up to early.

More info would would help,
Mileage
Picture of the vehicle
Any modifications and so forth.

Good points. Ill take a picture tomorrow. 27k miles. 4cyl. It drives straight & smooth. Never been abused or any real off-road yet, just the occasional construction site.

No modifications. Its a stock Wrangler Sport S, The previous owner worked at a dealership and swapped the factory wheels with OE Rubicon wheels/tires.

With everyone's comments/questions about the tires, it has me wondering if they are adding to the noise problem.

 

[azwjowner]

Good points. Ill take a picture tomorrow. 27k miles. 4cyl. It drives straight & smooth. Never been abused or any real off-road yet, just the occasional construction site.

No modifications. Its a stock Wrangler Sport S, The previous owner worked at a dealership and swapped the factory wheels with OE Rubicon wheels/tires.

With everyone's comments/questions about the tires, it has me wondering if they are adding to the noise problem.

I only have 8000 miles on my KO2s, but they are quiet. I wonder if you have a wind leak somewhere.

 

[ChuckQue]

Wait, wasn’t there some issue with reverb from the noise cancelling stuff and the SOT’s, or was that specific to the 392?

Jeeps are loud by nature, but it’s not to say there isn’t a problem with yours. It could be normal noise levels and you just aren’t used to it, or it could be something isn’t sealed properly. As I mentioned, make sure your drain plugs are all in and look at the firewall plug. That firewall plug popped out on mine and I noticed a significant increase in engine noise plus heat on my feet.

I’m on 38” Nitto M/T’s with bumper mounted lights and a roof light bar. I have a hard top with the headliner padding, OEM carpet. While the road and wind noise can be loud sometimes if I have a head or cross wind, it’s easily drowned out with my radio at 16-18 depending on if I’m listening to music from my phone or satellite radio. I’ll try to remember to get some decibel levels for you tomorrow on the highway. That’ll give you something to compare it to.

 

[cvcsmkr]

Wait, wasn’t there some issue with reverb from the noise cancelling stuff and the SOT’s, or was that specific to the 392?

Jeeps are loud by nature, but it’s not to say there isn’t a problem with yours. It could be normal noise levels and you just aren’t used to it, or it could be something isn’t sealed properly. As I mentioned, make sure your drain plugs are all in and look at the firewall plug. That firewall plug popped out on mine and I noticed a significant increase in engine noise plus heat on my feet.

I’m on 38” Nitto M/T’s with bumper mounted lights and a roof light bar. I have a hard top with the headliner padding, OEM carpet. While the road and wind noise can be loud sometimes if I have a head or cross wind, it’s easily drowned out with my radio at 16-18 depending on if I’m listening to music from my phone or satellite radio. I’ll try to remember to get some decibel levels for you tomorrow on the highway. That’ll give you something to compare it to.

That'd be great. I ordered a DB meter. The plugs are on my list to check. I think im going to test drive a hardtop with all season tires and get some DB readings aswell. Just need some data to refence off of. If the test drive is also "loud" then maybe I'm just getting old

 

[Wbino]

Hello all.

I have a 2021 JLU with the Sky One Touch roof & Factory Rubicon wheels/tires.

The road noise over 55mph is terrible. I can’t hear myself think. I thought I could live with it but it sounds like a garbage disposal is constantly running.

I purchased a hardtop (not yet installed). after research it seems like that will help but minimally and that a lot of noise is coming from elsewhere.

im considering doing the full sound deadening, the armor lite mats, install the hardtop & linear.

I just don’t want to go down this path and it barely makes a difference. I’m not looking for it to be as quiet as a luxury car, it’s obviously going to be louder just based on the nature of the vehicle.

OR I just sell it and get something else.

Any input?

The SOT fully open/windows up and the corner windows out give a great air flow thru the cabin.
My all season tires on my 33's are so quite I can hear other Jeeps trying to rumble down the road with mud tires.

 

[KCSgtMaj]

@cvcsmkr ah ha! Wear pattern of tires can be different from vehicle to vehicle. So I would bet that’s what the issue is. I would also assume that the previous owner didn’t get an alignment with the new set up, but if the tires were old enough with a particular wear on them then any new alignment in the world won’t fix it. I had this same issue on my used mini cooper s. Tracked straight as an arrow, but at highway speeds I was getting a whine because the tires had worn a certain way. When I finally replaced the tires and had a four wheel alignment done the whining disappeared. And thousands of miles later, still quiet.

good luck with your investigation.

 

[zouch]

i put a set of KO2s on my old J**p thinking they would be quieter than the BFG Muds i had been running most of its life, and got rid of the KO2s since they weren't much quieter.

if you've had those KO2s for a few years they're probably not as quiet as some other tires you could get. they get louder fairly quickly as they age/wear.
many people are reporting they're finding even more capable tires like the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs are quieter than the KO2s they used before.

i'd try getting some fresh rubber under it, then maybe move on to adding some sound deadening material if that's not enough improvement for you. the Sound Assassin material that i put in with my Hotheads headline made a pretty significant difference in perceived noise.

 

[Tiger1]

 

[Jeepman1]

Definitely check your tires and hardtop. If either are loose or old you may want to upgrade.

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