Road Noise in SUV

[rooty-j]

For my 2023 Telluride EX. The road noise is worsened with my OEM Pirelli Scorpion Zero tires, looking forward to switching those out. What I'm talking about is road noise at highway speeds. It's more noticeable above about 60 mph and varies a lot based on the texture of the highway. Even over the quietest texture, it's still too much for me.

Short video and tapping: photos.app.goo.gl/CgRjiGUYhGZagwFo7

I pulled up the front carpet a little, near front foot well, and there's a lot of thick padding and extra sound absorbing material, but I only got a tiny peek here. My hunch is that most of the noise is coming from the back of car.

In the rear, there's some sound treatment under the rear cargo storage area. You'll see what looks like factory CLD, though it's very brittle and stiff. I can't imagine it's really doing anything. Attached to the carpet, is a combination of closed cell foam and sound absorbing material. I started tapping around this central area, and it was exceptionally noisy. I don't think the factory CLD material is doing anything.

The other culprit, I believe, is the sides of the rear cargo area. I popped this little panel off on the driver's side. Wow, just open fender wells passing sound goodies all over the damn place. There is some sound absorption in some places, but nothing on top of this little panel. My first attempt will be treating the wheels from the outside.

I was able to see the floor carpet is in split into two sections - cargo to back of 2nd row, 2nd row to front footwell. The last picture shows the break in the middle, showing more of the marginal factory CLD. I was worried that the carpet might extend upwards behind the firewall, but all in all, it doesn't look too bad to pull the whole carpet to deal with proper sound treatment.

I haven't decided on anything just yet, looking at options and products. I might start with treating the wheel wells from the outside first, then replace tires, and/or go into the cabin. I'd like to avoid pulling the whole interior and installing CLD/CCF/Barrier.

Thanks for any ideas, comments, or inspiration.

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[dragon.breath 10+ year member]

Seems to be a Hyundai thing. My 2006 Suzuki aerio commuter car will 250k+ miles is quieter than a family members 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe at highway speeds.
I would probably start outside by undercoating the wheel well areas. Sometimes that can make a big difference.

 

[2023 LTZ]

If it’s something you’re interested in improving, sound deadening is in order.
It’ll likely be a pain yet if you want silence you'll have to do better than the original engineers. In this case it probably won’t be difficult. Expensive and labor intensive? Yup. $500 on materials and time fitting will be worth it. IMHO

 

[huberoy123 10+ year member]

Tires, suspension, and sound deadner would be my plan. Seems that the manufacturer would have addressed this in their design.

 

[2023 LTZ]

I think it’s a combination of many things.
My impala is whisper quiet. It has plastic inner doors w no deadener yet the inner fenders have what appears to be insulation.
Trunk lid and hood have something as well. I know the window glass is thicker than previous vehicles I’ve had and the glass goes farther up into the seal. It’s certainly not extraordinarily aerodynamic yet at 80-100 it is quite.
Deadening techniques are likely all over you tube.

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

I have a feeling they do little deadening to save money and weight. Less weight is better mpg.