Ask an expert


tjhull

Hi,I have a 2014 mitsi outlander.I am finding the road noise level unacceptable and was thinking of some underseal work,particually under the rear section which has none at all.Can you recommend a company to do this work.I find it unfortunate that these excellant vehicles are let down by a lack of sound deading material in general.

ABayliss

This is a common problem with many late model vehicles - primarily due to big diameter wheels and low profile tyres. Having said that, we haven't found the Outlander to be any worse than most in its class (although we have been critical of the Lancer in this regard).
I'm not sure spraying underseal around the underside of a new car would be all that advisable, although possibly a quality panel and paint shop may be able to assist. The other option may be to get a motor trimmer to install sound deadenning material such as Dynamat or Q-Mat. If professionally installed, it would be less noticable and probably more effective than underseal.

tjhull

Thanks,Will look into that. Done that,looks a bit invasive,having to remove all the trim etc.I feel the noise problem with this car is so bad that i intend to go back to a quieter older car.

ABayliss

Yes, but if done by a professional trimmer, it shouldn't be a major problem. Bear in mind, all used imports have the interior trim stripped out of them for inspection for damage when they arrive in New Zealand - and they all seem to be put back together alright.

Ruger77

I bought a new Lancer in 2008 and also found the road noise on chip seal to be very high. I got my son in law who runs a panel shop to give it a real good under seal which only helped slightly.
It came with Yokohama tyres and I was told they had a reputation for being noisy so I replaced them with Firestone TZ and the noise level dropped to about half!

tjhull

Many thanks for that,I was thinking of the tyres.The existing ones are dunlop grandtrek st 20.A rental of the same model we had in australia was using toyo tyres and was not so bad,although their roads were not so rough as here.Will look into those firestones though.