Drone at 70mph

[CalJames]

I've got the pre-FL 1.4, which doesn't have the smaller muffler and I never had any drone.
Had a res delete done and still didn't get any.
I will add that any modification/damage to the muffler will cause a lot of noise. Start your car on a cold morning and look for steam leaks around that area

 

[Mr Pig]

This is a stock 1.4 TSI hatch. Is this anything like yours?

That's a good picture, thank you. My car is different in that there are two boxes at the back of the car but importantly, the gap to the left is the same. Such a big space with nothing in it, I was thinking something might be missing but that's obviously not the case.

Start your car on a cold morning and look for steam leaks around that area

I'll have a look. The noise doesn't just get louder as the revs rise though. It's there from about 2300 until 3000 then it goes.

Just want to mention in passing, I love this car! I like the diesel ST, it's been a great car, but it's like a domestic appliance. It get the job done in a no fuss, no drama way but it doesn't have a soul. The FR is different. You don't need to be hammering it, or even driving quickly, there is just something about the car that feels right. It's not that fast, it's not that anything in particular but it gets the balance of things you want it to do so spot on it feels really satisfying to drive. It's a brilliant car.

 

[RUM4MO]

That picture proves I was wrong about the joining sleeve being not as fitted by SEAT at the factory, so it looks like the OP's exhaust is probably same as it was when it left the factory.

I suppose that is progress as the original very strong and effective clamps at both ends of these joining sleeves had a bad habit of corroding badly and so breaking by about the 8 year mark.

 

[Mr Pig]

I suppose that is progress as the original very strong and effective clamps at both ends of these joining sleeves had a bad habit of corroding badly and so breaking by about the 8 year mark.

I had a Primera GT which came out of the box with a stainless exhaust, which had plain steel joining brackets! So the tubes were perfect but the flanges holding them together failed.

I had a find a place that did stainless welding and got the tubes welded together. Worked perfectly but I pity the poor sod who ever tried to remove that exhaust from the car! ;0)

 

[CalJames]

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I'll have a look. The noise doesn't just get louder as the revs rise though. It's there from about 2300 until 3000 then it goes.

I've had a back box and res delete on mine. And those ranges are where it drones the most. I'd confirm my earlier response and say it's a hole/leak after the resonator.

 

[Mr Pig]

I've just been out under the car with it running and been over the whole exhaust. I can't find or see a leak anywhere. It's freezing out so I would probably have seen it but I went over the whole exhaust with a piece of paper, no holes to be found.

Mystery. Exhaust looks original and standard, no holes yet it sounds like it does. I'll say to the service manager on Tuesday but I expect he'll say it's fine, as that's what they do :0(

 

[Lozzy15]

I've just been out under the car with it running and been over the whole exhaust. I can't find or see a leak anywhere. It's freezing out so I would probably have seen it but I went over the whole exhaust with a piece of paper, no holes to be found.

Mystery. Exhaust looks original and standard, no holes yet it sounds like it does. I'll say to the service manager on Tuesday but I expect he'll say it's fine, as that's what they do :0(

It should look like this as standard:

I've robbed the image off google to save me dragging mine out the shed, but that is exactly how it looked on my 2017 1.4Tsi ACT. And as said, there was zero noise or droning at any speed from the exhaust.

 

[Mr Pig]

It should look like this as standard.

Yip, that's exactly what it looks like.

 

[KXL]

you sure the drone is not coming from the wheels / tyres? sat in a Mini One once (the older one) and the drone was only there within a certain speed threshold. It was speed related, but not revs related. With nearly worn out tyres changed, and 'wheel bearings' according to the owner of the car changed/fixed, the drone went away.

 

[Seriously?]

you sure the drone is not coming from the wheels / tyres? sat in a Mini One once (the older one) and the drone was only there within a certain speed threshold. It was speed related, but not revs related. With nearly worn out tyres changed, and 'wheel bearings' according to the owner of the car changed/fixed, the drone went away.

Same here with SWMBO's previous Ibiza: the front tyres got increasingly noisy as they wore down (although nowhere near the legal minimum), with a noticeable drone at about 65mph.

 

[Mr Pig]

you sure the drone is not coming from the wheels / tyres?

Yes. It's revs related, not speed related. Had bad tyres do that before.

 

[SRGTD]

you sure the drone is not coming from the wheels / tyres? sat in a Mini One once (the older one) and the drone was only there within a certain speed threshold. It was speed related, but not revs related. With nearly worn out tyres changed, and 'wheel bearings' according to the owner of the car changed/fixed, the drone went away.

Same here with SWMBO's previous Ibiza: the front tyres got increasingly noisy as they wore down (although nowhere near the legal minimum), with a noticeable drone at about 65mph.

Had this droning noise on the rear of a mk5 Golf on Bridgestone tyres. The rear tyres had worn unevenly on the inside edge in a sawtooth pattern - not uncommon on cars with independent rear suspension and I have read of some instances of this happening on cars with rear beam suspension too if the alignment’s out.

From memory, the droning noise was noticeable between 45-65 mph and sounded pretty similar to a worn wheel bearing.

@Mr Pig; are you able to swap the rear wheels to the front / front wheels to the rear to see if the droning noise goes away? If it does, then it will help confirm whether or not the rear tyres are the culprit.

 

[Mr Pig]

Had this droning noise on the rear of a mk5 Golf on Bridgestone tyres.

When I bought my Mk7 golf both rear tyres were like that and droned. One wasn't that old but had worn unevenly. I've also had noise from a tyre that had 'twisted'. Manufacturing defect apparently.

This drone isn't the tyres, it's revs related. The dealership's aftersales manager is taking the car tomorrow to change the headlight and he'll look into the noise while he has it.

 

[KXL]

Yes. It's revs related, not speed related. Had bad tyres do that before.

Okay, that means this same drone should happen also say at 60mph in 5th gear, or 50mph in 4th gear? As long as the revs are as you mentioned 2.5-3k?

 

[Mr Pig]

Okay, that means this same drone should happen also say at 60mph in 5th gear, or 50mph in 4th gear? As long as the revs are as you mentioned 2.5-3k?

That is correct. Don't mind it so much when you are 'passing through' but sitting at seventy in sixth is something you're going to do all of the time. So it's going to get old.

 

[Mr Pig]

Dealer has my car. I have a 2019 1.5 FR as a courtesy car and it sounds more or less exactly the same as mine, so I think it must be normal :0(

On a side note, car drives exactly the same. Also had a good look around the car and honestly, they didn't do a lot did they? Bigger screen but I prefer the buttons on the smaller one. Electric hand brake, which I don't like. Apart from that the car is the same.