I understand your frustration with the stock tires. I found them to be unbearable on concrete highways and too loud in general on all other roads.

I have the same DSW06+ on my daily driver and on my prior daily driver that my son now has. I found them to have slightly more road noise than I wanted, especially after they got older. I am surprised you didn’t see significant improvement with them. I would have thought they addressed 90% of the issue.

I bought 17” Vredestein Hypertrac high performance all season tires for my BRZ. They have been great. I have absolutely no complaint about either the road noise or their performance, however, I am not an aggressive driver. I would put on the stock wheels and tires if I ever tracked the BRZ.

I am hesitant to recommend the Vredestein tires to you. If you didn’t see an improvement with the DSWs, I am not sure you will be happy with the Vredesteins. You may need to go with a touring tire which would be quieter at the expense of performance.

 

Thanks for your reply, brzCPA. Yes, I was surprised to experience a similar amount of road noise after I switched to the Conti tires, as others had commented they would be much better. Maybe there is a slight reduction in dB, but not enough to justify the cost, IMO. Oddly enough, when I mounted an older set of Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires on the car (that I had used on my previous '17 BRZ Ltd), the reduction in highway noise was dramatic. So, I do believe the tires are the primary problem.

Others have suggested some possible issues within the chassis itself, but I can't imagine how one would chase down that source. I'm guessing that the softer tread compound of any UHP summer tire will produce a similar amount of road-to-tire friction, which in turn transmits some annoying harmonic vibration throughout the car's body. As you suggested, probably switching to a lower performance "touring" tire is the only way to resolve this problem for me, but at what cost to handling and steering feel? Or, just avoid concrete highways!

 

You aren’t in the mid Atlantic, by any chance?

 

No, I'm currently in the Seattle area, where the interstates are atrocious around the city. But, the problem is bad on long stretches of interstates in the eastern half of WA, too. As soon as a stretch of black asphalt appears, the noise is gone! We may be moving back to northern New England soon, where blacktop is the norm, and I'm hoping I won't have the issue back there.

 

I’ve heard similar complaints about the Pilot Sport 4's noise on concrete. You might want to try the Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS or the Pirelli P-Zero All Season, as they’re known for a quieter ride while still offering great performance.

 

Thanks for your feedback, Morris. I'm sure there would be some slightly lower-performance tires that would generate less noise. Entries on the GR86 forum had suggested the Continental tires would be much less noisy, so I mounted a set of those. Very little improvement. Not sure I'm willing to buy a third set of tires for this car, all under 4000 miles on the car,
unless I heard from someone who had actually mounted a set, and could assure me they were much improved over the Pilot Sport 4's. Maybe if others could weigh in with their own experiences?

 

It's a friggin' bloody knuckles sports car. Get over the girly-man crap and just stomp and steer.

I dove a 1965 396 L78 Impala with Golden Ram exhaust, Edlelbrock intake, Holly double-pump carb and hooker headers. It was loud (so loud that you needed to use hand signal to communicate) and it was frightening. Single master cylinder and drum brakes. I'm surprised it didn't kill me and I wish I had it back.

When you buy a little race car you shouldn't complain that it isn't as quiet as a Bentley. The damn thing just is what it is. It's a machine and it can't adjust to you. You need to adjust to it. This is what we old cats call "learning to drive".

I'm quite frankly shocked by the number of posts complaining about the noise level in what may be the last true sports car on the planet. It is loud. Of course it's loud. WTF were you expecting?

The BRZ is a sports car...let that sink in...it isn't a GT. It was never marketed as a GT.

If you can't take the noise just sell the car and buy something "softer".

Seriously, the car costs less than $40k and can ***** slap cars with twice the horsepower around a road course.

Drive the thing or sell it to someone who can.

 

It's a friggin' bloody knuckles sports car. Get over the girly-man crap and just stomp and steer.

I dove a 1965 396 L78 Impala with Golden Ram exhaust, Edlelbrock intake, Holly double-pump carb and hooker headers. It was loud (so loud that you needed to use hand signal to communicate) and it was frightening. Single master cylinder and drum brakes. I'm surprised it didn't kill me and I wish I had it back.

When you buy a little race car you shouldn't complain that it isn't as quiet as a Bentley. The damn thing just is what it is. It's a machine and it can't adjust to you. You need to adjust to it. This is what we old cats call "learning to drive".

I'm quite frankly shocked by the number of posts complaining about the noise level in what may be the last true sports car on the planet. It is loud. Of course it's loud. WTF were you expecting?

The BRZ is a sports car...let that sink in...it isn't a GT. It was never marketed as a GT.

If you can't take the noise just sell the car and buy something "softer".

Seriously, the car costs less than $40k and can * slap cars with twice the horsepower around a road course.

Drive the thing or sell it to someone who can.

OK, Alex, now here's my advice to you. Chill out, man! Yeah, you are apparently an old guy, and one who has "done and seen it all", but that doesn't somehow make you the final arbiter on what we should all expect in a "sports car". And, it doesn't make you a "he-man" and me a "girly-man", as you've so accused. I've explained 'til I'm blue in the face that my '23 BRZ is the SECOND BRZ sports car I've owned. The first one was a '17 BRZ Ltd., and I drove that car very happily (and well, too, I might add) for five years and 20,000 miles. The only reason I sold that car was because all the reports were saying how much better the '22+ BRZ/GR86 was, in just about every way. So, I finally found a brand-new '23 for sale a bit over a year ago, and I was excited. Until I made that 1100-mile to Boise from Seattle and back. It was awful. My wife and I felt that noise might even damage our hearing if we were subjected to that on a frequent basis. I don't care how wonderful a car is, or how sweet the handling, or how low the price, that is just not acceptable in a modern car.

Oh, and BTW, I'm now 78.5 years old, and I've been "around the course" a few times, too. If you have any constructive suggestions to make, please feel free to post them. Otherwise, I'd suggest you lurk on someone else's forum threads going forward. Thanks!

 

I had a Honda Civic Si a couple years ago, the stock Goodyear tires were unbearable, they were actually louder than my winter tires. When I switched to winter tires for the season the cabin got much quieter, that's how bad the Goodyears were.

I changed summer tires to a Cooper Zeon tire, which was really nice, it was quiet and smooth, and very affordable and performed really well. Few people talk about these tires as everyone pines for the big sticky (noisy) tires. When my Michelins wear out I will be buying Cooper Zeons.

 

I had a Honda Civic Si a couple years ago, the stock Goodyear tires were unbearable, they were actually louder than my winter tires. When I switched to winter tires for the season the cabin got much quieter, that's how bad the Goodyears were.

I changed summer tires to a Cooper Zeon tire, which was really nice, it was quiet and smooth, and very affordable and performed really well. Few people talk about these tires as everyone pines for the big sticky (noisy) tires. When my Michelins wear out I will be buying Cooper Zeons.

In my daily driver, I find the 16” winter tires slightly quieter than the 18” DSW06+ that everyone hear love so much.

 

Wow. 78 and can still hear road noise. I'm jealous.

I'm also chill. I grew up working in my dad's salvage yard. Those places aren't exactly Boy Scout camp so I have a bit of an edge and pretty thick skin, I suppose. But, I didn't intend to insult you, I was just jerking your chain a bit.

In another thread I gave you a pretty detailed explanation of SPL and how to manage it. I've done a lot of that kind of work. You asked for advice and I gave you advice based on my experience. Take it or leave it...no skin off my nose either way.

What is and is not acceptable in a modern car is entirely subjective, is it not?

The noise level of the new BRZ is entirely acceptable to me. Then again my hearing isn't what it used to be.

I'm installing the STI V-bars this week and I'll let you know if they make a difference that I can hear.

If you are genuinely concerned about hearing damage you should get yourself and your wife some PPE. I'm not kidding. If you think it is damaging it probably is.

And since I'm the top poster this month (in terms of numbers, quality is another matter) I'm not exactly lurking, am I?

One final thought. One of the great things about getting old is that you don't have to be nice to old people just because they are old.

Ya wanna give me crap then have at it brother. I ain't exactly Mr. Sensitive if you catch my drift.

 

Wow. 78 and can still hear road noise. I'm jealous.

I'm also chill. I grew up working in my dad's salvage yard. Those places aren't exactly Boy Scout camp so I have a bit of an edge and pretty thick skin, I suppose. But, I didn't intend to insult you, I was just jerking your chain a bit.

In another thread I gave you a pretty detailed explanation of SPL and how to manage it. I've done a lot of that kind of work. You asked for advice and I gave you advice based on my experience. Take it or leave it...no skin off my nose either way.

What is and is not acceptable in a modern car is entirely subjective, is is not.

The noise level of the new BRZ is entirely acceptable to me. Then again my hearing isn't what it used to be.

I'm installing the STI V-bars this week and I'll let you know if they make a difference that I can hear.

If you are genuinely concerned about hearing damage you should get yourself and your wife some PPE. I'm not kidding. If you think it is damaging it probably is.

And since I'm the top poster this month (in terms of numbers, quality is another matter) I'm not exactly lurking, am I.

One final thought. One of the great things about getting old is that you don't have to be nice to old people just because they are old.

Ya wanna give me crap then have at it brother. I ain't exactly Mr. Sensitive if you catch my drift.

@Alex_W, re: your final sentence, I think you've made that very clear to all who have been following your comments. You seemed quite annoyed by all my comments re: the road noise I have experienced in my BRZ, but you may have also noticed that many other commenters have shared my frustration on some level, too. While I believe none of us expect our cars to be "as quiet as a Bentley or a Lexus", we do feel that Toyobaru's efforts in this area have fallen well short of expectations. I think all of us are in serious hope that we can find some kind of reasonable solution to this issue, because the rest of the BRZ/GR86 package really hits the mark very well, and at a reasonable price. Apparently, all of us share enough of a deep appreciation for these cars to at least continue sharing our ideas and experiences, though I will admit that my own patience is growing quite thin. Subaru of America has been of absolutely no help, and I have found the local dealers to be similarly disinterested in helping with what I consider to be quite an obvious design flaw for a car intended not only for spirited driving, but also for daily use on common roads. Lucky for you that you've found enjoyment in the package you bought. But, some of us are not pleased, and hopefully we will continue the search for answers.

Finally, I am not interested in engaging in some acrimonious battle online in this forum. Let's just respect our diffferences, and try to help out where we can, OK? BTW, your earlier constructive comments were appreciated, and taken seriously, too.

 

I don't think sound levels inside the BRZ approach harmful levels, there are laws against that nowadays. I drove a Honda S2000 for 9 years and my ears were always ringing after every drive, I never thought much about it but I later found out that sound levels in the car exceeded harmful levels. Honda got away with it somehow. I ran a Mugen hardtop 99% of the time as I didn't like convertibles, so I got my sound levels down, but there as so much sound coming through the firewall and the tunnel, it was crazy looking back at it now. My ears always rang when I got out of that car, lol.

 

I don't think sound levels inside the BRZ approach harmful levels, …

There is more to sound that can be painful or perhaps harmful than simply volume. I believe I have tinnitus, a nearly constant ringing in the ear. The stock tires on 18” wheels on concrete were literally painful for me. It was not the volume. I have no problem with any other sounds in the car. I don’t mind the fake engine sound and would not even mind if it were louder. I don’t know the exact issue with the specific road noise, it could be the tone, it could be a sound wave outside of the spectrum we can hear. I solved my problem with 17” wheels and all season tires.

At this point, the only solution for the OP may be to have a sound engineer isolate the issue and develop a solution.

As obvious it might seem, we can not conclude what sounds are harmful for someone else without significantly more information that we are not qualified to analyze.

My frustration with the original poster is his assumption that Subaru can fix it and has an obligation to fix it for him.

 

I certainly get the frustration. That being said, I'm happy that somebody is still building a car like the BRZ.

They didn't think of everything, but who does. The fact that you can invert the headrests to allow for a helmet tells you all that you need to know about their thought process when designing this car.

 

I hear ya and I sympathize. But at the end of the day I'm just happy that such a car is still being made. Given the volume of sales I can't imagine that they are making much of a profit on these cars. I don't think the Toyota is even available in 2025.

 

You have to stop improving a product and start selling it at some point. There are posts here and on other forums expressing changes some would prefer. Some want more sound insulation, some want better stereos, some want more storage, some want a sunroof, some want more space in the back seat, and on and on. Some days, I want more fancy electronics to change exhaust sound, suspension and so on. Other days I want less technology.

Most manufacturers go too far. They add a few thousand to the price and a few hundred pounds to the weight. Eventually everything is indistinguishable from a RAV4.

Subaru and Toyota stopped improving the BRZ/GR86 after they got it light, powerful enough, and safe enough and nothing more. We can add what we want to make it perfect for us. It would be far more difficult and expensive to take out the junk they would have added if they tried to please everyone.

 

Yes, that's true, to a point. Eventually, you have to "finish" the design process, and begin building, and selling a new car design. But, a smart and responsible car company will also remain open to any criticisms that may arise once the buying public has a chance to drive their cars "in real-life conditions, and on real roads". I'm betting that Toyobaru failed to test drive their "twins" on road surfaces similar to what we have on the highways and interstates in WA state, especially near Seattle. Had they done so, they would have been concerned enough about the irritating howling noise to research, and fix, the "problem". Leaving the unsuspecting buyer to troubleshoot and sort out what is clearly a design problem is BS. Having to wear "ear protection" devices while driving on the highways is BS.

On top of this, I have been unable to penetrate the corporate structure of Subaru to reach a concerned party on the inside of the company. Instead, my questions are just bounced around between hapless and untrained Non-engineers, who either "pass the buck", or just ignore my pleas for help. Ditto in the "service departments" I have approached in two Subaru dealerships. Skilled techs? Where? But, one type of employee they seem to hire in abundance? You guessed it -- SALESPEOPLE!

Unlikely I will ever be buying another Subaru, that's for certain.

 

With today's safety standards and consumer demand for technology and comfort , it is a real struggle to make a 2800 lb car, and if you let it get bloated then you better go find another 50 hp, compromises have to be made and as noted above they had to stop somewhere.

 

Hello everybody, as I shared in another post more detailed, swap the factory V-braces by a Nameless ones has worked for me, the particular humming noise the all we know is almost gone, so I just wanted to share my experience about it and help about this question, thanks!

 

Hello everybody, as I shared in another post more detailed, swap the factory V-braces by a Nameless ones has worked for me, the particular humming noise the all we know is almost gone, so I just wanted to share my experience about it and help about this question, thanks!

Hey Cisco, any tips on installing, complexities to watch out for, etc? Seriously considering a pair of these. Thanks~!

 

my tires aren't too bad , but they are brand new. You have to give up some noise for performance, I suspect they will get louder as time goes on.

 

I'm 71, and have had just about every sports car imaginable. I bought my BRZ knowing full well that the cabin sounds were pretty loud, but it is such a raw, back-to basics machine that the noise levels were not a problem. Having said that, I can also understand that some may expect a little less "sound effects" from their tires, given current engineering standards. But, as someone else said, I'm really happy they're still building this car. Wait a few years, and you'll wish for this car to come back, noise and all!

 

I'm 71, and have had just about every sports car imaginable.

I can also understand that some may expect a little less "sound effects"

I'm really happy they're still building this car. Wait a few years, and you'll wish for this car to come back

First, I may have found a new hero. My last Automotive hero was an older employee of mine who’s first car was a Porsche 356.

Second, for some, me included, the problem isn’t “a little sound”. For me the tone of the road noise was litterly painful. I solved my issue with 17” wheels and different tires. The tone, or whatever it was made the car unbearable for me. Quick fix for me but I understand how others may have a legitimate issue with the road noise that others may not understand.

I agree that this may be the last time a lightweight affordable sports car is available new.

 

I pulled off my OEM v-bars last night as my new Nameless v-bars are supposed to be delivered very soon. The car is definitely quieter than it was when I first brought it home. It is not unbearably loud in any manner , but I will see how it sounds with the nameless bars installed soon. There is some current road noise but not too bad, it was very noticeable when I first brought the car home 2 months ago, but the sound has simmered down a fair bit. I have a front upper strut bar to use on the car as well in conjunction with the new v-bars.

 

Put first the new Nameless v-bars when arrive and check the result before to put the front upper strut bur in conjunction, I'm sure the Nameless v-bars alone will work because I have it in my car, but I'm not sure about upper strut bar because I tried in my car a few month ago, even without any v-braces, and it didn't work, the noise was still there... (mine was the Cusco model with master brake stopper BTW). Let us know how is going with your new v-braces!

 

I put on the nameless v-bars today which just got delivered. To be honest I am not sensing a big difference compared to how it was before in terms of sound. I previously noted that the sound had decreased since I first brought home the car, it is not as loud as it was initially. After the v-bar change things don't seem much different, the car isn't noisy or loud, I drove around without the bars for a day or two and even that didn't seem like much of a difference. Putting the v-bars on today didn't make it any more noisy and not any quieter. I put the strut brace back on after the v-bar test and nothing different after that.. The car is quiet enough for me so no need to worry further about it. All good.

 

Then, it means that in your area roads are not so bad, so the famous humming noise it was not noticeable in your case, for that reason once you have installed the Nameless V-braces nothing has changed that much I guess... As I told in some of my comments, after install this Nameless v-braces the particular front end humming noise is noticeable reduced, but of course the car is still loud about general road noise because is a lightweight sport car without any kind of noise isolation.

 

I just posted a lengthy comment on our sister GR86 Forum re: this frustrating subject, and to be fair (since I originated this thread), I'm going to just "copy/paste" the same comment here, for those who may be interested. Here it is:

Interesting recent postings by some keen enthusiasts since I last checked this thread. Seems like we're coming to some sort of consensus overall, which is both good and bad. The good is that I think we are all reaching a level of exhaustion in trying to find a workable, and durable, solution to the infamous "tire/road noise" issue, and we need a break. But, the bad is that many of us have yet to find the relief from objectionable noises while driving our cars on rough-textured roads. So, a few comments to summarize my feelings, and experiences, at this point, FWIW:

1. I believe the vast majority of second gen. BRZ/GR86 owners are not at all troubled by the noise issue. I believe this is because the noise only appears when driving these cars on harsher concrete road surfaces that are only found in certain areas of the U.S., and evidentlyt in other countries as well. I live just north of Seattle, WA, and I can promise you that the majority of the highways out here are anything but "smooth". But, just today, I encountered a patch of smooth blacktop on a section of I-5 that had been laid as a temporary "fix" while other sections of the highway were being repaired. There was absolutely NONE of the noise along this short stretch, but as soon as I got back onto the "normal" concrete, all hell broke loose once again. Is this the car's fault? Or, is it the road surface?

2. I have now tried three different sets of tires on my '23 BRZ Limited: (a) the OEM Michelin PS 4's, (b) the Continental Ext. Cont. DWS06 that was ballyhooed by many, and now the Pirelli P-Zero A/S +3 that the Tire Rack had found was the quietest of nine different UHP A/S tires. I will never mount the PS4's again, but I'm sad to say so because I have had nothing but great luck with all manner of Michelin tires on my cars for many years. Those tires are just too harsh, unforgiving, and loud for my tastes. Likewise, I see no reason to return to the Continentals, as the noise reduction with those, if any, was infinitessimally small when compared to the PS4's, IMO. For now, I'm sticking with the Pirellis, as I did find them to ride a bit less harshly than the other two, and I preferred the steering feel of them as well. Unfortunately, the overall noise levels, measured with my phone app, were indistinguishably similar for all three. I'm now DONE with trying different tires. The problem lies within the car itself, but only when the car is traversing rough-surfaced concrete or "chip seal" roadways. And, I doubt I can convince the state of Washington to repave most of its interstate highway system!

3. In desperation, I did finally try modifying the stock V-braces on my car. I bored a single large hole into the "top" of each V-bar close to the firewall mounting end, and I carefully filled each bar with dry sand, packing it inside as much as possible. I sealed each hole with a round rubber seal (like a grommet without a hole) that fit tightly, but I reinforced it with a wrap of zip-tire across each seal, just to be sure. I recorded a "test sound" between the filled and un-filled bars, while both werre suspended in space on a large screwdriver. After rapping each bar with a metal hammer, the sound-deadener effect was definitely apparent. I will try to attach a video below. But, after re-mounting both filled and deadened bars on the car, I found the reduction in humming and howling to be almost imperceptible. I should also add that driving without the bars in place at all produced very little improvement in noise levels as well. So, I tried to attach the 20 sec. iphone video, but it was rejected. Wrong "extension", and I'm too much of a Luddite to figure out how to modify it. The sand changed the sound from a high-pitched "ring", to more of a muffled "thud", but it still didn't solve the car's problem.

4. I may yet give the Nameless V-bars, and maybe even the Nameless strut tower bars (front and rear) a try, as good reports have appeared in favor of them. I doubt the problem will be resolved, and after that, if I'm still too frustrated, I may try the application of sound-deadening materials here and there. Mostly, I'm going to focus, like @CiscoESP suggested, on just enjoying driving my car on whatever better roads I can find in my area.

Thanks to all who have contributed to this lengthy discussion. Maybe an effective solution will be found some day, as there is obviously a ton of activity going on in the aftermarket re: our "twins".

 

OK friends, I want to share my last mod and update my situation about the famous humming noise: As I posted before, I intalled few month ago the v-braces Nameless and I confirmed that at least the result is like driving without any v-braces, so the car still had the general road noise, but not that particular numming noise that we know. Now I've took away the 18" OEM wheels with the famous Michelin PS4 and I've installed a 17" wheels (SSR GTX04 model with size 17x8J ET45) wraped with the most important: a YOKOHAMA Advan Fleva V701 tyres (225 / 45 / r17). Well, what can I say is: why the hell they didn't sale the car with this tyre?? The confort level has improved A LOT without loose so much grip, I would say that is even better because this tyre allow you to play a littel bit more with your tail and also is much more predictable that the PS4, but at the end is still ans sport tyre (Yokohama advan series). So this is my update and my advise for this car: Nameless V-braces and YOKOHAMA FLEVA V701 with size 225/45r/r17, the car of course is still loud because we can't forget that is a lightweight little sport car, BUT with this mods at least, the overall road noise is tolerable!

 

Totally hear you—concrete can really amplify tire noise, and the PS4s are known for great grip but not the quietest ride. If the DWS06+ didn’t help much, you might look into the Michelin Primacy Tour A/S or Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack—both trade a bit of performance for much better noise comfort. Not track-ready, but great for daily use. Could be a good middle ground if you're prioritizing cabin quiet.

 

Welcome to the forum. Post an introductory post and tell us about your BRZ or interest in the car.

 

You could always add Juiced Pipes. Then you won't hear the road noise.