Terrible road noise / cabin noise in my new 2016 2500 HD

Tjeli · August 12, 2016

Yeah sorry for the confutation. I had the duratracs replaced for the stock tires and the noise was almost gone. When you said the uca would be maxed out in travel, I would be surprised since it's only 2.25 inches of lift and no one at Ready Lift has seen that before.

From the looks of your suspension I suspect it is more than 2.25" of lift. I cranked my stock keys up 2" (measured) and my suspension is lower than yours. For reference, that yellow "bump stop" you can see in your drivers side video is actually a progressive damper that is in contact and slightly compressed at stock height. If it were mine I would put the stock keys back in (you can go 2.25" with the stock keys anyway) and lower the front a bit. Another option would be to put a set of upper control arms on designed for a lift.

-Eli

H1ghlndr · August 16, 2016

Hey Gang,

Regarding tire-noise. I have had the following combos on truck with the same drone. Tire noise difference yes, drone no. All stock heights.

- stock 20" wheels with stock SRAs

- stock 20" wheels with 285 bfg ko2 load range d

- stock 18" wheels with stock Michelin ltx

Cheers, Bob

kellymit · August 16, 2016

Hi There,

Just picked up a 2016 Sierra 2500HD Denali. Had the stock SRA tires on it and at specific conditions there was a howel/drone noise coming from drivers side. Faint....but noticeable on certain types of highway surfaces. I changed the tires to BFG's ATs and as others have stated, still the same howel but now more noticeable. 60MPH seems to be the sweet spot when it shows it ugly face.

I read through the forms and it makes no sense. If I wouldn't know any better it would be a wheel bearing but odds are we all don't have one gone.

I will continue reading. Nice to be on board.

Wanna2500 · August 19, 2016

I was able to talk with my friend who is a GM noise engineer. He is going to do some further research, but had some good insights. He indicated that, based on the tone, the noise is likely not airborne. This is probably not good news as that type of noise is more challenging to manage. His thinking is that it is likely road contact energy that is being transmitted through the suspension and structural components. The tone of my noise doesn't change that much with speed which is one of the data points he used in his thinking.

I will let you know when I hear more.

Mark Mortenson · August 19, 2016

I'm pretty sure mine is tire noise. As posted earlier I've got Duratracs on and I rotated them last week and the noise got louder. It's really only annoying at 30-40 mph. I tried letting out some air to drop them down to 50 psi and that only made it louder yet. I've got 13,000 on the truck and the tires still seem smooth and not cupped. It will be interesting to see the 2017's have an option of factory Duratracs on them. I plan on going to a 20" rim later this year and may go with the Cooper stt pro. I had them on my last truck I traded in and they have road noise but not the noise I'm experiencing on this truck it's more of a consistent noise that follows the speed all the way up.

wrc7732 · August 19, 2016

I'm pretty sure mine is tire noise. As posted earlier I've got Duratracs on and I rotated them last week and the noise got louder. It's really only annoying at 30-40 mph. I tried letting out some air to drop them down to 50 psi and that only made it louder yet. I've got 13,000 on the truck and the tires still seem smooth and not cupped. It will be interesting to see the 2017's have an option of factory Duratracs on them. I plan on going to a 20" rim later this year and may go with the Cooper stt pro. I had them on my last truck I traded in and they have road noise but not the noise I'm experiencing on this truck it's more of a consistent noise that follows the speed all the way up.

I'm swapping the Duratracs out for Michelins this morning. I agree the noise on mine is also worst between 30-40mph. Almost like a resonance that really grates my ears.

Here's hoping for a drastic improvement. I'll report back.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reporting back. Huge difference. I went with Michelin Defender LTX M/S which unfortunately are terribly wimpy looking compared to the Duratracs, but there is practically no tire noise anymore. The dreaded 30-40 / 30-60mph resonant whirring is gone. Thank goodness.

Edited August 19, 2016 by wrc7732

kellymit · August 20, 2016

I have BF Goodrich ko2's and for what ever reason the drivers front has a howl to it. This is my third set on my third truck and they have never been this loud. Worst is 40-60mph. We swapped out at dealer with SRA and they were almost silent. Hate to say it but sounds like tires and this truck makes it loud. I still want an A/t tire just not sure what to go with.

dab5577 · August 20, 2016

One other data point from my experience....it seems more predominant when the rubber is cold. Worst I noticed was driving in the morning last winter when it was in the teens.

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Wanna2500 · August 20, 2016

I had already switched to the Michelin Defender, but still have the hum from the front left. Congratulations on getting rid of it. I am not making much progress.

Wanna2500 · August 21, 2016

Has anyone tried the Dynamat Xtreme yet. It claims to be effective at structural borne noise.

Wanna2500 · September 16, 2016

My truck has gone through a pretty thorough investigation of the noise, and it looks not much can be done. My dealer let me drive a new one for comparison sake and, unless i am nuts, the noise seemed absent. I am wondering if by replacing the factory Goodyears with Micheline Defenders, I caused the problem.

Any other insights out there?

kellymit · September 17, 2016

My truck has gone through a pretty thorough investigation of the noise, and it looks not much can be done. My dealer let me drive a new one for comparison sake and, unless i am nuts, the noise seemed absent. I am wondering if by replacing the factory Goodyears with Micheline Defenders, I caused the problem.

Any other insights out there?

There was no road noise with the stock SRA tires when I got my 2500HD Denali. I put on the BFG KO2's and there was suddenly this drone like road noise on the drivers side. It was tough to deal with at first but now that I have 2000 miles on the tires I do feel that it is less noisy. I hate to say it but your tire upgrade likely is your culprit.

H1ghlndr · October 8, 2016

Update:

If you look at a parts diagram for the 2015+ Sierra HD you will notice a sound dampener in the passenger side cavity behind fog light in bumper, but not on drivers side. Interesting. Additionally, the felt wheel well liners are very flimsy on the edges in the front. I filled the cavity on drivers side with compressable foam as a filler to block incoming air and vibrations and the droning (not tire/road noise) has been heavily muted. Now all I hear is the road noise from tires and road types as you'd expect. This is much better for my sanity.

I have 0 idea why there is a "dampener" in passenger side and not drivers. Likewise, just look at the rubber seal on the hoods...why is passenger side complete to grill and not driver!!!!

I know of 3 others on this thread that have or are in the process of trading their 2500HD for an F150 or F250. I am sad to say that is in my future next year as well. The rattles, leaks, and droning in this truck are too much. I am *extremely* disappointed that the GM customer service reps that monitor these boards have not reached out to any of us. All you have to do is read through this board to see we are not nuts with this driver droning noise.

I have driven GM for 30 years (Tahoes, Escalades, Suburbans, Sierra HD, Denali Duramax, Corvette Z06 (2 of them), 2006 Jeff Gordon NASCAR (really)) and this is the worst I have had. I wanted a Duramax for as long as I can remember, and it has been in the shop for rattles, leaks, recalls, etc more than any other vehicle I have owned. I can't believe I will be going to a Ford next...

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Bob

RDub2500 · May 22, 2017

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I too, just bought a 2010 SLT and have this dreaded drone. Clearly there is a manufacturer problem because I've spend $1200 chasing the sound to no avail. At this point, to try and save trading it in (and taking a massive hit), I'm praying Bob, you or someone had some luck with your sound deadening tricks. Did you put standard foam in the cavity between the wheel liner and the driver firewall? Did the Dynamat Xtreme pan out? I'm willing to try any and everything!!! Thanks very much in advance!

Skipper_17 · November 10, 2018

Same problem! Thought I was going crazy.

Sold my 2008 2500 duramax because I thought I did something to it / hit something to make it so noisy,or the lift kit etc. Bought a 2015 2500 brand new, left it stock to be sure to not have any problems. It is just as loud!

Almost like the 4wd is still engaged, but it isn't