Road Noise

[Gpscharron]

Thanks for the response. Leaning towards the 33 All Terrain tires, Lux package, and sound deadening option offered by Ford. Does the sound deadening make a noticeable difference in reducing road noise and better temp control? I really want to make the move to the Bronco...thing looks amazing! As I am not an off roader, my focus is on daily driving. Most of my driving is on the highway as I don’t drive much in Chicago city limits (public transportation available ). Unfortunately, I won’t get to test drive one before making the order which is why I’m trying to get info from seasoned Wrangler owners and off roaders. Thanks again!

Based on what you are saying, you might want to consider going OB 32” very smooth tires and great on gas. Still update to 2.7. With the money you save on wheels, you can have a fully loaded Bronco for your daily commute. Good Luck!

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[Haulin455]

I'm actually curious what the additional sound deadening materials are for the High Package. The hard top sound deadening headliner is a separate option so I assume its something other than that.

 

[GotGOAT]

I think you are going to disappointed. You sound like you may be sensitive to noise.

I agree with driving a JL or JLU to see how it seems to you. They are pretty good regarding noise and vibration compared to the older Jeeps.

The Bronco has removable doors, removable roof, off road suspension, and aggressive tires (mostly). Those will combine to increase the noise level compared to a fully enclosed (read: solid roof/non-removable doors) SUV.

I agree that the Bronco’s looks are awesome but, if you are never going off road and will not remove the doors and roof, why deal with additional noise?

If you just got to have it for it’s looks, I would recommend a lease so that you are not tied to the Bronco long term if it doesn’t meet your needs/expectations. Who wants to own the coolest ride in town and be miserable because it doesn’t work for you. Good luck!

 

[2Jeeps&PatriotX1]

Not sure what Ford’s sound deadening is like, but with wranglers, there is an aftermarket company called Hot Heads that makes far superior than factory sound deadening material for the hard top panels.

 

[Toccoa]

 

[joshofthefall]

Been wondering the same myself, also around Chicago and with a similar use case (though hoping to use the Bronco as a segue into more trail exploration and camping). For that reason I'm planning on an OBX with the high package so hoping the sound deadening with that will help some, as well as the less aggressive tires since I'm not planning on sending it anywhere crazy or doing any kind of crawling with it.

For reference (albeit an apples and oranges scenario), I'm in an '06 tC at the moment which I lived with the road noise of for 1.5 years of 170 miles of highway commute daily, and I (along with others from what I've seen) find it to be a generally noisy car. I love the thing, but I'm thinking even if there's still some road noise, the Bronco will at least be less of a rattlebox.

 

[LarryZiegler]

This will be potentially my first purchase of an off roader that has removal top/doors and am curious on road noise when driving at high speeds. Is it pretty loud? Does sound deadening help with temperature control and road noise (I know there is an option for this in the build list). I have owned 2 4RUNNER’s over the past 20 years and while I love them...I have had my eye on the Bronco since photos started hitting the internet several years ago. I am definitely not an off road (definitely Ana anomaly on this site) but love the style of more rugged SUV’s. I would be using the Bronco as a daily driver and will won’t be taking off the roof panels often (obviously when weather is nice i will, but subject to Chicago weather). I have a reservation for the Badlands, but the road noise is the only thing making me reconsider. I also took a new Rubicon (no sound deadening )for a test drive and the road noise was rather bad. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

I would recommend that you take a step down and order an Outer Bank with the stock tire package and headliner insulation that will give you a quieter ride

 

[Major_Bullsteak]

any vehicle like this there is going to be some comfort trade offs. I have had a cush ford explorer limited for a bit over a year but I am still kicking myself for trading in my paid off, rugged, AT tire, lifted dodge ram with vinyl interior. I miss the ruggedness because that is me. Also I have never off roaded (coining) and commute 70 highway miles per day.

I suggest watching this video to get a good idea on what to expect.

LOL I watched that video this afternoon. It was informative.

 

[elfshadow]

Man - if I can't hear my tires rolling down the road I'm disappointed. The best upgrade I ever did for my Jeep Liberty (don't laugh) was putting some aggressive all-terrain on it. Now it sounds like a real Jeep rolling down the street.

This Bronco better ride like a real Bronco and sound as equally loud rolling down the street!

 

[Coryvince]

I agree with most of the comments to step down some trims. As a kid I had a noisy Jeep and loved it. Now that I am older I want something a little quieter as it will be my daily driver too. I’m going with a big bend. Smaller (quieter) tires and with the mid package you can get heated seats, remote start and other creature comforts. The plus is that when you want to take it a off road for fun (not Moab off-road) it will still be more than adequate. It also allows for add ons over time. Change tire size, change some suspension components etc.

 

[Mopar2Bronco2021]

Man - if I can't hear my tires rolling down the road I'm disappointed. The best upgrade I ever did for my Jeep Liberty (don't laugh) was putting some aggressive all-terrain on it. Now it sounds like a real Jeep rolling down the street.

This Bronco better ride like a real Bronco and sound as equally loud rolling down the street!

I agree. I like the sound of aggressive tires. If I don’t wanna hear them at any moment, I’ll turn the radio up. I also always put my window down to hear diesel trucks idle at stoplights so I’m kinda weird lol.

 

[TXRancher]

The right set of AT tires will make less noise. Tirerack has some great reviews with detailed tests. The KO2's standard on the Badlands are pretty low in comparison. I have Continental TerrainContact's on my F-150 and they are very quiet with reasonable off-road capability.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surv...ry=0&advWinter=0&advComfort=25&advTreadwear=0

 

[Silver-Bolt]

Without a doubt it will have more road noise than your 4Runner. Initially it will be pretty tight with very few squeaks and rattles. Over time that will change. The top will rattle, the tire carrier will make noise. It's a body on frame off-road capable truck. It is going to make noise.

 

[broncosor]

Noise is mostly a matter of 3 factors:

- Aerodynamics. The Bronco is clearly bad in this regard, about the same as a Jeep. You can't improve this but you can not make it worst by avoiding roof racks, aftermarkets lights etc.

- Insulation. Like the Jeep it's gonna be pretty bad because of the removable thin roof. You can make this better with sound deadening material. One package on the Bronco comes with those insulation panels under the roof. Same for the Jeep although you can find much better ones than the OEM (The Assassin kit is the best on the market for the Jeep).

- Tires. You can improve this aspect as well. M/T are the worst for noise. A/T are not all created equal. If you have to go for big tires (at least 33") and have a A/T look, I would recommend the Discovery AT3 4S tires. By far the best A/T tires in the world for driving on the street (from a performance, noise and comfort point of view) as confirmed by tire rack customer reviews, Facebook group comparisons, website reviews and online forums. The thread is not as agressive looking as KO2 though. So the next best thing for you for noise and road driving but with more agressive look will be KO2 or General AT/X.

All things considered, I wouldn't pay for expensive features you will never use like sway bar disconnect or lockers. So for on street driving with good off road look, I would recommend a Outerbank and swipe the 32 tires with Discovery AT3 4S 33s, or KO2 if you really want the agressive look.
And if you happen to ever hit a bit of off road, with that Bronco and tires you will beat any SUV (think Subarus, RAV4...) and be able to do a lot of basic trails, which from what I understand you don't even plan to do.
Do not forget that unlike the Badlands, the Outerbank has mid package standard yet is still less expensive. The Lux package which includes mid package will therefore be less expensive on the Outerbank. You will probably save 5-10K with going for an Outerbank with the same look as the Badlands (33" KO2 tires). A no brainer in your situation.

 

[Wanted33]

doobie, road noise is a relative thing. What's a lot for one, isn't much for another. My C7 Corvette has more road noise than my Jeep JL, but neither are bothersome as I expected some noise. Most road noise comes from the tires as you know, and the 33 AT's should be fine depending on the tread pattern. My Jeep has 32 AT's, and they are pretty quiet.

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