[shark715]

We have had our 235 convertible for a bit more than a year now, and I'm disappointed with how little sound insulation the top provides when closed.

We own two other verts, a Mercedes SLK (of course no way the 235 is going to be as quiet as the SLK, which has a folding hardtop), and an 11 year old Porsche Carrera, which has a very well insulated soft top.

Guess I incorrectly assumed the 235 top would be as well insulated as the Porsche given that they share the same convertible top supplier.

The level of noise reminds me of the '01 Volvo C70 Convertible (soft top) we owned 10-15 years ago.

I'm interested to hear what other 2 series vert owners think of how quiet (or noisy) their cars are when the top is up. We ordered our car without driving a convertible as there were none around at that time to test drive. Was I expecting too much?

[RoundelM3]

Our 2016 228i MSport convertible top is fine on the highway - have made 2 long trips and haven't noticed any significant noise. In fact, I'm pretty impressed at how quiet it is. Seems to be a little better than our previous 2011 128i MSport convertible.

[midlifecrisis]

My M235i is my first convertible, but I'm pleasantly surprised how quiet it is with the top up. The only time I really notice it is when I'm passing a loud truck. Other than that, I don't even notice or think about it.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Our 2016 228i MSport convertible top is fine on the highway - have made 2 long trips and haven't noticed any significant noise. In fact, I'm pretty impressed at how quiet it is. Seems to be a little better than our previous 2011 128i MSport convertible.

Thanks for responding. Makes me wonder if there is something amiss with our top, whether it be a missing piece of insulation or an incorrectly installed seal, etc.

These things do happen, even at BMW. Think of the owner who posted the other day that the trim on one of his doors is different than the rest of the interior trim :-)

Perhaps I can find a dealer with a 235 vert in stock that I can take for a drive to compare with ours.

[RoundelM3]

Yes, I'd do that. There shouldn't be excessive road noise. Do you think it might be your tires or the road surface? It is possible that the insulation layer in your top might be missing or defective, just like that guy with two different colors of trim on his door pulls.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Do you think it might be your tires or the road surface?

I don't. I even notice that if I'm sitting in the car with the engine turned off, top up, and windows closed, I can hear a lot more of what's going on outside the car (passing traffic or if someone is outside the car talking, etc.) than I would expect, substantially more than the Porsche.

Then again, perhaps my assumption that the noise levels would be more like the Porsche than the Volvo was just wrong.

[Gabrola]

Obviously it will not be comparable to a hard top, but I personally think it's one of the best insulated soft tops to the extent that I do not feel I'm in a convertible at some times, especially with music playing. On the other hand, the Bridgestone run-flats on my car are bringing in some road noise on rough roads, but still better than many other run-flats I've driven on. The 2 series' soft top is manufactured by Haartz and the exact same model of the soft top is used on these cars:

Daimler E-Class
Bentley GTO
BMW 1-Series
BMW 2-Series
Audi A3
Audi A5 Comfort
Audi R8
Opel Cascada Comfort
Porsche Boxster
Jaguar F-Type
Daimler C-Class
Daimler S-Class
Range Rover Evoque
Bentley Continental

[shark715]

Originally Posted by Gabrola

The 2 series' soft top is manufactured by Haartz and the exact same model of the soft top is used on these cars:

Daimler E-Class
Bentley GTO
BMW 1-Series
BMW 2-Series
Audi A3
Audi A5 Comfort
Audi R8
Opel Cascada Comfort
Porsche Boxster
Jaguar F-Type
Daimler C-Class
Daimler S-Class
Range Rover Evoque
Bentley Continental

No, Haartz does not manufacturer the tops, they just supply the fabric. They also supplied the fabric used in the top on our 996 Carrera, but I'm not thinking the level of sound insulation has much to do with the exterior fabric itself.

[TheCaptain]

Yeah, and it's also not true that the same model top is used in all of those cars. I traded my 135 for a 235 and can confirm with certainty that it's similar but not the same top.

Anyways, I don't have any objective data, but my 235 does seem much noisier than my 135 did. I never noticed the wind noise at all in the 135, but I find myself hearing the wind all the time now. You also feel a lot more wind compared to the 135, both with the top down, and with the top up but windows down. Perhaps this is why the wind deflector is now included standard, it was an expensive accessory on the 1-series (and I haven't used it in either car).

But like I said, I don't have any actual data. The 135's exhaust is louder and my tires were wider and louder than they are now, so maybe I just hear the wind more than I used to because everything else is quieter.

[TigerTrump]

Fitting ASD by-pass made my 'vert sound much better with the roof up. But I mostly have it down, so i hear real noise.

[todd hollander]

I think the top is way quieter than my 997.2 Cabriolet at highway speeds. The wind noise is very muted. I also did the bypass for the piped in sound and only hear my AWE exhaust.

[Gabrola]

Originally Posted by TheCaptain

Yeah, and it's also not true that the same model top is used in all of those cars. I traded my 135 for a 235 and can confirm with certainty that it's similar but not the same top.

Anyways, I don't have any objective data, but my 235 does seem much noisier than my 135 did. I never noticed the wind noise at all in the 135, but I find myself hearing the wind all the time now. You also feel a lot more wind compared to the 135, both with the top down, and with the top up but windows down. Perhaps this is why the wind deflector is now included standard, it was an expensive accessory on the 1-series (and I haven't used it in either car).

But like I said, I don't have any actual data. The 135's exhaust is louder and my tires were wider and louder than they are now, so maybe I just hear the wind more than I used to because everything else is quieter.

Check this http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1200964

Also Haartz only produces the top fabric only, but the insulation and the top mechanism will probably be different between these models.
Wind noise will have nothing to do with the top's fabric itself and all with its insulation as well as insulation of the doors, etc.
As far as I know the top is manufactured by Webasto and according to this this they claim to be very well insulated. So I guess you should look into your door's weatherstripping.
I've personally driven at speeds greater than 120mph and the wind noise was comparable to any hard top car.