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High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 9:05 pm
by Lukai
Hi,
I've recently noticed a high pitched whirring type noise coming from the engine when its revved. It seems most noticeable when putting your foot down in 1st and second gear, it almost drowns out the exhaust note (without S button pressed) if I have the window down. I can't tell if its doing it all the time or not, I'm pretty sure it does it when not in gear too.
I know the engine does make some noise when revved, but it seems more exaggerated now. I half thought I was just being paranoid as it seems to drive fine. But then a friend asked if it was supercharged today after he heard me drive off from work which has made me worry again.
Anybody else had similar symptoms or have any idea what it might be?
Thanks
Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 9:13 pm
by bigrichw
The B7 engine does have a natural whirring sound, yes it's strange but I'd say it's perfectly normal.
Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 10:05 pm
by boba fett
bigrichw wrote:The B7 engine does have a natural whirring sound, yes it's strange but I'd say it's perfectly normal.
Get rid of it and get an M3, its a better car but you will miss the noise

Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 2:35 am
by RossDagley
How many miles has the engine done?
Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:34 am
by Lukai
RossDagley wrote:How many miles has the engine done?
It's just ticked over 80,000
Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:43 am
by RossDagley
Might be worth posting a video here showing the noise.
The b7 does make a supercharger-esque noise and it can be quite audible especially when cold I found, but now you're tuned into it you may think it's worse than it actually is. It might be nothing.
I asked the mileage question as I wondered about the timing chains/tensioners but unlikely to be an issue on those miles. It's barely run in

Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 10:48 am
by bam_bam
Do you have a wife/girlfriend in the passenger seat?
Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 10:52 am
by RossDagley
bam_bam wrote:Do you have a wife/girlfriend in the passenger seat?
That's a whine, not a whirr

Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:15 am
by TomRS
My dads did this... we thought it was Aux belts/idler etc, got it all changed (it was actually due a change lots of play in bearings) but that hasn't cured the whine.
From hearing other B7's though they all make the same noise to conclusion is its normal and not to worry anymore! just put a louder exhaust on haha!
Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 8:20 pm
by Lukai
RossDagley wrote:Might be worth posting a video here showing the noise.
The b7 does make a supercharger-esque noise and it can be quite audible especially when cold I found, but now you're tuned into it you may think it's worse than it actually is. It might be nothing.
I asked the mileage question as I wondered about the timing chains/tensioners but unlikely to be an issue on those miles. It's barely run in

Yeah I think your right, hopefully its nothing to worry about. I've had a listen to a few on youtube and they sound similar, mine just seems louder than I remember it being.
I've uploaded a few audio clips to dropbox, have a listen and see if you think its normal:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/exphjmvimb5p ... ByZMa?dl=0
Cheers
Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 8:24 pm
by asifg
The clearest clip for me was at Standstill and it's the same as mine. My car has been to Audi, MRC and TTS in the last year and no-one has said that there's an issue so I don't think you have anything to worry about judging by what I could hear
Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 9:27 pm
by audi_do_dat_den
I cant hear an awful lot wrong with that to be honest..... the straight cut gears on the auxiliary drives of the FSI RS4 engines make a lot of whine at all speeds naturally.
You could turn off the air-con just to eliminate that.
Another possible thing to check is the alternator and its belt tensioner for a noisy bearing, but that will require getting the undertray off and ideally using a mechanics stethoscope on it.
If it is a noisy bearing, it will get louder and progressively more pronounced well before it fails, so just try and monitor it.
Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 11:07 am
by Pistolpete2543
Sounds perfectly normal to me, music to my ears.
Re: High pitched whirring / whistle noise with revs???
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2016 7:03 pm
by Lukai
Phew, sounds like I was worrying over nothing then. Thanks for all the replies, I'll keep an ear out for it getting louder but in the meantime I can just enjoy the noise
