Noisy interior

Sounds like Patrick Bateman describing Heuy Lewis and News’ music.

 

Hey! I liked the "News"...

...back in the '80's, that is. I don't know anyone who listens to them now. I only have them on vinyl.

 

I know what you mean....
But this is not the living room, it's a car. There is noise no matter what you do.
Unless you want to spend 10s of thousands of dollars on cars that are pretty much sound proof.

Someone said something about wheel bearings, you should check front and rear.
I replaced my fronts and it was noticeably quieter. And it was even quieter when I replace the Continental
tires for Cooper. But the trade off was losing about 4mpg! I have to really work hard to keep the mpg up.

Some here have installed sound deadening padding. Someone removed all the seats and rugs and installed it.
He did some in the dash, and the doors. I don't remember the cost, but it as HIGH!

 

Well, depends on what you are calling road noise, as the aerodynamics of the tread causes pattern noise. This is from a article discussing Bridgestone's new Turanza QuietTrack tire which is designed for a quiet roll:

While these new tires are quiet, they suck in just about every other way imaginable (stopping, cornering, etc.).

According to DOT: "while tire-pavement interaction is just one of several sources of noise (roaring engine and rushing wind are the others) for almost all roads and for most vehicles, tire/pavement interaction is the primary source of traffic noise for vehicular speeds over about 30 mph." Engine noise (which includes the transmission) dominates at low speeds, up to about 20 mph. Wind becomes the major factor once you’re clocking Nascar speeds. Everywhere in between, tire noise is the problem. The faster you go, the louder it gets.

I happened to be doing a lot of research on this as I purchased new tires two weeks ago.

 

Yes. you told me about the Cooper saga. I'm still looking into the the "low noise" tire thing. So far, I haven't found anything that would make me run off and replace my brand new-but-noisy Toyos yet. Eventually I will do both: Sound deadening AND new tires.

I need to look into the bearing issue (leadfoot mentions it above). However, I doubt the bearings are the main source of noise. The levels change significantly with road surface, which would indicate tread-tire as the source.

And yes, BTW, I AM trying to turn my Prius into a living room... ...literally. I am putting together a Prius Camper.

I also do home studio work to enhance tracks, specifically for low-volume/low-gain playback and improved fidelity. Though originally intended for 2 channel playback on surround sound systems, it also improves the sound quality in my vehicle as well.

 

...and?

What did you get?

 

I drove home in the hard rain tonight. The coopers did great! Then the road dried...
And I could here the engine running! And everything else. The tires are quiet.
The mpg seem to have improved a little. Hard to say, it could just be me being more careful
to improve it...

 

Duh... ...Now why didn't I think of that?

I have both a Dr Meter hand-held dB Noise meter and an Audiocontrol SA-4100 (/w Iphone app). Both can be used to obtain location specific noise level measurements you describe - albeit qualitative, but still useful.

The problem with taking such measurements is that it is difficult to maintain a controlled noise environment, and it is extremely tedious... ...but I believe it is do-able.

Now all I need is a track. Thanx!

 

I was thinking of using a not to busy highway and a friend to crawl around the car.. Preferably small ;^)
mitch

 

When I had a powered subwoofer I would love to play the 1812 overture. I'd crank up the volume when the cannons went off!!! The windows would rattle
mitch

 

Lol. When was the last time you had an audio-metric exam?

With regard to taking noise measurements: If you can securely mount the meter at various locations, you don't need a helper. It would also provide more reliable measurements by eliminated extraneous noise. The advantage of using a helper is that he or she can record readings while you drive. However, this can also be accomplished by recording the measurements with a dash cam.

Either way, it's a great idea. I intend to try it in the coming months.