Reducing Road Noise

[saltsman]

I just ordered the 80mil Noico and will work on this during the XMas break as the road noise is driving me crazy.

Did you notice any reduction in bass by lining the the underside of the rear package shelf? The sub woofer is in the right side of the trunk. I have experimented with covering the hole in the rear package shelf with a pillow and the road noise is lowered but I did notice some lessening of bass by doing this.

Chuckie, did you get any work done over Christmas? Curious to see how it went...

 

[mswlogo]

I just put a couple emergency blankets that fill the frunk tub

See my signature for other noise suppression. No permanent changes.

It's now unreal on smooth roads. On rough roads it's now tolerable/acceptable.
My wife can also hear me now on the hands free calls.

 

[Jtt777]

I wonder if there are differences here on sound deadening based on the build date. I drove another model 3 which was an earlier build than my august build and my august seems substantially quieter for road noise. I have never had anyone complain about hearing me on the phone going 80+ mph.

 

[Pete_in_FL]

BTW the largest contributor to noise in my car is the wind.

I must be lucky because my December 2018 build M3 has no wind noise unless I am driving in big gusts.

Road noise is another matter, so I really appreciate the write-up about the sound deadening mats, and cheaper alternatiive to Dynamat.

 

[mswlogo]

I wonder if there are differences here on sound deadening based on the build date. I drove another model 3 which was an earlier build than my august build and my august seems substantially quieter for road noise. I have never had anyone complain about hearing me on the phone going 80+ mph.

Worn tires are louder.
I couldn't hear myself think at 80 MPH.

It really depends on road texture. Some roads are absolutely quiet. But at 80 MPH Wind noise becomes pretty serious too.
Mine is AWD Sept 2018 Build.

 

[GoingVerde]

I wonder if there are differences here on sound deadening based on the build date. I drove another model 3 which was an earlier build than my august build and my august seems substantially quieter for road noise. I have never had anyone complain about hearing me on the phone going 80+ mph.

The new models, from around early-mid 2018(?), come with acoustic windshield which helps with the noise reduction - at least based on one of the Tesla techs I spoke to.

 

[ChuckieDude]

Chuckie, did you get any work done over Christmas? Curious to see how it went...

Yes.

I spent about 4 hours doing the frunk tub, frunk lid, rear shelf, and trunk lid as per the OP. I also fully lined the metal bottom of the trunk as it is very easy to get to if you just remove the plastic covering next to the latch and lift up the trunk carpet. The lining covered up a few rubber plugs on the bottom of the trunk so I hope it's ok.

I then did a road test on our terrible Houston freeways. With everything except the rear shelf hole covered first. The road noise "changed". It is very so slightly quieter but the character of the noise is different. It is now a lower rumble and less higher pitched.

The next step was plugging up the rear shelf hole completely. This made a bigger difference but lowered the bass output from the sub-woofer slightly and the car doors are now harder to close. The noise reduction is not as much as I had hoped for but it is slightly quieter. The noise is still lower pitched than before.

The final result from my untrained ears is the car is slighter quieter but it is nowhere close to any of my previous German luxury cars. I now have even more respect for the German automakers. My previous compact Audi, BMW, and Mercedes cars were all much much quieter than the Model 3 on all roads. I am still happy with the results as even minor improvements are helpful and the cost was very inexpensive.

 

[King_M3D]

Super interesting topic (to me). Once engine, exhaust and transmission noise are eliminated, all of the remaining sources of noise are highlighted: tire/road, wind, squeaks and rattles. IMO, Tesla should do more work on these remaining noise issues to further amaze potential customers. Can the cost of making a model 3 quieter than a Bentley be that much? IF it is expensive to fix, how about making it an option? Perhaps a combination of extra well-placed sound insulation and active noise reduction would do the job. It just needs a cool name similar to Bioweapon Defense Mode. How about Noise Defense Mode?

"Cone of Silence"

 

[rickdogg82]

I'd think the best thing to eliminate road noise would be to treat the inner fender liners with sound deadening material.

 

[mtndrew1]

Bridgestone has a new tire specifically designed to reduce road noise and it’s available in the 19” sport wheel size according to the tirerack website.

I’m sure that it reduces cornering performance but I think my days of testing the limits of adhesion are behind me. I’m gonna give these a whirl when the continentals wear out.

TURANZA QUIETTRACK

 

[bradhs]

I'd think the best thing to eliminate road noise would be to treat the inner fender liners with sound deadening material.

Has anyone tried this?

 

[insaneoctane]

I'm really wanting an inexpensive and fairly easy solution to my Model 3 noise. After having a MS loaner for a couple days I am reminded just how much road noise the Model 3 transmits. I'm RWD LR on 18s.