Road noise?

[Arizona Willie]

I've noticed that when I drive on rubberized asphalt the car is nice and quite. On other roads there is quite a bit of road noise.

It seems to come from the back end mostly.

Has anyone done noise abatement / added insulation etc. etc.?

Where?

Did it work?

 

[DavidElg]

Tesla Bjorn tried adding some professional soundproofing to his Model 3 but the results weren't really that impressive overall.

 

[Arizona Willie]

Tesla Bjorn tried adding some professional soundproofing to his Model 3 but the results weren't really that impressive overall.

Thanks. Looks like it probably isn't worth it. Wish all roads were rubberized asphalt. My 3 is nice and quiet on that stuff but on regular asphalt or concrete I get a lot of noise from the back end it seems.

 

[animorph]

There were a few grooved concrete freeways on our trip to the east coast that really made our tires sing. That could drive your whole tire selection if that was all you drove.

 

[KenC]

While the Tesla Bjorn test didn't seem like a great deal of improvement, there was a noticeable difference, as the tone changed, less of the annoying upper frequencies. And, Bjorn's testing partner seemed pretty adamant that he would also add the soundproofing, even if it didn't seem to improve alot, it was enough for him to do it.

Would be nice if someone did a test measuring sound pressures at different frequencies.

 

[Big Dog]

IMO, the bulk of the unfixable road noise is do to all of the M3 glass, including the roof, none of which can be insulated. (My old Jag had a moon roof visor itself which was thickly padded to reduce noise when it was closed. And of course, the headliner was thick, As a result, I could barely hear hard rain drops hitting the car roof.) The M3 door windows are frameless (by design) and as a result, air noise will only get worse as the rubber gets older and more brittle, and gets worn by going up & down every time we open our doors.

 

[KenC]

IMO, the bulk of the unfixable road noise is do to all of the M3 glass, including the roof, none of which can be insulated. (My old Jag had a moon roof visor itself which was thickly padded to reduce noise when it was closed. And of course, the headliner was thick, As a result, I could barely hear hard rain drops hitting the car roof.) The M3 door windows are frameless (by design) and as a result, air noise will only get worse as the rubber gets older and more brittle, and gets worn by going up & down every time we open our doors.

Good points, people have tried the screen options to see if that can help reduce the sound reflections off the roof glass. When the door gaskets get old, there'll probably be people selling replacements on Amazon and eBay.

 

[Arizona Willie]

Good points, people have tried the screen options to see if that can help reduce the sound reflections off the roof glass. When the door gaskets get old, there'll probably be people selling replacements on Amazon and eBay.

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I don't seem to have a problem with wind noise from the roof or doors. Most of the road noise I hear seems to come from the back end. I was hoping putting sound insulation in the trunk would help but it appears it doesn't help enough to be worthwhile.

Now if Aridzona would just cover all the streets and highways completely with rubberized asphalt I would be happy

 

[Every Day Day]

Based on a YouTuber's review, I had given the extra door seal kit a try, the cabin is noticeably quieter.

 

[mtschida]

I've noticed that when I drive on rubberized asphalt the car is nice and quite. On other roads there is quite a bit of road noise.

It seems to come from the back end mostly.

Has anyone done noise abatement / added insulation etc. etc.?

Where?

Did it work?

I have struggled with excess road noise since December 2017, M3. I added acoustic absorbing panels, front and rear, Acoustic absorbing materials, front and rear, added multiple weather striping, and all helped a bit. Last week i bought two rear OEM 18" michelin tires, and discovered the original tires were defective, resulting in significant noise from the rear. My new Michelins are exactly the same model, but actually QUITE! I asked Tesla to warranty the other two original tires (I think they are aware the early tires were bad), they declined but offered free labor for other non-tire related, maintenance/service... I have not recommend a M3 to any person that was interested in a Tesla, due solely to the poor ride / noise problem. It is difficult for me to understand why Tesla was ararw of this problem, but never issued a service bulletin or tire recall...

 

[Dan203]

I got new tires and on some roads they make a high pitch whine that's kind of driving me insane. I'm hoping as they wear down it'll go away, but I don't drive much so that's going to take a while.

 

[postersw]

See this very long thread on road noise abatement strategies.
Sound Deadening Model 3

 

[JulienW]

Sure wish Tesla had or would add active noise canceling. I had a Cadillac ELR with it and there was SOOOOOO much less wind and road noise than my 3.

 

[Dan203]

Sure wish Tesla had or would add active noise canceling. I had a Cadillac ELR with it and there was SOOOOOO much less wind and road noise than my 3.

Active noise cancelation only works with known sounds. Like engine noise, HVAC fans, etc... Road/wind noise are typically reduced by build quality, better seals, noise dampening materials, etc...

The problem with a Model 3 is that the $38k basic model is essentially the same car as the $65k top of the line model. The differences are all in the drive train, battery and electronics, not the construction of the car itself. Your typical $65k luxury car puts a lot more of that money toward the build quality, which is why they do a better job of blocking wind/road noise.

I'm sure as the prices of the batteries go down, and they just learn from experience, the build quality will improve to better match similar luxury cars in the same price range.

 

[KenC]

Sure wish Tesla had or would add active noise canceling. I had a Cadillac ELR with it and there was SOOOOOO much less wind and road noise than my 3.

I wonder why some smart person hasn't made a noise canceling box that you can plug into your cigarette lighter?

 

[Dan203]

I wonder why some smart person hasn't made a noise canceling box that you can plug into your cigarette lighter?

Because that’s not how it works. Noise cancellation works by generating a negative tone that's opposite of the noise you're trying to cancel and then having them hit your ear at the same time. Earphones can do this because they’re right next to your ear and know exactly which sounds are going to hit your ear. Car systems time their negative noises to a known source, like an engine or HVAC fan. There is no way for a microphone plugged into your cigarette lighter to hear a noise and then generate a negative noise that will hit your ear at the proper moment. In fact depending on the direction of the noise it may hit your ear before it even reaches the microphone.