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Solved: wind noise
- Thread starter dutchchili
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- wind noise
Drew57
Active ember
Are all these recent posts for older Model 3s or 2020?
I received mine early April & it has no noticeable wind noise at any speed (I did fit a door/trunk/frunk seal kit when I got it so maybe that helped).
A-pillar gaps are too small to push anything above a couple of mm into & I've deliberately listened for anything around that area or the wing mirrors. My car does have the A-pillar opening on the RH front end as mentioned at the start of this thread (foam filled by many of you) but there really is nothing to hear, even when my wife is driving fast & I'm the passenger (ie same seat as the LHD owners on here)
Has Tesla improved something or am I just lucky?
EDIT: I forgot something - when new I washed the car after a few days & noticed condensation between window/seal at the top rear of the LH front door so used a thin piece cut from one of the leftover door seal pieces, I taped under the horizontal rear edge of the window/door seal. Now whenever it's washed or it rains condensation doesn't appear so I know all the windows are sealed properly.
I received mine early April & it has no noticeable wind noise at any speed (I did fit a door/trunk/frunk seal kit when I got it so maybe that helped).
A-pillar gaps are too small to push anything above a couple of mm into & I've deliberately listened for anything around that area or the wing mirrors. My car does have the A-pillar opening on the RH front end as mentioned at the start of this thread (foam filled by many of you) but there really is nothing to hear, even when my wife is driving fast & I'm the passenger (ie same seat as the LHD owners on here)
Has Tesla improved something or am I just lucky?
EDIT: I forgot something - when new I washed the car after a few days & noticed condensation between window/seal at the top rear of the LH front door so used a thin piece cut from one of the leftover door seal pieces, I taped under the horizontal rear edge of the window/door seal. Now whenever it's washed or it rains condensation doesn't appear so I know all the windows are sealed properly.
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XLR82XS
D M C
My 2020 is quieter than my 2019 so I would say yes, wind noise has improved. (July '19 & Oct. '19 production) I did find that small rubber tubing in the A-pillar/fender gap helped more than I thought it would.
I highly recommend everyone to attempt to do what I did and stuff foam or sponge between the fender and A pillar underneath. It is night and day at high speeds. I don't have to adjust my music drastically just to hear it anymore:
https://i.imgur.com/wn3QkfG.jpg
Here is the gaps of a 2020 Model 3 I took at the Brea showroom a few weeks ago. VIN 714xxx, build is 3/20:
Imgur
Imgur
It appears to have smaller panel gaps then mine. Maybe the same gap between the A pillar and fender too.
Here is Model Y in Pasadena, VIN 11xxx, with a bigger gap I noticed:
https://i.imgur.com/AO0lydo.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/wn3QkfG.jpg
Here is the gaps of a 2020 Model 3 I took at the Brea showroom a few weeks ago. VIN 714xxx, build is 3/20:
Imgur
Imgur
It appears to have smaller panel gaps then mine. Maybe the same gap between the A pillar and fender too.
Here is Model Y in Pasadena, VIN 11xxx, with a bigger gap I noticed:
https://i.imgur.com/AO0lydo.jpg
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This is what I've been wanting to do since finding the YT video you linked to but I live in an apt. and don't have a car jack. I'll stick some foam into the area of the A-Pillar gap that you can see from the front of the driver/passenger doors and see if that does anything but i suspect, as you've noted, most of the improvement comes from the area below the fender accessed via the wheel well.
Glad to get some confirmation though!
I just ordered some black polyethylene foam (closed-cell) off ebay. Will be here by next Thurs. My tires have balded (didnt rotated every 5k miles but 12k) and im ordering tires off Amazon soon and have my mechanic switch out the tires. Again like last time, I will use the foam in the same spots replacing the sponge. Polyethylene is water-resistant and I am afraid of rust overtime with a sponge. The sponge size i used measures almost 1 x 3" pieces. Ordered a wind insulation kit for the roof for the A pillar and fender fitting and a decibel meter reader arriving tomorrow. If anyone is curious to which CC foam I ordered, I will link it here. I will be using it as well, and other open-cell foam from Amazon later, to cover the hole in my trunk going into the cabin.
2 pack 1" x 18" x 18" Black Polyethylene foam 1.7pcf *FREE SHIPPING 808890394106 | eBay
I read somewhere that a guy brought back his Model 3 to the Service Centre where they fixed his wind noise problem with foam here and there.
As I want the same, I arranged an appoitment which apparently is not within warranty as they charge me 78€ upfront for 'initial research costs'. Feels unfair but still want to do this..
As I want the same, I arranged an appoitment which apparently is not within warranty as they charge me 78€ upfront for 'initial research costs'. Feels unfair but still want to do this..
All,
I re arranged the A pillar foam seal and had time to investigate the wheel well area as well at that time. In inspecting that wheel well region, it definitely opens up to the base of the A pillar; however, I have a question regarding this....
Do you all think that the opening from the wheel well accesses a different opening to the A pillar than the one we all have been addressing at the windshield point? I ask this because if we truly seal the opening to the A Pillar at the base near the windshield, then technically, the moving air from the wheel well wouldn't make it in the A pillar. As an example, I was able to secure all the appropriate foam on the passenger side including the wheel well and was able to get everything re organized on the driver's side EXCEPT the wheel well. In re securing the foam, I noticed a dramatic improvement from may initial attempts, but did not notice a difference from passenger to drivers side...
In any case, I wanted to ask folks who know more than I do on the wheel well gap...
Hope all is well with everyone
AP
I re arranged the A pillar foam seal and had time to investigate the wheel well area as well at that time. In inspecting that wheel well region, it definitely opens up to the base of the A pillar; however, I have a question regarding this....
Do you all think that the opening from the wheel well accesses a different opening to the A pillar than the one we all have been addressing at the windshield point? I ask this because if we truly seal the opening to the A Pillar at the base near the windshield, then technically, the moving air from the wheel well wouldn't make it in the A pillar. As an example, I was able to secure all the appropriate foam on the passenger side including the wheel well and was able to get everything re organized on the driver's side EXCEPT the wheel well. In re securing the foam, I noticed a dramatic improvement from may initial attempts, but did not notice a difference from passenger to drivers side...
In any case, I wanted to ask folks who know more than I do on the wheel well gap...
Hope all is well with everyone
AP
What exactly do you mean by securing the foam and where?
From reading through this thread there appears to be 3 areas to address in order to block air from coming through A-Pillar (that may be redundant):
- Gap accessed from wheel well
- Gap accessed from front edge of driver/passenger door in fendor below A-pillar
- Gap between A-Pillar and fender near windshield
I’m not convinced that blocking the gap from the Wheel well will add benefit... Took a flashlight and shone it from the door opening to the front of the car. I can see light between the fender and the frunk, so air will still be able to seep in that way, regardless blocking it from underneath... I just crammed some extra black PE tubing in via the door opening with my fingers, hoping it will block the entrance to the A-Pillar completely.
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PNW,
Great post man, this definitely makes more sense than mine...I'll do my best to match
I would say I re did the OPs idea, but not only blocked this region, but shoved the Polyethylene foam UP into the A pillar instead of just plugging the 3 entry points you mentioned below. I did what the OP did in the first post picture but used a spudger to push that foam up the a pillar.
I feel that if this A pillar is sufficiently blocked (Foam is tucked about 1" up the A pillar), then we don't have to worry about the 3 entry points you mentioned...
AP
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This should work too. I thought about that hole when I was shoving a piece of the wind reduction kit after i cut it and placed in between the A pillar and fender. I put the other end underneath the A pillar and fender from the door, and then put back the sponge in place to also hold it in place. It won't stay closer to the mirror and I don't want to use glue to hold it in place either so I'm curious if wind will ruin it. Getting polyethylene foam next Thurs along with new General AltiMAX RT43 tires Friday. Going to have my mechanic install new tires, open up the wheel well again, and I'll measure and cut up the foam and replace the sponge. Like I said, for me, the wheel well and under the A pillar and fender from door work so well for me. Here is my tube job:
https://i.imgur.com/3T5xfpg.jpg
I think I can put the tube going up the A-pillar. There is a small hole there. I will try it tonight.
Has anyone tried using black silicone squeezed out of a tube to seal the crack between the fender and A pillar instead of a rubber tube? Just mask off with tape along the joint first, squirt in the silicone, smooth with your finger and then remove the tape. I did this with my last car and it worked great. I took possession of my first Tesla last week so I have been reading with interest all the upgrades/fixes. When I went through the process of finding where wind noise was coming from on my old car, I found using a shop vacuum to blow air over various parts of the car helped to give a feel where various noises could be coming from. Just one other tidbit I have read is that at a joint in the car (say between the front bumper and frunk lid) you want the leading body panel (bumper) to be sticking out slightly more than the lagging panel (frunk lid) so that the frunk lid doesnt "catch" the wind (that might explain why some cars are more noisy than others).
The noise I am having goes away if I push the mirror enclosure forward a bit, but taping up all the seams on it didn't change it for me. So I suspect the area that the mirror deflects the air towards to be the primary source.
Here's the complete list of what I've done so far, none of it addressed the crisp cross-wind like blowing noise I hear above my left ear while driving at above 50 mph:
Stuff that stayed on the car:
- Blocked the A-pillar opening with caulk saver foam, going from the hood side and from the door well side
- Blocked the gap between fender and a-pillar with rubber tubing
- Used sugru to seal the rubber stopper near the hood hinge to the silicone tubing in the body panel gap and to the side of the fender panel (one of the clips was broken but surgu keeps it tightly in place)
- Used sugru to seal the channels between the rubber seal and the plastic triangle trim piece (leading edge and back edge) and the gap in chrome trim right behind the mirror pillar
- Used sugru to close the chrome trim opening
- Used extra seals in the door well around the door edge and on the a-pillar portion of the door (think one of those seal kits)
- Used, and then removed, rubber tubing in the windshield and roof panel gaps
Stuff I temporarily taped:
- Every gap and opening in the mirror enclose, including underneath
- Gaps between seals and body panels in the door well
- Entire length of the window seal on the upper edge of the window - I had to climb in from the passenger side
With all of the above, the one and only thing that immediately and reliably removes the noise for me is pushing the mirror enclosure forward about an inch (it pivots, like in most cars). This makes me suspect that the source of the noise is wherever the mirror deflects air at when it's in the normal driving position.
The one thing I have not yet tried was taping up the b-pillar window seal and plastic trim. However, I do not think this is the issue as the seal looks good and I do not see how moving the mirror enclosure forward would resolve the noise from that portion.
Tesla is coming out on Tuesday, they want to replace the entire window regulator. Before I let them do it, I'm going to ask the tech to test drive with and without the mirror enclosure moved as I think replacing the regulator may end up being a waste of time.
All,
First off, I apologize for my recent posts which have been done mostly on my phone and when re read sound a little incomplete...
That said, I took the M3 out on my longer freeway Friday commute to work this morning and noticed a Dramatic improvement with all of the A pillar wind noise from 70-90mph; the only wind noise now is what I am assuming is along the lateral the windshield against the "sunroof" glass - That'll be my next project! Anyone have any ideas?
I also want to apologize for the unscientific method of this experiment as I did not drive the car after one modification to see if this was the fix. In review, here is all what happened before I drove it...
1 - Mobile service appt replaced the REAR drivers side door seal
2 - I took all of the foam material and rubber tubing out from the A Pillars and re applied in a more diligent manner
-- Stuffed Pipe Foam into and up both A pillars until it made a solid seal
-- Re applied the rubber tubing on that fender to A pillar gap
3 - Put the same foam in the Fender gap from Door to A Pillar on both sides
4 - Put the foam on the Passenger side only in the wheel well to A pillar
5 - Adjusted the Drivers Side window back toward the A pillar
6 - Adjusted the Drivers Side window tilt OUTWARD at the top on both the front and back window adjustmenets
I am extremely happy now with the cabin noise, but cannot point to one thing, aside from maybe SOLIDLY plugging the A pillar space, which made this improvement - That said, I would like to help you all out as much as I can so, although mine is "fixed", there are still lingering questions...
1 - Can we just plug the A pillar with a foam expander or any other product which essentially "seals" the A pillar? Sort of like that foam piece found on the Y teardown
2 - Any thoughts on if the windshield wind noise can be improved?
-- Filling in the gap from windshield to sunroof glass? Would silicone, Sugru or any other substance have enough flexibility to safely put there? Would it help?
3 - Some of you all mentioned road noise - Aside from changing the suspension to MPPs, any "efficient" mods?
Hope everyone is doing well,
AP
First off, I apologize for my recent posts which have been done mostly on my phone and when re read sound a little incomplete...
That said, I took the M3 out on my longer freeway Friday commute to work this morning and noticed a Dramatic improvement with all of the A pillar wind noise from 70-90mph; the only wind noise now is what I am assuming is along the lateral the windshield against the "sunroof" glass - That'll be my next project! Anyone have any ideas?
I also want to apologize for the unscientific method of this experiment as I did not drive the car after one modification to see if this was the fix. In review, here is all what happened before I drove it...
1 - Mobile service appt replaced the REAR drivers side door seal
2 - I took all of the foam material and rubber tubing out from the A Pillars and re applied in a more diligent manner
-- Stuffed Pipe Foam into and up both A pillars until it made a solid seal
-- Re applied the rubber tubing on that fender to A pillar gap
3 - Put the same foam in the Fender gap from Door to A Pillar on both sides
4 - Put the foam on the Passenger side only in the wheel well to A pillar
5 - Adjusted the Drivers Side window back toward the A pillar
6 - Adjusted the Drivers Side window tilt OUTWARD at the top on both the front and back window adjustmenets
I am extremely happy now with the cabin noise, but cannot point to one thing, aside from maybe SOLIDLY plugging the A pillar space, which made this improvement - That said, I would like to help you all out as much as I can so, although mine is "fixed", there are still lingering questions...
1 - Can we just plug the A pillar with a foam expander or any other product which essentially "seals" the A pillar? Sort of like that foam piece found on the Y teardown
2 - Any thoughts on if the windshield wind noise can be improved?
-- Filling in the gap from windshield to sunroof glass? Would silicone, Sugru or any other substance have enough flexibility to safely put there? Would it help?
3 - Some of you all mentioned road noise - Aside from changing the suspension to MPPs, any "efficient" mods?
Hope everyone is doing well,
AP
XLR82XS
D M C
These are some types of seals I am considering for the windshield/sunroof glass seam:
Drager T14217 Dichtung Rubber Sealing for sale online | eBay
1.6M* 20mm T-shape Car Front Rubber Seal Strip Hollow Windproof Weatherstrip | eBay
Expansion foam inside the A-pillar is a good idea.
the T-shape car front rubber seal strip isn't a bad idea but for me I dont hear wind coming from the windshield but up the A-pillar to the window. Give it a try im curious.
I looked briefly into foam from a can but I don't want a permanent solution that cant be removed in case something needs to be cleaned or removed.
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Hey bud,
I was like you with the noise form the APillar. What happens though is now that that APillar noise has completely gone away, the windshield noise can be heard now!!! On to the next project!
AP
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