Solved: wind noise

[enigmata]

Here’s a shot of a rubber seal from the door seal kit along inside the inside groove of the driver’s side door seal.

I got this idea from the day someone shoved a business card through the Bpillar gap in my driver’s door... if a card can slide through surely air can enter as well. Granted, air wouldn’t be moving in the right direction to cause a lot of turbulence but had an extra rubber seal lying around, why not

The top of the window seems fine because the end of the window makes contact with the seal, then there’s the seal, but on the side there’s only the door seal gap ... that’s gaping open in the case of the business card. I put the rubber so it was no longer possible to shove a card through the gap.



Repeated process for all other three windows. Improvement in noise for sure at the expense of some window squeaking in the rain... decent trade off but your mileage may vary.

 

[TheD]

@duthchili - THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I purchased my 2020 M3 Performance in January and I've loved everything about it... except that damn wind noise at high speeds. It was almost like clockwork; I knew when I had crossed 80mph without looking at the screen because that's when the wind noise really intensified. Thankfully I found this thread. I cut a piece of high density foam and placed it in the area you indicated and hit the road.

I found a stretch of open highway and floored it. I decided I would not look at the speed on my display because I knew the wind noise would tell me when I crossed 80mph. This time however, the wind noise did not jump at 80mph. In fact, I had to look down at the screen to realize I was doing 95mph while hearing only minimal wind noise above what I normally hear at 75mph. The fix worked! I was so excited I yelled out expletives.

As someone else in this thread mentioned, if you are able to peek inside the A pillar you will see that Tesla added some kind of plastic pieces and some red foam perhaps in an attempt to block the wind noise from climbing up the A pillar. The trick is to block it off entirely, so you need to make sure you are sealing the opening with your foam. I took a picture and circled the corner of the pillar that needs to be blocked.

https://i.imgur.com/B7Y0xjW.jpg

I also took a picture of the plastic trim piece that helps with reducing the wind entering the pillar. This piece has two plastic clips that may or may not be inserted correctly. In my case, I had to push in the loose clips and now this plastic trim piece is snug against the body of the car.

https://i.imgur.com/eKGeAL2.jpg

I am in love with my car all over again thanks to this fix.

 

[grmdl3]

View attachment 543107
Here’s a shot of a rubber seal from the door seal kit along inside the inside groove of the driver’s side door seal.

I did exactly the same thing when I was windproofing mine. But I had to cut pieces of an extra piece of seal, and it isn't as thick as the window glass. It definitely did help.

Part of why I had to cut them is that the gap varies a little bit on each window. I had toyed (briefly, in my "damn the torpedoes" brain) with the idea of taping the glass, then putting black silicone or this to make that seal really flush. Probably overkill, and certainly not easily reversed.

 

[asian_xl]

This morning I tried the silly way to source the wind noise. Somehow the wind noise from the window gap is gone, but causing more wind noise from the windshield BTW, this is a RHD car, I entered the car from the passenger side.

 

[Azgood]

@duthchili - THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I purchased my 2020 M3 Performance in January and I've loved everything about it... except that damn wind noise at high speeds. It was almost like clockwork; I knew when I had crossed 80mph without looking at the screen because that's when the wind noise really intensified. Thankfully I found this thread. I cut a piece of high density foam and placed it in the area you indicated and hit the road.

I found a stretch of open highway and floored it. I decided I would not look at the speed on my display because I knew the wind noise would tell me when I crossed 80mph. This time however, the wind noise did not jump at 80mph. In fact, I had to look down at the screen to realize I was doing 95mph while hearing only minimal wind noise above what I normally hear at 75mph. The fix worked! I was so excited I yelled out expletives.

As someone else in this thread mentioned, if you are able to peek inside the A pillar you will see that Tesla added some kind of plastic pieces and some red foam perhaps in an attempt to block the wind noise from climbing up the A pillar. The trick is to block it off entirely, so you need to make sure you are sealing the opening with your foam. I took a picture and circled the corner of the pillar that needs to be blocked.

https://i.imgur.com/B7Y0xjW.jpg

I also took a picture of the plastic trim piece that helps with reducing the wind entering the pillar. This piece has two plastic clips that may or may not be inserted correctly. In my case, I had to push in the loose clips and now this plastic trim piece is snug against the body of the car.

https://i.imgur.com/eKGeAL2.jpg

I am in love with my car all over again thanks to this fix.

Amazing! I want to do this once I know exactly what to buy for my Tesla Model 3. What materials did you use? You have anymore pictures for references showing your results?

 

[r0bbb]

Very happy with all the creativity here, thanks alot for all the findings.

After reading this entire topic I combined a professional grey colored sponge with the Neophrene tubing I had left.

Very very happy with the result. My single irritation about this car disappeared for 5 bucks

 

[TypeRx]

Very happy with all the creativity here, thanks alot for all the findings.

After reading this entire topic I combined a professional grey colored sponge with the Neophrene tubing I had left.

Very very happy with the result. My single irritation about this car disappeared for 5 bucks View attachment 546146

Where is the sponge and what tubing did you end up using?

 

[r0bbb]

Where is the sponge and what tubing did you end up using?

Sponge is applied exactly like first post of this thread, you cannot see it anymore on my photo which is great

Tubing is thisone:
US $3.44 44% OFF|Windshield Roof Wind Guard Noise Lowering Reduction Seal Kit for Tesla Model 3 Dampening Quiet Seal Roll Of Sealing Strip #Ger|Auto Seals| - AliExpress

 

[asian_xl]

^yeah, it looks so perfect, please share details

 

[ilyak]

I’ve added extra seals for the doors, rubber tubing to close the a-pillar and mirror gaps, plugs for the chrome trim, checked window frame seals, but I am still getting a lot of whistling/blowing wind noise at highway speeds. Got to ride in the passenger seat today and found the cause. 30 second video: Imgur

A TL;DR picture:

 

[grmdl3]

What's left for me at highway speeds seems to be coming from the A-pillar. But I can push on the window and it seems to make no difference. I wonder if there is a hole somewhere that lets wind into the A-pillar from the firewall area? Either that or the eddy behind that chrome trim is doing a lot of buffeting and is making the noise.

 

[Allb18c]

View attachment 543107
Here’s a shot of a rubber seal from the door seal kit along inside the inside groove of the driver’s side door seal.

I got this idea from the day someone shoved a business card through the Bpillar gap in my driver’s door... if a card can slide through surely air can enter as well. Granted, air wouldn’t be moving in the right direction to cause a lot of turbulence but had an extra rubber seal lying around, why not

The top of the window seems fine because the end of the window makes contact with the seal, then there’s the seal, but on the side there’s only the door seal gap ... that’s gaping open in the case of the business card. I put the rubber so it was no longer possible to shove a card through the gap.



Repeated process for all other three windows. Improvement in noise for sure at the expense of some window squeaking in the rain... decent trade off but your mileage may vary.

What type of rubber seal did you use?

 

[VT_EE]

@duthchili - THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I purchased my 2020 M3 Performance in January and I've loved everything about it... except that damn wind noise at high speeds. It was almost like clockwork; I knew when I had crossed 80mph without looking at the screen because that's when the wind noise really intensified. Thankfully I found this thread. I cut a piece of high density foam and placed it in the area you indicated and hit the road.

I found a stretch of open highway and floored it. I decided I would not look at the speed on my display because I knew the wind noise would tell me when I crossed 80mph. This time however, the wind noise did not jump at 80mph. In fact, I had to look down at the screen to realize I was doing 95mph while hearing only minimal wind noise above what I normally hear at 75mph. The fix worked! I was so excited I yelled out expletives.

As someone else in this thread mentioned, if you are able to peek inside the A pillar you will see that Tesla added some kind of plastic pieces and some red foam perhaps in an attempt to block the wind noise from climbing up the A pillar. The trick is to block it off entirely, so you need to make sure you are sealing the opening with your foam. I took a picture and circled the corner of the pillar that needs to be blocked.

https://i.imgur.com/B7Y0xjW.jpg

I also took a picture of the plastic trim piece that helps with reducing the wind entering the pillar. This piece has two plastic clips that may or may not be inserted correctly. In my case, I had to push in the loose clips and now this plastic trim piece is snug against the body of the car.

https://i.imgur.com/eKGeAL2.jpg

I am in love with my car all over again thanks to this fix.

That piece of black trim Tesla uses makes a huge difference in the amount of noise coming from the A-Pillar. If it's not snugly attached to the fender, wind gets around it. Mine is missing a clip to hold in properly resulting in obvious road noise. I jammed a corner of it under the fender and now have less noise. I'll get them to put the missing clip in during a future SC visit.

 

[r0bbb]

I’ve added extra seals for the doors, rubber tubing to close the a-pillar and mirror gaps, plugs for the chrome trim, checked window frame seals, but I am still getting a lot of whistling/blowing wind noise at highway speeds. Got to ride in the passenger seat today and found the cause. 30 second video: Imgur

A TL;DR picture:
View attachment 546472

Any idea how we can fix this?

I also ordered this for further sound reduction from frontwheels:
US $85.4 5% OFF|LUCKEASY shock absorption and Noise reduction for Tesla Model 3 2017 2019 Car Front wheel noise reduction cotton 2pcs/set|Mudguards| - AliExpress

 

[Atraf]

Any thoughts about Photos of car interior taken apart for sound deadening
(by the now closed Sound Deadener Showdown | Your Vehicle Quiet)?

 

[XLR82XS]

I also ordered this for further sound reduction from frontwheels:
US $85.4 5% OFF|LUCKEASY shock absorption and Noise reduction for Tesla Model 3 2017 2019 Car Front wheel noise reduction cotton 2pcs/set|Mudguards| - AliExpress

That's not going to reduce wind noise heard in the cabin. Been tested.

 

[r0bbb]

That's not going to reduce wind noise heard in the cabin. Been tested.

Nope, its meant to reduce wheels road noise. Never ever noted that true new asphalt is real silent while old bumpy asphalt is a real noise generator?

Will post results later..

 

[grmdl3]

I did put dynamat-type stuff in the wheelwells on the most resonant pieces of sheet metal, and managed to put some 1/2" weatherproof foam between the liners and the dynamat. It reduced road noise by 3-4dB on average for me. Not as much as I'd hoped, but it helped.

I think most of the road noise is coming from transmission through the suspension into the body, and once it's in the body it is very hard to control. Would be ideal if there was a way to better isolate the susension.

 

[Atraf]

Nope, its meant to reduce wheels road noise. Never ever noted that true new asphalt is real silent while old bumpy asphalt is a real noise generator?

Will post results later..

For sure, and concrete based roads are even louder, but this is not entirely within the scope of this thread I suppose (wind)

I did put dynamat-type stuff in the wheelwells on the most resonant pieces of sheet metal, and managed to put some 1/2" weatherproof foam between the liners and the dynamat. It reduced road noise by 3-4dB on average for me. Not as much as I'd hoped, but it helped.

I think most of the road noise is coming from transmission through the suspension into the body, and once it's in the body it is very hard to control. Would be ideal if there was a way to better isolate the susension.

That seems to be the consensus for wheelwell sound deadening, I wonder if there's any anti vibration plate we could insert between the car and the suspensions, sort of like what MountainPass Performance lift kit does.

 

[ilyak]

Any idea how we can fix this?

I also ordered this for further sound reduction from frontwheels:
US $85.4 5% OFF|LUCKEASY shock absorption and Noise reduction for Tesla Model 3 2017 2019 Car Front wheel noise reduction cotton 2pcs/set|Mudguards| - AliExpress

I have an appointment tomorrow and this is one of the issues on the list. We’ll see if they will do anything about it. If not, I was thinking of first trying a heat gun to force the rubber to straighten. If this doesn’t help, I will also try adding a stiff backing plate to push the seal towards the window, although mounting will be interesting to solve. Obviously can’t simply fill the fold as the window has to be able to move.