Solved: wind noise

[Ritz]

All,

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

When I suggested this in the recent past, some "helpful" individual kept loudly opining that this would result in corrosion inside the A-pillar. When challenged on the source of moisture, I got crickets. A lot of arm chair experts here. I'm thinking if it was an easy solution, Tesla would have just tweaked things at the factory to shut us up.

The expanding foam treatment was reasonably effective for me...enough so that I've been too lazy to bother with the additional door and trunk/frunk seal kit that I purchased at the same time.

Best,

 

[cptpizzo]

When I suggested this in the recent past, some "helpful" individual kept loudly opining that this would result in corrosion inside the A-pillar. When challenged on the source of moisture, I got crickets. A lot of arm chair experts here. I'm thinking if it was an easy solution, Tesla would have just tweaked things at the factory to shut us up.

The expanding foam treatment was reasonably effective for me...enough so that I've been too lazy to bother with the additional door and trunk/frunk seal kit that I purchased at the same time.

Best,

Ritz,

I do remember that back and forth convo...

I'm under the impression that these panel gaps are sealed throughout many manufacturers and many panels, no more obvious than with that model Y foam fail previously mentioned in this thread. In particular with our A Pillar, I am also under the impression that if its open to the environment as OEM, its going to get the same moisture as it would if we plugged it. In addition, the wind that would ordinarily "dry" out this moisture under OEM conditions would still have the same effect when its plugged. That said, I am a proponent of foaming/obstructing it as you are and agree that if this is plugged sufficiently, the other gaps to plug are moot. If my pipe foam fails at some point, I will be going this route - could you share again which product you used?

Hope all is well,

Alex

 

[Ritz]

Ritz,

I do remember that back and forth convo...

I'm under the impression that these panel gaps are sealed throughout many manufacturers and many panels, no more obvious than with that model Y foam fail previously mentioned in this thread. In particular with our A Pillar, I am also under the impression that if its open to the environment as OEM, its going to get the same moisture as it would if we plugged it. In addition, the wind that would ordinarily "dry" out this moisture under OEM conditions would still have the same effect when its plugged. That said, I am a proponent of foaming/obstructing it as you are and agree that if this is plugged sufficiently, the other gaps to plug are moot. If my pipe foam fails at some point, I will be going this route - could you share again which product you used?

Hope all is well,

Alex

I used this:

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Stuff-99054816-Multipurpose-Insulating/dp/B01MEH89XY

I used a piece of clear plastic (from an old piece of tupperware my wife had laying around) to completely block the end of the A pillar and tape it in place. I then drilled a small 3/8" hole in the center. Then I stuck the nozzle for the foam dispenser through the hole and sprayed for about 3 seconds and removed the nozzle. When I saw a solid fill of black behind the plastic (which is why I used clear plastic instead of cardboard) and it stopped oozing out of the hole, I removed the plastic and left it open in case there was any lingering expansion in store (I didn't expect much since the path of least resistance was for the foam to travel up the larger opening upwards in the pillar). A few hours later, I trimmed off a little excess with an Xacto knife and replaced the rubber seal that snaps into the fender to cover things back up. Voila.

Best,

 

[c615586]

I used this:

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Stuff-99054816-Multipurpose-Insulating/dp/B01MEH89XY

I used a piece of clear plastic (from an old piece of tupperware my wife had laying around) to completely block the end of the A pillar and tape it in place. I then drilled a small 3/8" hole in the center. Then I stuck the nozzle for the foam dispenser through the hole and sprayed for about 3 seconds and removed the nozzle. When I saw a solid fill of black behind the plastic (which is why I used clear plastic instead of cardboard) and it stopped oozing out of the hole, I removed the plastic and left it open in case there was any lingering expansion in store (I didn't expect much since the path of least resistance was for the foam to travel up the larger opening upwards in the pillar). A few hours later, I trimmed off a little excess with an Xacto knife and replaced the rubber seal that snaps into the fender to cover things back up. Voila.

Best,

Pics?

 

[Ritz]

Pics?

Sorry, I didn't take any before/after pics. When I get a chance I'll get some shots of what it looks like now.

Best,

 

[Azgood]

When I suggested this in the recent past, some "helpful" individual kept loudly opining that this would result in corrosion inside the A-pillar. When challenged on the source of moisture, I got crickets. A lot of arm chair experts here. I'm thinking if it was an easy solution, Tesla would have just tweaked things at the factory to shut us up.

The expanding foam treatment was reasonably effective for me...enough so that I've been too lazy to bother with the additional door and trunk/frunk seal kit that I purchased at the same time.

Best,

Do you have any pictures of this? i forgot to ask you this. I am still curious. To me, it sounds like a permanent solution that cannot be undone for say something to go wrong, void warranty, and SC can't fix it because it's permanent, which is why I havent attempted this. You have the product you used? Link?

I just did a test drive yesterday and today on the freeway going up to 75 mph. Omg sounds so much nicer in the car it is night and day. Now it's the road noise i need to tackle next with new wheels and sound deadening.

 

[belanger]

Sorry, I didn't take any before/after pics. When I get a chance I'll get some shots of what it looks like now.

If you could take a few photos and use "arrows" to comment your work. With no such pictures, I'm not sure at all what you did.

Thanx!

 

[ArcticSun]

An alternative method that I think takes care of multiple issues at once, and not just the top gap

In higher end cars, you'll notice this entire fender area is closed off, but on our relatively "cheap" M3, it is wide open, and frankly, ugly.
If you tap around the fender you'll also notice its pretty hollow and tinny sounding, which would then translate itself to the cabin via air or structurally.

Bought a roll of 4" adhesive backed foam:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WRN1FGL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cut it to shape and made sure it filled every gap. and hole. Plus, it's black, so it hides all your cutting crimes.


Warning: this will only elevate OTHER wind noise, road noise, and interior buzz/squeak/rattles.

 

[Azgood]

An alternative method that I think takes care of multiple issues at once, and not just the top gap

In higher end cars, you'll notice this entire fender area is closed off, but on our relatively "cheap" M3, it is wide open, and frankly, ugly.
If you tap around the fender you'll also notice its pretty hollow and tinny sounding, which would then translate itself to the cabin via air or structurally.

Bought a roll of 4" adhesive backed foam:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WRN1FGL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cut it to shape and made sure it filled every gap. and hole. Plus, it's black, so it hides all your cutting crimes.
View attachment 554627 View attachment 554628 View attachment 554629 View attachment 554630

Warning: this will only elevate OTHER wind noise, road noise, and interior buzz/squeak/rattles.

Awesome. I will use this for the inner wheel well up to the A pillar. Upon inspecting the fender part on ebay, there are actually holes going into the doors on the other side I can plug up with this. Thank! I will do this this Friday or Sat.

 

[grmdl3]

I'm really loathe to apply expansion foam to my vehicle. That stuff is messy, and could make it extremely difficult to access something that I'm not aware of.

At the risk of repeating myself for a third time, I think the main issue is likely not wind blowing into the A-pillar, but rather a vacuum at speed under the hood causing airflow through that area. In my case, putting open-cell foam in place reduced the airflow enough to get rid of the noise, but doesn't actually block airflow or cause something permanent to stick to everything.

 

[The_Observer]

An alternative method that I think takes care of multiple issues at once, and not just the top gap

In higher end cars, you'll notice this entire fender area is closed off, but on our relatively "cheap" M3, it is wide open, and frankly, ugly.
If you tap around the fender you'll also notice its pretty hollow and tinny sounding, which would then translate itself to the cabin via air or structurally.

Bought a roll of 4" adhesive backed foam:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WRN1FGL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cut it to shape and made sure it filled every gap. and hole. Plus, it's black, so it hides all your cutting crimes.
View attachment 554627 View attachment 554628 View attachment 554629 View attachment 554630

Warning: this will only elevate OTHER wind noise, road noise, and interior buzz/squeak/rattles.

Is the adhesive holding it well? How well do you think it works?

 

[comraddan]

An alternative method that I think takes care of multiple issues at once, and not just the top gap

In higher end cars, you'll notice this entire fender area is closed off, but on our relatively "cheap" M3, it is wide open, and frankly, ugly.
If you tap around the fender you'll also notice its pretty hollow and tinny sounding, which would then translate itself to the cabin via air or structurally.

Bought a roll of 4" adhesive backed foam:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WRN1FGL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cut it to shape and made sure it filled every gap. and hole. Plus, it's black, so it hides all your cutting crimes.
View attachment 554627 View attachment 554628 View attachment 554629 View attachment 554630

Warning: this will only elevate OTHER wind noise, road noise, and interior buzz/squeak/rattles.

I wonder if a quick and easy way to test would be to take a bunch of newspaper or something similar and cram it in that spot to see if it fixes the noise before doing something more permanent.

 

[Azgood]

I think I will put that neoprene foam that ArticSun linked onto my wheel wells after I put Noico Black sound deadening on them. Neoprene foam is thin and still acts as a sound barrier. I will put as much as I can on them after I fill up the opposite side of the fender that ArticSun did when I get my new tires installed tomorrow hopefully. I will provide update pictures of my work. Yesterday, I did just stuff pieces of polyethylene foam up the empty space of the A pillar closest to windshield.

 

[grmdl3]

I wonder if a quick and easy way to test would be to take a bunch of newspaper or something similar and cram it in that spot to see if it fixes the noise before doing something more permanent.

Are my previous posts invisible? ;-)

 

[comraddan]

Are my previous posts invisible? ;-)

Ha ha ha actually that was the one that inspired the crumpled up newspaper idea. I didn’t have any foam handy to stuff in there and was trying to think of alternative things that might get the job done as a test before spending money or doing anything more permanent.

 

[grmdl3]

Ha ha ha actually that was the one that inspired the crumpled up newspaper idea. I didn’t have any foam handy to stuff in there and was trying to think of alternative things that might get the job done as a test before spending money or doing anything more permanent.

OK, just making sure.

As I said earlier, I'd be really hesitant to put anything as permanent as spray foam in there, especially when something much more easily removed works fine.

 

[Gasaraki]

I have a related question for you all,

I did the "sponge in the A Pillar" idea and it has dramatically reduced my wind noise about the A pillar. However, now that wind turbulence is directly noted at the top of the Windshield where it meets the "sunroof" glass. I am one of those unfortunate builds where the gap is uneven to the point of non existent between the windshield and "sunroof" so the RPM fix with the rubber tubing won't work (won't fit). I painters taped the windshield channels along the A Pillars back to the rear glass and that has reduced some wind noise to where I am comfortable to leave it at that....

So my question is, what do you all think would be the best material to fill the gaps from windshield to A pillar and back? I was thinking Sugru here but I could just as easily see tape here; if there is a rubber flashing that can sit in here like the Nissan to the right, that'd be awesome. I have uploaded a pic for reference on where I am talking about and can attach another photo from the car next to mine that is parked. I do this because most of the cars I own or have been in contact with seem to insulate this gap with rubber finishing...

Thanks all,

In your situation, Sugru. Sugru all the way. You want to run blue painters tape on your model 3 all the time? LOL.

 

[cptpizzo]

In your situation, Sugru. Sugru all the way. You want to run blue painters tape on your model 3 all the time? LOL.

Oh no doubt! Took that blue strip to work to test but really isn't a good sound barrier...

Sugru - Ive got some in a small pack, but not ever having used it before, how much would you recommend to cover that length in the picture on both sides?

I'll try it out soon...

Thank you,
AP

 

[cptpizzo]

Also, do you folks know if the proper position of the plastic clip from underneath the windshield to the A pillar is to be "tucked" into the A pillar or does it come out on top of it?

AP

 

[Ravire]

Also, do you folks know if the proper position of the plastic clip from underneath the windshield to the A pillar is to be "tucked" into the A pillar or does it come out on top of it?

AP

It should be on top I’ll post a photo of mine tomorrow