Wind Noise

[Gwgan]

I did some testing by insulating the space between the front door and the chassis and also covering up all the openings below the hood up to and over they wiper blades and neither made any difference. There could still be areas below the trim where air gets pushed around; it does not seem like air is entering the cabin (34F, comfortable interior leaving from the garage with HVAC off).

Not sure what favo means about the black triangle piece. I do think the side mirrors themselves make a lot of wind noise, you can hear the pitch change as they open at 30mph. Maybe that is the major source. Mirrorless cars can’t come soon enough for me. Here’s a pic

 

[favo]

@Gwgan The top part of that triangle sticks out past the chrome trim. Every Model 3 I saw was like that. Seems odd.

 

[Gwgan]

This piece on the 3 is part of the door, the analogous part on the X (and S) in attached to the body and recessed behind the trim. Photos looking from above with the door ajar:
It does sit a little proud of the trim but not enough to explain the noise. I covered the area with tape and found no difference, testing up to 60mph.
I wonder how much is just the noise of air hitting the windshield as it is funneled up across the hood. So far smoothing out the lips and gaps has not had an impact. It does sound like it is loudest at the lower windshield and A pillars.

 

[jmitchell3]

Any user feedback on the RPM Tesla product?

 

[jsmay311]

Any user feedback on the RPM Tesla product?

Cabin noise

 

[Gwgan]

The chrome trim rising over the doors is a channel for air. The irregular tube is open at the front end where air enters. Using a trusty paper towel roll carboard center held up to me ear to localize and compare the >50mph wind noise I covered the open front end of this trim and noticed a significant improvement in this particular wind noise. YMMV

 

[favo]

The chrome trim rising over the doors is a channel for air. The irregular tube is open at the front end where air enters. Using a trusty paper towel roll carboard center held up to me ear to localize and compare the >50mph wind noise I covered the open front end of this trim and noticed a significant improvement in this particular wind noise. YMMV

Did you cover it with tape or plug it with something?

 

[Gwgan]

Did you cover it with tape or plug it with something?

I used the same Noico 80 mil material since I have some leftover from deadening the trunk. It is moldable rubbery adhesive on one side and silver foil on the other. Pressed it in to form a mold and trimmed it to fit. We will see how it hold up in the weather.

 

[EV-lutioin]

The chrome trim rising over the doors is a channel for air. The irregular tube is open at the front end where air enters. Using a trusty paper towel roll carboard center held up to me ear to localize and compare the >50mph wind noise I covered the open front end of this trim and noticed a significant improvement in this particular wind noise. YMMV
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You may be on to something here. Look at how much more complex the intersecting panels are in front of the mirrors on Model 3 vs Model X. There are so many gaps and ledges that could cause wind turbulence. For the most part the MX and M3 mirrors are the same design, so I don't think it is the mirrors themselves, but all the body panels gaps could be a factor. 1st and 4th images are Model X (blue) and 2nd and 3rd images are Model 3 (red).

 

[cellogig]

You may be on to something here. Look at how much more complex the intersecting panels are in front of the mirrors on Model 3 vs Model X. There are so many gaps and ledges that could cause wind turbulence. For the most part the MX and M3 mirrors are the same design, so I don't think it is the mirrors themselves, but all the body panels gaps could be a factor. 1st and 4th images are Model X (blue) and 2nd and 3rd images are Model 3 (red).

View attachment 300948 View attachment 300949 View attachment 300950 View attachment 300951

And you are limited on placement of materials because of the opening of doors and frunk. I tried putting screen spline in the triangular area of the location of the mirrors in the gap and did not hear or register a difference. I think noise reduction has to be internally in the car. I maybe wrong but many people try to work from the inside out.

 

[cellogig]

We need to consolidate threads and posts on this fourm. To help each other.
Cabin noise, wind reduction, wind noise and tire noise (to start with) should be put together under one thread. People have great suggestions and also some fails (which is ok) in regard to these postings.

 

[cellogig]

We need to consolidate threads and posts on this fourm. To help each other.
Cabin noise, wind reduction, wind noise and tire noise (to start with) should be put together under one thread. People have great suggestions and also some fails (which is ok) in regard to these postings.

Gwgan please refer to the April 27th posts under the post of wind reduction. They were very helpful and the exchange was polite.

 

[Gwgan]

Nobody is being impolite here, I just voted my opinion. Tire noise and sound deadening are big enough topics to have their own threads. This thread has been going since January and that other wind reduction thread started out focused on the commercial rubber spline product—a question which could have been asked in this thread. One “model 3 wind noise reduction” thread would be great but you might as well try hearding cats.

 

[Electroman]

you might as well try hearding cats.

Thats what mods are for ! herding cats and 10 years olds.

 

[Gwgan]

My vin is ~3000, gen 1 seats. Can we get side by side comparisons, at speed, of early vs late cars?

I would do it but I have the only 3 around here for many miles.

 

[viet658]

I've driven three different Model 3's and it does appear the later production versions have less wind noise.

 

[SigNC]

So musk tweeted as part of the model 3 brake issue that current models have lower wind noise than early models. Any idea what has changed?

Edit: gwgan beat me to it.

 

[jmitchell3]

by the by, I test drove a rented Model 3 for a day and noticed it had very little wind noise compared to my 2003 honda accord sedan.

 

[nvx1977]

my Feb build (vin 68xx) is really quiet. I would assume most builds after mine are similar or better.

 

[barjohn]

This is an on going quest. My 179xx vin is quieter than the one owned by RPM Tesla (I don't recall the VIN #) but still louder than my 2017 Bolt at similar speeds and cross winds. Also tire/road noise is considerably worse than the Bolt's. Tire noise seems to emanate from the back of the car but wind noise sounds like it is coming from each front side. The tubing from RPM in the glass channels helps a little on my newer build but does not eliminate it completely so it is coming from multiple places. I am anxious to see if anyone can find a complete solution. Tesla has the equipment and testing facility to find this problem but so far has not offered much help.