window adjustment

[kgb]

DIY wind noise fix

Ok, here it is!
(I feel like such a showman... I am drumming up all this hype)

Here are is the equipment you'll need for the fix:
(1) A pair of scissors.
(2) 3/8 inch rubber foam weatherseal. Can it be some other weatherseal, maybe, but I chose this because of it had what I felt was the appropriate amount of sponginess and when cut, the remaining pieces maintain that property.

Here is a reminder of the gap's appearance.

Flip up the edge of the soft top convertible. Make note of where the rubber from the soft top was pressing on the door's rubber seal.

Tease the rubber seal from the A-pillar. In some places, the rubber will feel like it is glued to the pillar (It might be). Nonetheless, it is a pliable glue. You will need to gain access to the space behind the rubber seal. Only do this to the area where you are experiencing air leakage (near where the rubber seal meets the soft top).

You'll need about an inch of weatherseal.

3/8" is a little too wide. I cut it in half lengthwise.

The fact that it is self adhesive made it a little easier to work with. You can play with the placement and it stays there. You want to place the weatherseal between the rubber seal and the A-pillar.

This is what it looked like once it was in place and with the soft top snapped back down. See how the rubber seal is bulging out ever so slightly?

This is the picture with the door shut. The gap is now pin hole sized.

Makes you wonder why someone else (especially TM) hadn't come up with this earlier.

 

[cinergi]

That's how I came up with my better fix, but it also made me realize that I owe cinergi an apology.

I'll take it as a compliment to how good my hearing is :smile: no worries. This stuff's hard to compare remotely. I have other noises (e.g. the A/C compressor, and some chassis/suspension rattles) that I'd like to know whether they're normal but will need to drive another one (e.g. my salesperson's) to know.

 

[Alan]

Ha! I think with my car it wasn't so much air getting into the cabin at the top corner, it was more of a matter of air turbulence at the edge of the glass on the outside of the car.

Spot on - wind noise in cars is nearly always caused by air escaping OUT of the cabin rather than getting in. The air flowing past the car causes a low pressure area outside the doors / windows so air from the cabin will escape from any gaps. This air from inside hits the air flowing past the outside of the car and this is the main cause of the noise.

This is why sealing up an obvious gap does not always help - it may move the problem elsewhere.

 

[dsm363]

Has anyone contacted Tesla about this issue (the people having problems with the wind noise) to see if there is some way they can fix this?

 

[rsquared99]

For what it's worth, I said I would provide some assessment of the wind noise issue based on a new D-seal that Tesla service said they would install in my car. Verdict: after a couple of trips on the freeway I can report no wind noise with the hard top installed. That being said, I must say I wasn't bothered by wind noise since the hard top was installed, before any modification was done to the seal. That may be just the luck of the draw in my car's gaps or it might reflect that my old ears miss a lot of noise others might be sensitive to.

 

[tennis_trs]

I was in touch with Tesla today. They claim to have a remedy that should reduce the wind noise...

Tesla made the modification on my car this week along with the 12V wiring recall and a couple other small issues. The modified/added sealing seems to fill the previously noted gaps and looks fine (i.e., as good or better than original factory look). It seems to have helped a reasonable amount with wind noise, but I haven't really gotten in any highway speed driving since (probably only up to 60 mph so far).

 

[kgb]

I am interested in this "factory" solution. Although my wind noise is reduced with my makeshift solution, it could be better. Next time I get a service I will request this. For now, I've had my Tesla a week and no major problems... however I was disappointed to see that my left front headlight has the condensation issue. I guess I'll ask for that fix too (if there is one by then).

 

[Doug_G]

They fixed my left headlamp, no problems so far...

 

[kgb]

They fixed my left headlamp, no problems so far...

I can't find where you discussed your headlamp repair. How was it fixed?

 

[Doug_G]

Baiscally they put sealant on the inside edge of the module. I had to catch a flight so I didn't see him actually do it.

 

[mpt]

I use an aftermarket roof that left a gap along the leading edge of the roof panel. It created a little less noise than the soft-top until I added the 3/8" foam weather strip all along the front. The reduction was marked but I wonder if it's the fact that I continued all the way along to meet the window approximating KGB's fix.

 

[Doug_G]

My Tesla Ranger stopped in today to check something, and also installed the extra window weatherstripping.

Let me say, this made a HUGE improvement in the wind noise situation. :smile::smile:

At highway speeds, road noise is probably the dominant source now. I can hear a little wind noise, but it's not significant.

I'm running with the hard top, and the suspicion is that it would have a greater effect than with the soft top. Next time I switch (waiting for summer) I'll try to compare.

 

[mpt]

I tried the Soft Top post wind noise fix. The only difference was that I could hear birds twittering through the roof. Wind noise, just as well reduced.

 

[dsm363]

I tried the Soft Top post wind noise fix. The only difference was that I could hear birds twittering through the roof. Wind noise, just as well reduced.

My car was delivered with the soft top and the wind fix but it's still really loud. I wonder if it wasn't done properly or that's simply how loud the wind noise is in the Roadster. At highway speeds, it sounds like I have the window down an inch even though they are both closed.

 

[mpt]

Perhaps we can establish a base line, do you have an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch? There's an app I use called FFT that will measure sound levels. It's consumer stuff so might not be super accurate but the reviews report good correlation with proper sound level meters and I've found it to be close to my calibrated SPL meter.

Perhaps we can test during a calm day, on good dry tarmac, with stock tyres at recommended pressure, at a set speed, in the open. Hmm that's quite a few variables.

 

[vfx]

Perhaps we can establish a base line, do you have an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch? There's an app I use called FFT that will measure sound levels. It's consumer stuff so might not be super accurate but the reviews report good correlation with proper sound level meters and I've found it to be close to my calibrated SPL meter.

Perhaps we can test during a calm day, on good dry tarmac, with stock tyres at recommended pressure, at a set speed, in the open. Hmm that's quite a few variables.

And placement.

 

[benji4]

Perhaps we can establish a base line, do you have an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch? There's an app I use called FFT that will measure sound levels. It's consumer stuff so might not be super accurate but the reviews report good correlation with proper sound level meters and I've found it to be close to my calibrated SPL meter.

Perhaps we can test during a calm day, on good dry tarmac, with stock tyres at recommended pressure, at a set speed, in the open. Hmm that's quite a few variables.

Perhaps just too many variables to do a meaningful analysis unless we could get all the cars together in the same place! The only thing that would make a big difference between different Roadsters would be the seal between the window and soft top which really seems to vary depending on the car. My car fortunately has a pretty good seal, and almost all the noise I can hear is just wind blowing over the soft top rather than wind penetrating the seal. Everybody is going to get that obviously. Yesterday there was a ton of wind blowing and around 100km/hr+, the cockpit got very noisy to say the least. Even then however, I did not hear any significant noise at the seal.

 

[dsm363]

I use an aftermarket roof that left a gap along the leading edge of the roof panel. It created a little less noise than the soft-top until I added the 3/8" foam weather strip all along the front. The reduction was marked but I wonder if it's the fact that I continued all the way along to meet the window approximating KGB's fix.

View attachment 1095

I figured the gap was around the window itself, not along the front of the soft top/windshield. I'll give that a shot. Thanks.

 

[kgb]

UPDATE:
iPhone App FFT is $25! That's too much just to check the difference in sound levels.

My next fix: I'm going to pick up a small tub of play dough and stuff the remaining small hole with it. I'll keep the play dough in the car, and just plug it each time I get in... Just like I have to turn the key to turn on the car, I will add "plug the hole" as part of my start-up routine.

 

[Roadster]

Bumping this old thread as I’d like to know if anyone was able to successfully use the fore and aft adjustment points to raise the window position. I don’t mind resorting to the weatherstripping hack if this doesn’t work but would like to see if a minor adjustment can help address some of the whistling I just started experiencing with my soft top.