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Interior car noises and what they mean
In the past, drivers and passengers had to experience engine sounds, wind noise, tyre roar and interior vibrations and rattles that are considered completely unacceptable today. PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK
What you need to know:
- Solution. If your car is a little too noisy for your taste, there are a few aftermarket solutions available. You can install sound-deadening material inside the cabin and even under the hood. These patches of material are designed to absorb sound waves and make your ride much quieter.
One of the strangest things about driving any luxury car is how silent it is once you close the doors. It is one of the lesser known aspects that separates the luxury cars from the more affordable, day-to-day ones. Silence is a luxury and car manufacturers have tricks such as extra sound-absorbing insulation and noise-cancelling audio systems to mask the racket of wind noise, engine whirring and tyre hum.
A lot of research goes into reducing interior noise in new cars. It is natural that when a persistent noise occurs while driving, it becomes such a pain. Nevertheless, because of the nature of most of our cars, most of this noise has come to be accepted by many, with some simply upping the radio volume to suppress it.
Mechanical
Noises can be mechanical in nature, such as the clatter of a loose panel, or the squeak of two panels rubbing together. Noises can come from the tyres, as they roll across different road surfaces or noises can come from the air passing around your car. Not all noises are unpleasant, some drivers like the occasional exhaust note during full acceleration or the mechanical roar of a V8 engine. Others prefer quiet isolation with most cars falling in between.
Reduction
There are three ways of reducing noise. Stop it at its source, block its path into the interior, or change the level or frequency so it does not irritate.
Stopping noise at its source may seem to be the preferred method, but it is not always possible. Some tyre noise is always present, and rough road surfaces make it even worse. If there is a specific source of noise in your car, such as moving parts rubbing together or rattling around, with a bit of detective work you can often identify the cause and eliminate the problem. You shall be surprised how a loose spare tyre in your boot is the culprit, or simply bottles.
Some car manufacturers use clever techniques such as changing the frequency of a noise. This is another method of building quiet passenger compartments as human hearing does not pick up very low or high frequencies, so any vibrations in that spectrum are not objectionable to us. By changing the stiffness or mass of a component, the frequency that it vibrates at will be different.
Wind noise
With the mechanical noise reduced, wind noise becomes more apparent. A wind “rush” is the sound of air passing the windshield pillars, wiper blades and mirrors. Manufacturers endeavour to reduce this kind of noise by changing angles, location or smoothening edges. Nonetheless, wind rush can be reduced but not eliminated. You can hear the wind rush even in the newer “bubble” cars. Wind whistles, which mostly happen at high speeds, are usually caused by air leaking from inside the body to the outside. A wind whistle will disappear when a window is partially opened. Poor fitting or misadjusted doors and windows are the most common causes of this type of whistle.
The fact is that some cars have much less interior noise than others. Large or luxury cars often go through more extensive testing and use higher-quality materials to reduce the sound level in the interior. Also, as a car ages, the interior materials start losing their fastening and sturdiness thus noise is unavoidable.
