Looking for a Quiet Ride?
Transportation researchers are making great strides in developing quiet pavements to reduce road noise for residents and businesses in high traffic areas. Drivers can reduce road noise within their vehicles by researching their options.
Turning down the road sound is not merely a luxury but a safety issue: listening too long to the low-frequency monotonous sound of highway driving can make drivers drowsy and potentially cause accidents. Following are some suggestions.
For your next purchase, consider a vehicle with a low NVH level.
Noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) are qualities that auto journalists typically assess when reviewing a vehicle. You can identify cars and trucks with low NVH levels by reading the reviews in Consumer Reports, Edmunds.com, and other rating organizations. In general, higher quality cars will have lower NVH levels. Historically, Japanese automakers have placed a higher priority on producing cars with low NVH levels than have German automakers. The 2007 Acura RL is an example of a car designed for low NVH levels.
A variety of construction techniques and materials are employed to decrease road noise for the driver. Increasing the body stiffness minimizes NVH in the passenger compartment because a stiff frame generates less resonant sound. Body stiffness is accomplished with techniques such as strengthening the vehicle joints, tuning the powertrain and body mounts to minimize shake, or using other reinforcements. The use of noise-dampening materials in the vehicle’s design is also essential for a quiet ride. A vehicle’s noise pathways can be insulated by incorporating special acoustic engine covers, padded hood liners, door and seam sealants, and weather stripping. Polyurethane foam can be positioned on roof and floor boards and injected into cavities in the vehicle body.
High-tech noise reduction approaches have been developed in the form of noise cancelling systems, which reduce road and engine noise by identifying the relevant frequency range and generating sounds of an opposing frequency range—effectively suppressing NVH levels in the car’s interior. Commonly found in noise-blocking headphones, active noise cancellation is increasingly appearing in automobiles sold overseas. Created by the British consulting firm Lotus, ICAAT is one example of noise-canceling technology. Researchers at Trellborg Automotive's Technical Center in Germany devised active force cancellation, another high-tech form of noise reduction.
Decrease noise in your current car.
The use of vibration damping material can reduce cabin noise by absorbing ambient noise. Damping material comes in sheets that can be cut to size and applied in the doors, around speakers, and in any other nook and cranny throughout the cabin. Applying the material can be a do-it-yourself project or performed by a car stereo installation company. Follow this link for more details on vibration damping material.
Another option is the use of low-noise tires. On these tires, the tread pattern is designed to limit noise frequency peaks through the use of angular center grooves and gradual block-to-road impact. Follow this link for an example of a low-noise tire.
Note: this article contains links to third-party organizations with which CTR has no affiliation. Mention of organizations or products in this article does not constitute endorsement by CTR.