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Noise was the first thing, and is still the thing that bothers me on my MS. I don't buy into the fact that because it's silent that you hear things that are masked by all the noise an ICE generates. I'm sorry, but a modern ICE luxury car's engine is incredibly balanced, and if it's exhaust system is not tuned to generate sport tones is also nearly silent when operating normally.
I think Tesla has done an incredible job of bringing these cars to market, but that they are a very young, still in their infancy, car company. It shows in many ways, as we all know, since we read about them here hourly, and many of the problems are the same as they were in 2012. Noise being one of them.
I have had my brake booster pump replaced twice in 7 months trying to get a quiet one. Every two presses of the brake pedal and the thing buzzes to life, scaring those nearby. My silent car gets unwanted attention every time I drive through the local In-n-Out, and at intersections. My kids know I am home because they hear the brake pump when I get home.
Road noise and wind nose were lessened by frequent trips to the SC for rear hatch and seal adjustments, but the transmitted noise from the wheels is still abundant. It goes from being a minor nuisance to large bother depending on the road surface. I've had 19's since the start, so I have no experience with the 21's.
The above said, I think a large part of the problem comes from the rigidity of aluminum vs steel. Aluminum being more rigid, transmits vibrations more directly than steel. When I transitioned from a steel framed mountain bike to an aluminum framed bike, I loved the weight savings and responsiveness, but absolutely hated the feel of the bike. I think Tesla has to get the right engineers to tune the frame and improve the bushing materials between it and the cabin to lessen sound transmission. Then they have to work with material specialist to acoustically treat the car's interior to both absorb and better reduce audio reflections.
This is something older, which pretty much means all other, car manufacturers have been doing for years. A 7 series BMW has more years of dedicated cabin sound engineering than Tesla has been in business. So I think we will be in for a bit of a wait as Tesla juggles between a self driving future and a quiet one.
I for one hope they can resolve all of the aforementioned and unmentioned woes. The people coming to Tesla now, are not early adopters, as much as they are seasoned mid to upper end luxury car owners wondering what all the fuss is about Tesla. It is in Tesla's hands to impress those buyers. I think they can pull it off, I love driving electric, I just want it to be quieter.
I think Tesla has done an incredible job of bringing these cars to market, but that they are a very young, still in their infancy, car company. It shows in many ways, as we all know, since we read about them here hourly, and many of the problems are the same as they were in 2012. Noise being one of them.
I have had my brake booster pump replaced twice in 7 months trying to get a quiet one. Every two presses of the brake pedal and the thing buzzes to life, scaring those nearby. My silent car gets unwanted attention every time I drive through the local In-n-Out, and at intersections. My kids know I am home because they hear the brake pump when I get home.
Road noise and wind nose were lessened by frequent trips to the SC for rear hatch and seal adjustments, but the transmitted noise from the wheels is still abundant. It goes from being a minor nuisance to large bother depending on the road surface. I've had 19's since the start, so I have no experience with the 21's.
The above said, I think a large part of the problem comes from the rigidity of aluminum vs steel. Aluminum being more rigid, transmits vibrations more directly than steel. When I transitioned from a steel framed mountain bike to an aluminum framed bike, I loved the weight savings and responsiveness, but absolutely hated the feel of the bike. I think Tesla has to get the right engineers to tune the frame and improve the bushing materials between it and the cabin to lessen sound transmission. Then they have to work with material specialist to acoustically treat the car's interior to both absorb and better reduce audio reflections.
This is something older, which pretty much means all other, car manufacturers have been doing for years. A 7 series BMW has more years of dedicated cabin sound engineering than Tesla has been in business. So I think we will be in for a bit of a wait as Tesla juggles between a self driving future and a quiet one.
I for one hope they can resolve all of the aforementioned and unmentioned woes. The people coming to Tesla now, are not early adopters, as much as they are seasoned mid to upper end luxury car owners wondering what all the fuss is about Tesla. It is in Tesla's hands to impress those buyers. I think they can pull it off, I love driving electric, I just want it to be quieter.