Semi final report on soundproofing efforts on Tesla Model 3.
I say semi final because there is always something you can do to improve things but at this point outside of going to thicker glass and tearing out the carpets to install additional soundproofing on the entire floor of the car, I'm not sure what else I could do. In any case this is what I've done so far:
1) Dynamating all four doors extensively with noico 80 including heavy application around front woofer basket to quiet extraneous resonances
2) similar application of noico 80 to front shock towers and surrounding sheet metal which required taking out the front trunk and heavy application of same material to rear trunk area
3) application of Z weather stripping material to all vertical edges of doors with P weather stripping material to bottom or horizontal edges and trunk edges
4) 3D maxpider mats which have some sound dampening front and rear
5) RPM Tesla sound kit consisting of rubber tubing that surrounds top glass to reduce wind noise
I'm kicking myself that I did not get sound pressure levels on the highway before starting all these modifications to get a clear empirical comparison of noise levels pre and post. I may go see if I can borrow somebody else's model 3 that has none of these modifications but also still has Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires and run an SPL at 70 miles an hour on the highway if there's anybody else down here in Southwest Florida who's got an unmodified model 3 preferably performance version, back-channel me and perhaps I could meet up with you for those measurements or perhaps somebody can simply take a reading on a stretch of road in this area and post it.
Subjectively the car feels significantly quieter. 70 miles per hour SPL varies of course hugely still based on road texture but is anywhere from 65 to 70 DB. It feels as though I've overall suppressed noise by somewhere between 5 and 7 DB but that's just a guess and until I can do an SPL level on an unmodified model 3 I of course have to admit that I don't know for sure.
In any case, the modifications have probably have their biggest impact on how the car no longer feels any version of cheap or 'tinny' when you shut the doors, along with reduced fatigue on long drives. Very different sound when you shut the doors - much more like a Mercedes - and some of that I'm sure is from the Dynamat some of it from the weather stripping. In any case I'm very satisfied with the results although I'm always looking of course to improve.
I say semi final because there is always something you can do to improve things but at this point outside of going to thicker glass and tearing out the carpets to install additional soundproofing on the entire floor of the car, I'm not sure what else I could do. In any case this is what I've done so far:
1) Dynamating all four doors extensively with noico 80 including heavy application around front woofer basket to quiet extraneous resonances
2) similar application of noico 80 to front shock towers and surrounding sheet metal which required taking out the front trunk and heavy application of same material to rear trunk area
3) application of Z weather stripping material to all vertical edges of doors with P weather stripping material to bottom or horizontal edges and trunk edges
4) 3D maxpider mats which have some sound dampening front and rear
5) RPM Tesla sound kit consisting of rubber tubing that surrounds top glass to reduce wind noise
I'm kicking myself that I did not get sound pressure levels on the highway before starting all these modifications to get a clear empirical comparison of noise levels pre and post. I may go see if I can borrow somebody else's model 3 that has none of these modifications but also still has Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires and run an SPL at 70 miles an hour on the highway if there's anybody else down here in Southwest Florida who's got an unmodified model 3 preferably performance version, back-channel me and perhaps I could meet up with you for those measurements or perhaps somebody can simply take a reading on a stretch of road in this area and post it.
Subjectively the car feels significantly quieter. 70 miles per hour SPL varies of course hugely still based on road texture but is anywhere from 65 to 70 DB. It feels as though I've overall suppressed noise by somewhere between 5 and 7 DB but that's just a guess and until I can do an SPL level on an unmodified model 3 I of course have to admit that I don't know for sure.
In any case, the modifications have probably have their biggest impact on how the car no longer feels any version of cheap or 'tinny' when you shut the doors, along with reduced fatigue on long drives. Very different sound when you shut the doors - much more like a Mercedes - and some of that I'm sure is from the Dynamat some of it from the weather stripping. In any case I'm very satisfied with the results although I'm always looking of course to improve.
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