We have some odd views of db floating around here. First, let's be clear that db are logarithmic units, which means small numbers of db can make a big difference in acoustic output. Such a scale is used because the range of outputs that can be perceived by hearing is about 1: 1 trillion (aka the ear has amazing range and lab guys don't want to write down so many zeros). So, to be specific, +3db is 2X the acoustic power output. Suddenly that doesn't sound so small. For example, if I say I'm going to double the power of your car, you don't think that is a small number (a 600hp car is perceived by most people to be much more powerful than a 300 hp car). Now, human acoustic perception, to get that huge range, doesn't perceive 2X the power to be 2X the loudness. There are debates about all things involving perception, but an empirically derived way of relating power to perception is the Stevens Power Law, which says that 2X the acoustic power is 1.59X the perceived loudness. Not as big a difference as the power would suggest, but OTOH, we wouldn't say that a 477hp car is trivially more powerful than a 300hp car. Steven Peeters isn't measuring 3db in his tests of course -- more like 1 db. 1 db is generally viewed as the minimum level that is obviously different. In addition, his 1 db measurement is some kind of average across all the frequencies his phone is measuring. But if Conti, Michelin and Goodyear are telling the truth, a 9 db reduction (about an 80% reduction in perceived noise) is happening at certain frequencies. Given the small band of frequencies shown in the chart, that could well correlate to a full frequency reduction of only 1 db or less. But, it could also dramatically change the character of the sound (or not). To understand this, suppose you take a good speaker with a woofer and a tweeter. I play Stairway to Heaven on it. It sounds like music, and you can dance to it. Now I cut the wires to the woofer, so only the tweeter is playing. I adjust the output so it is the same measured loudness as before. I promise you, it won't sound much like music and you will run from the room. I don't know whether the small band of frequencies that the tire OEMs are working with are critical, but even with no measured difference, they might be. This could be why Steven Peeters reports that he hears a difference, but struggles to measure it.

@willhaney96

5 жыл бұрын

Could i get a TL;DR?

@mysteriousghat5792

5 жыл бұрын

@@willhaney96 No, you lazy ass

@rmariboe

4 жыл бұрын

10 dB is perceived “twice”. 3 dB is actual twice.

@mramg6038

3 жыл бұрын

Thomas, you should be the one making the videos. Much more informative and interesting!

When taking sound measurements with your meter, make sure that you are on the DBA scale, which focuses on the range that our ears can hear.

@StevenPeeters

4 жыл бұрын

It was just a simple dB meter app on the phone. The purpose was not to be accurate in absolute terms, but in relative values, with the same tool. But good point. Thanks

You are spot on with the car material. Tesla using Al is probably the biggest reason why their cars are noisy

Thanks for the explanation of cavity noise. I will need tires for my X90D this year. Seems that you are happy with your Continental ContiSilent tires. My ContiSilent tires might get close to 40k miles before changing.

@StevenPeeters

6 жыл бұрын

fiddler John I tested the ContiSilents, but they were not mine. I’m running on the Mchrlin Pilot Supersport now. They have the similar padding

@javierissac2792

3 жыл бұрын

not sure if you guys cares but if you're stoned like me during the covid times you can stream pretty much all of the latest series on instaflixxer. Have been streaming with my brother for the last months =)

@anakinterrance9379

3 жыл бұрын

@Javier Issac yea, been watching on instaflixxer for years myself :D

Thanks for your break down I'd say part of the issue is the Tesla I have found they have the worst fit,finish and materials for the $$$ they are not a True Lux Car manufacture it lacks proper isolation to make the ride quality feel confident, controlled and quiet.

Thanks for sharing your research and experience. Looking at the tires with the foam inside made me wonder if I would simply add a strip of sound insulation inside my current tires myself... I'm curious what your thoughts are on that. Thanks again!

@StevenPeeters

Жыл бұрын

If you find the same foam, you could do that. But the density will be geared towards a specific tire and compsition to fikter out the right frequencies. You vould experiment with different densities, but you’ll need tire mounting equipment for that andxa lot of time 😁

@daynevickers1079

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Steven, appreciate your reply.

I wonder if this noise treatment can be retrofitted into other tyres? Thanks for the video.

@StevenPeeters

5 жыл бұрын

Since it's just a foam padding applied to the inside of a tire, I don't see why it couldn't be done on all tires. You just have to have the right materials and right thickness to cancel out the right frequencies

@boboc5645

5 жыл бұрын

I agree, I guess it's a matter of as you say attenuating the right frequencies and using the right glue. On another point I wonder if you have any thoughts - I just bought a set of Nokian Entyres for my 2006 Golf Tdi. I chose them specifically because they were supposed to be very quiet, but as soon as I installed them I noticed a very audible hum that sounds like tread hum. I used to know a guy who had a land cruiser 4x4 with huge off-roading tyres and the tyre noise was terrible. This is the same sound just in a much smaller dose. I'm sure my bearings didn't happen to fail just as I changed out my tyres. It's really annoying because I have trouble hearing the engine revs to know what gear I'm in and it also distracts from music. Any thoughts on this?

@StevenPeeters

5 жыл бұрын

@@boboc5645 Each tire has it's own noise. But what you describe could be when you mounted the tires inside out. There should be an "outside" or "inside" label on the tire. Make sure that these are indeed on the right side of the rim. Had this once when a garage mounted them wrongly and the noise was unbearable. Makes for really fast wear and tear too. Other than that, I wouldn't know. Check with your local tire shop.

I have a mondeo estate 2014 on Goodyear effective grip that are meant to give a quiet cabin but are no different from the cheap ones

@kondrut

4 жыл бұрын

Same here, Renault Fluence 2015, same tires :) They are silent only in tests, but human ear is a different story.

I just bought new rims with budget tyres. But the sound is not that pleasant. Do you think there will be a huge difference between budget & premium tyres? Maybe you ever tested it?

@StevenPeeters

5 жыл бұрын

Which tires do you have? If you look at the specs, there will be a dB indication for the noise. That is a good start to be as low as possible there. The foam only isolates a certain frequency range, which makes it more silent, because our ears do not pick up as much of that frequency. As measured in my first test, the actual dB is more or less the same for the same type of tire, with or without foam.

@bobhiatt7260

5 жыл бұрын

Frank W i

How did they hold up? I just replaced a set today that the foam had completely separated and caused a severe imbalance.

@StevenPeeters

2 жыл бұрын

I never drove the continental tires, but had the foam in my Michelin Pilot Supersport tires. Had zero issues with it, even after having fixed a puncture in a Croatian garage that had never seen a Tesla before. They lasted over 50.000km before being worn out, but foam was still intact

Would you consider ContiSilent over Michelin if you care mainly about road noise?

@StevenPeeters

2 жыл бұрын

The Michelins also have the foam inside nowadays. I still like them and am of the priciple to never change a winning team. But you can’t go wrong either way

Can I buy the foam kit. Who sells it

@StevenPeeters

3 жыл бұрын

This is not a kit. It’s the tyre itself.

New tires are always quieter since they have lots of rubber left. So you cannot get new tires and determine if they are quieter than your old tires.

Forget the decibel meter. The question is can your ears tell the difference?

@StevenPeeters

4 жыл бұрын

Since the frequencies are specifically tuned: yes, you hear some difference

Multiple tests see no measurable difference or less than 3db with hollow wheel cavities built into the wheels and helm holtz resonaters attached to the wheel. The adding of foam to a tire is a waste of time and makes no measurable difference in accoustics. Maybe it's placebo or the tests aren't accurate. The best acoustically rated tire on tire rack is Pirelli's Cinturato P7 All Season Plus.

@StevenPeeters

5 жыл бұрын

Barbecue Tech Tips ot’s not measurable in dB, but cancels out specific frequencies that our ears are tuned to.

@rayheatley9910

5 жыл бұрын

We have a 2018 Tesla Model S with the foam in the tires. The car does not handle rough roads very well. I put the Pirelli tires on my wagon and the ride is very smooth. I am planning to put Pirelli tires on our model S just to improve the ride. I hope the tires will be as quite as the foam lined tires. Has anyone put foamless tires on a Tesla and was there any difference in sound level. Ray

@justinmallaiz4549

5 жыл бұрын

@@rayheatley9910 : i suspect you are losing efficiency with the Pirelli

@rockinggator969

2 жыл бұрын

Where can we find the acoustic ratings of tires? Is there a specific place you looked when you mention the Pirelli's? Thanks.

@barbecuetechtips6024

2 жыл бұрын

@@rockinggator969 only real metric I've found is tire rack. Even though they do not share decibel ratings. They post their findings from NVH in the tire shootouts.