Road Noise

sounds like you found the places for dynamat.

 

My new Prius Prime is considerably louder than my '16 Tundra (with aftermarket exhaust) when driving 80 MPH. It sounds like it's half wind noise, and half road noise. My Tundra was dynomatted only in the doors.

I'm going to Dynomat this Prime, but I'm wondering how bad it will decrease acceleration and MPG.

 

Post # 63...I wouldn't worry so much.

You could weight the amount of Dyno you will be adding.
Then compare to the weight of one gallon of fuel or the weight of your mistress (joke) to the weight of the Dyno.

Wind noise is more difficult to eliminate.

Yet IMO driving environment comfort is well worth a few miles per gallon lost and time, money spent to improve.

 

Check at TireRack website, and inquire into what is important in a tire, and road noise & road comfort to my way of thinking are very important part of your driving experience & the tire is mostly causing this. Check info. on The Continental TrueContact tire where it is tested against, and The Hankook Kinergy PT 737,and The Michelin Defender T+H, and The Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus, and also Continental has a new tire out ControlContact from what I have read is even an improvement to the TrueContact and after reading these test the TrueContact is the best. But everyone have different desires in what they expect in a tire. Me I have contacted Continental and they have advise me they are going to have a spring sales promotion. So I will buy me 4 TrueContacts or 4 ControlContacts, because they deliver everything that's important to me in tires for my 2012 Prius Plugin. So that's my thoughts about what I am going to do about tire noise, and or road noise.

 

I was driving on a blacktop road that was newly paved this summer the other day and I thought it was really noisy. All of a sudden it got quiet because the road was paved in two sections by the same company with the same equipment. My question is why?

 

I've the similar sensation one this site as well. I think it depends on the size of the grains in the surface - the finer the grain the quieter the ride. Also, the larger drainage spaces between the grains the noisier it gets.

 

Attaching Toyota documentation that talks about sound insulation in general. I'm sure sound deadening material, good quality floor mats with rubberized backing (like lloyd mats) and maybe different tires would make an improvement over stock but there are just so many variables (wind, roads, glass, tires etc). I find the stock car is quiet but depending on the speed and type of road surface it can get noisy. I've added the sticky dynamat type sound sheets on the side doors, spare tire compartment and installed thicker berber floor mats. One of the more interesting things I read online was that a good amount of the road noise comes from the tires, which is transferred to the suspension components and into the cabin through the solid mounting points. To get the most out of your efforts you might also want to include a layer of mass loaded vinyl with your dynamat. I'll probably do that this summer.

NIOSH has an app you can download. Maybe use it to test on the same conditions (road, time of day etc) before an after your upgrades? Just an idea.

Sound Deadening OEM2 by CoolPrius posted Dec 19, 2017 at 11:22 AM

Sound Deadening OEM1 by CoolPrius posted Dec 19, 2017 at 11:22 AM

 

Road over some fresh blacktop today. The NIOSH app registered at around 62db @ 65mph. Transitioning to what looked like concrete over bridge increased to 70db @ 65mph.

10 of the Quietest Cars | Autobytel.com

The Top 30 Quietest Cars – A Cabin Noise Test by AUTO BILD – Elevating Sound | Sound, Acoustics, Noise, Audio, Soundscape, Sonic, Quiet, Silent, Tinnitus

 

My 17 V 5 is noticeably quieter than my 16 Impreza.


iPhone ?

 

Hello and welcome to Prius Chat. The forum specifically for your model is at Prius v Main Forum | PriusChat

 

I feel that I am in your same position--one year later. Can you please tell me what you ended up doing to quiet your Prius. We have a Prius V five. The Prius is fine in the city with some road noise. But at high speeds 65+ on the freeways as we travel, the noise ranges from loud to uncomfortably loud depending on the surface of the freeway (we think). We are also considering sound deadening measures, and it would be very helpful to know what you did and how effective it was. Did you ever think it could be the tires? Thank you for your input.

 

I reckon it's the tyres, but could be a combination of factors - lightweight trying for maximum economy,

A friend rode in my Gen 4 last Friday, as we pottered around a few shops etc initially, he said "oh, the silence". But then, we got up to 100km/hr on the motorway, and he said "what sort of tyres are on this - they're really noisy".

If I was going to keep the car long-term (which I don't tend to to), I'd be putting a set of "performance" tyres, checking for ones which are quietest. But I'll stick with the Bridgestone ECO tyres which will outlast my ownership.

 

This is the forum for the Generation 4 Liftback. It has been completely redesigned since the Prius v.
You may get more suitable assistance in the Prius v forum here.

Prius v Main Forum | PriusChat

 

I just drove a 2019 Limited with 17" wheels and it has way more road noise than my 2009 Touring (with 16" wheels). I'm actually shocked by this. That said, there was practically zero wind noise. I strongly suspect it is the stock tires.

 

That pretty much agrees with what other's have stated here in this thread. I.e. Road noise is the primary source of noise for Prius's in general, and it's particularly bad with the Touring 17" wheels. Also note in CoolPrius's comment above... ...There is no factory sound deadening in the wheel wells.

I'm getting ready to start applying sound deadening in my Prius 4 - taking an incremental approach. First up is to selectively apply 80 mil Kilmat and absorptive foam in the cargo area (spare tire location and rear wheel wells). Then I plan to move forward and do the cabin floor - the easiest areas first and finally tackling the doors if I can. The biggest problem with the newer Prius models is avoiding the air bag and air bag sensor locations, which means I may not be able to installed sound deadening in the doors at all. I don't know of any shops that know how to safely do it in the newer models.

 

Sound is very subjective. Remove engine and wind noise - and you'll hear more road noise. They both have 70dB ratings. But then, some tyres are noisier than others - or make noise at different times. I had some on a previous car which were quite quiet most of the time - until they came across coarse texture bitumen roads when they sounded like an earthmover.

 

I wonder if slicks are quiet ?