Is road noise more obvious in electric cars? How about the Tesla Model 3?
A few Tesla Model 3 owners have told us that one issue they have with the car is the fact that it's so quiet. Wait, what? Well, since EVs are virtually silent, you may find that you can hear every bit of road noise, as well as all creaks and rattles. YouTuber SD Tesla sets out to determine if the Model 3 Performance is significantly louder than other cars inside the cabin. He jokes that he's doing some "scientific" testing to find out. Essentially, he's using a decibel meter and a call recorder. In addition, he tests an aftermarket product that's supposed to help with wind noise.
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As we learned from the video above, the plan is to test a gas-powered car (hopefully a Cadillac) to compare the data. While SD Tesla joked about his testing methods, he honestly tries to be as scientific as possible in his data collection. He attempts to drive in a single lane at various speeds while remaining quiet in the vehicle. Of course, he has no control over traffic, but neither does any Tesla Model 3 owner in the real world. He also tries out a Model 3 Wind Noise Kit from RPM Tesla. He says it's a chore to install, but it reduces cabin noise by about 5 decibels. In addition, he tests the Model 3's speakerphone feature, which he concludes is pretty terrible.
Below the video description, we've included SD Tesla's followup video. He was able to rent a Cadillac ATS for comparison.
Video Description via SD Tesla on YouTube:
Just How Bad is Tesla Model 3 Road Noise?
Despite the fact that Tesla Model 3 runs quiet and you can hear every little noise inside the cabin, according to the decibel meter it isn't much louder inside than the gas-powered car. In fact, it's nearly the same. With the wind noise gasket, the Model 3 is quieter. The Caddy doesn't have very good speaker phone quality, but it's much better than the Model 3's.
Video Description:
Tesla Model 3 Road Noise - Part Deux
What's your experience? Let us know in the comment section below.
