Interior noise..

Sound Deadening:
For photos, read this thread from AEVA. It's where I got the idea. If you want the full thing, you'll have to do the wheel arches, doors and tailgate. I used a lot less material than shown, but you'll see what to do from this.

https://forums.aeva.asn.au/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=6382

Also, this guy went to extremes:

Tyres:
I'm sure I've lost some range around the city with the Primacy 4 tyres. Having said that, it's possible that the BMS and MCU updates, plus the cooler weather are responsible for much of the loss. I only started using the heater a couple of days after putting the new tyres on it.
I put the tyres on for safety at 1500km. The Nexens just didn't stick well in the wet, even when being extra careful.
The Primacy 4's are much stickier (no I'm not pushing the car hard, at all) and I like to be able to get out of trouble faster than I got into it.

Anyway, I'm doing a run from Sydney to Berrima in about a week. I'll see what I get, but I'm expecting 180Wh/km.

 

I think he missed a bit...

 

I would be interested in knowing how much this reduced the noise level.

 

Bjorn Nyland gave his Model 3 a commercial sound deadening treatment and ultimately wasn't all that convinced.


To me, there's a sensible limit that gets rid of the "booming" noise from the road. After that, you start chasing smaller and smaller increments at more and more cost. From memory (happy to be corrected) humans need a 3 db change in sound level to detect a difference.
If you put a couple of patches (not full coverage, just patches) of butyl in the doors, the liftgate and the rear wheel arches, you'll probably get about 70% of the benefit. Correctly placed, a small butyl patch will cancel a lot of vibration from all over the panel.

Also think about the extra weight and range. 3 to 4 kg of deadener won't have a big impact but >20kg...???

 

I think i'm missing the point of any of this, but I almost always run with
windows open so what do I know. Hearing what's around me is more
important.

_H*

 

I used to love having my windows down but I've found that the Kona has horrific buffeting issues. There is a very specific and slim number of front and rear window opening combinations that don't result in my eardrums being boxed around like Mike Tyson.

 

Wow, I'm getting somewhere between 130 and 150. Usually closer to the 135Wh/km side

 

How fast are you going, how many adult passengers and how cold is it?
Sydney to Berrima is nearly all 110kph, I'll have an extra 150kg of passengers and the forecast is for 5 to 11 deg. C.
In summer when I got the car, I was getting 135Wh/km with just me in the car and outside temp. of 31 deg. C.

 

My drive is Blaxland to Katoomba and back, It's usually around 10 degrees C and 2 adult passangers and a baby, so about 150kg too.

 

Right. The scenery is brilliant on that run, even from the highway (but it was more fun to drive in the early 80's before the upgrades).
From memory isn't it mostly 60 and 80kph zones??? I ask because the jump in consumption (and noise levels) from 80kph to 110kph is significant.

Anyway, I'll post the averages after the run south at the end of the week (barring and unexpected CoVid restrictions).
Cheers.

 

Yea, I wanted to edit my message. It's mostly around 80kph.
I didn't know there was such a big difference between 80 and 110.
Sounds like the primacy 4s have pretty similar range.

Do you still have wheelspin from low speeds / stopped / when it's wet?

 

If you floor it, yes. If you just drive normally, it's fine. Holds through corners nicely, even if you're a bit quicker than optimal.
The usual caveats with front wheel drive cars and cornering apply (ie. don't back off or the front comes unstuck).
Of course, the drop in the noise levels was just fantastic.
Btw, Jax had a 30 day money back guarantee if not satisfied. I got them to keep my Nexens in a corner.
After about 5 days, I realised I should just sell the Nexens.

 

Did you sell your nexens? If so how did you go about it? I was thinking of going to michelin primacy 4s, but didn't know what to do with all the nexens.

 

Yes, I just put them on Gumtree. Just check the going price for the clicks used.
They are cheap tyres, so you won't get a lot for them. It just offsets the cost of the Michelins.

 

Efficiency & Noise with Michelin Primacy 4 tyres:
Sydney to Mittagong Charging Station via M2, M7 and Hume Motorway (this is a gradual climb): 186Wh/km. avg. speed 96km/h.
Mittagong to Berrima via Mount Gibraltar and Bowral (significant hill climb and descent): 160Wh/km avg. speed 49km/h.
Berrima to Sydney via Hume Motorway, Picton, Narellan, Hume Motorway, M7 and M2 (gradual descent): 132Wh/km avg. speed 87km/h.
Trip Avg.: 159Wh/km.
Avg. speed 77km/h.
Total distance: 296km
Total payload including driver: 230kg
Climate Control: On (21deg. C.)
Outside Air Temp: 10 to 18deg. C.
Noise Level: No meter, but conversation was easy. No need to raise voices to be heard. There were a couple of rough concrete sections that were a little louder but still ok. Occasional wind noise when cross wind gusts occurred.
Driving style: 70% Eco, 30% Normal, 0% Aggressive.

I don't think I've lost any significant range with the new tyres.

 

Getting back to the OT - the Kona is definitely noisier than my previous Volts.

The Volt came with a flimsy cloth cover for the rear storage area, and the Gen 1 had an open space to the storage area between the rear seatbacks. A Volt owner started making and selling a "Voltshelf," similar to the Kona cover, from thin plywood with thin carpeting on both sides, and a fixed piece to plug the open space. That resulted in a dramatic reduction in road noise.

The Volt also had wind buffeting with the windows down. I suspect the plug-ins are shaped to minimize wind resistance with the windows up, at the cost of buffeting when they're down, in order to maximize the all-important range figure. ICE cars are more tuned for comfort.

 

Perhaps GM figured that with a petrol engine a few extra pounds of sound insulation was a reasonable thing.
Hyundai have been pretty mean with that (even in the 1.6L turbo).

 

If there was sound insulation, it would have been in the firewall between the motors and passenger compartment. The road noise could definitely be heard as coming from the back of the car.

Engine noise was never a factor with the Volt, since the ICE acts almost totally as a generator. It's a 100% EV until the battery's depleted (which for me was around 65 miles), but even then runs electrically. So pressing the accelerator doesn't rev the ICE.

 

Thanks, I was under the wrong impression.