Holding cell phone at ear level while driving will get you a ticket in NJ - please be mindful as the trooper/PD will not go for the "my forum is doing research on car's noise level" line.
Some objective noise level readings
- Thread starter Fast Eddie B
- Start date
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Holding cell phone at ear level while driving will get you a ticket in NJ - please be mindful as the trooper/PD will not go for the "my forum is doing research on car's noise level" line.
Clarity_Newbie
Active Member
Atkinson
Sounds great! That'd be some great data to see if you care to share.
Just trying to hone in on what the "normal" range of RPM's folks can expect.
Keep us posted. Thanks
neal adkins
Active Member
That's the Claritys way of communicating that you're being an energy hog and punishing you. They should have this angry bee icon come up on the display when your over doing it.Might I suggest...
EV - slumbering bees - Bee Factor 0
normal ICE RPMs - Bee Factor 1
high ICE RPMs - Bee Factor 2
unexplained ICE "runaway" - angry bees - Bee Factor 3
With associated icons, of course...
Might I suggest...
EV - slumbering bees - Bee Factor 0
normal ICE RPMs - Bee Factor 1
high ICE RPMs - Bee Factor 2
unexplained ICE "runaway" - angry bees - Bee Factor 3
With associated icons, of course...
"What this picnic needs is... MORE BEES" - or search for "Doctor Bees" on youtube if the forum suppresses external links.
ClarityBill
Active Member
I've looked a little more at my OBDII data... I rarely see over 2500 RPM at less than 40 mph (one outlier): It seems like the Clarity has a built-in aversion to really high RPM's at low speeds (and low road noise). It seems like a reasonable balance, but even 2500, or 2000, is noticeable at low road speeds.
I agree the disconnect between the engine noise and accelerator pressure can put people off. It is also interesting that some people have decided it is okay to live with a loud car when going up a hill with a fully loaded car. Putting the Clarity in EV mode on that hill eliminates the high RPM's, and it can often be put back in HV mode with dramatically reduced noise. I would have like to see the Clarity use more of the battery to avoid engine noise/strain: The programming could allow the battery to deplete more, and keep the ICE from working so hard.
I agree the disconnect between the engine noise and accelerator pressure can put people off. It is also interesting that some people have decided it is okay to live with a loud car when going up a hill with a fully loaded car. Putting the Clarity in EV mode on that hill eliminates the high RPM's, and it can often be put back in HV mode with dramatically reduced noise. I would have like to see the Clarity use more of the battery to avoid engine noise/strain: The programming could allow the battery to deplete more, and keep the ICE from working so hard.
I’m a new Clarity owner and might humbly suggest that the most underused mode for the Clarity on longer trips is HV charge mode, especially on downhill stretches (between uphills) where charge builds fairly quickly with no engine strain or even sound. Going up hills in EV and then switching to HV charge mode going downhill to build back charge for the next uphill completely eliminates “bees” in my experience and can be done for many 100s of miles with HV on the flats. I think the engineers had this type of “power leveling” in mind for mountainous terrain when they sized the gas and electric propulsion systems.
The biggest barrier for me is mental. On longer trips with lots of grades (e.g. I-15 from LA to SLC), I’ve have to condition my EV-loving self to stop dreading the ICE (thinking of gas as a last resort) and start embracing the Clarity’s incredibly efficient (40% thermal efficiency) compact ICE to optimize gas and electric power synthesis based on the terrain. Coming from a range limited Leaf and whiny CVT hybrid, this is a small price to pay, but I can certainly understand how some Clarity owners new to EVs might not have wanted to sign up for “active energy management” on long journeys just to avoid a low power state and the bees. I hope this helps more Clarity owners get the most from this genius machine on longer trips.
The biggest barrier for me is mental. On longer trips with lots of grades (e.g. I-15 from LA to SLC), I’ve have to condition my EV-loving self to stop dreading the ICE (thinking of gas as a last resort) and start embracing the Clarity’s incredibly efficient (40% thermal efficiency) compact ICE to optimize gas and electric power synthesis based on the terrain. Coming from a range limited Leaf and whiny CVT hybrid, this is a small price to pay, but I can certainly understand how some Clarity owners new to EVs might not have wanted to sign up for “active energy management” on long journeys just to avoid a low power state and the bees. I hope this helps more Clarity owners get the most from this genius machine on longer trips.
You have made the perfect case for HV CHARGE Mode. Honda couldn't call it "Mountain Mode" because Chevy already did that for the Volt so they called it exactly what it is, a mode that uses the full hybrid vehicle capabilities of the Clarity to recharge the battery. It's great that the Clarity works pretty well when the battery is depleted so drivers who don't care to practice "active energy management" aren't at a huge disadvantage. I thank Honda's engineers for making HV CHARGE Mode an optional selection rather than forcing it to happen when the battery is depleted.
Growing up in the days of American muscle cars, anything that was spooled up to high revs was probably hauling butt. I remember the dissonance driving my first "4-banger" and learning to deal with the sound of the higher revs. Now, I've got a car that operates at very high efficiency at a very high-sounding RPM level that, by the way, doesn't match what my foot is doing. My lizard brain says "danger" but I have to overcome that with my logical brain. Still trying to get used to the whole equation but since I use the gas engine so infrequently, it's always a bit jarring.
Totally agree on the take for HV charge @insightman On trips, I love using HV Charge on the highway so I have battery when I get into the city for some nice quiet cruising.
Sandroad
Well-Known Member
So back to the thread topic, so to speak. I just did a 200 mile trip and recorded some very high decibel readings in my Clarity at Interstate speeds in HV mode. I could not hear the engine for the tire noise. If this car has any noise cancelling feature, mine is not working. I won’t try to explain what 81 dB is other than to say it precludes conversation and is tiring. That was on noisy concrete at 70mph with winter tires. Most of the trip was much lower dB, but at no time on the Interstate would I call this a quiet car. Active noise cancellation would have eliminated most of that road noise, so I honestly don’t think my US spec Clarity has ANC. Sorry to revive a old topic again, but 81 dB in my car means no ANC as far as I’m concerned.
I believe the Clarity's active noise cancellation is just for the hands-free phone operation. However, people trying to beef up the Clarity's sound system have complained about booming that they attribute to interference with the active noise cancellation system, so perhaps I'm wrong about the phone-only operation.
Yes, it was a great day last Spring when we took off the snow tires and the quiet Clarity we remembered returned. The OEM rims with the built-in resonators don't do much to lessen the noise of our Nokian Hakkapeliitta snow tires, but we would never try to get through a Michigan winter on the OEM tires.
Yes, it was a great day last Spring when we took off the snow tires and the quiet Clarity we remembered returned. The OEM rims with the built-in resonators don't do much to lessen the noise of our Nokian Hakkapeliitta snow tires, but we would never try to get through a Michigan winter on the OEM tires.
Fast Eddie B
Well-Known Member
We have found the road noise pretty high on the rough, macadam-like road surfaces we’ve encountered on I-75 and I-95. And then almost eerily silent on smooth black asphalt. I’ll try to get some readings tomorrow.
Sandroad
Well-Known Member
Very interesting. I’m on X-Ice also and they are nice tires with low noise on my other vehicles. I would never describe my Clarity as exceedingly quiet at highway speeds. I wonder why the difference between our cars? Perception? Road surface? Weird.
I agree with Fast Eddie B, it's the road surface. On a new, smooth asphalt road the quiet is noticeable, while on a concrete road, especially ones with scored water groove surfaces the lack of quiet is noticeable. But that has been true for all of my Hondas, their engineers have not prioritized eliminating road noise.
kcsunshine
Active Member
Funny, I tried a similar experiment with the app to see if the missing body plugs made any difference. My dealer didn't install the body plugs. I tried measuring the average noise level and then used duct tape on the holes to see if the noise level was reduced. I lost interest in my experiment because the car was quiet enough running in EV most of the time.
MPower
Well-Known Member
Maybe it depends on what we drove before. After a lifetime of dinky cars, the last a 2012 Prius Plugin, I find the quiet of Clarity almost unnerving (also the giant size).
Let's hear it for road maintenance and paving programs. This winter we have potholes like never before and it's not even mud season yet. The hot mix plant does not open for another month and cold mix isn't worth a bucket of warm spit. The fill is out of the pothole before the public works truck is out of sight. We have not even started on frost heaves yet. I am not anxious to learn how my Clarity deals with the dreaded things. Will we become airborne?
I'm new to this too - not yet purchased my Clarity. I do not understand the benefit of HV charge on the downhill rather than regen braking - actually using Sport mode to keep the regen setting. On the downhill the regen braking will charge the battery - yes? Does using HV charge mode on downhill add something above what the regen braking does? Enough to deal with the extra work of switching between modes going up and down hills?
MPower
Well-Known Member
I think they are not referring to using HV charge instead of some kind of breaking, but when going down hill to actively tell the ICE to run instead of turning off. For instance, that situation could be useful anytime you want to boost the SoC rather than just maintaining the current HV set point which may have reduced below your comfort level.