Car is super noisy on highway

[Swissbob]

Put a roofbox on. You won’t notice the tire noise any more ?

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[f1eng]

Noise and vibration is a complex and interelated subject.
I did noise and vibration resarch for a few years before going into motor racing full time. My experience is old but the physics is still current.

The noise in a car is partly that passed through the body and windows from the outside and part vibration transmitted mechanically through the suspension to the vehicle structure.

On luxury cars the suspension pivots on very soft flexible rubber bushes on mounts on sub-frames which are also flexibly mounted to the body structure.
This reduces structure born noise and harshness from the tyre contact patch getting to the cabin but also gives less precise suspension dynamics.

This is fine on a luxury barge or SUV but not much good if you want good handling and response in corners and braking. Sports cars need to have much less give in their rubber isolation bushes.

I don't think anybody should expect noise performance on a sports car to be anywhere near what luxury saloons and SUVs should and can achieve in the same way that I don't think anybody should expect the security and speed of a sports car on twisty country roads. An S-class or Range Rover are sickness inducing if any attempt is made to go quick on the roads round here.

In fact for mainly motorway (highway) motoring I wouldn't choose a Taycan in the same way as for driving here I would never consider a Range Rover.

So from a stucture born noise consideration a sports saloon is never going to be as quiet as a "sludge bucket" luxury car.

The first thing one does if you want to race a road car is to replace all the rubber bushings with spherical bearings, the improvement in handling and grip is marked, but so is the increase in noise.

In my last trip on motorways (I hardly ever use one) up to the north of Scotland the difference in road noise on the different road surfaces was HUGE.
Pointless having the radio on on parts of the M40, fine on parts of the M6 but overall I would say the road surface makes the biggest difference to noise in a car of anything.

 

[Lansford]

It should be quiet. Number one reason why I got rid of my Tesla, wind noise. My cabin is quiet, and I love it.

You got the insulated glass Jennifer?

 

[PanameraFrank]

This is such a subjective argument that it's hard to give a solid answer. I, like many, find the Taycan to be an acceptable to excellent level of quiet on the highway. But if you've never driven an EV before it can be jarring, as the decibels can be quieter but you hear more, ie wind noise, tire noise, etc. An ICE engine is louder but it's a constant sound and so less bothersome to many.

Oversized tires will always create a noise problem if you're sensitive to it, especially oversized low profile tires like the 21s on the Taycan. The best way you can reduce the noise now is to trade your 21s for 19s. You'll likely still come out ahead on money and the noise will certainly be reduced. Whether it will be reduced enough to your liking or not is a different story. I'd advise seeing if a dealership near you has a Taycan on 19s and go drive that to see if you like it better.

 

[arossti]

hence they can absorb much of the oscillation of the surrounding glass.

I'd still like to see the dB's

 

[chenner]

I've been driving my car with the 19" stockers with Hankooks and the car has been super quiet. I've got the insulated glass as well.

My 21" wheels arrived this week. I have the F1's on them (they were the only tires available) and have noticed a significant increase in tire noise. Worse on bad roads. So it's definitely the tires.

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