Econo box cars.
 

At my age my hearing is far from the best. Although it is no longer the selective hearing our wives have mentioned on occasion. Somehow I got past that. Before she strangled me years ago.

For the last daily drivers we purchased Honda and Toyota. The last two where a civic and a corolla. Specifically for the reliability, fuel millage and resale value. I have had two concerns with them.

They may not do all that well in a serous accident situation was one. The other was there is too much road noise transmitted into both cars. Well today I took the wives Toyota car in to have the same snow tires installed we used last winter. Noisy studded versions still in great shape.

On the way home I remembered the car was never undercoated. So I stopped at a place where I had heard the owner was a car buff. He was not busy and we had a little talk. Did the car while I observed. Actually mentioned because I was also a car buff as well he did a really far more extensive job than he normally does.

As soon as I left I noticed the car had less road noise than it had with the summer tires. As I picked up speed leaving town it almost seemed like a different car road noise wise. The undercoat used must be the type that does not harden that much I suspect to have this much of a dramatic effect. With a decent amount of thickness or body.

My hearing is far from perfect yet the observed difference was substantial. The wife used her car later that day as well. When arriving back home she said the same things basically. Although I had not mentioned the change.

It is much quieter even with the noisy studded snow tires than it was with the summer tires. Those snow tires were still in great shape from their use last winter. So both of us knew how noisy they were. We removed them as early as practical last spring because of the noise. Rather than leave them on for a couple of more weeks to be safe.

Also I put them on as late as prudent this year as well. Yet now the road noise is actually less than if the summer tires where on. We are talking a really quiet cabin environment in comparison.

Just posted this because I probably am not alone with this road noise issue. The undercoating must be a type that totally does not set up and personally I believe the inside of the front fenders may be the sound box that is being dampened down. Even if we lived in a non rustbelt area it to me would be a reasonable way to make this level of car a lot quieter over the road. Some members may never have considered this. I seldom get caught by surprise.

I've been thinking about a DIY undercoat on my base '96 Tacoma.
After driving it back and forth to Virginia Beach all summer, I just took my '98 Altima on the same trip. My Nissan is no luxury-car, but compared to the pickup, it feels like a Lexus!

Happy Motoring, Mark

I have a 98 Nissan Altima. Good cars.

Undercoating helps with the noise but you have to make sure all the drains are clear after.


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