Interior road noise sound level comparison. Maverick = 49.5 decibels

[David_Mav]

+1 on the Mav being quiet. Was a nice surprise based on other feedback I've read. Much quieter than my previous 16 Chevy Colorado, no comparison

Sponsored

 

[scottrrr]

Just wanted to post a comparison of the road noise level I recorded of my old 2010 Mazda 3 VS my new Maverick Lariat with the acoustic windshield.

These were both recorded multiple times over the same stretch of highway at the same time of the day with no radio or HVAC running so this is as close to pure driving noise as you can get. The Mazda peaked at 66.1 DB while the Maverick came in much quieter at 49.5.

The results of these tests seem to vary so wildly. Both results seem very low. The best way is to use a dedicated device, except those are expensive. I used a different app when I test drove a XL on the highway and it was like mid-high 70 dB range. Acoustic windshields are supposed to only drop sound by 2 dB. I was comparing results of the Maverick to my Subaru Crosstrek, which is low 80 dB peaking to high 80's. Just wanted to provide input on my tests.

 

[WasChops]

Just wanted to post a comparison of the road noise level I recorded of my old 2010 Mazda 3 VS my new Maverick Lariat with the acoustic windshield.

These were both recorded multiple times over the same stretch of highway at the same time of the day with no radio or HVAC running so this is as close to pure driving noise as you can get. The Mazda peaked at 66.1 DB while the Maverick came in much quieter at 49.5.

If we were closer to one another, I would ride with you inside my H Santa Cruz and get another perspective analysis... thanks for doing this one... nicely done

 

[wax87]

Just wanted to post a comparison of the road noise level I recorded of my old 2010 Mazda 3 VS my new Maverick Lariat with the acoustic windshield.

These were both recorded multiple times over the same stretch of highway at the same time of the day with no radio or HVAC running so this is as close to pure driving noise as you can get. The Mazda peaked at 66.1 DB while the Maverick came in much quieter at 49.5.

Hybird or EcoBoost?

 

[Area51BS]

Because a phone microphone isn't anywhere near calibrated for this sort of measurement. Even using different apps on the same phone can give significantly different decibel readings.

True. But in my case I used same app before and after. Same road and speed. So the actual decibel reading may not be accurate. The comparison of before and after should be. And I can definitely hear the difference.

 

[Elduchey]

Hybird or EcoBoost?

FX4 eco boost with the tow package.

 

[Lone Star Proud]

I was driving around this morning and started to concentrate on the road noise. It's actually pretty moderate and not obtrusive at all.

 

[Area51FM]

Those sound levels seem unbelievably low. Car and Driver did sound measurements of cars for decades. Typically, a luxury car would be slightly under 70 dB. A crazy quiet car might hit 66. 46 just sounds way too low? Of course, they were measuring at highway speed.

https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/exactly-how-quiet-are-cars-at-different-speeds/

Believe it or not the Maverick is the quietest vehicle I have ever driven. When I first got it I was shocked and very pleased just how quiet it is. I have the XLT FX4 w/Tow package.

 

[AeroSC]

Just wanted to post a comparison of the road noise level I recorded of my old 2010 Mazda 3 VS my new Maverick Lariat with the acoustic windshield.

These were both recorded multiple times over the same stretch of highway at the same time of the day with no radio or HVAC running so this is as close to pure driving noise as you can get. The Mazda peaked at 66.1 DB while the Maverick came in much quieter at 49.5.

Ok. So this area is where I live and breathe on a daily basis as a research engineer developing acoustic treatments for jet engines with a side hustle building acoustic measurements systems for various government agencies. I have a couple of things to say about the results.
1. Kudos for using an A-weighted filter on the measurements as this puts more emphasis on the frequencies within the range of human hearing and adjusts for how we perceive different frequencies. This is a common, standard weighting method.
2. From the spectrogram, the Mav has more low frequency noise than the Mazda which has more of it's energy in the mid frequencies. That mid-frequency content is right in the range to interfere with speech frequencies.
3. Where were the measurements done? Industry would use an instrumented dummy sitting in the seat with microphones in the ears. In this environment, location can matter a lot so consistency is key.
4. Peak numbers are generally a poor way to look at this. Better would be a time-averaged measurement (say 1 minute). Is that what the red numbers are or is that the instantaneous reading? Maybe the average reading is the one that's appropriate.
5. I worry about the accuracy of your microphone calibration because those numbers are very low in a relative sense. Based on reported values in many car magazines, you should be seeing numbers more like 70dB.
6. dB scales are not linear. A 6dB increase change represents a doubling of the measured acoustic pressure. Double the voltage to a speaker and it will, at most, get 6dB louder.

I look forward to getting my truck in a few months (6/6 build week) and maybe I can get one of our meters to take some measurements as well!

 

[Elduchey]

Ok. So this area is where I live and breathe on a daily basis as a research engineer developing acoustic treatments for jet engines with a side hustle building acoustic measurements systems for various government agencies. I have a couple of things to say about the results.
1. Kudos for using an A-weighted filter on the measurements as this puts more emphasis on the frequencies within the range of human hearing and adjusts for how we perceive different frequencies. This is a common, standard weighting method.
2. From the spectrogram, the Mav has more low frequency noise than the Mazda which has more of it's energy in the mid frequencies. That mid-frequency content is right in the range to interfere with speech frequencies.
3. Where were the measurements done? Industry would use an instrumented dummy sitting in the seat with microphones in the ears. In this environment, location can matter a lot so consistency is key.
4. Peak numbers are generally a poor way to look at this. Better would be a time-averaged measurement (say 1 minute). Is that what the red numbers are or is that the instantaneous reading? Maybe the average reading is the one that's appropriate.
5. I worry about the accuracy of your microphone calibration because those numbers are very low in a relative sense. Based on reported values in many car magazines, you should be seeing numbers more like 70dB.
6. dB scales are not linear. A 6dB increase change represents a doubling of the measured acoustic pressure. Double the voltage to a speaker and it will, at most, get 6dB louder.

I look forward to getting my truck in a few months (6/6 build week) and maybe I can get one of our meters to take some measurements as well!

Awesome! You are just the person I wanted to bite on this thread!

I work in aerospace so I'm pretty familiar with setting up a controlled test environment and did the best I could with the tools I had (phone and app).

So let me answer your relevant questions.

3. All measurements were done in the center of the dash at about top of steering wheel level (on a cell phone holder). Ideally, I would have done them at head level but this was a done quick and dirty.

4. I did not time the test but I would bet I ran the test for a minute or less.

Hope you get your Mav soon and PLEASE report back when you have a chance to do some testing.

 

[Barracuda340]

Depending on costs for an acoustic windshield, whenever my original one eventually gets cracked, I may have to upgrade the replacement to one of those.

 

[Deleted member 5352]

The acoustic windshield really does its job because there's very little engine noise or wind noise in my Maverick. One of the many reasons I'm so glad to have gotten the Lariat and why the Lariat luxury package was well worth the price. There is some tire noise but that's bound to happen with most vehicles. For example, my friend and I rented a car to take to Disney which was a 2020 BMW 330i that cost over $40,000 when new and there was very noticeable tire noise. It goes to show even a car from a luxury brand is bound to have tire noise intrusion in their cabins as well. The fact that the Maverick is quieter on the highway shows the better value and that sometimes getting a premium brand is not worth it.

 

[scottrrr]

Those sound levels seem unbelievably low. Car and Driver did sound measurements of cars for decades. Typically, a luxury car would be slightly under 70 dB. A crazy quiet car might hit 66. 46 just sounds way too low? Of course, they were measuring at highway speed.

https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/exactly-how-quiet-are-cars-at-different-speeds/

Nailed it

 

[scottrrr]

True. But in my case I used same app before and after. Same road and speed. So the actual decibel reading may not be accurate. The comparison of before and after should be. And I can definitely hear the difference.

Maybe it's those brand new perfect Florida roads that makes the difference.

 

[Area51BS]

Maybe it's those brand new perfect Florida roads that makes the difference.

Plenty of crappy roads here.

Sponsored