Interior Sound Level Decibels Test -- Soft Top vs. Hard Top vs. No Top

[Bruno]

I have a ‘22 soft top and a ‘23 hard top, both 4 door and as OBX’s with Lux they have the extra sound deadening. There is very little difference in the sound levels. I’d say the MIC top is about 15% quieter at some moderate speeds around 35-50 mph but once you get at 65-75mph, they are both very noisy especially compared to my wife’s Range Rover. I drove them back to back to see the differences in noise levels and it’s not much at any speed. As far as heat retention goes, neither has any trouble keeping us warm even when the temps are -15º F. The heaters are strong on the Broncos and with the remote start it’s not an issue parking one outside even here in Minnesota where it will be -10 F tonight. Heated seats and steering wheel are things that I would no longer do without in Minnesota.

hey I took order a couple months ago - hard top.
Re: heaters, when I have the floor selected, the the airflow under the dast to the feet is so-so & under the front seets to the rear passenger is almost nothing.
+ (With feet selected) There is a big air sound from the top of the dash - as if its on defrost!!
But almost zero air coming from the top onto the windshield

** Do you experience the same?

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[TonkaTruck]

For reference, the decimal scale is logarithmic, not linear. So two readings 10dB apart differ in acoustic energy by a factor of ten.
Generally a 10dB difference is perceived as twice as loud.
On the flip side, a 3 dB change is needed to even be a perceivable change in volume.

 

[Area51BS]

My soft top is quiet until 75mph. Or something loud passing you. I’m very pleased. I like the look. Wavy windows is fixable. The hard top looks proportioned wrong. Too tall looking from joint lines. Color is awful but can be painted. Their both removable and have their pros and cons. I’d take either.

 

[TonkaTruck]

1db may not sound like much, but I remember from Navy sonar school that 3db is double the SPL (sound pressure level). So 1db is a 33 percent increase in sound pressure.

I have no idea if this is relevant to noise inside a car, but the military beat that formula into our heads so it’s got to mean something.

I didn’t watch the whole video, but I assume the decibel ratings they are publishing are “A” weighted. Basically they are weighted to reflect how the human ear responds to sound. Usually it’s notated as dB(A), but people use the term interchangeably. 1 dB(A) difference is not perceived by the human ear.

 

[Whodat]

Do all the decibel tests you want. I'll give you my experience owning both a soft top and a hard top. The soft top is LOUD. VERY loud on the interstate and in windy conditions. Have to basically yell to speak with passengers in the back seat. For perspective, radio audio set to 20 in the soft top is about the same as radio volume set to 10 in my hard top. My hard top does have the sound deadening. I'm sure that helps. To me the sound in the hard top is no different than most cars.

 

[Figmo]

How about a reading when hard accelerating in sport mode? Those turbos winding up would up those numbers quite a bit, I’ll bet.

(and I dig it)

 

[Bronco Buster Wayne]

Just curious if there are any quick ways to insulate a soft top that could be easily removed to put your top down? Probably a stupid question but.......

 

[CT203]

sticking the meter right in front of the dash is going to be different than the meter being at the same height and position of your head.

It's a very unscientific way to do it, but if the meter is in the same place for all situations, its... something.

 

[CT203]

Just curious if there are any quick ways to insulate a soft top that could be easily removed to put your top down? Probably a stupid question but.......

Bimini top with a moving blanket or similar on top is what a lot of people have done. It's been discussed on here a bunch. Someone even sells a kit.

 

[Bronco Buster Wayne]

Bimini top with a moving blanket or similar on top is what a lot of people have done. It's been discussed on here a bunch. Someone even sells a kit.

Thanks for that!! Would you be able to provide a link or recommend a company?

 

[gaaangs]

Has anyone done any sound deadening in the Bronco?

I've seen people basically place dynomat on every inch of their Bronco...but I don't want to take it that far.

Would it make a difference if I just bought some carpet floor mats and stuck some dynomat underneath those? And maybe do the wheel wells also? Or is it all "all or none" type of thing?

I want to deaden the sound a bit but really don't want to tear the entire car apart.

 

[Bullitt]

I roll with just the mesh top most of the time. It's loud, it's dusty, it's dirty...and I freakin' love it!

 

[userdude]

I have no idea if this is relevant to noise inside a car, but the military beat that formula into our heads so it’s got to mean something.

I did have that submarine tailing me the other day...

 

[Tex]

Okay, assuming the test and meter is accurate, it's still not very representative of what you're going to hear in the vehicle. The frequency of the noise you get between hard top and soft top makes a huge difference in whether it's an acceptable noise or unbearable. It's very easy to make a low frequency reach high db with a subwoofer, and it's not all that unpleasant to be around. Make the same db with tweeters and it's an entirely different experience. The soft tops will allow higher frequencies (wind noise) as well as low frequencies (tire/engine noise) to pass through, while the hard top will muffle a lot of the higher frequencies while most of the lower frequencies will pass through. It's the same concept as hearing protection...it's why you can hear low frequency sounds passing through but higher energy sounds like gunshots are muffled.

 

[sfonteno]

I did a shit ton of sound proofing in my wildtrak.

The three things that made the most difference was the doors have ZERO sound proofing. And the seam at the top of the roof is like an echo chamber. And lastly the Goodyear's are garbage.

If you take care of the doors, (tailgate is a door), stuff some 1 inch foam along the roof, and get some better tires each of those things can net you 2-3 db.

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