MIC Hard Top Wind Noise Reduction - 2023 Edition - Plus Bonus Fix for Bad Adhesive

[mike8675309]

yes, it's a bit pedantic, but what is being done here is not solving the source of the noise. It's just making it less likely to be heard by you.
Much of the noise is caused by the way air is moving over things like the light bar and gaps in the tops, the way the tops sit on the windows, and pretty much everything on the body.

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[MikeWz]

Bookmarked! Thanks for the informative and well written post! Will try this in the spring once it warms up for sure. Wind noise isn't too much of an issue at the moment, but it's certainly noticeable, especially once you get up over 65-70.

 

[BroncoWhisperer]

yes, it's a bit pedantic, but what is being done here is not solving the source of the noise. It's just making it less likely to be heard by you.
Much of the noise is caused by the way air is moving over things like the light bar and gaps in the tops, the way the tops sit on the windows, and pretty much everything on the body.

I don't care so much if the car next to me on the highway thinks the Bronco is windy, as long as I can't hear it
You're correct though, adding seals is a bit of a band-aid (or a cast that I don't intend to take off?)
When I really want a quiet cruise, I'll just jump in the Mustang. That thing is a sanctuary.

 

[UM_Ftown]

I mean it’s loud above 65 mph but have any of you ridden in a JL Wrangler? I actually thought the JL was louder from 0-65 mph than the Bronco, but was quieter at highway speeds (but not by much). I’ll only address it if I notice it getting significantly worse with age.

 

[SROC3]

You can also try adjusting the "FRONT Brackets" that they lock down into. There are two of them, one on driver and one on passenger. each has two bolts. when you loosen them, you can shift the plate around a bit. I moved mine farther out, towards the doors. Solved my small wind noise issue

 

[BroncoWhisperer]

I mean it’s loud above 65 mph but have any of you ridden in a JL Wrangler? I actually thought the JL was louder from 0-65 mph than the Bronco, but was quieter at highway speeds (but not by much). I’ll only address it if I notice it getting significantly worse with age.

I think the biggest issue is consistency with the fit. The general population may be much quieter than a JL Wrangler!
The fact alone that some people have perfectly fine phone conversations and others can't be heard on the other end is at least slightly more objective than "It's too loud"

To that end, these tutorials are really targeted to those that got unlucky and don't expect any of this to be covered by warranty (they can barely get supplies to build new ones, let alone fix noise complaints).

 

[BroncoWhisperer]

You can also try adjusting the "FRONT Brackets" that they lock down into. There are two of them, one on driver and one on passenger. each has two bolts. when you loosen them, you can shift the plate around a bit. I moved mine farther out, towards the doors. Solved my small wind noise issue

I only saw the note on these for vertical fitment but not for outboard/inboard adjustment.
That's good to know!

 

[SROC3]

I only saw the note on these for vertical fitment but not for outboard/inboard adjustment.
That's good to know!

Yeah its not a LOT of adjustment, but enough to make that difference if needed.

 

[RowsKing]

$25 at Home Depot was good enough. This before/after was recorded next to the rear view mirror.
Edit- this was recorded at 65mph same day same stretch of freeway.

 

[Ksjrb03]

$25 at Home Depot was good enough. This before/after was recorded next to the rear view mirror.
Edit- this was recorded at 65mph same day same stretch of freeway.

Video is a great example of the obvious wind noise and whistling before, that some people can’t comprehend is an issue for a lot of these.

 

[Tteape0]

Great write up. Might take a stab at it in the summer

 

[Tex]

I will never remove the roof panels so i might just silicon the seams and see if that works .

Run some wide painters tape over all the seams on the outside and see what kind of difference that nets you. Most of the wind noise heard inside the cab is caused by the air being forced into those seams. The boundary layer shears at that seam and the noise is produced inside that tiny pocket as a result, similar to how a whistle functions. If the seal is allowing air to pass through, then the shear (and consequently, noise) is increased further. Sealing the seam with weather stripping reduces the noise and adds sound deadening, but putting tape over the seam so the boundary layer is smooth and undisturbed actually prevents the noise from being produced in the first place. Tape is going to give you the best possible outcome from sealing all of those seams, so you can decide for yourself whether it's even worth using silicon.

 

[mpeugeot]

I found that using a heavier tape worked a little better for me.

That said, I test drove a 4 door base soft top, that was almost as quiet as my hard top (my hardtop is particularly bad).

I decided to install the bestop trektop on my Bronco, and it was WAY worse than the hard top, and way worse than the factory 4 door soft top I drove last week.

At some point, I am pretty sure that I am going to need to do the 2 door soft top very of this thread. I have no idea why mine is so loud... maybe it's a windshield sealing issue and not the top at all.

 

[Tex]

I found that using a heavier tape worked a little better for me.

That said, I test drove a 4 door base soft top, that was almost as quiet as my hard top (my hardtop is particularly bad).

I decided to install the bestop trektop on my Bronco, and it was WAY worse than the hard top, and way worse than the factory 4 door soft top I drove last week.

At some point, I am pretty sure that I am going to need to do the 2 door soft top very of this thread. I have no idea why mine is so loud... maybe it's a windshield sealing issue and not the top at all.

You should drive mine for a bit on the highway. I feel like it's rather quiet, but I may be deaf to those kinds of noises at this point lol

 

[mpeugeot]

You should drive mine for a bit on the highway. I feel like it's rather quiet, but I may be deaf to those kinds of noises at this point lol

Ya, we will have to compare, because I am not particularly noise adverse and it is unacceptably loud... and I used to work on F-15's, so that's saying something.

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