Quieting the soft top on the highway

[710-oil-614]

I guess I don't see the point.

10 decibels is the equivalent of quiet/routine breathing.

So the difference between the F150 and the Bronco soft top (up) at 70mph is an extra passenger minding their own business quietly breathing?

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[Bled656]

I made a couple of trips in my bronco and I don’t find it too loud, i could have a conversation without having to be raising my voice

 

[HBTFD]

I guess I don't see the point.

I have a 2018 expedition max and a soft top bronco. At 75 mph the expedition is 68 dBs, the bronco is 76-78 dBs. The annoying noise in a bronco is road noise coming thru the plastic windows. A semi on the highway is like standing by a railroad crossing when the orange blossom special is rolling thru.

 

[VelocityBrew]

10 decibels is the equivalent of quiet/routine breathing.

So the difference between the F150 and the Bronco soft top (up) at 70mph is an extra passenger minding their own business quietly breathing?

That's not how that works.

I guess what I'm saying is I don't see the point in stretching the fabric and putting a blanket above my head. The roof comes off the bronco, it's never going to be as quiet as a vehicle with a solid roof.

Reality vs expectations

 

[Wanted33]

Brice, as my dear old Dad used to say, "That's using your head for something besides a hat rack". Damn good idea you had there bud......

 

[Blitzjb]

What noise? I have the Grateful Dead channel cranked up!.. Kudos for a great idea.

 

[pharden]

Drove from SLC to St Geroge and back after Christmas. The road noise was almost unbearable. After a couple hours we did get used to it. Once home I bought a blanket to throw between the bimini and the soft top. Amazingly this works really well. Much quieter ride. Plus if I ever get stranded I have an extra blanket. When I open the top the blanket is small enough to be tucked just about anywhere.

Gearshade bimini top and a cheap IKEA blanket.

Is that the Ford Bimini top or another brand?

 

[710-oil-614]

That's not how that works.

I guess what I'm saying is I don't see the point in stretching the fabric and putting a blanket above my head. The roof comes off the bronco, it's never going to be as quiet as a vehicle with a solid roof.

Reality vs expectations

Haha I know it isn't how it works - you posted the chart trying to show the difference is only 8db.

70db is 2x as loud as 60db so it's really a significant difference between F150 and top up soft top.

I don't personally care - it's what I signed up for - but your chart is misleading in that folks might see it and say it's only 10db what's the difference?

 

[one800higgins]

The first thing I did when I got my Bronco back in October was roll it down the highway at 80mph and used a decibel meter to compare it against my 2015 VW GTI at the same speed. I was shocked that the Bronco was only 5db higher on average. Did it again during the rain and the sound was more evenly matched.

The soft top is much quieter than I anticipated. I’ve put about 5K miles into mine so far, most of which are highway miles along the east coast. Trucks passing by def sound louder but otherwise the thing is surprisingly good at blocking our sound IMO. I guess it just depends on what you’re used to. I never considered my GTI loud, but I guess it was?

 

[VelocityBrew]

Haha I know it isn't how it works - you posted the chart trying to show the difference is only 8db.

70db is 2x as loud as 60db so it's really a significant difference between F150 and top up soft top.

I don't personally care - it's what I signed up for - but your chart is misleading in that folks might see it and say it's only 10db what's the difference?

I guess that wasn't the point, I can't fix those who don't know what a difference in decibels are. The point was the difference between a hard top and soft top. Or that people think this is going to be a whisper quiet vehicle.

 

[Rus-T]

I drove from South Florida to Central Illinois over Thanksgiving. I did this with moving blankets on the way back, and it was a night and day difference from the trip there. The top doesn't bother me, but my wife complained so I tried it, and it does make a big difference.

 

[sage729]

Who knew Ikea made Bronco accessories?!?

 

[iKore]

Brice, as my dear old Dad used to say, "That's using your head for something besides a hat rack". Damn good idea you had there bud......

lol My dad would say the same!
Thanks

 

[Frankie945]

We need a thick windjammer but one that works with the top up. If we could block off the rear trunk area it would be much quieter on the hIghway. I’d get one just for long trips. Last week I went on a 2 hour road trip driving 75 to 80mph and my ears rang the whole trip. Guess I must have sensitive hearing. I did buy a gear shade to do the blanket mod but planning to get a sound blanket to get the most out of using it.

 

[iKore]

In UT the speed limit is 80 so we were going +85

I thought about using a moving blanket but I wanted something lighter.

It is the Gearshade bimini, I suppose the Ford one would work as well.

As to where the noise is coming from, I THINK it is coming from over the rear doors. When the top is closed the sides do not lock down over the doors thus a good cross wind can separate the top from the roll bar. And we did have a good cross wind that weekend. So at a minimum maybe something along each side of the soft top.

Yes, turning up SiriusXM Classic Rewind makes it ALL go away!

I dunno really, just my real world, red neck, jack of all experience.

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