i believe you mentioned some hearing loss / damage in the past? or just a penchant for very very loud music? if so, maybe that’s why you can’t hear certain things.

 

That's why I use a meter, it's objective. I also try and use other people to validate as best as possible....both methods generally tend to correlate with my subjective impressions.

I don't have hearing loss per se but I do have tinnitus from gunfire overpressure/concussion, I can hear very well but just have an ever annoying EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE in my left upper hearing zone. I also do not listen to music very loud, 78-82db max but most of the time around 75

 

You need to do more research into how sound works. A dB reader measures sound pressure, sound is present even if it doesn’t impact the pressure and humans perceive sound differently depending on pitch and amplitude and wavelength. So yes, sound waves are present and block waves of other amplitudes and pitches even if you can’t perceive them. One sound pressure reading can sound louder or quieter depending on the other factors of that sound.

For instance my LSs and my S Classes have the same sound pressure reading but they sound different. The S Classes feel quieter because they lack certain wavelengths.

There are many articles written about why EVs seem louder inside even though the dB readings say they aren’t.

 

I am aware of all of that, I've said many times I likely have far more tire noise tolerance than you even if two things meter the same because it doesn't mentally bother me if they are high grip type. Wind noise however will drive me insane even if it's slight

Sound threshold is another issue, if the car has a very quiet baseline the smallest sound will be perceived as way louder than it is in absolute and relative terms. That's why a meter that maps spectrum is useful so you can realize that that "loud" sound you hear is really not much at all. I have mikes used to mess around with custom speakers to test this because they can measure decay, full spectrum peaks/lows etc really well and give me something I can review afterwords.

In the 1000hz range where stuff appears "louder" to us is where perception matters most but lower tones still are sound and many cars SUCK at preventing that. Same with wind noise across edges

I probably know way more about this than you think since I'm currently designing speakers with my current task being to minimize cabinet internal reflections, I've been spending the majority of the last few months going way too deep into sound and related principles.

Lastly I know that perceived sound is subjective at the end of the day but a quieter car "background" is always better even if certain things stand out more from the lack of background noise. I found that the HVAC system in my D4s hits a frequency on auto mode that to me sounds like ANC headphones "pressure" effect but my wife can't hear it/isn't bothered by it. I ended up changing the coding to keep the blower speed above or below this range because it was literally the loudest thing in the car to my ears at 65 mph. The fan in the LS460 never bothered me but I have one customer who hated his so we added some dynamatt the housing to change the vibration frequency.

This is a long way of saying I understand what you mean but in the case of the EVs they really aren't as quiet as people make them out to be if you include actually high end cars. If you are sensitive to coil/motor whine then they may be totally intolerable to you, if you can't hear electrical whine/buzz (I can) it will be of no issue. It's also ultimately as you said, EV can seem louder to certain people even if they aren't so at the end of the day for that group they are subjectively louder.

I have found them on average to be very very very quiet, most gas cars are insanely loud and you can't move at all without some level of NVH change or noise. On all my flagships I've tried to minimize that, hence my known tendency to replace all the driveline mounts and make sure everything is working to spec. The only stuff I have that is actually imperceptible at normal driving power demands are the 12cyls, the 460 as you know has a louder engine even at low load and the 4.0 sometimes had the faintest turbo noise and engine growl when stock. All of this can be seen on a sound spectrum, the 12s do not show any change engine on/off at 80 or idle hence my comment earlier. Loudest thing in them sitting still is the HVAC fan followed by the seat massage air bladders

 

You have to compare them to like price vehicles. No a Model 3 is not as quiet as an S Class...its 1/3rd the price. An i7 however is just as quiet as an S Class. A Model 3 is however quieter than a Camry and just as quiet as an ES.

 

I found recent ES models, particularly with the 45-series tires, to be noticeably louder on the road than ES models from the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s. I think that lighter-duty construction and less sound-insulation is a factor.

The Model 3 I sampled may not be quite as quiet (in a play on words LOL) as an S-Class, but, I think you can agree that its low-RPM torque has to be experienced to be believed. It will handily outrun some of the best muscle-cars from the late 60s that I went to high school with. (Road Runner, GTO, Chevelle SS, Torino GT, etc...)...I do not exaggerate when I say that.

 

I haven't found that to be the case at all having had (and still owning) those old ES models. The 6ES when it first came out had some issues with road noise but that was solved in the refresh, a car a friend of mine owns which I ride in regularly. Lexus vehicles are very tire dependent though.

oh for sure, the EV torque is amazing.

 

Car Confections gets a sound level reading on most of the cars they test. They use the same meter and if possible, test cars on the same stretch of road at 55mph. As mentioned, there are always variables to these types of tests:
'26 Model Y 52.7db
'25 Model 3 53.3db
Volvo EX90 49.5db (the quietest of the EV's tested)

 

i got in my wifes CRV with old michelins on it the other day and I was like "this is so loud! How TF do you drive this?"

Immediately drove to Sam's and put Pirelli P3 All-seasons on it, much better. Though it is still a CRV so it's basically a cargo van. LOL

 

To put that into perspective, an S Class in their test is 50.7, and the quietest vehicle they have tested is an X7 at 49.2

52-53 dB for those Teslas put them in line with varying vehicles such as the Lexus LX, Mercedes GLC, GLS, GLE...not loud.

 

Hang on a minutę! Facts and actual data with their source? What on earth are you thinking, LexBob2? Have you forgotten that this is ClubLexus, where anecdotal evidence trumps your so-called "data"?

 

What a concept!

 

Too much caffeine. Didn't know what I was doing.

 

manual very fast car with tons of noise, lol

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