You can't engineer out "bias" in what somebody perceives. Everybody is different, everybody's hearing is different. People like different sounds, they have different frequencies that they hear and that annoy them. Its not an objective repeatable figure like a 0-60 time or a 1/4 mile time or a skidpad reading.

If you have 68 dB and all of that sound pressure is down at a low frequency that people cant hear as well, that car will feel quieter inside than a car that has a sound pressure reading of 64 but that sound is at frequencies people's hearing is more attune to.

For instance, 100 db at 100 Hz of frequency is equivalent to only 80 dB at 1000 Hz of frequency insofar as it is interpreted by human ears. But, with a dB meter its going to read "100".

i say listen to steve

temperature is another thing that can feel different depending on a variety of conditions (humidity, elevation, etc...), just because a thermometer reads 72 degf in two separate places doesn't mean you'll feel exactly the same in both spots

I'm generally not a big one for numbers when it comes to measuring things like that. It's nice if numbers actually can verify it, but I find that my two ears are generally the best indicator if I'm comfortable, noise-wise, in a car or not. And those ears are still reliable.....I'm not wearing a hearing aid yet LOL. :D

yes thank you i'm aware, my point is that saying this was quieter is relative just like saying this feels hotter, there are more factors at play than simply the number of decibels or degrees


it literally does...

once again, the internet comes to the rescue

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...11a825a449.png

steve already explained that

Probably gets back to what I've said a number of times before.....the way they are designed and built today. Although the LS460 is still generally a rolling isolation chamber (can't speak for the 500), Lexus products are simply not the same as they were in the 1990s or early 2000s. They are designed with more cost-cutting in mind, use less insulation, and have larger wheels and wider tires (which puts more tire-surface/friction on the road, for tire noise). In addition, the lower sidewalls on the tires tend to transmit more noise because there is less rubber to absorb it. Last, the road surfaces themselves have often changed. The traditional billiard-table-smooth asphalt of yesteryear has often been replaced by grainy, porous asphalt patterns that increase tire-traction and more effectively prevent black-ice from forming, but they also significantly increase tire-noise, even in otherwise-quiet vehicles. That is just one of the prices we pay for better safety on the roads from better traction.

The reason Buicks are so quiet is not that they necessarily make less noise to start with (indeed, their engines are not particularly hush-hush), but the fact that Buick is not stingy with insulation. The much-publicised Buick Quiet Tuning process is not just a bunch of ad-hype. It is real....and it works. Yes, it costs some money and labor at the plant to do it (my Verano, for instance, had FIVE separate layers of insulation simply in the roof alone, in addition to triple-sealed doors and double-paned glass, but it pays off of the road).

I'm less-familiar with how Lincoln does their sound insulation, but I suspect it is probably similar to Buick.