Tip for making a long drive pleasant, two words Options

[Demick]

Two words: Ear Plugs - or maybe it's just one word, earplugs. Who knows.

Having just returned from the WCC, my journey home was only about 325 miles (small in comparison to others). The wind noise, road noise, engine noise etc can get so tiresome on a long trip. Put in a set of earplugs and you will swear that you just got into a modern car. The transformation is unbeliveable. And I guarantee that after an hour or two when you remove them you won't believe the racket that your car makes. You will think there is something wrong with the car because it is so noisy! Earplugs made my 5.5 hour trip home a breeze. Even after spending a whole day at the track. Without them it would have been a very fatiguing drive home.

Demick

[Gint]

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Apr 26 2005, 02:23 PM)

Modern cars are so well insulated against noise it's almost eerie.  Sit in a new(ish) car with a window rolled down, not moving, engine off.  Now roll up the window, and note how much of the noise disappears.  Most of this is simply dedicated engineers working on nothing but "NVH" (noise, vibration, harshness), making endless refinements over the past 30 years to insulation materials and seal design.  Nothing was that quiet in the 60s, not even a Mercedes (maybe a Rolls, but I have no idea for certain).  I haven't tried taking a ride in a 1990 luxo car that was known to be quiet (say, Acura Legend, for example) recently to see if they're still quiet, or if 15 years have taken the edge off the rubber seals.

Ha. I have. 93 Legend. I need to replace the driver's door seal as it is compressed and torn in a couple of spots so it lets in a little wind noise. But the passenger side is awesome. I can plainly hear the motor running at idle with the window open, but as soon as it closes, forget it. It's the first daily driver I've had that I can really expect to have a cell phone conversation in. All of my others have been way too loud.

I've done plenty of long trips in old cars including 914's. I have and will wear earplugs. IT makes a world of difference. And I agree, the foam units will allow you to hear catastrophic sounds for sure.