QUOTE(bbrock @ Jul 11 2021, 10:28 PM)
Unfortunately, it is too loud for me. It draws too much attention and even with no load and not moving, I'm getting nearly 95 dB inside the cockpit at moderate engine speeds. That's just not going to work.
So glad to see you on the road with this car!
95dB is pretty loud. Especially by modern car standards but this is a 1970's era Sports Car. You were supposed to hear it.
The 914 has no real engine mounts to speak of, a fiberglass Targa top that resonates and reflects noise. No serious cabin insulation. Ultra simple door and window seals. No real suspension isolation to speak of (and that's with the rubber bushings assumed). We won't even talk about the open screen mesh that's required for cooling air to be ingested for the air cooled motor. And inherently air cooled motors are louder than water cooled motors.
Benchmarking:
Miata gets all sorts of complaints from disgruntled owners that don't seem to have realistic expectations of what a convertible top sports car is vs. a modern sedan.
Sound level @ idle (dB) 49.7
@ Full throttle (dB) 84.3
@ 70 mph cruise (dB) 72.5
@ 70 mph top down (dB) 80.3
https://www.edmunds.com/mazda/mx-5-miata/20...est-specs1.htmlI'm sure my 1st Gen 1990 was a bit louder since later models added rear glass window and I believe some additional sound proofing in the soft top. Personally, I had no issues with my Miata and thought it was indeed quiet compared to my 914 when I first bought the Miata.
Also remember dB levels are heavily related to filtering and weighting (dBA, dBC) or dBZ no weighting. Not sure what your smartphone app weighted.
Trimming 15dB is no small task.
Options:
Add something more substantial to the Targa top interior besides the simple Perlon monkey fur which is still better than nothing.
Add shoddy behind back pad in addition to Dynamat.
Add shoddy and Dynamat to front cabin firewall as far up under the dash as possible.
Make sure your window, door, and all Targa seals have good tight seal and compression. Use dollar bill test or better yet, leak trace powder.
https://www.kimballmidwest.com/803099.
Might consider making a noise baffle insert that could be put into either end of the heat exchanger inlet / outlet that runs though the longitudinal. I'd bet there is considerable noise with a very direct path via this tube. Have to balance airflow restriction to still have heat. Maybe even just foam wrap the exterior of the paper tubes but that won't do anything for noise getting ducted via the vents.
Even things like cloth trimmed seats have quite an effect on interior cabin noise vs. Vinyl and Leather. Cloth trimmed seats, door cards, and Back Pad could be in your future.
Can't wait to see what the mad scientist comes up with to quiet things down.