Let's play "How loud is your truck?" (1 Viewer)

[fyton2v]

It would be interesting to baseline what mods improve and worsen road + wind noise. Care to measure the loudness of your truck at approx 60mph/100kmh and report back here? Tell us about your drivetrain and other factors that can have an effect on noise. You can download all sorts of decibel meters for your smartphone which should be good enough for non-science comparisons. Please drive safe.

I'll go first:

80 decibels at 60mph.

'78 FJ40
Stock 2F
33" BFG Mud Terrain KM2
4.11 gears
With the top on.
It has an SOR head liner and foil-backed insulation on the floor and across the tranny hump. No real sound deadening material anywhere.

Game on.

*Revised. Tried again and it’s really about 80db. Wow. That’s kinda loud.

 

[Slapshot]

I’ll dig out my db ap next time I go for a drive.

 

[WildernessRimFab]

I'll give this a shot, it would also be useful to include some basic exhaust specs ( pipe siz/muffler/cat[if present])

 

[Sethro60]

You can go 60mph??

 

[peesalot]

70, fj40, soa, ls, 2 into 1, 2.5" exh, sm420, 38 creepys, 4.11's, vinyl half doors, aluminum skin top full length, beanie over ears on freeway.

 

[Paul_A]

Can't hear the wind---duel glass-pacs on a V8. Goes like hell, tho.

 

[archie73]

Cruiser is currently hiding from the magchloride, so I can’t tell you the db. I will say no top, 35’s and not to throaty exhaust-we can converse without yelling. Back seat is its own world though.

 

[WildernessRimFab]

86 decibels at 60mph

'72 FJ40
Stock 1F, 6 into 1 header, 2.5 exhaust and Flowmaster 50 Series Delta Flow Muffler
3 Speed
255/85r16 Maxxis Bighorn (33ish)
4.11 gears
Hard Top
Zero sound insultation

Good thing I don't do many long highway drives.

 

[Slapshot]

I’ll dig out my db ap next time I go for a drive.

I might be the winner(?) here. 98 db going 57 mph. This was on a back road with a speed limit of 45 so I didn’t want to push my luck. I know it’s always been loud but wow. I might have to look into some noise reduction measures

327 V8, shorty headers (originally said stock manifold) / magnaflow muffler
4sp
33” BFG AT
hard top with headliner
thin carpet mats on the floor

 

[fyton2v]

I think Slapshot is going to win . Let's see the other side of the equation and get results from trucks with sound deadening material installed. Lend a hand @GA Architect? I vaguely recall you doing some cool comfort things to your truck. It must be as quiet as a Rolls-Royce inside.

 

[WildernessRimFab]

@Slapshot is definitely blowing everyone out of the water!

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

With the mighty 2F wrapped up and running around 65mph with some 33” M/Ts I’m hitting 85db, back it off to 55mph and I’m down to 81db. This will be a good baseline, as I am wanting to to some sound deadening and insulation over the summer.

I’d like to have gotten a good baseline on cab temp in the winter also.

 

[Slapshot]

@Slapshot is definitely blowing everyone out of the water!

Yay me!

So what can be done to lower my noise level? I feel like a lot of the sound is gear noise. Insulate the trans hump and thicker floor mats?

 

[Adarcy]

This got me curious since I was already thinking my 40 was loud.

72 FJ40
4speed/3speed Tcase
2F with a header and magnaflow muffler
4.11’s and 33x10.50’s

just over 60mph at 93-96db!

 

[Adarcy]

I think a lot of mine is from muffler drone. Really gotta swap that thing out for something else

 

[fyton2v]

I'm guessing that tires and the exhaust system are influencing the numbers the most. Assuming the hardtop is on, wind noise should be about the same. Perhaps it's traffic conditions as well. When I did my first test, I was alone on an asphalt road. The reading was a solid 76 to 77dB. When I ran it on a concrete freeway with traffic around me, it was 80dB. I think I'll confirm my asphalt numbers next time I'm out ... but the main difference there would be tire noise and traffic noise.

My M/T tires only have a few thousand miles on them, too. I'm certain they'll get louder after some miles and wear so that may account for being the sneakiest rig so far.

Results from people running AT tires will tell us a lot.

 

[FJ40RobQ]

350 V8, AT Tires, no lift aftermarket soft top and going 50 mph on highway in warm weather conditions.
I actually thought it would have been louder, but my hearing could be bad from being in engine rooms for the last thirty years!
I always wondered why my family never liked riding in it!

 

[fyton2v]

Cool. I'm going to try that app. Looks like it's called Decibel X on the Apple App Store. It's also displaying dB across the audible frequency spectrum, which is really useful. If you have your phone mounted where you can watch how sound pressure increases as your speed increases in certain frequency ranges, it would be a good indication on the things that are really contributing to cabin noise pollution. I bet it can reliably identify wind noise, for instance. In my truck, when I hit about 45mph it's as if someone flips a wind noise "on" switch.

 

[sogncab]

Interesting.

 

[troutbum4]

1972 w 350 sbc. Dual exhaust, mufflers are much louder than I wanted but was what would fit. In the effort to cool it off inside, I did wrap the mufflers as they sit right under the seats. I think that helped quiet them a tad. used the rubber/foil sheets from summit. max db was 88, average was 81 at 60mph on blacktop road