5 ms·
Most road noise is from the tyres though, modern IC engines are pretty quiet.
by vinw 10y ago
Most road noise is from the tyres though, modern IC engines are pretty quiet.
- VMG 10y agoTruck engines? Probably depends on the speed as well.
- tsomctl 10y agoDirt bikes and quads have pretty loud exhausts. And people with 4wd trucks like to put aftermarket exhaust on them because they think they get better performance.
- vinw 10y agoDirt bikes aren't "traffic". 4WD trucks are a regional thing, and that market will probably never be replaced by electric vehicles!
- netcan 10y agoWhy not?
- douche 10y agoOne reason: It's much easier to carry a five gallon jerry-can of gas or diesel with you when you head out into the boondocks, just in case, as opposed to spare battery packs sufficient to get you back out to civilization.
- cstross 10y agoHowever: plug-in hybrids would be an option. (Diesel pack and fuel tank for off-grid use, electric motor and battery good for ~20-50km as well for use on short trips about town/daily commutes.)
- dsfyu404ed 10y agoMost of a second drivetrain, system to make them work together, a bunch of batteries and the associated weight makes a lot of sense in a harsh environment, not to mention the increased cost for something that will get the crap beaten out of it. There's a reason oil field trucks tend to be the most minimal trim available. More stuff -> more stuff to break -> more complicated service -> waste of money. Automatic windows are a convenient but hard to justify when they cost more up front and cause more downtime over the life of the vehicle. Ditto for most other luxury features. You know what sucks, having a Prius that won't use its electric powertrain because the software is trying to protect the integrated A/C compressor from damage because a rock kicked up by another vehicle was the straw that broke the camels back and causes the condenser to leak out refrigerant. Now imagine not being able to use half the powertrain of a pickup you're trying to do work in. See the problem? Sure you could do a different A/c system but you're probably giving up some other important performance metric (like fuel economy) or you could let it ruin the compressor (but then the customer will complain or you'll waste money replacing compressors under warranty) GMC made a hybrid pickup. It was cool because it could be used as a power source to run tools at a jobsite. It didn't sell. They canned it.
- esterly 10y agoI'm on the waiting list for a Model 3 and plan on getting and e-bike some day http://www.ktm.com/gb/e-ride/ I own a loud KTM 300 2 stroke and a diesel truck. Tho I'll probably never sell my Harley evo, loud pipe save lives ;-)
- astrodust 10y agoDirt bikes, or their barely civilized moped cousins, are a significant component of traffic in some countries. Many small island communities are plagued by these nasty little things. It's two-strokes buzzing by all day long, and each one of them is louder than twenty cars.
- ctack 10y agoThis sounds like a startup challenge!
- _ph_ 10y agoBy my experience, IC engines are only quiet when the car is coasting, but not when it is accelerating or has to go uphill. Having compared the driving noises of electrical and ICE cars driving past me, the noise reduction is quite significant. Even more, when accelerating at traffic lights, or when cranking the car.
- samcheng 10y agoHaving daily driven a dual-motor electric car, two turbodiesel cars (both modern and classic), and a modern Honda V6, I can tell you that the electric car is significantly quieter, especially at lower speeds and when accelerating, both inside and outside the car. You're right that tire noise is significant, though, and that electric cars (and trucks and buses!) are not completely silent. They are definitely MUCH quieter than the drum-drum-drum of an accelerating diesel truck engine, though! Now, if only they could get rid of that annoying beep-beep-beep a reversing truck makes...
- cstross 10y agoThe reversing beep-beep ain't going to go any time soon -- it's a audio warning to prevent workers being crushed under reversing trucks. (It might go if and when reversing cameras, which are now standard on automobiles, become standard on trucks ... but there are headaches implicit in adding them to articulated lorries: what about side blind-spots? What about the trailer, as opposed to the tractor? What if a trailer-camera isn't hooked up -- should it be impossible to reverse an electric tractor if it has a trailer hook-up but no signal from the camera on the trailer?)
- samcheng 10y agoMaybe automated trucks won't need that beep, once they can be trusted to stop before crushing anyone behind them?
- 10y ago
- saosebastiao 10y agoExcept when they choose not to be.
- vmarsy 10y agoThe tires noise probably has to do with the road and tire quality. I remember walking on a quiet street in the suburbs and being very surprised by a seeing a Prius driving past me as I didnt hear it coming at all.
- astrodust 10y agoYou can't rev an electric car when impatient. You don't have to shift gears. When using engine braking it's quietly absorbing energy, not letting out an angry BRAAPPPPP. If you're deaf, sure, combustion engines are quiet. Otherwise they're often quite loud.