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I was very excited about EVs reducing the noise level in my city. Until I realized that most of the noise of a modern car actually comes from the tires. There

by lynx23 3y ago

I was very excited about EVs reducing the noise level in my city. Until I realized that most of the noise of a modern car actually comes from the tires. There sin't much difference between a modern non-EV car and an EV, sadly.

detaro 3y ago
Really depends on the speeds. At slower speeds in residential areas the difference is noticeable, especially when cars stop and accelerate again. On larger faster roads not so much.
- est31 3y ago
  Indeed, the video says that: the tire noise for ICEs becomes louder than the engine at about 50 kmph. This means that for speeds slower than that, the more important component is the noise of the engine.
  - bryanlarsen 3y ago
    That's probably for a constant speed, though. ICE cars are loudest when they are accelerating. On many cars the engine is louder than the tires if you're floor the accelerator no matter what speed.
- boudin 3y ago
  It depends a lot on weather and materials used to make roads.
- HPsquared 3y ago
  It's really noticeable near traffic lights. All that pollution and noise really is accentuated when the cars are accelerating away from the lights.
api 3y ago
I wonder if there are low noise tire tread designs? Of course there are probably trade offs. Snow tires are known to be louder than the tires you use in climates that don’t get snow.
- rypskar 3y ago
  >Snow tires are known to be louder Studded snow tires are louder than other tires, snow tires without studs are softer than normal tires so less noise. Modern snow tires without studs are surprisingly good on ice, which is the only place studded tires can compete. Noise levels is one of the things tires are rated by, but a quiet tire would normally require a softer compound and softer compound wears out faster than harder tires
- djaychela 3y ago
  Yes there are - new tyres are rated in the EU (and still used in the UK) for noise, as well as wet grip and fuel efficiency. [1] [1] - https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-labelling https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-labelling
kevviiinn 3y ago
That's where a ton of the pollution comes from as well, the tires break down and fill the air with particulate. Road and brake particles as well
ubercore 3y ago
IME you're right, but the cars we hear in a city are the outliers, not a nice modern quiet car. It definitely, in my experience, reduces overall noise to have a lot of electric vehicles.
DrBazza 3y ago
If you're in the UK, most of the noise comes from "the kids" buying cheap compact cars (Fiat 500s seem popular) and modifying the exhaust to sound like a very, very poor man's Ferrari, or on Sundays, motorbikes.
- HPsquared 3y ago
  That, and I've noticed that most diesel exhaust smell seems to come from a small number of vehicles: old VW TDIs, illegally modified taxis, and old buses.
Reason077 3y ago
At highway speeds there might not be much difference in noise levels, but there's a huge difference on city streets. In cities in with particularly noisy vehicles such as motorcycles, diesel buses, etc, electrification makes a huge difference. With EVs slowly becoming more dominant in central London (most taxis, and many buses and delivery vans are electric now), I've several times had the slightly eerie (but happy) experience of being at busy intersections and noticing that it was unusually quiet. Then looking around and seeing that every vehicle waiting at the intersection was electric or plug-in hybrid.
- bombolo 3y ago
  > diesel buses Ah, we love the electric ones here in sweden! Of course they have to stop ~20 minutes to recharge instead of just turning back. And of course when it's cold (which surprisingly does happen in sweden) the batteries can't hold enough charge to do 1 run, so they can't run.
  - alwayslikethis 3y ago
    If one bus means 10 cars and motorcycles stay off the road, the extra loud noise is probably worth it. IMO electric buses are a low priority task for most cities.
  - Reason077 3y ago
    > "Of course they have to stop ~20 minutes to recharge instead of just turning back." London's electric buses (mostly UK-built bus bodies with BYD drivetrains and batteries) have large enough battery packs for them to run all day without charging. They get recharged overnight, when electricity is cheap, while parked in the bus depots. As of March, London had 785 fully electric buses in service, out of a total fleet of about 9000. The fleet is planned to be fully electric by 2034, which could be brought forward subject to additional funding. It will be interesting to see if they stick with the overnight-charging model or whether charging while in service will make sense on some routes.
    - nicoburns 3y ago

by lynx23 3y ago

detaro 3y ago

Really depends on the speeds. At slower speeds in residential areas the difference is noticeable, especially when cars stop and accelerate again. On larger faster roads not so much.

est31 3y ago
Indeed, the video says that: the tire noise for ICEs becomes louder than the engine at about 50 kmph. This means that for speeds slower than that, the more important component is the noise of the engine.
- bryanlarsen 3y ago
  That's probably for a constant speed, though. ICE cars are loudest when they are accelerating. On many cars the engine is louder than the tires if you're floor the accelerator no matter what speed.
boudin 3y ago
It depends a lot on weather and materials used to make roads.
HPsquared 3y ago
It's really noticeable near traffic lights. All that pollution and noise really is accentuated when the cars are accelerating away from the lights.

api 3y ago

I wonder if there are low noise tire tread designs? Of course there are probably trade offs. Snow tires are known to be louder than the tires you use in climates that don’t get snow.

rypskar 3y ago
>Snow tires are known to be louder Studded snow tires are louder than other tires, snow tires without studs are softer than normal tires so less noise. Modern snow tires without studs are surprisingly good on ice, which is the only place studded tires can compete. Noise levels is one of the things tires are rated by, but a quiet tire would normally require a softer compound and softer compound wears out faster than harder tires
djaychela 3y ago
Yes there are - new tyres are rated in the EU (and still used in the UK) for noise, as well as wet grip and fuel efficiency. [1] [1] - https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-labelling https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-labelling

kevviiinn 3y ago

That's where a ton of the pollution comes from as well, the tires break down and fill the air with particulate. Road and brake particles as well

ubercore 3y ago

IME you're right, but the cars we hear in a city are the outliers, not a nice modern quiet car. It definitely, in my experience, reduces overall noise to have a lot of electric vehicles.

DrBazza 3y ago

If you're in the UK, most of the noise comes from "the kids" buying cheap compact cars (Fiat 500s seem popular) and modifying the exhaust to sound like a very, very poor man's Ferrari, or on Sundays, motorbikes.

HPsquared 3y ago
That, and I've noticed that most diesel exhaust smell seems to come from a small number of vehicles: old VW TDIs, illegally modified taxis, and old buses.

Reason077 3y ago

At highway speeds there might not be much difference in noise levels, but there's a huge difference on city streets. In cities in with particularly noisy vehicles such as motorcycles, diesel buses, etc, electrification makes a huge difference. With EVs slowly becoming more dominant in central London (most taxis, and many buses and delivery vans are electric now), I've several times had the slightly eerie (but happy) experience of being at busy intersections and noticing that it was unusually quiet. Then looking around and seeing that every vehicle waiting at the intersection was electric or plug-in hybrid.

bombolo 3y ago
> diesel buses Ah, we love the electric ones here in sweden! Of course they have to stop ~20 minutes to recharge instead of just turning back. And of course when it's cold (which surprisingly does happen in sweden) the batteries can't hold enough charge to do 1 run, so they can't run.
- alwayslikethis 3y ago
  If one bus means 10 cars and motorcycles stay off the road, the extra loud noise is probably worth it. IMO electric buses are a low priority task for most cities.
- Reason077 3y ago
  > "Of course they have to stop ~20 minutes to recharge instead of just turning back." London's electric buses (mostly UK-built bus bodies with BYD drivetrains and batteries) have large enough battery packs for them to run all day without charging. They get recharged overnight, when electricity is cheap, while parked in the bus depots. As of March, London had 785 fully electric buses in service, out of a total fleet of about 9000. The fleet is planned to be fully electric by 2034, which could be brought forward subject to additional funding. It will be interesting to see if they stick with the overnight-charging model or whether charging while in service will make sense on some routes.
  - nicoburns 3y ago