Events Calendar
In This Section
Stocks zigzag after rally as the dollar rises
Job openings remain close to record-lows
Fed officials warn weak recovery won't spur jobs
Work force evolves, falters since 1982
Web sites offer help in finding scholarships
Refinance before low rates rise again
Microsoft to upgrade portal to boost Bing
Most Read Stories
Suitcase causes bomb scare at Akron bus terminal
Akron City Council OKs higher speed on I-77
Chapel Hill isn't rolling right along
Motorcyclist killed, wife injured in Stark County crash
New eateries expand menu of options
Man says he was punched, robbed by 3 people in parking lot
Patrick McManamon: Here's what the Browns should try the rest of the season
Louisville athlete commits to play for Boston College
Family found dead in Ohio home
Blogs:
Pets:
It Takes All Kinds
The Heldenfiles:
Tuesday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
An interesting thought from a reader
Akron Zips:
Akron vs. Mount Union — Liveblog
Tribe Matters:
Indians announce spring dates
Cleveland Browns:
Mangini doesn't name a quarterback
Kent State Sports:
Flashes interested in another Cincinnati player
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Shaq: It’s All About Winning Championships
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes Roll 100-60 / Season Outlook
Varsity Letters:
Report: Walsh baseball player commits
All Da King's Men:
More On The Fort Hood Jihadist
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Simply Incapable of Telling The Truth
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (63) Commonwealth Fund Report on Primary Care
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Clock Tender- Extending the Life of Collector Car Clocks
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Rumors: Akron Starbucks Closing
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
Aeromsith looking for new singer as Steven Tyler contemplates solo career
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
Video: 'Modern Warfare 2' hits the streets
Car buyers equate quiet ride with better quality. Clattering also hurts gas mileage, automakers say
By Tom Krisher
Associated Press
Published on Monday, Jun 30, 2008
ALLEN PARK, MICH.: As an 80 mph wind blew over a pre-production model of the Ford Flex, Steve Dworack heard a buzz.
A small buzz, but a buzz nonetheless, something that could turn off customers who test-drive the boxy new crossover vehicle.
So even though it was just two months before the factory was to start cranking out Flexes by the thousands, Dworack, the vehicle's wind noise engineer, tracked the buzz to a vertical trim piece between the windshield and the pillar that holds up the roof.
The part was replaced with a stiffer one, well worth the $10,000 cost because Ford Motor Co. and other automakers know that buyers equate quiet to quality.
''We basically do whatever it takes to find a solution,'' Dworack said during a recent wind tunnel test at a facility that Ford leases in Allen Park, near Detroit.
As automakers work to improve quality, engineers are spending thousands of hours inside wind tunnels, using computers, microphones and their ears to rid vehicles of as much clatter as possible. Wind noise is the No. 1 consumer complaint in the closely watched J.D. Power and Associates initial quality survey.
''They really are obsessive about it, and rightly so, because consumers complain about it,'' said Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive research for J.D. Power. ''No one can afford to get left behind. If you get a reputation for having very noisy cars, then the natural consequence is people stop buying.''
Sometimes the work is painstaking, with engineers placing yards of tape over gaps and pulling it off to find the source of noise.
Much of the early work starts with aerodynamic designs on computers as engineers look to minimize wind drag that can cut into gas mileage. Then they hone the design on clay models and do the final touch-ups on hand-built prototypes.
Ridding a car or truck of wind noise can also help its fuel economy. With $4 per gallon gasoline, automakers are looking for every advantage they can get.
''Anytime you have something generating a noise, what you've got is energy being consumed. And energy consumed is fuel consumption,'' said Mark Gleason, Chrysler LLC's supervisor of aerodynamics.
Chrysler engineers spent months testing the new Dodge Ram pickup coming this fall, making it sleeker and helping to boost fuel economy over the old model. Mileage numbers have not been released.
At Honda Motor Co., engineers spent hours perfecting the redesigned 2008 Accord's side-view mirrors to keep them quiet, yet retain their ability to fold if they hit something. Other automakers have abandoned folding mirrors, but Honda customers have demanded them, said Clement D'Souza, the car's associate chief engineer in Marysville, Ohio.
Honda has used wind tunnel tests over the years to focus on gaps between moving mechanisms such as mirrors and doors. The testing has helped it reduce wind noise complaints in the J.D. Power study from around 12 problems per 100 vehicles on the 1998 Accord to one or two in the newest model, D'Souza said.
Ford's designers and engineers have worked to tighten the seams between 220 pieces of sheet metal that come together on the Flex. They also have moved the seam between the door and body from the front, where it is on the Expedition sport utility vehicle, to the side on the Flex. The door is slightly inset from the roof and body, so wind flows over the door, making it more aerodynamic and quiet, said John Wheeler, the Flex's body construction engineer.
The side seam is becoming standard on many Ford models including the Edge crossover and the new Focus.
''We do know it makes the vehicle quieter and more robust to manufacturing variations,'' he said.
The company, like other manufacturers, spent extra money for a sound-deadening Flex windshield that has plastic between layers of glass.
Wind noise is likely a problem with the basic design, and it can't be fixed later on, Sargent said.
ALLEN PARK, MICH.: As an 80 mph wind blew over a pre-production model of the Ford Flex, Steve Dworack heard a buzz.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
