Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 23:27:38 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Foss - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Foss - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Wind noise?
In-Reply-To: <91c8f9760805262123i43a057d1h4f8b1870ca77a269@mail.gmail.com>
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Well, what kind of wind noise ?
and at what speed ?
The reason i ask is i had one vanagon that had a bad whistle at 60 mph
or so.
On the passenger's front door.
Lower the driver's window two inches - noise went away.
( saw this on another vanagon recently too )
On the first one, i knew it was associated with the pass' door or windows.
no amount of testing or covering over temporarily with tape would reveal
where the 'bad spot' was.
Finally..........
it was a 91 Syncro Westy with Subaru 230 hp SVX engine that i put in
- so a very high end Vanagon ........
I ordered new front door seals from the dealer,
and had the dealer 's body shop install them, they did a perfect job too.
After that..........
no whistle............just normal Yangon wind noise.
In upgrading Vanagons ...............in the engine power department -
like rippin' Subaru engines., and upgrading the suspension and brakes to
match............
one thing you will never get in a vanagon is flush side windows and
aerodynamics.
They have flush enough windshields, but............
i finally figured this out .........they really were designed as 55 to
60, or 65 max all out vehicles.
'sporty almost trucks' I call them.
A fantastic combo btw- good ground clearance, can carry all kinds of
junk, or sleep in it, cook in it.........tough suspension etc.
but ............above 60 ............
what you will never get in a vanagon that modern cars have :
Aerodynamics and the low wind resistance you get at speed with that, and
the quietness moving through the air at speed that is available with a
well designed modern car ( outside rear view mirrors are often a source
of noise at speed in a modern car - or so i read )
# 2 ............Air bags and very modern crash-worthiness.
# 3 .........ABS brakes.
it's a 60 to 65 mph max vehicle and there's no way around that. Sure
they'll crusie 70- y75 if you have the power and gearing.
That SVX syncro - it would go 80.............anywhere, uphill even, in
3rd or 4th. Tons of power everywhere - what I call "Authority."
Very rewarding to drive !
And fuel burn is too high pushing a box through the air at 70 and above
anyway.
but .........perhaps be more specific with your question.......
and have you driven other vanagons to compare with yours ?
oh, very important...............YEP - Westy.
they are noisier than passenger vanagons, noticeably so.
General noise though, not wind noise that i've noticed.
scott
> I'm wondering, what reasonable steps can be taken to reduce "wind" noise?
> Even at 55-60mph, our westy is pretty loud.
> Thanks very much for any tips!
> -Wes
> '83 1.9l westy
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