March 19, 2006

By: David Parker
Website: http://www.buying-tires.com

Noise Reducing Wheels — For Silent Riding

Noise reducing wheels are used frequently in vehicles because of the increased demand of quieter and smoother automobiles by consumers. Thanks to advanced engineering capabilities and improvements in materials technologies, what used to be thought of as an uncontrollable source of unwanted sound, is now fair game in the quest to reduce interior noise and sounds. From the front and side windshields, to tire wells and the engine compartment itself, nothing has been left unexplored when it comes to finding new ways to ensure a quieter and sound free driving experience.

The industry is currently exploring noise reducing wheel wells and the body board for additional noise reduction within the passenger compartment. The newly developed wheel, which is nearly soundless, has air chambers that are enclosed in its inner surface and connected to the main tire chamber through air passages. Recently, the Carcoustics Inc. has added an acoustical feature to the wheel-house liner to help reduce the amount of road sounds that enter the passenger compartment. At the wheel well, Carcoustics has added an acoustical feature to the wheelhouse liner and with its help acoustical features that reduce road tire noise, water spray sounds in rainy weather and also reduces sound from stones and other debris coming up. In the words of Dirk Hoffman, CEO of Carcoustics Inc “Wheel tire noise is an issue and we have to combat it”.

One of the top names in noise lessening wheel and tire combination is Bridgestone. In the later part of the year 2004, Bridgestone Corporation announced the development of a new wheel with joint effort by Bridgestone and Asahi Techno Co., Ltd, which reduces tire acoustic cavity noise and sounds in vehicles. The technology is basically the same as other companies in this field, but Bridgestone is unique in many terms. In case of Bridgestone it has developed wheel that has small air compartments on its inner surface to reduce tire acoustic cavity noise. Its air chambers absorb noise in a selected frequency range. Interestingly this wheel is an application of Helmholtz resonance principles to reduce noise in automotive wheels. The air chambers absorb a selected range of sound frequencies caused by air resonance inside the tire and wheel, which results in the reduction of acoustic cavity noise in the vehicle.

Author Notes:

David Parker contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.buying-tires.com.  David Parker is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.buying-tires.com. A top resource for tires, including articles with compari