Good vibrations

Instead of excising all noise, vibration, and harshness, engineers are focusing more on making specific sounds and feedback “fit” a vehicle.

The science of automotive NVH was once all about creating a zone of near-silence in the passenger cabin of a car. There were exceptions to this: tight budget programs for small cars meant simply making the interior tolerable, and high-performance sports cars were given noisy exhaust and induction systems. But times have changed; now, NVH is a highly subtle business whatever the car type-and end-user expectations have risen to demand not just a quiet environment, but subtle gradations of sound.

“As specialist consultants, we may be presented with a list of adjectives by an OEM and asked to meet their requirements,” said Gareth Strong, Manager, NVH, at Ricardo. “These may include ‘quality sound,’ ‘sportiness,’ or, as we recently experienced, ‘aluminumness.’”