Establishing a Testing Standard for Truck Tire Sounds

As highway development programs brought increased truck traffic through formerly isolated communities, public sensitivity to truck tire noise increased significantly. Industry was alert to the possible consequences of social and legal pressures and acted in concert to set up standards for noise control and for establishing criteria by which to measure annoyance levels. Work by several leading associations provided a starting point for investigations by the SAE Truck Tire Noise Subcommittee. The Subcommittee's efforts resulted in formulation of a tire testing procedure and a consolidation of requirements to be incorporated into a proposed standard. This paper reviews the objectives and approaches of the Subcommittee and serves as an introduction to the accompanying papers.