Light Vehicle Noise — Origins, Characteristics, and Standard Test Procedures

New test procedures for the control of light vehicle noise have been under discussion recently in Europe and America as there is some dissatisfaction with the established procedures. This paper sets out the origins and characteristics of light vehicle noise and reviews the data available on light vehicle operation. It is then shown how the two opposing philosophies of a maximum noise test and of a test representing average operating conditions develop from this background.

An appendix gives details of many test procedures that have been used or proposed for light vehicle noise since the original German and proposed United Kingdom legislation of 1935. Six of these procedures have been chosen for detailed evaluation, three maximum noise and three representative driving tests. Data from these tests are used to illustrate the practical as opposed to the theoretical effects of the two philosophies.

The paper reports the United Kingdom Government's policy on this subject and concludes that there are practical noise control disadvantages in a change to a test more representative of typical driving.