Making Vehicles Quieter

How quiet is quiet enough?  The sound inside the cabin of a vehicle is no longer simply an afterthought.  In modern passenger vehicles, the passenger’s perception of sound is a major factor in the purchasing decision as well as a significant attribute in customer satisfaction and retention.

The acoustical signature of a vehicle must be tuned to address the expectations of the customer.  A passenger in a modern luxury car expects near-complete isolation from vehicle and road noise, yet a passenger in a high-performance vehicle may well expect to experience a throaty exhaust noise.  The driver of a popular American motorcycle expects to hear a specific kind of sound; and if he doesn’t, he’s not a happy customer -- so too quiet may be a bad thing.

FEV offers one of the world’s largest non-captive NVH analysis and optimization teams.  Our engineers recognize that, in today’s market, it’s not about eliminating sound and vibration – but rather an exercise in how to best optimize the customer experience from an NVH approach.  In order to engineer the sound for a vehicle or brand, it is necessary to consider NVH from the very beginning of the design process and continuously monitor and optimize it through the start of production (SOP). 

The process of optimizing a vehicle’s NVH at FEV can include a broad range of tasks, including:

• Benchmarking and target setting
• Systematic trouble-shooting
• CAE-based NVH development
• Sound design and acoustic refinement
• Sound quality development to achieve a corporate, or branded, sound.
• Comprehensive process noise optimization
• Complete product development from concept to SOP

A typical development process with a goal to achieve best-in-class noise and vibration characteristics would include NVH involvement in most or all of the following activities:

• Powertrain concept studies
• Powertrain design (engine, transmission, driveline)
• Combustion process optimization
• Vehicle integration
• Vehicle calibration
• Vehicle body, chassis and driveline development
• NVH refinement

Highly qualified FEV engineers use state-of-the-art facilities to provide an unparalleled service to FEV’s customers – these are prerequisites for achieving cost and time-effective development efforts that minimize preproduction troubleshooting and reduce time-to-market.  Our results speak for themselves.

Regardless of your specific industry segment, chances are that FEV has direct experience and all of the capability to assist your company to achieve world-class NVH in the development of its products.

Click on the related services, identified to the right of this text, or select “contact us” to speak with one of FEV’s NVH experts today.