Soft Top Noise Levels

[AndyA]

I'm not that concerned about the soft top noise level. If I want a quiet ride I will use one of my other vehicles, but as I was switching tops I thought it would be interesting to compare.

Old top: Smittybilt circa 2018

New top: Sierra Offroad 2003-2006 TJ Wrangler Soft Top with Tinted Windows, Black Trilogy Acoustic Vinyl 10-40-TJ19702-35

Sierra Offroad market this top with:

TRILOGY Acoustic Vinyl is a 45oz heavy weight two ply composite. Sounds impressive but what this really means for you is REDUCED NOISE In comparative tests, TRILOGY Acoustic Vinyl was shown to reduce interior noise by over 20% compared to Sailcloth.

OK well let's see.

The test: same time of day, same route, same driving style, same max speed, same weather, same vehicle, same smartphone location, same smartphone app

I averaged two drives per top. The results:

Smittybilt: 63 dBa LAeq, 80 dBa max

Sierra: 62.5 dBa LAeq, 80 dBa max

My conclusion: there is little to no benefit of the 45oz material and the Trilogy Acoustic Vinyl.

Andy

Test conditions: city rush hour driving, stop-and-go, max speed 50MPH, light to no wind, no rain, all windows on, smart phone on shelf on top of console, phone mic pointing to driver's side

 

[CharlesHS]

My brother drives a 2011 JK and I drive a 2001 TJ.
Several months ago he purchased a Master Top (?) to replace the Quadratec Twill soft top.
He has been complaining that the new one is very noisy, doesn’t fit well and flaps a lot on the highway.
The Quadratec soft top was MUCH quiter and fit MUCH better.

When I purchased the 01 TJ the Jeep has a severely weathered Smittybuilt soft top that was faded, leaked badly and fit poorly.
The soft top was noisy due to the thin material and poor fit. Replaced the Smittybuilt with a Best top (before tramp stamp) Sail cloth soft top. The fit was GREAT, the material was a much better quality and noticeably quieter on the highway than the Smittybuilt.

 

[801 Driver]

Ha, Sorry, can't hear you, I am in my Jeep. Will call you back later, will be on my ham radio later, and even sometimes even works with my GF in the passenger seat. ha

Thanks for posting the comparison numbers. Pretty sure my 98 TJ has the original soft top. I will need to replace pretty soon, but it was garaged all its life and had 61K miles when I purchased5 yrs ago. It only recently had new door uppers because of window zipper problems. It us usable for me for conversations below 50-55mph, but useless above that. Being an old motor cycle rider, I can live with that. I have noticed the top is much quieter with the door uppers off at lower speeds.

Hey, its a Jeep I bought for my DD grocery getter, not to take a trip like in my Suburban. Enjoy the parts you can, don't fret over the rest.