[Hawg]

Took the dog for a ride and had the back windows open, dang strange wind noise felt like a drum in my head and a wooble wooble type sound the whole time windows were open, anyone else notice this and if so would the stock window deflectors cure this? Thanks

 

[GeoSoul]

It's normal. The wind harmonics of small SUV's. You can usually crack the back windows about an inch or so, but much more, or full down, you'll get the wooble wooble you mention.

I can go faster with the front windows down.

 

[conwelpic]

normal, read page 4/25 in your owners manual.

slightly open another window or two to see if it changes the sound. It will also vary with the speed your travelling.

 

[Hawg]

Appreciate the answers, will look into manual. Still, would the stock wind deflectors help? Like to have them windows down sometimes.

 

[conwelpic]

Appreciate the answers, will look into manual. Still, would the stock wind deflectors help? Like to have them windows down sometimes.

it depends on how much you want to open the window. I have the side window deflectors on my 2016 Soul SX. You can open them a couple of inches without the much effect on the noise you was referring too. I got them mainly for parking my car outside in warmer weather and having the window(s) open a bit to let out any built-up heat and not have to be concerned if I got a rain shower in the mean time. Also any time I park for a long period of time anyplace in the summer I generally always open the windows an inch or so, again to help with dissipating some of the heat build-up.

Otherwise if I have the windows open wide when driving it's usually only in town driving and as soon as I get out on the highway I close them and put the a/c or heater on as required. Besides the noise, it's not very economical to drive with your windows wide open at highway speeds.

Many decades ago when vehicles were built with no consideration with air flow over and around the vehicle, you didn't have that same noise problem and also at that time a/c was a costly extra or not even available on specific models. I had a '86 Oldsmobile and don't remember having the same problem with window noise with the windows wide open, but sure notice that it got effected very easily with side winds as compared to a new vehicle I bought next ('08 Rondo EX - my first Kia) which was taller by 10" and shorter than the Olds - logically you would have thought the opposite.

 

[GeoSoul]

I agree with conwel, the design & air tightness of modern vehicles exacerbate the problem. You can't buy your way out of it either. The pricey Range Rover Evoque, which to me looks like they borrowed a little of the Souls soul in design, also suffers from the wooble wub wubs.

 

[Hawg]

Thanks fellas, y'all give good insight, perhaps I'll just strap the dog to the roof when I take her down to the lake to romp around, least it'll keep her loose fur on the outside of my ride. :smile:

 

[GeekOnTheHill]

it depends on how much you want to open the window. I have the side window deflectors on my 2016 Soul SX. You can open them a couple of inches without the much effect on the noise you was referring too. I got them mainly for parking my car outside in warmer weather and having the window(s) open a bit to let out any built-up heat and not have to be concerned if I got a rain shower in the mean time. Also any time I park for a long period of time anyplace in the summer I generally always open the windows an inch or so, again to help with dissipating some of the heat build-up.

Otherwise if I have the windows open wide when driving it's usually only in town driving and as soon as I get out on the highway I close them and put the a/c or heater on as required. Besides the noise, it's not very economical to drive with your windows wide open at highway speeds.

Many decades ago when vehicles were built with no consideration with air flow over and around the vehicle, you didn't have that same noise problem and also at that time a/c was a costly extra or not even available on specific models. I had a '86 Oldsmobile and don't remember having the same problem with window noise with the windows wide open, but sure notice that it got effected very easily with side winds as compared to a new vehicle I bought next ('08 Rondo EX - my first Kia) which was taller by 10" and shorter than the Olds - logically you would have thought the opposite.

I think today's vehicles are designed with the assumption that you'll never have the windows open while the car is moving. I think they believe that you'll either have the A/C or the heat on.

That can be annoying to people like me who rarely use the A/C. It just doesn't get hot enough to need it very often where I live, not only because of the temperature itself but because of the lack of traffic, which means you can move around at highway speed most of the time. But the aerodynamics and the tight seal of the car make it tricky to open the windows without the car sounding like it's going to fall apart.

Oh well. I guess you take the bad with the good. I average about 35 MPG in my Soul. That was unheard of when I was a young man.

 

[GeoSoul]

I know what you mean Richard. When I was a kid, air conditioning in my parents Rambler station wagon consisted of rolling down all the windows.

When we needed Max A/C (or the dog was gassy), mom told us to stick our heads out the window

 

[conwelpic]

I never had a/c in any vehicle I've owned (started in 1963) till I inherited my Dad's '86 Olds from my Mum (she could no longer drive) in 2003.

 

[sube]

Some of the cars I owned when I was younger had real flow through ventilation, when you opened the rear windows you got flow through ventilation VIA the holes in the floor.:biggrin-new:

Pat.

 

[GeekOnTheHill]

I'm pretty sure my 1979 Plymouth Horizon had air-conditioning, but I could be wrong. My 1969 AMC Rebel may also have had it. The first car I had that I know for sure had it was a late-80's GMC S-15 pickup, and it was a company vehicle. All the cars I've owned, leased, or been assigned by a company since then also had it.

I still rarely use it. When I think about it I turn it on for a while, more because it needs to run once in a while than because I need it. On those few times when I did need it, I wouldn't rank it among the Soul's best features. You could hang meat in some cars I've owned with the A/C on. The Soul's A/C takes the edge off, but doesn't approach the older cars' ability to serve as a backup freezer. I suppose there's some reason involving environmental regulations for that.

 

[GeoSoul]

That was the good old days when the used real FREON in A/C.

Don't they use tofu or soy coolant these days

 

[FLHamster]

At certain speeds, opening the rear window can cause that Wub, Wub, Wub buffeting sound to the extreme!!!
This is not the first car I've owned that did the same thing. So I did a lot of experimenting before I finally found the one thing that works for me.

I lower the passenger side rear window about four (4) inches, then I lower the driver's side front window about 4 inches and I get some nice Flow-Through ventilation without the buffeting sound, and I save 3 mpg by NOT having the AC on.

I already know, that the gas savings by not using the AC, is different on cars with different sized engines, but on my little 1.6L it comes out to 3 mpg savings by leaving the AC OFF.

Cheers Mates!

 

[zerogee]

The Soul is my first car with functioning air conditioning. It was never a priority for me. The AC pretty much only gets used in city traffic and on road trips on the highway on the hot days. I enjoy driving with the wind in my hair at other times. I roll down the drivers window completely and the rear passenger window a crack until the wub... wub... disappears. I find cracking the opposite window provides a more pleasant air flow around my head. :cool-new:

Overall, my combined average gas mileage operating this way sits at about the cars rated highway mileage. Pretty satisfied with that. :smile:

 

[FLHamster]

With all due respect....you can't distinguish between AC ON and AC OFF by looking at any 'Averaging' readout. You have to be able to watch your MPG in real time, from one second to the next. I have that instrument, called a "Scan Gauge II" which shows me, In Real Time, exactly what my MPG is.



So when I turn the AC ON or OFF I can see the MPG change. I've actually done this many times with the same result. So when I say my AC drops my MPG by 3 mpg, that's EXACTLY what I'm seeing on the Gauge. No guesswork involved. Without the very good instrumentation, it would be impossible for me to tell that the MPG is dropping when I use the AC.

So, I do like to drive with some windows open at least partially, whenever possible.

Thank Y'all for bearing with me.

Happy Motoring!