Can somebody tell me how quiet the RL really is? With the active noise cancelling.... I havn't been in the RL recently so I am curious. Can anybody compare it to the ls400/ls430? I know they are virtually silent...

 

The stock RL is not as quiet as the LS 430 BUT a big part of that is the road noise from the crappy stock tires. My 18 inch tires are in transit so I cannot yet comment of the improvement but I am expecting a huge improvement in ride quality and noise level since the only noise I hear in my RL is road noise from the tires. The LS handles like a boat in comparison to the RL since the LS has no sporty intentions whatsoever. Several others in this forum have switched tires and can give a better review of the RL's noise level than I can. Regarding the Active Noise Cancellation, if you play with your finger over the microphone, you can hear a huge difference, mostly in exhaust noise. The RL changes the exhaust geometry at higher revs and so the engine is nearly silent at lower revs and has a beautiful note at higher revs (without being loud and harsh thanks to the AND). I would caution you that comparing the interior noise levels that you read about in the magazine comparo's is misleading since the noise meters will pick up the complementary sound waves generated by the ANC and give a higher reading. That is, it will record sound that you don't hear giving the impression that the RL is noisier than it really is.

 

To put it simply, it's quiet enough. It's not completely isolated like a Lexus, but it's not loud either.

 

Ahh cool. Thanks guys, so would you say it is quieter than the TL?

 

The RL isn't close to the LS430. My parents have a loaded LS430 and I have an RL so I can do a great comparo.

The RL isn't loud or anything but don't expect the car to be as quiet as the LS or even the ES. I mean at slow speeds they aren't that far off but when you get to speeds above 120km/h that is where you see the craziness of how quiet the LS is. In the LS the car is almost as silent as at 50km but in the RL noise really starts to pick up compared to slower speeds.

As for the ANC feature, it is basically just there to cut down on actual sound deadening materials...Acura even says this. I guess in one way it is a good idea since it saves weight and perhaps a bit in cost but I wish I had good sound deadening materials AND the ANC...the car then would probably be the quietest on the road. I'd have gladly given up a bit in performance to have that.

 

Thanks for the compo. I am wondering if it is possible to put in the sound deadening materials after the car is built...?

 

Sure you could.
The sound deadining material (SDM) is readily available. It would be just a pita to install the stuff.

A few years back some 94 through 98 Impala SS owners installed SDM in their cars, and compared notes. Best bang for the buck was SDM installed in the doors, console tunnel, rear wheel well areas under & behind the rear seat, & also the floor pans under the carpet. Thats alot of interior parts removal!

Steve C.

 

Get a quiet set of tires on your RL and you won't need to add any SDM. The car is plenty smooth and quiet without going to those lengths.

 

I can only comment from test drives; but the RL is NOT as quiet as I had hoped it would be and from my test I could not see where the "active noise cancelling" was any benefit at all. We drove the RL over the same streets with the "active noise cancelling" on and with it turned off and could not tell any difference whatsoever.

 

It can be turned off?

 

It is my understanding that the "active noise cancellation" system works thru the radio and the radio must therefore be on. To have "active noise cancellation" w/o the sound system I was told to simply turn the volume down all the way.

The way it was explained to me was to always leave the radio on, but to turn the volume down to have "active noise cancellation" and not listen to the sound system.

 

According to a review I read the ANC is on even when the radio is off....

 

You were misinformed - ANC cannot be turned off!

 

How would you know if your ANC stopped working?

Or, put another way, how do you know it is working?
Steve c.

 

The ANC, Active Noise Cancellation is active whenever the engine is running, radio on or radio off. You can limit its operation somewhat by placing your figure over the microphone opening in the center of the overhead console. (This is as close as you'll get to an "on and off" switch without tinkering with the car's electronics.)

While at least one contributor to this thread has said that sound meters will "pick up" the ANC sound waves and give the RL a higher reading, the Acura did pretty well in recent comparisons nevertheless. Road & Track test figures for the newest models of each sedan:

Road & Track Tests For Acura RL Lexus GS430 M45 Sport

At Idle In Neutral 40 dBA - 43 dBA - 48 dBA
Maximum 1st Gear 69 dBA - 69 dBA - 73 dBA
Constant 70 mph 69 dBA - 70 dBA - 69 dBA

If the common adage that 3 decibels doubles the sound level were to hold true in these tests (and I do NOT know that it does, so no flames please), the Lexus would appear to be twice as noisy at idle, and the M45 far worse. At the very least, the biggest aubile difference in these cars appears to be at idle, and in the M's case, also at maximum 1st gear.

 

wow. I must have missed that R&T. Thanks for the info. What issue was that?

 

All this - I was just curious. I am not going to install the SDM - I do not want to rip apart the car anymore than I am required to - I do not want to induce rattles. I have been in the TSX, FX35 and TL the last two years (damn bad luck) - so I am sure it will be quiet enough. My main reason is my dad loves his ls400 because it is so quiet... I wanted to find something affordable that competes with it.

 

The RL is extremely quiet. It was as quiet, if not more so, than my '03 GS and it is definitely quieter than my '06 M45 Sport (primarily because of the high performance rubber). I noticed the difference immediately when I dropped off the RL and took delivery of the M.

 

That's why I like to research forums for additional information prior to purchasing; if what you say is true then one area dealerships Sales Manager needs to bone up on some RL info.

But it does make sense to me that the system works thru the radio, so I guess when you power off the radio there is still power to the speakers???

 

I believe the purpose of the ANC was to allow Acura to open up the exhaust a bit while maintaining a quiet cabin (that's how they got 300 hp out of a NA V6). It seems to be specifically tuned for this purpose since it seems to be less effective on tire noise (there I go again bitching about the RL's crappy stock tires). The other test you can do to test the effectiveness of the ANC is to open the driver's window all the way an listen to the grumbly exhaust note. When you close the window the exhaust rumble is gone (until you get the revs up and you hear a most beautiful tuned exhaust growl).
As far as how knowledgable the average Acura sales person is, I was told unequivocally in the fall of 2004 that the 2005 RL was going to be a hybrid. I believe this particular gentleman has returned to selling sofas.

 

lol. Thanks for the info guys. Somebody above suggested changing the tires, I already spoke to belle tire and they said I can trade in the new tires of the RL (when I buy it) for $140/tire. After all is said and done I can ugprade to the mich. pilot sport all season for $320 with the tradein. It seems like a good deal to me, I think I should go for it.

 

Good choice. All reports indicate that the RL is a totally different car when shod with the right tires.

 

That wont help with non road/tire nosie.

 

You'd know since the car would be hella loud inside and would have some vibration and other things. Really, the ANC is used instead of using a good amount of sound deadening materials...it even says so in the RL brochure.

I will give the RL for being quite quiet at idle...at least after the engine warms up. When I first turn the car on it is loud with some vibration inside but that goes away after a minute of the engine running.

I guess another thing with the LS compared to the RL is the LS is more aerodynamic so that comes into play at higher speeds. But again, all told the RL is a fair amount louder than the LS overall. The RL is decent but it ain't LS430 quiet

 

To vikrampatel, in answer to your question about which Road & Track I took the info about sound levels from:

RL info comes from the January 2005 Road & Track-

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....&page_number=1

(Scrowl down to the link on the page to "Download Data Panel".)

The info for the Lexus and M45 comes from the June 2005 Road & Track-

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....&page_number=1

(Again, select "Download Data Panel".)

 

thanks. i will read them in a few minutes.