How Does Buick’s QuietTuning Technology Work?
2018 Buick Regal Sportback
March 26th is known as Solitude Day. It’s a great opportunity to explore exactly how Buick’s acclaimed QuietTuning technology works. Whether you’re an avid Buick fan or even remotely interested in finding out how certain auto systems function, QuietTuning is a useful high-tech capability to know about.
As Lesley Weiss, Buick Noise & Vibration engineer, expressed, the brand’s goal for this technology is three-fold: to reduce the noise at the source, block the noise from getting into the vehicle, and to absorb the noise that does get in. “We’ve taken the library quiet theme and tried to incorporate that into the daily use of the vehicle,” he said.
Exactly how does QuietTuning accomplish this ambition though? For starters, the brand incorporates sound dampening materials into its products. For instance, it uses acoustic insulation material on the steel dash panel, under the hood, in the headliner and in the doors. It also employs triple sealed doors as well as dual-density carpet on the floor of the vehicle. Add on acoustic laminated side glass and a windshield, for even more solitude-enhancing quality.
Buick also uses quiet-tuned tires, hydraulic suspension bushings and an isolated engine cradle to reduce vibrations. The underbody paneling was specifically designed to lower wind and road surface noise. High-strength steel further minimizes rattling and creaking noises when the vehicle treks down the road.
Some Buick models take this road noise muting technology one step further by integrating Bose Active Noise Cancellation. microphones in the vehicle’s ceiling detect noises. The system then sends the sound waves to a computer to analyze. The computer then transmits counteracting sound waves, which the technology projects through the subwoofer and speakers, to cancel out the sound.
A brief video from Courtesy Buick GMC demonstrates the result of QuietTuning technology, when it comes to blocking out unwanted exterior noise like lawn mowers.
The brand’s goal is to provide an enhanced, refreshing passenger experience for its customers, as Dean Perelli, chief engineer for the Buick Enclave, related. “The ability to easily carry a conversation with passengers in all three rows is essential to [customers’] daily driving experience. The enhanced QuietTuning and active noise cancellation [technology will…] allow them to do just that.”
Available on models such as the Buick Regal Sportback and the Enclave, check out this exciting contemporary innovation for yourself when you stop by your local Buick dealership.
News Sources: Autobytel, Buick Pressroom, Checkiday
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