Hmm.  One of the first things that my son and I noticed when we bought Dixie
in Eastern Washington and began the trip home was how much noisier she was
than the '84 GL we'd been driving for 15 years.  The tires were noisier but
it was mostly extra wind noise from the worn out window seals and the
windshield header and luggage rack areas.

After doing some damping work over the last couple of years I recently made
a quick plywood luggage rack cover and that has REALLY dropped the wind
noise.  The luggage rack, in conjunction with a pair of the late-style
aerodynamic mirrors has made a dramatic difference in wind noise and gas
mileage too.  On my usual local usage pattern I'm getting a 1 - 1.6 MPG
increase.  Caution:  that's miles per Imperial Gallon - for US Gallons
please multiply by .8

Its still a worthwhile gas savings and Dixie is now as quiet at 85 mph as
she was at 55 mph five years ago!  ;)

On Wed, Jul 20, 2011 at 7:01 AM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:

> Its kinda hard to say. I thought my old '82 westy with I4 engine was louder
> inside than later westies so I did a lot of sound dampening and insulation
> stuff. But not the pop top roof.
>
> My friend's 91 syncro westy with subie 2.5 is not much different in noise
> level than my 7 pass. syncro partially camperised. What I do notice are
> differences in road and wind noise coming from the front area. He has 15"
> wheels with Nokian wrc (not sure if that is right model designation).  I
> don't really notice any noise from the pop top (apart from occasional
> skylight rattle).
>
> alistair
>
>
>
>
>
> On 2011-07-20, at 4:58 AM, John Rodgers wrote:
>
> > I have no experience with driving Westies and I take it you have. I am
> wondering about the difference in noise levels between the common Vanagons
> and the Westfalias and Westfakia's.  In your experience - can you make
> comment on this?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > John
>

--
Jake

1984 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX - 'The Grey Van'
1986 Westy Weekender/2.5 SOHC Subie - 'Dixie'

Crescent Beach, BC

www.thebassspa.com
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27