XC panelvan

This old bird rolled into work the other week.
I had a chat to the owner... Mild 302 with a B series XR interior. You just don't see these old girls on the road anymore, a shame really...

Wow, thats lovely!

Yeah mate, had me pretty excited when I heard it 'rumble' in!

Iv always wanted to know... Say theres a van and a ute of the same make and model, same running gear and exhaust... which is louder? Would it be the van because the soundwaves have all that extra metal and space to vibrate? Or the ute because its a ute?

How long is a piece of string?

They both have the same chassis! The "sound waves" aren't going to penetrate the chassis. I say the car with the leadfoot wins!

I see where you're coming from Slowly. You're thinking that the extra metal in the van, or the big empty space in the back might set up some sort of resonance (with maybe the back acting like a boom box or guitar body) and cause the sound to be amplified?

I suppose theoretically it could at specific frequencies (revs) which is one of the reasons exhaust systems are rubber mounted - to prevent vibration from the exhaust being transmitted through to the chassis & body.
Road noise is worse in a van because of the big empty space in the back. That's why they put mattresses in the back - to damp down the road noise. The springs and stuffing construction acts as a dampener and absorbs the rumble. No other reason at all. Honest...

Denis' van.

Geez fred , i thought that the mattress was put in there for other reasons ?

zenrat wrote: That's why they put mattresses in the back - to damp down the road noise. The springs and stuffing construction acts as a dampener and absorbs the rumble. No other reason at all. Honest...

Bingo, your on the money my friend although most are generally foam not inner spring.......the springs would squeak on bumpy roads.

exactly why I had a foam mattress in my van Chuckmate.........

Me too Dave the mattress in the WB is there for sound deadening purposes the curtains keep the moaning noises I mean droaning noises in the rear section.....
The mirrored ceiling in Checkmate.........well that's to check the mattress isolations on spirited drives.......

I all honesty to answer the question of what's louder out of a van or a ute? As far as how loud they are outside I cant comment but from a drivers point of view a van is louder. I've had ute's, tunner's and several vans and the vans are louder. An empty van is very droany and boring too. You'd be amazed how much a 3 inch foam double mattress and some lining makes. My WB has a nice V8 grumble inside it but my wife reckons it's loud as outside and when I start it, it rattles the windows in the house and wakes the neighbours.
It also depends on where you exhaust exits.