Noise level - 2008 vs 2015 Fit
 

Can someone compare the highway noise level of the 2015 Fit with the noise level of the 2008 Fit?

I have found the 2008 Fit noise tiring on long trips. Is the 2015 any better?

Thanks

Are you referring to just cruising speed on highway? I can get a decibel reading for you if you have a reading from the 08 to compare it to

I would appreciate if you can post your db reading. I am not coming from another Fit, so the comparison is not important for me.
Thanks!

Yes, I am referring to cruising speed. I do not have the means to measure the db.

However, I would appreciate your db reading on the 2015, may be I could find a reference on the net to the db reading of the 2008.

It is difficult to be scientific about it, because it depends a lot on the tires and on the surface of the highway.

I was hoping that someone who had some experience with a Fit of the 2008 generation, would have upgraded to the 2015 and could give his opinion on the difference between the two in similar situations.

I am in Canada and Honda dealers do not have the 2015 yet. I could not even check if the 2015 Fit has sound insulation under the hood and in the spare tire bin. The 2008 has neither.

Did someone check whether there was any insulation material inside the doors?

We had a 2008, and I can attest to the fact 2015 is quieter and has a better ride. Our 2008 was a 5-speed, and our 2015 is the CVT, but I remember telling my wife, after a particularly long drive with the 2008, that I felt as though someone had just beaten me to death. That ride improved dramatically after replacing the tires, but the 2015 improved on both the noise level and ride considerably. Of course, I may just be going deaf now and don't hear as much noise while driving.

There is insulation all over the car, under the trim panels and pretty sure it was in the spare tire area.

Ok, here you go

Under hard acceleration 78-80 db
At 60 mph on cruise control 64 db
with fan on high 79 db
at idle 55 db

These reading taken right by my ear in the car using db app for Iphone.

Here is a link to db comparisons http://www.noisehelp.com/noise-level-chart.html

Thanks, just the information I was looking for. Upgrade, here I come.

I enjoi hearing my car work and by those numbers that doesn't seem so loud. The ones I test drove both seemed really quiet to me (coming from an s2000 though)

Thanks a lot, you are a mine of information. The comparison with home appliances makes it very usable.

lol, don't dig to deep, its a shallow mine :p

Thanks for the info! The chart is also useful. I think you drive a CVT, so the MT may be slightly different.

One more question. Whe you say "hard acceleration", you refer to pushing hard for the test, or pushing when needed from time to time in "normal" traffic. Thanks!

Yes, CVT, I was talking about pushing it hard for the test, basically flooring it. Under normal acceleration it is not a lot more than cruising speed sound.
These were with windows up, blower off and radio off.

If you're comparing dB readings you really need to use the same instrument for each test, unless all the instruments have been calibrated. Smartphone apps are very inaccurate, but can be used for comparison purposes between cars. You really cannot use readings from two different smartphones for comparison.

Remember that an increase of 10dB is a tenfold increase in sound energy so 3dB is roughly a doubling of sound energy. Our ears do not perceive sound in a linear fashion so the decibel scale represents the way we actually hear sound.

Thanks a lot!

FWIW Car and Driver tested sound levels in each of the 3 generations of Fits
Here is what they came up with:

idle
2007 40 db
2009 36 db
2015 37 db

Full throttle
2007 75 db
2009 76 db
2015 78 db

70 MPH cruise
2007 73 db
2009 71 db
2015 69 db

As George pointed out, unless you are using the same instrument calibrated the same way, these numbers are not that accurate in absolute terms. But I do find it interesting that the new Fit is notably the loudest at full throttle. While shown as the quietest at 70 MPH cruising.

I can attest that my 2009 Fit was near silent at idle and while I never was bothered by it being too load while driving down the road, my new Mercedes GLK350 has me appreciating just how pleasant a quiet ride is, and just how nice the stereo sounds when it need not complete with road noise. But interestingly, the C&D test of the GLK350 measured sound levels of 44 at idle, 77 at full throttle and 69 at 70 MPH cruise. In most cases these reading are louder than they measured for the 2009 Fit, but I can confirm that my Mercedes is night and day quieter than my Fit was, except at idle, where the Fit really was silent.

Also note that all of these C&D tests were with manual transmission cars. So that would be at approximately 3400 rpm at 70 MPH

This video that I pulled from YouTube, shows the car running (approx. from 3:30 mins). This is from a Honda Dealer, so do not expect to be objective. However, you can hear the car riding while the guy is speaking. You can set the volume to a setting that match a reasonable human voice level, and check the road noise, engine noise, etc. The guy gives information about the speed, etc.

He also opened the sunroof while driving (at 8:30 mins, approx), so you can hear how loud is it when open.