#ExploreSkoda Podcast: The acoustic landscape shifts with the rise of electric cars
We are dealing with car acoustics and its interior noise and interior vibrations. Welcome to another episode of the ExploreŠkoda Podcast. Today, we’ll talk about acoustics. For this reason, Jaromír Žák, an acoustics expert, will be here. I’m going to ask him some questions. Let’s do it. Here’s my guest, Jaromír Žák. Hi.
-Hi. -Thank you for having time for us. Jaromír, you are an acoustics expert, right? -Yes. -What is the definition of your job? I work in the acoustics department. We’re dealing with car acoustics, vehicle acoustics. It means exterior noise. Everything that goes outside the vehicle. And its interior noise and interior vibrations.
How is acoustics important during the process of making a car? Exterior noise is important because of the health of people living around the streets in the cities. Interior acoustics is important because of the comfort of the driver and other people in the car. Please tell me, because I’m an amateur…
How is the whole process of measuring the sound and the noises of acoustics? Do you have any special tunnels? Do you do it on the roads? How do you do it? We have our test tracks. We have one in Úhelnice. Then, we have acoustic chambers in technical development in Mladá Boleslav.
In the acoustic chambers… We put a car in it, and we deal with interior noise and vibrations. Outside, we’re also dealing with interior noise and vibrations. And also with exterior noise. That’s the noise that is homologated, it has its own legislation. Okay. So… Is it true that you have to be
At the car-making moment from the very start? So the guys from your department see the car prototypes… They are the first ones who see the car, right? Yes, we’re working from the first prototype. Measuring outside and inside. Because if we want to change something with the car,
We need to start with the concepts. How does the process of measuring noises work? How do you do it? Are you sitting in a car and just, “Oh, that’s a bit noisy,” or how does it work? Yeah, we have two views on noise and vibrations. One is subjective.
We sit in a car and say what is disturbing us. The other one is objective, we measure it using microphones. We measure it using accelerometers for vibrations. And sometimes, we also use an acoustic head. It has its own microphones in the ears. With that equipment, we measure what people realistically hear.
So basically, it’s a figurine, you put it in a seat, it looks like a head, and it measures noise. -Yes. -I just wanted to picture it. Earlier today, you told me about something called psychoacoustics. Could you tell me what this is? Yes. That’s a discipline
That deals not with the level of noise and vibrations, but it deals with how I feel it in the car. If something is noisy, it doesn’t mean it disturbs me more. So basically, it’s how different people react to different noises. Yes. What are the important things when measuring acoustics?
What’s involved in it? The road quality? The weather? It’s everything you can hear in the car. It starts with the engine. It can be a combustion engine, an exhaust. In an electric car, it’s the electric power system. It’s roads and aeroacoustics. And the wind that blows around the car.
What are the perfect conditions for measuring acoustics? The perfect weather. Sunny and dry. But we’re dealing with all weather conditions. We want to make sure that the people who purchase our cars have the best car for all conditions. I understand. What role does the road quality play in that?
A crucial one. In the electric cars, the main thing you hear is aeroacoustics, the wind blowing, but also the contact of the tyre and road surface. Also, with exterior noise, in the electric cars, almost all you hear is the contact of the tyre and the road surface.
You can hear it in the cities, especially when you have the blocks on the road and a nice new asphalt, you can hear the difference. That’s right. Jaromír, how about the differences between a combustible car and an electric one? You already said the main difference, it’s the combustion engine.
-Okay. -That’s not here in this car. You don’t have a combustion engine or an exhaust. It’s sometimes easier to measure electric cars. But sometimes, it’s not. In the electric cars, you hear the noises coming from aeroacoustics and tyres more. Once I heard something like…
The electric cars have to make some noise at low speeds so that people can hear them as they are very quiet. Is that true? Yeah, that’s true. This is according to legislation. Because of pedestrians and blind people that can’t see the incoming car.
So that everyone can hear the car, because below 30 km/h, the tyre noise is not emitted by the vehicle. So we have a kind of speaker that makes this noise according to legislation. So people can hear that a car is coming. Okay. That makes sense. If we forget about the engine,
What is the noisiest part of a car? The tyres. They are almost the only source of noise at lower speed. -The tyres. -Okay, I understand. Jaromír, at the start, you said interior and exterior acoustics. -You are responsible for the exterior? -Yes. That means you and your team are keeping the car silent.
Yes, we are trying to. Is there any special way you train your hearing for this job? No, no special way, just the repetitive hearing of the same thing. -So practice makes perfect. -Definitely. For example, when going on a trip with my family, I hear noises, for example incoming cars, first.
And they don’t know why I’m telling them. -Okay, nice. Nice job skill. -Definitely. Okay, how long have you been working for Škoda Auto? -Fourteen years. -Fourteen years? How has the process of measuring changed during these 14 years? There must have been some changes in 14 years, right? Yeah, there were many changes.
Because of the legislation that has changed to be stricter. And also the legislation for electric cars. That’s something new. We have to make sure the car fulfils all the legislation we have. Okay, so your job is challenging all the time. -Always something new, right? -Yes. Sometimes difficult but always new and really nice.
Okay, Jaromír, it was an interesting interview. Thank you very much. Good luck with your job. Hopefully, see you next time. See you. -Thank you. -Bye. That’s all. I hope you heard us well. See you in the next episode. Don’t forget to watch, like, follow. I will be pleased. See you next time.
Vehicle acoustics is becoming an increasingly important topic. What are the key trends in this field? How will car sounds evolve in the foreseeable future? And what makes electric vehicles distinct? These and many more topics were explored in our conversation with Jaromír Žák, Specialist of technical regulations for external noise at Škoda Auto.
