Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Surprisingly, she still likes chatting with me

Hello! A recent post by Axool (a Caterham fan now on his first Morgan) in the CX forum raised the question of wind noise and how to deal with it, and I felt this deserved its own thread. At speeds above about 80 km/h in our +4 normal conversation becomes almost impossible. This is particularly off-putting for my wife and daughters, all of whom (surprisingly) enjoy a good chin-wag whilst galavanting about with dad in his folly. This led me to wonder what solutions others have come up with. Earplugs obviously don't help solve this. I've tried noise-cancelling airpods and phone calls, though it's a bit odd to be calling the person sitting 10 inches away from you, and there is a bit of a time-lag which is irritating. I have thought about those motorcycle intercom systems, and I wonder if anyone has tried these or other solutions?

We just enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of driving a Morgan plenty of other times to talk.

I would try and track down the source of the noise and eliminate that as much as possible first. Putting sound absorbing material around the cockpit will help isolate the cabin from mechanical and exhaust noise would be a good starting point. Under the carpets, engine side walls, rear deck and side panels and doors.........as the cars has little insulation material and if you select the right material you can also isolate/reduce engine heat sink into the cabin in summer. Then I would address all the areas where the hood /door seals are less than perfect and allow draughts and wind/traffic noise to enter the cabin, may need some neoprene or various size D section rubber seals to reduce that source of noise.

Unfortunately there's not a lot you can do to stop the wind noise when the hood is down at speed. I would try and isolate as much as possible extraneous noise where possible, as shouting or gesticulating is no fun on long journey and not good for your long term hearing.Good motorcycle intercoms do have background noise cancelling features and speed/noise related automated volume control.

Whilst it's,not explicitly illegal to wear headphones or ear defenders while driving in the UK, but it's highly inadvisable and maybe dangerous, as it can lead to charges of careless driving if you miss road sounds like horns or sirens, resulting in fines (around £100+), penalty points, or even a ban if an accident occurs, because you must concentrate and avoid distractions according to Highway Code Rule 148

I met a couple Morganeers (with a PlusFour LeMans 62) from Belgium who used Eartec Ultralite when traveling over motorways. She sufferd from light hearing loss and it drew my attention, because I suffer from some hearing loss left sided too! They let me try it, and it was really perfect. So, I haven't yet bought it, but it's a relief thatt there are such systems which can help you. One ear stays free, no wind noise, and you can just swivel it up, then off, or down, than on. Perfectly legal too. It's used in the scene of building podia, so one can communicate with each other, up to I thought 5 sets and over several hundreds of meters or more. So you can even use it, while driving in convoy.

Website: https://eartec.com/product/ultralite-hd-wireless-headsets/

I have driven my +8 on side pipes for over 35 years and doesn't have a hood or sidescreens. I have a set of earplugs. Musician ones. Ear canal scanned and they were 3D printed, option of db cancelling inserts

Well I turn my hearing aids up to take full advantage of my Librands dual Sports exhaust, mind Heather does say don't speak so loud when I get back after a run out.

21 years of it now.

I have one of those odd hard top things, an Aero Coupe, with dual drainpipe sized sidepipes on each side.
Keep trying to fold the hood back but can't find the clips?

I OPEN the windows when I go for a drive.

It’s an alluring animal of a thing - reminder to self must renew peanut butter tomorrow 😎

Thank you John good point, I'll look into the rules here in Sweden

Many thanks Ruut this is just the kind of solutions I was thinking of, I'll have a look at the Eartecs.