\u201cBased on customer feedback, a major effort was made to lower NVH. The increase in body stiffness of the new platform itself certainly helped, but a lot more was done. A rigorous study of body sealing led to two-thirds reduction in air leakage paths throughout the body, noted Pafumi. The door openings were fitted with triple sealing, which compared with double-sealing further reduces the turbulence from air blowing in and exciting the volume of air between doors and body, he added.<\/p>\n
In addition, 22 custom-design structural foam inserts are clipped on, inside the pillars, and when the body is baked in the paint shop the foam expands to fill. This is more efficient than foam injection, Pafumi told AEI.<\/strong><\/p>\n Tire noise, he said, is a major issue, and it\u2019s both air and structural borne. Improved sealing of the wheelhouse openings helped, but engineered upgrades to stiffen the structure of the openings were even more important, Pafumi said.\u201d<\/p>\n