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Any Way to Reduce Wind Noise?

Klutch

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I get that my Gladiator has the aerodynamics of a cinder block. But sheesh, I just got back from a long road trip through Kansas and Oklahoma and the wind noise was exhausting. Between doing the 75 MPH speed limit and the howling gusts across the plains, I couldn't even enjoy music. Even if I cranked up the volume, much of the sound was drowned out by wind noise.

Will installing the Hot Heads headliners reduce wind noise at all? Or am I simply at the mercy of a rolling brick having a lot of wind noise? (The constant wind also killed my MPGs, but that's another story.)
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AmosMoses01

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I've only had my Hotheads installed for a few days, but definitely made a difference right away. Long road trips with loud background noise can be exhausting. I once made a 4 hour drive with a canvas top TJ, was totally worn out by the end with the soft top flapping. The Gladiator thankfully isn't that bad. :)
 

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1st off, I love that color! and I love the Springs and hope to make it down there in the near future to do some off roading. You are extremely lucky to live where you do.

I use earbuds in the JT, or I use an economy car for in town or Interstate commuting. I find both of these options very satisfactory. If I'm taking my JT on paved roads to get to some off roading, there is absolutely no point in going over 65 due to horrible mileage, and traveling faster than 65 negates the time gained by stopping more for fuel.

Like sporty cars are happy on pavement,

The JT is in its element off road.

My friends that have attempted to use there JT as a DD or as their "all around, only vehicle" were unhappy and inevitably sold their JT's for a more mediocre, mundane truck/SUV type vehicle.

Not trying to be a smart ass, but noise means nothing when the top is down and the doors are off. You will be much happier with your JT and less worried about your perceived noise problem when you get out to explore. See you on the trails.
 

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sdk131

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Hot Headz will help a lot...but will not totally get rid of the wind noise. It GREATLY improved interior acoustics and "reflection/vibration" of noise on the hard top panels...but I still have a fairly good bit of "whistly/whoosh" wind noise right from the front/top of the windshield frame area where it meets the freedom panels. I have spent hours tinkering with the alignment adjustments on the panels and it only made a marginal improvement. I finally just accepted that it was as good as it was going to get. I've actually debated "sealing" up the entire front edge with gaffers tape for long (4 hours or more) road trips as I am a bit sensitive to noise.
 

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I have the factory headliners, just got back from an 800 mile round trip drive. Didn't find the noise too bad. Driving 75 with windows up and ac on. Part of the drive was particularly windy and it was pretty noticeable how much louder the truck was with a stiff breeze blowing.
 

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I get that my Gladiator has the aerodynamics of a cinder block. But sheesh, I just got back from a long road trip through Kansas and Oklahoma and the wind noise was exhausting. Between doing the 75 MPH speed limit and the howling gusts across the plains, I couldn't even enjoy music. Even if I cranked up the volume, much of the sound was drowned out by wind noise.

Will installing the Hot Heads headliners reduce wind noise at all? Or am I simply at the mercy of a rolling brick having a lot of wind noise? (The constant wind also killed my MPGs, but that's another story.)
definitely makes a difference, go with hotheads, much better quality and performance than the lackluster mopar branded one.
 

Gvsukids

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Hot Headz will help a lot...but will not totally get rid of the wind noise. It GREATLY improved interior acoustics and "reflection/vibration" of noise on the hard top panels...but I still have a fairly good bit of "whistly/whoosh" wind noise right from the front/top of the windshield frame area where it meets the freedom panels. I have spent hours tinkering with the alignment adjustments on the panels and it only made a marginal improvement. I finally just accepted that it was as good as it was going to get. I've actually debated "sealing" up the entire front edge with gaffers tape for long (4 hours or more) road trips as I am a bit sensitive to noise.
Have you had your dealer look at that issue? It's definitely not normal.
 

jac04

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I have the factory hard top liners, and the noise isn't too bad. I've done several family highway trips and there is certainly wind noise, but it is not loud enough to become bothersome or irritating. I'm typically going 70-73 mph on the highway. Strong winds will increase noise somewhat, but not too bad. I had warned the family about this being our road trip vehicle (coming from a whisper quiet 2019 Audi Allroad), but they are all perfectly fine with the Gladiator.
 

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Klutch

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Thanks, everyone. I will look into the Hot Headz liners. Sounds like they at least help. Yeah, my JT is my daily driver. My commute typically doesn't involve speeds over 60 so wind noise isn't an issue. Previously, my daily drivers have been a 2000 Cherokee, a 1986 Comanche and a 1969 Cougar. So, it's not like I'm used to Benzo quiet. But the wind noise in my Gladiator is just too much.

I have a 1970 Mustang in which I installed a LOT of sound deadener. It was a big improvement making the interior much more quiet. But I didn't know if that would help with wind noise in a Gladiator. I will also look for areas to install sound deadener in my JT. I like the Noico stuff and it's inexpensive compared to Dynamat.
 

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stampedingTurtles

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I get that my Gladiator has the aerodynamics of a cinder block. But sheesh, I just got back from a long road trip through Kansas and Oklahoma and the wind noise was exhausting. Between doing the 75 MPH speed limit and the howling gusts across the plains, I couldn't even enjoy music. Even if I cranked up the volume, much of the sound was drowned out by wind noise.

Will installing the Hot Heads headliners reduce wind noise at all? Or am I simply at the mercy of a rolling brick having a lot of wind noise? (The constant wind also killed my MPGs, but that's another story.)
From the mention of headliner, I will assume you have a hard top. So one of the first things is to make sure we are on the same page; there is some noise that is "normal" for removable hard top (simply because of its construction, amount of sound damping insulation, etc).
There is also the possibility that you are talking about some unusual noise; an air leak or something like that. For example, if you remove the freedom panels and don't get things quite lined up right when reinstalling, or if something is stuck in the seal, that can make a pretty big difference in how much noise you have. I've seen this myself with my JK.

So that is one thing to check; you can try removing your freedom panels looking over the seals and making sure none of them have anything stuck in them, folded over, etc.
If the noise is purely the wind/road noise coming through the hard top, headliners will make some difference, but I don't know how much (perhaps someone else will chime in with personal experience about those headliners in a Gladiator).
 

ScottBeach

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I get that my Gladiator has the aerodynamics of a cinder block. But sheesh, I just got back from a long road trip through Kansas and Oklahoma and the wind noise was exhausting. Between doing the 75 MPH speed limit and the howling gusts across the plains, I couldn't even enjoy music. Even if I cranked up the volume, much of the sound was drowned out by wind noise.

Will installing the Hot Heads headliners reduce wind noise at all? Or am I simply at the mercy of a rolling brick having a lot of wind noise? (The constant wind also killed my MPGs, but that's another story.)
Just slow down?

Really not a lot of options. I have the factory sound deadening headliners.
Doesnt do much.
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