Soft top Noise

[DC3]

This feels like a newbie question but I've had a Gladiator for 3 years. And I searched the forums but only found a bunch of conflicting feedback.

I've been driving a Gladiator with a hardtop for three years but I bought a second Gladiator last year with dual tops. I recently installed the soft top and I can't get over how loud it is. It's not that I expected it to be silent (having owned a couple of soft top TJs) but everyone says the latest premium soft top is nearly as quiet as the hard top..... I don't get it.

The majority of the noise is originating from the front of the top, I've checked the install and everything is good.

So, naturally, I have been searching for headliners and found the DirtyDog and HotHeads. My early assessment is that DirtyDog makes the soft top look better from the inside but doesn't do much for noise. The HotHeads reduces noise but must be removed when the top is "down" which seems pointless.

I would love 1st hand experiences from those who have owned soft top headliners.

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[Rocksalt]

no headliners hwre but have had premium soft top only since August 2019. not loud not any issues...

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

but everyone says the latest premium soft top is nearly as quiet as the hard top..... I don't get it.

My neighbor that plays his music so loud that I can feel it in my house 200’+ away would probably think that the JT soft top is quiet. As would anyone who’s running around on a Harley with Screaming Eagle pipes, went to dozens of rock concerts with out ear plugs in their youth, etc.

Where I’m going with that…I’d put a good chunk of dough on it that if anyone that thinks a soft top is quiet went to an audiologist, they’ve got some degree of hearing loss. Either that or their other ride is so much more noisy that they’re not taking a step back, processing the difference, and providing objective feedback.

 

[YYC Gladiator]

I run a hard top in the winter and a soft top in the summer. I just switched back to the soft top yesterday, so I have a pretty good A vs. B comparison.

It’s clearly louder, but not as you describe. You can hear loud engines or loud tires of adjacent vehicles more clearly with the soft top. If you blindfolded me, I might not be able to tell which top was on if I was driving down a quiet residential street, but I could tell if I was driving beside a commercial truck on a highway.

I don’t have any excess noise coming specifically from the front.

Fwiw, I’m pretty sensitive to irritating car noises (I have a 22 Yukon Denali that has a slight wind noise that drives me nuts and in the past a 2019 Honda Odyssey with an odd noise around the front windshield).

I suspect there is some sort of sealing issue along the front of your soft top. Maybe you could “test drive” another one from a local dealer to see if it’s unique to yours or just how they sound to you.

 

[BAT]

Been running soft top since I got mine 3 years ago. Is it louder than the hard top? Yes. Is it that much louder than the standard hard top? No except in possibly a very strong headwind. I have no issues talking on the phone or hearing anyone during conversations. Most of the noise I get comes from the road underneath depending on the type of road surface (Cement vs asphalt) and tires. Eventually want to take out the carpet and put in some sound deadening and some other flooring to try to reduce the road noise and maybe even go to a different tire since I don't do any rock climbing and sand is pretty quiet as are offroad trails. I would go back to a Ram 1500 before I would go back to hard top on the JT as that amount of noise does not outweigh the pleasure and ability just to flip the top open and closed at any time.

 

[Uparms]

Same here.... " no headliners here but have had premium soft top only since August 2019. not loud not any issues... ".


Now when you get it up to 85 mph and over, you will hear some real noise, deep, loud, drone!!

 

[Rocksalt]

soft top no plagued by rear window leak

 

[redfish]

Standard soft top here , check and make sure the cables that run down the inside of the softtop are in place and not broken. Have tried the Dirty Dog liner, love the look and ir does quiet it down a little and adds some insulation but in the South Carolina sun it will not stay glued to top(velcro that glues) They even sent me the new and improved velcro lasted a day

 

[mtudb24]

Sounds like there might be a seal or some adjustment that needs to be made or changed. I have had mine for 2.5 years and its fine. Can hear the radio, have a conversation between the passengers, listen to meetings using my phone etc. Is it perfect? No. There is some buffeting at 80mph or in a strong head wind, but to be able to drop the top in minutes and not having to worry about getting home to the hard top if a by chance rain storm appears, so much outweighs a little noise.

I will say, the premium twill top on the JT is heads and shoulders above the standard vinyl top i had on my JKUR back in the day.

 

[trilifter7]

I just installed a brand new premium top on mine after running the hard top all winter and I’m noticing the same loud wind noise up front from the new soft top. I’m thinking a lot of the noise is bc it’s tight from being new. Even just shutting the door makes a loud reverb or echo inside. I’m hoping once the top and fabrics stretch out a tad the noise will lesson to more of a normal level.

 

[Gvsukids]

Now when you get it up to 85 mph and over, you will hear some real noise, deep, loud, drone!!

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/premium-soft-top-noise.30146/

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