Re: [T3] Hot weather driving

[Greg Merritt <gregm@vwtype3.org>]

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Re: long drives and earplugs

	I started doing this on ~700 mile summer drives between the 
San Francisco area and Phoenix, Arizona.  (That includes lots of 
desert, folks.)  Vehicles on these trips included a nice '71 Super 
with stock exhaust and a '63 Beetle with single quiet pack.  Engine 
otherwise basically stock.  Er, actually, same engine in both cars -- 
I put it into the '63 after the '71 was smashed (RIP).  I also did 
cross-country drives (1,500 to 6,000 miles, driving 12+ hrs./day) in 
a '71 Squareback with stock engine with a single quiet pack... and a 
15" subwoofer boomin' away the whole time.

	The AZ/SF drives would be 10-12 hours beginning to end, at 
speeds of 70-75mph where the terrain allowed, with temperatures above 
105F where/when it was very hot.  Windows at least down a bit.  Maybe 
stop half an hour in the middle to get a bite to eat, or sleep for an 
hour or so at a rest stop in the middle of the night.

	I find that the overall noise increases dramatically between, 
say, 50 and 75mph in all the air-cooled VWs I've driven.  Watch -- 
drive for a few hours at 75mph, then slow down to 60, 55, or 50, and 
you'll be kind of surprised at how "quiet" it gets, in my experience. 
I found the sustained noise to add to the weariness of the heat and 
the drive, and I believe that I would have a bit of ringing or 
reduced hearing after the 12hr. stretches.  With earplugs I end up 
being much more comfortable.

	Of course, all this on top of hours upon hours of listening 
to a walkman at full blast as a teenager (often while mowing lawns), 
and having sustained ear-ringing for over a day after a rock concert. 
My hearing is not very good, and earplugs are cheap.

	I don't usually bother with the earplugs for highway trips 
under an hour or two long, or long trips at slower speeds (like trips 
through twisty mountain roads with 15mph curves).

	So, the point here is not that I get into a VW and say "I 
can't stand this noise!!!"  Rather, the sustained noise at 75mph with 
windows down for 6, 8, 12 hours in a row begins to mess with my ears, 
so I plug 'em.  I use the little foam cylinders or cones.  You can 
still hear all kinds of things through them, so it's not like you'll 
miss an engine knock or exhaust leak.

-Greg

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