This has sort of been discussed in past threads, but I didn't see any proposed solutions.

My 2020 (last of the MkIII) Octavia Scout (wagon) has terrible "beat" (a thumping noise) from the wind if windows are open.

I imagine that this should be fixable by mounting small deflectors at the top of each door's window.

Does anyone have a suggestion of a specific product that works well to reduce this physically painful sound and pressure on the ears while driving with windows partway down at speed?

thanks,

-Jay

 

I only really get bad wind boom if I only open one window. I find that if I have a window down in the back. I open one of the front windows slightly to equalise the pressure and vice versa.

Wind deflectors don't really work all that well. But it is something that all cars suffer to an extent.

10 minutes ago, Ecomatt said:

Wind deflectors don't really work all that well. But it is something that all cars suffer to an extent.

It's because there is a high pressure area alongside the car so when you open the windows at speed that high pressure tries to 'escape' inside the car but can't do it continuously, hence the pulsing.

 

Cars have been doing it ever since drag factor became an issue - was seen on every car we worked on when I was working on active noise systems back in the late 1980's so it's not a new thing nor a specific to Skoda thing.

I completely understand the physics of it.  I'd argue that "cars" have been doing it _as badly as this car does_ only when the designers/manufacturers haven't paid adequate attention to the issue in the design and testing phase. It's rather worse than on most cars that I've owned over the decades; much more difficult to find a combination of which windows to open how much that results in sufficiently muting the sound while still getting reasonable airflow. It's quite disappointing.

 

Has anyone been happy with a particular wind deflector product to help with the problem on our Octavias?

4 hours ago, JayLibove said:

I'd argue that "cars" have been doing it _as badly as this car does_ only when the designers/manufacturers haven't paid adequate attention to the issue in the design and testing phase.

It was really terrible on a Jaguar XJ6 we tested - so bad it actually hurt our ears!

As Ecomatt said, just pop a front window open 5-10mm and it should disappear

 

I find this only really happens when one of the rear windows is open and both fronts are closed, that 10mm makes all the difference

 

Wind deflectors do help a little bit on my estate, but I just prefer to have the fronts open 10mm or so anyway to let fresh air in

I find opening any single window causes a very uncomfortable and unbearable beat in the car, even at remarkably low speeds.

We have a Mk 3 Octavia estate and for me the only thing that works is to open a front window and a diagonally opposite rear window. Experiment with the amount the windows need to be lowered to get the required airflow.

Funnily enough this was the recommendation from a recent  (British I think) study to get the best airflow in a car to reduce to risks of Covid transfer.

 

Oh, well. I bought a set of Heko wind deflectors and tested them this past weekend.

They do .. nothing.

I'm returning them (and giving up).  

2 hours ago, JayLibove said:

Oh, well. I bought a set of Heko wind deflectors and tested them this past weekend.

They do .. nothing.

I'm returning them (and giving up).  

Wind deflectors cannot change the basic mechanism - which is higher and varying pressure outside the car, so having the window open at all (whether a wind deflector is present or not) will cause the pulsing sound.

 

It's a side effect of the desire for low drag vehicle designs.

Right. My hope had been that the wind deflectors would make the car sufficiently less aerodynamic to reduce the noise 🙂

I'm actually scratching my head wondering what the point of these wind deflectors is, then, since they don't seem to actually deflect the wind....

  

5 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

Wind deflectors cannot change the basic mechanism - which is higher and varying pressure outside the car, so having the window open at all (whether a wind deflector is present or not) will cause the pulsing sound.

 

It's a side effect of the desire for low drag vehicle designs.

 

Just now, JayLibove said:

I'm actually scratching my head wondering what the point of these wind deflectors is, then, since they don't seem to actually deflect the wind....

The only use I've found for them to stop rain coming in when you have the window slightly open...

2 hours ago, JayLibove said:

 

I'm actually scratching my head wondering what the point of these wind deflectors is, then, since they don't seem to actually deflect the wind....

  

 

They deflect wind thus increasing the pressure drop at the rear of the vehicle to produce a satisfying booming sound when a rear window is opened.

 

Cheaper for Kevins than big **** off speakers.

Next step, design a parcel shelf that acts like a cone to amplify the pressure difference and you're onto something