Over 220 experts attended this year’s Automotive Acoustics Conference. © Autoneum

With Alpha-Liner, Autoneum launches its first-ever textile wheelhouse outer liner that is not only designed to reduce tire noise substantially, but also convince with low weight. This newest lightweight component is said to ensure a quiet driving experience and also helps vehicle manufacturers meet current and future noise and emission limits. Alpha-Liner premiered at the Automotive Acoustics Conference, which takes place in Zurich, last week.

Alpha-Liner is the latest innovation from Autoneum – a multifunctional wheelhouse outer liner that reduces tire noise with high efficiency and thus makes the vehicle quieter and lighter. Alpha-Liner is based on Autoneum’s newly developed technology, with which noise absorption can be adapted to the specific requirements of the vehicle model for the first time.

To achieve this effect, a thin coated surface is applied on the tire side. The porosity of the coating can then be controlled according to the necessary absorption properties, the bottom part of the wheelhouse outer liner requires stronger noise treatment, which maximizes acoustic absorption.

Each reduced decibel is decisive as external or pass-by noise in particular is increasingly regulated in Europe, Japan, but also in China, the company reports. From 2024, newly registered vehicles in the EU will be allowed to generate a maximum of 68 decibels of external noise, a challenge for manufacturers and suppliers alike in light of the current threshold of 72 decibels and already highly acoustically optimized cars. To achieve this substantial noise reduction, Alpha-Liner will make an important contribution.

Wheelhouse outer liners made of Alpha-Liner offer additional advantages as well, according to the manufacturer. They are easy to clean and robust thanks to the plasticized surface, making them more resistant to stone chipping and ice accumulation in the wheelhouse. “Compared to corresponding components made of plastic, Alpha-Liner convinces with a lower weight, ensuring a greater driving range especially for electric vehicles,” the company explains.

“In addition, the components are produced in a sustainable manner. Production scrap of the wheelhouse outer liners, which are primarily made of recycled PET fibres, can be fully recovered and recycled.”

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