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Recent trends in vehicle light-weighting and tire design requirements have created an increased awareness to tire flat-spotting. Tire flat-spotting occurs when tires remain in a loaded condition without rolling for an extended period of time. Tire flat-spotting can either be temporary or permanent depending on the length of storage and other environmental factors. Tire non-uniformity caused due to flat-spots often induces shake and shimmy (back and forth oscillation of steering wheel) vibration in vehicles due to increased tire-wheel force variation input into the chassis. This can result in increased warranty costs for OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) as well as customer dissatisfaction exhibited in third party quality surveys like the annual J. D. Power IQS (Initial Quality Survey).

The fuel economy benefits of Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) technology have led to a steady growth in their adoption since the 1990's that is likely to continue despite the competition from Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) & Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) technology. Even though CVTs provide a smoother driving experience due to their “shift-free” operation, general market feedback indicates some level of consumer dissatisfaction in the area of acceleration sound quality. This is particularly evident in the sub-compact and compact vehicle segments that feature small four cylinder engines with cost/weight limited sound packaging. The dissatisfaction with the acceleration sound quality is primarily linked to the non-linear relationship between engine RPM and vehicle speed that is inherent to CVTs and is often referred to as “rubber-band” feel.

The advantages of hydraulic mounts over conventional elastomeric mounts for NVH refinement are well known, particularly in the area of engine and suspension mounts. Recently, hydraulic mounts have been successfully employed as body mounts between the frame and cab, principally to control freeway hop in pickup trucks. Due to their ability to provide increased damping at small displacements, hydraulic body mounts also have good potential to reduce smooth road shake. This paper documents the reduction in smooth road shake performance of a full size pickup truck. Hydraulic body mounts tuned to the frequency of the smooth road shake sensitivity area were added to the rearmost cab mount location. Both tire-wheel balance and uniformity were set to the highest production level specification allowed and the effect of hydraulic cab mount was measured experimentally during smooth road driving at medium to high speeds.

In recent years, Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVTs) have made significant inroads into passenger cars because of advantages over traditional Automatic Transmissions (ATs) such as improved efficiency, reduced weight and smoother operation. However, from an acceleration sound quality perspective, drivers generally seem to prefer the AT sound over the CVT sound, especially in sub-compact/compact vehicle segment with small displacement engines and cost-conscious sound packaging. Vehicles equipped with ATs maintain a linear relationship between vehicle speed and engine RPM during wide-open throttle (WOT) acceleration that is dictated by fixed gear ratios. Vehicles with CVTs typically rise rapidly to a high engine RPM (near peak engine torque) and then dwell at a constant engine RPM as the vehicle speed continues to increase by varying CVT pulley ratios.