This 2008 – 2009 Noise, Vibration and Harshness team made many changes to the snowmobile for competition. One of the first things done was repairing the fuel tank that was damaged during last season’s competition. The fuel tank must be reinforced and relined with a new liner that will support the use of ethanol.

The 2009 University of Maine team focused on four areas to reduce the overall noise output of the Phazer snowmobile, the snowmobile’s cowlings, the exhaust system, the aluminum tunnel, and the rear suspension’s idler wheels.

The NVH group created new cowlings for the Yamaha Phazer, using the old cowlings as plugs and creating molds from those plugs. The fiberglass cowlings were vacuum bagged to ensure higher strength, lower weight, and improved finish quality.

Through examination and testing of aftermarket sound dampening materials, two products were selected to best fit our application on a snowmobile. The newly fabricated cowlings and interior of the aluminum tunnel were then lined and coated with the selected materials. Additional idler wheels were also installed to utilize a method of reducing track noise. Lastly, an auxiliary muffler was installed to decrease noise produced from the snowmobile exhaust.

Crosby Laboratroy Room 105

University of Maine

Orono, Maine, 04469