[qwerty12345]

Hi all!

Does anyone have ny experience with the acoustic glass option (for passenger and driver sides)?

Does it only reduce the wind noise or also road/tire noise?

Have anyone drive the x3 lci with and without the the acoustic glass and were you able to tell the difference?

[g11hoonigan]

I don't have the answers to all your questions but I would always pick the acoustic glass over the one without.

[Bimmerforlife]

I believe BMW stopped the acoustic glass option in 2021 model and up for the US.

[arRod1981]

Originally Posted by Bimmerforlife

I believe BMW stopped the acoustic glass option in 2021 model and up for the US.

OP is in Europe, where it's still available.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by qwerty12345

Hi all!

Does anyone have ny experience with the acoustic glass option (for passenger and driver sides)?

Does it only reduce the wind noise or also road/tire noise?

Have anyone drive the x3 lci with and without the the acoustic glass and were you able to tell the difference?

Here’s what BMW says about it. I have it and the interior is pretty quiet even at speed. No issues with wind or road noise.

[Bimmerforlife]

See that’s what I can’t understand with BMW and regions. Why would offer acoustic glass in the UK but not the US? Same for Merino leather. I’ll never understand it.

[mattsheng]

Not sure about LCI acoustic glass, but I drove a US spec pre-LCI X3 M40i with acoustic glass for 1000 miles and it had no wind noise whatsoever. It felt like I was wearing a noise-canceling headphone. The model year is irrelevant for this because pre-LCI and LCI acoustic glasses share the same part number.

I also had a chance to drive 4 brand-new LCI X3 30i with regular glasses, and they all have different levels of wind noise but they definitely have more wind noise than the pre-LCI X3 M40i. I suspect the higher level of window noise is because BMW uses the same front window seal regardless of which front window you have but the acoustic glass is thicker than the non-acoustic glass.

[DonSylver]

I have got acoustic glass on my pre-LCI and it keeps the cabin very quiet. In my other car I have to turn my head halfway to speak to, sorry, I meant shout at the rear seat passengers above the road noise. In Eco Pro mode the car is as quiet as an S-Class Merc (excuse me for the blasphemy, mentioning a rival brand), In my X4, I can whisper and rear seat passengers can hear me, maybe it’s the in-cabin microphone helping too.

Now for folks like me who are now used to this, there are some phrases I struggle to understand on this forum, namely: experiencing wind noise from the mirrors at high speeds, oiling the rubber seals on doors and windows to keep outside noise away.

I guess the acoustic glass works wonders after all, it should be offered worldwide not just in Europe, so OP get it optioned to avoid regrets later.

[br438]

Is the front windscresn acoustic/laminated glass on all X3s, and the side front glass the onlymoptional acoustic glass?

[HuskerNSC]

I believe most newer cars (if not all) have laminated glass for the windshield.

[chhappy7]

To you, OP, I haven't test driven one without, but with acoustic glass option, it's really quiet inside.

Originally Posted by br438

Is the front windscresn acoustic/laminated glass on all X3s, and the side front glass the only optional acoustic glass?

I THINK this is the case. I remember reading it in a post way back.

Originally Posted by Bimmerforlife

See that’s what I can’t understand with BMW and regions. Why would offer acoustic glass in the UK but not the US? Same for Merino leather. I’ll never understand it.

Iirc, it's based on option popularity. Most of us on the forums, we are a very minor portion of typical X3 buyers. It'd be great if there were stats on what options get taken, but usually, even for just a few hundred that's worth it, options often get left out (think adaptive suspension, acoustic glass, etc) that most normal people wouldn't even notice being gone. You add in a couple options and prices sometimes go up a lot, so dealers (when not doing custom options) opt to order options that have the most obvious impact and leave out ones that won't. As a result, BMW thinks it's unpopular option and discontinues it from build sheet. At least, this is what the salesperson I worked with back in San Francisco told me years ago when I was shopping for my F30.

[509er]

Originally Posted by br438

Is the front windscresn acoustic/laminated glass on all X3s, and the side front glass the onlymoptional acoustic glass?

Originally Posted by HuskerNSC

I believe most newer cars (if not all) have laminated glass for the windshield.

Correct - all US passenger vehicles use laminated (commonly called "safety glass") for the windshield/screen - I believe it's required by DOT. In my experience, all vehicle side windows are "tempered" glass. That's also probably by law, to allow for (safer?) egress through a broken window in the event of an accident. I can't imagine that the European acoustic glass option for side windows would not also be tempered glass.

Safety glass is constructed with a plastic laminate in-between two sheets of glass - the primary purpose being to increase safety for occupants by minimizing potential of dangerous shards of glass from detaching and injuring folks. They don't use tempered glass for windshields/screens - you don't want a freeway rock impact causing your entire front glass to essentially explode into hundreds of bits of glass. Even assuming you had a plastic laminate between two sheets of tempered glass, the rock could/would cause the entire windshield/screen to shatter and eliminate any viable forward visibility assuming it were largely held in place by the laminate.

All of this is said with zero knowledge of Euro regs/practices, so YMMV there!

Cheers~

[Bimmerforlife]

So how can you tell from looking if you have the acoustic glass or just a laminated glass? Isn’t there some code #etched into the glass to show you indeed have acoustic glass?

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by Bimmerforlife

So how can you tell from looking if you have the acoustic glass or just a laminated glass? Isn’t there some code #etched into the glass to show you indeed have acoustic glass?

If you lower the window, with acoustic glass you'll see a film layer in the middle.

[509er]

Originally Posted by Bimmerforlife

So how can you tell from looking if you have the acoustic glass or just a laminated glass? Isn’t there some code #etched into the glass to show you indeed have acoustic glass?

Acoustic glass = laminated glass.

Visually, you can inspect the top / side edge of the glass panel and see if there is a laminate layer present. There's probably a BMW symbol etched on the glass, but visual inspection should be easy / straightforward.

Cheers~

[GDEvans]

Originally Posted by Bimmerforlife

See that’s what I can’t understand with BMW and regions. Why would offer acoustic glass in the UK but not the US? Same for Merino leather. I’ll never understand it.

Some things just don't make sense. I have never understood why cars produced side-by-side on the same production line have different colour options for different countries.

[akin67]

So if I understand this correct:

1 - Front windshield - all markets get the same laminated / acoustic glass
2 - Front side windows - US does NOT get acoustic glass but Europe/other markets do

[avi66]

Originally Posted by akin67

So if I understand this correct:

1 - Front windshield - all markets get the same laminated / acoustic glass
2 - Front side windows - US does NOT get acoustic glass but Europe/other markets do

Yup, that’s about it. Although it’s a byproduct of safety for the windscreen.

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by akin67

So if I understand this correct:

1 - Front windshield - all markets get the same laminated / acoustic glass
2 - Front side windows - US does NOT get acoustic glass but Europe/other markets do

Originally Posted by avi66

Yup, that about it.

Can you not option the acoustic glass?

[avi66]

Originally Posted by chhappy7

Can you not option the acoustic glass?

Not in the USA anymore.

It’s standard in the UK, and was available in the US several years ago, but no longer.

It will show as code 3KA on the cars VIN.

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by avi66

Not in the USA anymore.

It’s standard in the UK, and was available in the US several years ago, but no longer.

Dang. That sucks even more than the diminished HK imo. It was like 300 bucks for a much quieter cabin.

[akin67]

Originally Posted by chhappy7

Can you not option the acoustic glass?

As far as I know, not an option from BMW in the US. However, if your side glass is broken/damaged you can replace it with the acoustic type. If you don't mind the expense you can also replace it anytime. I always worry about technicians taking parts of the car apart for things like this. I am worried that I am going to get annoying rattles afterwards.