This SAE Standard is equivalent to ISO 362-1:2015 and specifies an engineering method for measuring the noise emitted by road vehicles of categories M and N under typical urban traffic conditions. It excludes vehicles of category L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5.

The specifications are intended to reproduce the level of noise generated by the principal noise sources during normal driving in urban traffic. The method is designed to meet the requirements of simplicity as far as they are consistent with reproducibility of results under the operating conditions of the vehicle.

The test method requires an acoustical environment that is obtained only in an extensive open space. Such conditions are usually provided for during:

• Measurements of vehicles for regulatory certification and/or type approval.
• Measurements at the manufacturing stage.
• Measurements at official testing stations.