1. The Working Party on Noise (GRB) held its sixty-eighth session from 12 to 14 September 2018 in Geneva. The meeting was chaired by Mr. S. Ficheux (France). Experts from the following countries participated in the work following Rule 1(a) of the Rules of Procedure of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) (TRANS/WP.29/690/Rev.1): Canada, Czech Republic, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America. An expert from the European Commission (EC) participated. Experts from the following non-governmental organizations also participated: Bureau International Permanent des Associations de Vendeurs et Rechapeurs de pneumatiques (BIPAVER), International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS), European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), European Tyre and Rim Technical Organization (ETRTO), Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Imported Tyre Manufacturers Association (ITMA) and International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA).

2. GRB considered and adopted the agenda (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRB/2018/5 and Add.1) as well as noted the running order proposed by the Chair (GRB-68-05). The list of informal documents is contained in Annex I. The list of GRB informal groups is reproduced in Annex IV.

GRB-68-05 | GRB-68: Running order of the agenda

GRB/2018/5 | Annotated provisional agenda for the 68th GRB session

GRB/2018/5/Add.1 | GRB-68: Addendum to the annotated provisional agenda Addendum to integrate agenda items taken over from GRRF following its "conversion" into GRVA.

3. The expert from the European Commission proposed to introduce additional sound emission provisions (ASEP) for L4 and L5 category vehicles with the power-to-mass ratio (PMR) of more than 50 W/kg (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRB/2018/7 and GRB-68-22). GRB adopted the proposals, as amended (Annex II), and requested the secretariat to submit them to WP.29 and to the Administrative Committee (AC.1) for consideration and vote at their March 2019 sessions as draft 08 series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 9.

GRB-68-22 | UN R9: Proposal for the 08 series of amendments Proposal to align ASEP for high powered L₄ and L₅ vehicles, used for passenger transport, is proposed in line with UN Regulation No 41.04 due to comparable sound emissions levels of L₄ and L₅ vehicles with the ones of L₃ vehicles and the possibility of applying similar measurement methods for sound emissions for those vehicle categories. This is also supported by the Commission study on enhanced sound requirements for mopeds, quads and replacement silencers of L-category vehicles which resulted in amendments to UN Regulation Nos 9, 63 and 92 (ref. document WP.29/2017/2).

GRB/2018/7 | UN R9: Proposal for a Supplement Proposal for amendments to introduce ASEP requirements for L4 and L5 category vehicles with PMR > 50 W/kg.

4. The expert from IMMA proposed amendments which make additional sound emission provisions (ASEP) testing mandatory (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRB/2018/11). GRB adopted the proposals and requested the secretariat to submit them to WP.29 and AC.1 for consideration and vote at their March 2019 sessions as a draft Supplement 7 to the 04 series of amendments UN Regulation No. 41.

GRB/2018/11 | UN R41: Proposal for a Supplement for the 04 series of amendments In informal document GRB-66-12, Germany suggested making ASEP testing mandatory under UN R41. This proposal from IMMA amends UN R41 towards the application of ASEP test procedures.

5. The expert from the Informal Working Group on Additional Sound Emission Provisions (IWG ASEP) proposed amendments aimed at updating and revising Supplement 4 to the 03 series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 51 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRB/2018/10). GRB adopted the proposals and requested the secretariat to submit them to WP.29 and AC.1 for consideration and vote at their March 2019 sessions as a draft Supplement 5 to the 03 series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 51, subject to the following modifications:

Page 2, lines 2 and 3, for Figure 3c read Figure 4c.

Page 3, table, row 3, last column, for l_veh read l.

GRB/2018/10 | UN R51: Proposal for Supplement 5 to the 03 series of amendments Proposal to address comments on the adopted Supplement 4:<ol class="alpha"><li>align the flowchart in the appendix to Annex 3, Figure 3c with the amendment to paragraph 3.1.2.1.4.1 <notextile>(c)</notextile> of Supplement 3 to the 03 series</li><li>amend Appendix to Annex 3, Table 1 to limit to pure electric vehicles the options to either use mechanical or electronic devices to control the gear shift or take measures to avoid accelerations greater than 2.0 m/s² (GRB/2018/2 and GRB-67-17)</li><li>under Annex 7, paragraph 5.2., align the principle of testing between automatic and manual transmission having more than 5 gears.</li></ol>

6. The expert from China raised questions on choosing tyres for the 03 series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 51 as well as for UN Regulations Nos. 30, 54 and 117 on tyres (GRB-68-02). The experts from the Russian Federation and ETRTO commented on the raised issues and invited the expert from China to discuss them bilaterally.

GRB-68-02 | UN R51.03: Comments on tyre selection

7. On behalf of IWG ASEP, the expert from Germany presented their status report to GRB (GRB-68-20) and updated Terms of Reference (ToR) (GRB-68-21). GRB adopted the revised Terms of Reference, as laid down in Annex III, and requested the Chair of GRB to invite WP.29, at its November 2018 session, to extend the mandate of IWG ASEP until September 2020.

GRB-68-20 | Status report of the ASEP II informal group

GRB-68-21 | ASEP II informal group revised terms of reference

8. The expert from IWG ASEP presented GRB-68-03 on interpreting the general ASEP provisions in the last sentence of paragraph 6.2.3. of the 03 series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 51. IWG ASEP was of the view that the developed definitions and specifications were adequate and valid enough to satisfy the intention of this sentence. Outside the specified control range, IWG ASEP deemed it difficult to provide viable specifications. IWG ASEP suggested that the provided interpretation be used as guidance for manufacturers, technical services, and type approval authorities for the practical application during type approval, conformity of production, and market surveillance.

GRB-68-03 | UN R51.03: Last sentence of paragraph 6.2.3. ASEP informal group report on the effort to provide clarification and guidance on the interpretation and application of paragraph 6.2.3. last sentence of UN R51.03 (“The sound emission of the vehicle under typical on-road driving conditions, which are different from those under which the type-approval test set out in Annex 3 and Annex 7 was carried out, shall not deviate from the test result in a significant manner.”)

9. GRB endorsed GRB-68-03 and requested the secretariat to publish it as a reference document under a special folder on the GRB website. GRB also recommended IWG ASEP to keep this document for further consideration within the ongoing revision process of ASEP.

GRB-68-03 | UN R51.03: Last sentence of paragraph 6.2.3. ASEP informal group report on the effort to provide clarification and guidance on the interpretation and application of paragraph 6.2.3. last sentence of UN R51.03 (“The sound emission of the vehicle under typical on-road driving conditions, which are different from those under which the type-approval test set out in Annex 3 and Annex 7 was carried out, shall not deviate from the test result in a significant manner.”)

10. The expert from Germany presented a new series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 92 which introduce requirements for non-original replacement exhaust silencing systems (NORESS). GRB adopted the proposals and requested the secretariat to submit them to WP.29 and AC.1 for consideration and vote at their March 2019 sessions as a draft 02 series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 92.

GRB/2018/6 | UN R92: Proposal for 02 series of amendments Proposal to introduce requirements for non-original replacement exhaust silencing systems with multiple, manually or electronically adjustable, rider-selectable operating modes or variable geometries (NORESS with “flexibilities”). This is a consolidated version of the amended regulation with the changes marked in <b>bold</b> and <strike>strikethrough</strike> text.

11. The expert from the Netherlands recalled his earlier proposals on strengthening the tyre noise limits and reported on new developments in this field (GRB-68-27), including a proposal for the new European Regulation on General Safety. Finally, he sought consent of GRB for transforming GRB-66-03, which had proposed stricter noise limits, into a working document for the next session of GRB. The experts of Norway and CAETS generally supported the idea of reducing noise limits in UN Regulation No. 117. The expert of ETRTO recalled their comments presented at the previous session (GRB-67-08). The expert from EC pointed out that the proposal for the new European Regulation was still under discussion. For this reason, the Chair felt that it would be premature to submit an official document with the new tyres limits to the next session.

GRB-66-03 | Proposal for amendments to the 02 series of amendments to Regulation No. 117 Proposal to increase the stringency of tyre noise limits starting from 1 November 2020.

GRB-67-08 | UN R117: Assessment of the Netherlands proposal

GRB-68-27 | Strengthening tyre limits: new developments Presentation in support of establishing a 02 series of amendments to UN R117 with higher stringencies based on informal document GRB-66-03.

12. On behalf of the Chair of IWG on Quiet Road Transport Vehicle UN GTR (QRTV UN GTR), the expert of the United States of America informed GRB about the outcome of a meeting in Baltimore, United States of America, on 30 and 31 May 2018. She pointed out that the objective of the session was to provide a detailed comparison between UN Regulation No. 138 on QRTV, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) on Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, as well as of other regional (the European Union) or national (Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea) regulations in this area. She indicated that the full comparison report would be presented to the November 2018 session of WP.29 with a request to provide guidance on further direction of work. GRB took note of this information and mandated the Chair to request WP.29 and/or AC.3 to extend the mandate of QRTV UN GTR until December 2019.

13. The expert from OICA proposed to clarify the scope and some provisions of UN Regulation No. 138 (GRB-68-13) and asked GRB experts to provide their comments. Following a brief exchange of views, GRB invited OICA to consider issuing an official document for the next session.

GRB-68-13 | UN R138: Proposal for Supplement 1 to the 01 series of amendments Proposal to<ol class="alpha"><li>exempt hybrid vehicles that do not provide valid test results (e.g., internal combustion engine active under test conditions)</li><li>clarify the text concerning permissible AVAS operating conditions</li>to differentiate indoor and outdoor facility requirements (e.g., weather station requirement) and</li><li>update flowcharts in Annex 3 in line with text.</li></ol>

14. On behalf of the Task Force on Reverse Warning (TF-RW), the expert from Japan reported on the TF-RA activities (GRB-68-25) and guidelines adopted by TF-RW. GRB took note of this information. GRB also noted that TF-RW would submit an informal document with a draft UN Regulation to the September 2019 session and a formal proposal to the January 2020 session of GRB.

GRB-68-25 | Status report of the Reverse Warning Task Force

15. No proposals were considered under this agenda item.

16. The expert from the Netherlands provided information on the 2018 update of the so-called Piek national regulation in the Netherlands on delivery noise of trucks (GRB-68-10, GRB-68-28) and solicited comments from GRB experts. He also requested GRB to include this subject in its long-term programme of work. The expert of OICA pointed out that the Piek measurement method should be harmonized with the loading conditions in the 03 series of amendments to UN Regulation No.51 and volunteered to take over this issue.

GRB-68-10 | Draft measurement methods for peak noise during loading and unloading (2018 update)

GRB-68-28 | Information on the 2018 update of PIEK (delivery noise of trucks) Presentation regarding the the national regulation in the Netherlands on delivery noise of trucks.

17. The expert from Norway reported on the outcome of the NordTyre projects conducted between 2011 and 2017 (GRB-68-09). According to him, for typical Nordic road surfaces, a good correlation between the actual noise levels and tyre noise labels had not been established. The expert from OICA was of the view that the tyre labelling systems would need to be improved and pointed out that both road surfaces and tyres equally contribute to the noise produced by the “tyre-surface” system by giving a 4 db(A) variation in the test results. The expert from ETRTO mentioned that the ISO 10844 standard on test tracks was under revision and that new test tracks would reduce by half the dispersion in the results.

GRB-68-09 | NordTyre - the potential for noise reduction using less noisy tyres and road surfaces

18. The expert from the Netherlands presented a draft Resolution on Road Surface Labelling and background documents (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRB/2018/8, ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRB/2018/9, GRB-68-08-Rev.1, GRB-68-29). Various experts expressed concerns that the substance of the proposed resolution goes beyond the scope of GRB and WP.29. They also pointed out potential difficulties in the possible implementation of the resolution at the national level, due to the fact that road pavements normally fall within the competence of a separate governmental agency which is not responsible for road vehicles. The expert from ETRTO commented on the draft resolution and pointed out that he would need more background information to evaluate the proposal (GRB-68-11). He also called for establishing a joint task force with the participation of the road construction industry.

19. Given the above comments, GRB was of the view that it would be premature to adopt the draft Resolution at this session and advocated the idea of consulting the road construction industry and establishing a task force which would report back to GRB. GRB noted that the Netherlands might not be in a position to lead such a taskforce. The Chair pointed out his intention to seek the views of the Administrative Committee for the Coordination of Work (AC.2) and/or WP.29 on the scope of the draft resolution. Finally, GRB decided to review this subject at the next session and noted that the expert of the Netherlands, with the assistance of the expert from the Russian Federation, would slightly redraft the text of the resolution.

GRB-68-08/Rev.1 | Road surface labeling: Amendments to the proposal for a draft Resolution

GRB-68-11 | ETRTO comments on the road surface labeling proposals

GRB-68-29 | Resolution on road surface labeling: presentation

GRB/2018/8 | Proposal for a draft Resolution on road surface labelling

GRB/2018/9 | Background information for the draft Resolution on road surface labelling

20. No issues were considered under this item.

21. In reply to the concerns raised by the Informal Working Group on the International Whole Vehicle Type Approval (IWG IWVTA) at the 175th session of WP.29 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1139, para. 67), the expert from the Russian Federation proposed to align the provisions of UN Regulation No. 117 related to approval numbers and markings with the provisions of Schedule 4 to the 1958 Agreement (GRB-68-19). The expert for ETRTO stated that he would contribute to the document. The Chair invited other experts to provide their comments to the expert of the Russian Federation with a view to producing an official document for consideration at the next session.

GRB-68-19 | UN R117: Proposal for a Supplement to the 02 series of amendments Proposal to align UN R117 related to approval numbers and markings in line with the provisions of Schedule 4 to the 1958 Agreement addressing the concern raised by the Informal Working Group on the International Whole Vehicle Type Approval (IWVTA).

22. The secretariat reported on the highlights of the March and June 2018 sessions of WP.29. In particular, GRB noted that, following a request of the Inland Transport Committee, WP.29 had decided to convert the Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear (GRRF) into a new Working Party “Groupe de Rapporteurs pour les Véhicules Autonomes” (GRVA) and to reallocate some former GRRF activities to other Working Parties. In particular, all GRRF activities on tyres had been passed on to GRB, and the WP.29 programme of work had been modified accordingly. In order to explicitly reflect the new GRB responsibilities on tyre-related issues WP.29 proposed adapting the title of GRB to GRBP (Groupe Rapporteur Bruit et Pneumatiques). A final decision on this point would be taken at the November 2018 session of WP.29.

23. The Chair pointed out that, given the enlarged scope of GRB activities, it would need longer sessions to properly address all items. He requested the secretariat to explore the possibilities of adjusting the WP.29 calendar for 2019.

GRB-68-04 | General information and WP.29 highlights for GRB-68

24. The Chair introduced a revised document on priorities of the future work (GRB-68-06) and indicated that it should be updated with tyre-related issues. To this extent, he would convene an informal meeting in Brussels on 31 October 2018.

GRB-68-06 | GRB subjects for the future

25. GRB noted that Messrs. H.-P. Bietenbeck (OICA), S. Falcioni (ETRTO), C. Sliggers (Netherlands) and M. Suzuki (Japan) would no longer attend GRB meetings, either due to a change in functions or retirement. GRB thanked them for their contributions and wished them success in the future.

26. For its sixty-ninth session, scheduled to be held in Geneva in January 2019, GRB decided to keep the same structure of the provisional agenda, subject to the addition of a new consolidated item on all tyre-related issues. GRB noted that the deadline for the submission of official documents to the secretariat would be 31 October 2018, twelve weeks prior to the session.

27. In compliance with Rule 37 of the Rules of Procedure (TRANS/WP.29/690 and ECE/TRANS/WP.29/690/Amend.1), GRB called for the election of officers. The representatives of the Contracting Parties, present and voting, elected unanimously Mr. Serge Ficheux (France) as Chair and Mr. Andrei Bocharov (Russian Federation) as Vice-Chair for the sessions of GRB scheduled for the year 2019.

28. The expert from ETRTO proposed amendments to UN Regulations Nos. 30 and 64 which introduce provisions related to extended mobility tyres (EMT) (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRVA/2018/6, ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRVA/2018/7 and GRB-68-14). He pointed out that EMT were already available on the market and needed to be regulated. The experts from Germany, Italy and Japan supported the proposals. The experts from France, Netherlands and Switzerland posed questions. The expert from UK requested data on the availability of EMT on the market. GRB was of the view that Contracting Parties needed more time to study the proposals and decided to defer this item to the next session. Meanwhile, GRB experts were invited to study the proposals and send their remarks to ETRTO.

GRB-68-14 | ETRTO proposals for amendments to UN Regulations Nos. 30 and 64 on Extended Mobility Tyres

GRVA/2018/6 | UN R30: Proposal for a Supplement Proposal to introduce a definition for "Extended Mobility Tyre" based on a new "minimum requirement" performance test procedure with the relevant pictogram to be used to properly distinguish such tyres. <span style="color:orange">This document will be handled by GRB during its 68th session and is referenced under GRVA due to the "conversion" of GRRF.</span>

GRVA/2018/7 | UN R64: Proposal for a Supplement Proposal to amend UN R64 in line with the introduction of the "extended mobility tyre" into UN R30 (see document GRVA/2018/6). <span style="color:orange">This document will be handled by GRB during its 68th session and is referenced under GRVA due to the "conversion" of GRRF.</span>

29. The expert from ETRTO proposed to clarify the scope of UN Regulation No. 106 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRVA/2018/8). GRB adopted the proposals and requested the secretariat to submit them to WP.29 and AC.1 for consideration and vote at their March 2019 sessions as a draft Supplement 17 to the original series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 106, subject to the following modifications:

Paragraph 1.2. (new), amend to read:

“1.2. This UN Regulation does not apply to the following tyres:”

GRVA/2018/8 | UN R106: Proposal for amendments Proposal to<ol class="alpha"><li>modify the scope with regard to Category S and R agricultural vehicles,</li><li>modify the paragraph numbering (and related footnotes) to improve text clarity,</li><li>to correct an error in Annex 5 Table 7 where "35x16" should read "36x16",</li><li>amend Annex 7 Part E to address variations of load-carrying capacity for tyres for construction applications (industrial tractors or skid-steers / mini-loaders) with speed category symbol “D”.</li></ol> <span style="color:orange">This document will be handled by GRB during its 68th session and is referenced under GRVA due to the "conversion" of GRRF.</span>

30. The expert from ETRTO introduced draft amendments to UN Regulation No. 117 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRVA/2018/5 and GRB-68-12). The proposal received comments from the experts of Germany, Spain, United States of America and BIPAVER. The Chair invited other experts to transmit their remarks to ETRTO with a view to submitting a revised consolidated proposal to the next session.

GRB-68-12 | UN R117: Comments on the Supplement proposal GRVA/2018/5

GRVA/2018/5 | UN R117: Proposal for a Supplement Proposal to update certain Standard Reference Test Tyre (SRTT) denominations, to remove the distinction between the two Class C3 tyres, to clarify the text and remove the reference to tyres "not marked with speed symbol". <span style="color:orange">This document will be handled by GRB during its 68th session and is referenced under GRVA due to the "conversion" of GRRF.</span>

31. The expert of ETRTO presented an overview of activities of the tyre industry and ISO with the aim to improve wet grip test method for passenger car tyres (C1) (GRB-68-15). GRB took note of this information.

GRB-68-15 | Wet grip test method improvement for passenger car tyres (C1)

32. The expert of the Russian Federation, in his capacity of Chair of IWG on Tyres dealing with the development of Amendment 2 to UN GTR No. 16 (IWG Tyre GTR), presented their progress report (GRB-68-16) as well as a proposal for an addendum to the authorization (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/AC.3/48) to develop Amendment No. 2 to UN GTR No. 16 (GRB-68-07). GRB took note of the status report and agreed that the proposed addendum to ECE/TRANS/WP.29/AC.3/48 should be submitted to the Executive Committee of the 1998 Agreement (AC.3).

GRB-68-07 | GTR 16: Proposal for an Addendum to the Authorization to Develop the Amendment 2 Proposal to update the original authorization pursuant to the transfer of responsibility for tyre regulations from GRRF (now GRVA) to GRB (expected to become GRBP).

GRB-68-16 | GTR 16: Development of Amendment 2 Status after the 19th IWG Meeting (Geneva, 11-12 September 2018)

33. In connection with the activities of IWG Tyre GTR, the expert from United States of America presented the outcome of the North American all-season tyre pre-meeting (GRB-68-17). The expert of ETRTO briefly introduced proposals for amendments to UN GTR No. 16 which would be presented in detail at the next session of GRB (GRB-68-18). The expert of ETRTO reported on developing a harmonized high speed test based on the two such tests listed in UN GTR No. 16, namely the one based on UN Regulation No. 30 and the other one based on the American Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139 (GRB-68-24).

GRB-68-17 | North American all-season tyre pre-meeting

GRB-68-18 | GTR 16: Proposal for Amendment 1

GRB-68-24 | GTR 16: Light truck/C-type harmonized high speed test

34. On behalf of IWG Tyre GTR, the expert from the Russian Federation introduced a concept “Global Tyre” and a relevant marking to open a dialogue among the Contracting Parties to the 1998 Agreement to assess the feasibility of the proposed approach (GRRF-86-22).

GRRF-86-22 | GTR 16: Memorandum explaining introduction of global marks for tyres

35. The expert from Germany presented a status report of the group of interested experts from Finland, France, Germany, Japan and Russian Federation, BIPAVER and ETRTO on snow tyre provisions (GRB-68-23).

GRB-68-23 | Snow tyres provisions: status report

36. GRB noted that informal document GRB-68-01 on the performance of used tyres, that had been announced in the provisional agenda, would be submitted to the next session.

GRB-68-01 | Intentionally blank