###### Abstract
The motivation of this study is to gain more insight into the influence of torque on the masking threshold in the vehicle interior and to quantify the contribution of the different tire noise phenomena. In this way, in the future, more valid masking thresholds can be determined from roller dynamometer measurements. Due to the missing masking noise by the combustion engine in electric vehicles, tire/road noise becomes more prominent in human perception [15]. Additionally, electric machines in BEVs can produce much higher torque compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, especially at low rpms, which leads to increased tire noise levels [16]. Since tire torque plays a significant role in influencing the masking threshold, it is essential to consider the torque-dependent characteristics of tire noise. The tire noise level rises with increasing driving speed and is, due to the missing combustion engine, the dominant masking noise source in electric vehicles below approx. 100 km/h [17; 18; 19]. The tire noise in the vehicle interior can be categorized by the frequency range and transmission path into the vehicle. For low-frequency components below 300 Hz, the most significant transmission path is structure-borne, while higher frequencies between approx. 600 Hz and 1000 Hz are mostly transmitted air-borne [20]. It is well known that the overall sound pressure level of the tire/road noise is influenced by the torque that acts on the tires [21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28]. However, when analyzing the influence of torque on masking thresholds, the affected frequency components of the tire noise in the vehicle interior need to be considered. A significant noise phenomenon in this study is generated by the impact of the tire tread blocks against the road surface and the noise caused by snap-out effects when the blocks leave the contact patch of the tire [29]. The frequency spectrum that is excited by the tread pattern of the tire is dependent on the length and spatial distribution of the tread elements on the tire surface [30]. To minimize tread-related tonal noise, the tread distribution is varied across the tire profile to distribute the tire noise over a broader frequency range [17]. This leads to the formation of a tire order band that forms the block harmonic. In the literature, the torque dependency of the tire noise is mostly investigated at the component level. Previous studies have already examined the influence of wheel torque on the noise emission of the tire. [PERSON] [31] varied the parameters of the tire, the road surface and the wheel torque to draw conclusions on the noise emissions. The studies revealed that the tire/road noise primarily increases in the frequency range of approx. 3150 Hz, increasing the noise level up to 4.8 dB (A) under high wheel torque. Measurements at various wheel torque levels demonstrated correlations between the sliding of the contact patch between the tire and the road surface and the increase in sound pressure levels [31]. Additionally, an increase in tire/road noise under a tire torque of up to 15 dB in the nearfield was observed in an inner drum test stand. It was concluded that the sliding of the tread elements generates stick-slip noise excitations, leading to increased sound pressure levels in high-frequency components above 1500 Hz. These stick-slip noises are considered the dominant noise generation mechanism [32]. From the findings in the literature, it can be summarized that the main tire noise components that are affected by the torque acting on the tires are the block harmonics and high-frequency noise components at around 3000 Hz. When considering the entire vehicle rather than just individual components, it becomes evident that tire and road noise levels within the vehicle cabin increase due to the forces exerted on the tires by the engine torque [33]. However, up until now, no studies have specifically addressed how torque affects the masking threshold of tonal powertrain noise within the vehicle interior.