Piped in sounds or not

[speedog]

Originally posted by Aleks
I think it's great for daily drivers. You can have it quiet on the inside and outside during the commute, and set it to make some noise inside when you feel like it and still keep it quiet outside to attract less attention.

This is taking it to a whole new level. Renault Clio has 6 different selectable engine sounds.

That would be a hit with the tuner crowd that's always doing that on their X-boxes/whatever - my kids still play a couple of those car street racing games and I'd swear they spend more time customizing than actual driving. This would certainly appeal to a certain segment of the younger driving population.

Personally, I don't get it - people wanting their cocoon that isolates them from the outside world and then artificially piping in engine sounds that may not be even representative of the actual vehicle you're driving. Hell, this reminds me of movies where there's a chase scene and the cars are emitting rumbling V8 sounds even though you know for sure that no V8 was ever offered in those cars.

What's next, squealing tire sounds through the speakers when you push it a bit hard even though there's no actual squealing tire sounds outside?

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Left it in on my BRZ but the exhaust was way modified so I don't think it really mattered.

The very first thing my dad did on his Golf R was remove it and code the exhaust valve to stay open.

[killramos]

On the GTI i found it satisfying that my 4 cyl sounded a bit better than a golf cart. It sounded way better than an A3 with the same engine and tuning so in this case why not. That was more of a noise maker in the exhaust system rather than piped into cabin i think? (MkV).

On the 2 series its definitely over the speakers and I quite like it. The car does sound pretty decent from the outside in any case but the sound deadening is good enough that it really mutes the engine. The amplification is really subtle though, huge difference between windows open and listening to the real engine than windows closed and listening to the speakers. Apparently you can code the car to use the soundtrack from the new M3 or M6 which i think is hilarious.

The other plus is that you can listen to your car louder without having to be a douche canoe and general irritant on the road like so many fart canned/straight piped cars out there ( Honda's and Subaru's I am looking at you).

Overall no sense removing it, it doesn't sound bad. Its mostly people getting their panties in a bunch over it who have never experienced it that makes all the waves on the internet in my experience.

[speedog]

I don't think people are necessarily getting panties in a bunch over this but it appears that this will be the new reality moving forward.

I wonder what are some of the high performance cars that are currently artificially introduced sounds? I sure as don't know but am interested.

edit: This thread has struck a chord out there that I didn't think existed, interesting indeed and should make for some good discussion.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by ShermanEF9
the ecoboost f150s have it now if you get the premium stereo. doesn't bother me much, but its not needed.

On the turbo F150's, the stero is playing a sound more like a naturally aspirated V8, because "that's what a truck should sound like"

Silly, I think the unique and subtle sound of the EcoBoost is a big attraction to that engine. Last thing I want when towing up a long grade is a bunch of macho grunting noises. Best reason to get the XLT trim I can think of.

[killramos]

Originally posted by speedog
I don't think people are necessarily getting panties in a bunch over this but it appears that this will be the new reality moving forward.

I wonder what are some of the high performance cars that are currently artificially introduced sounds? I sure as don't know but am interested.

edit: This thread has struck a chord out there that I didn't think existed, interesting indeed and should make for some good discussion.

Oh people are ABSOLUTELY getting their panties in a bunch over it as a note. Maybe not in this thread but on specific manufacturer forums.

All of BMW's turbocharged cars have it, all the way up to the M4GTS which is the fastest production car they have ever made. Even the 600 HP Jahre M5 has it.

Just one manufacturer example of performance cars. Not sure if AMG does it or not?

I bet the Ford GT has it

In some cases the manufacturers do it without advertising it to much.

[Aleks]

US government is going to mandate fake sounds on hybrids/electric cars because they are too quiet, to protect pedestrians.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/th...uiet-cars.html

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
My ST has a sound symposer tube that is piped from the intake into the car. The system stays closed until you really start to push the car.

I have read a lot of people disable it, but personally I like it. The car is nice and quiet on day to day driving, but as soon as you start getting into the boost it really compliments the performance feel. I think it does matter that it is real sound as well, not just a simulated sound from the speakers.

I didn't mind it when stock but with full bolt ons its annoying TBH. I bought a plug to block it off but been too lazy to get around to it. I really should one of these weekends.

[03ozwhip]

I like the natural sounds of the car. I think it's kinda poser race car of its a fake sound. It might sound decent, but the feeling that it's not real turns me off.

[rage2]

Originally posted by killramos
Not sure if AMG does it or not?

They do not.

[Sentry]

I'm cool with it being mechanically piped into the car. Who doesn't like a little more intake noise?

Through the speakers is mad gay though.

[killramos]

Seems like Porsche does it, and a similar mechanical setup on the Boss 302.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...ined-tech-dept

Also AMG's artificial dumping of throttle to make the exhaust pop isn't really that different than using a resonator tube to make the exhaust more apparent in the cabin. The pops have nothing to do with engine performance they are created just for sound effects. Not to mention wait to see what they do on the *43 series of AMG's lol.

Using the speakers to play a soundtrack is just taking it to a whole new level.

[carson blocks]

The sound tubes seemed kinda cheesy at first, but sound is a big part of the driving experience for most of us, so I understand those. The fake electronic sounds I absolutely cannot get on board with. I'd go so far as to say I will not buy a vehicle with fake engine sounds piped in over the stereo, and if I really wanted the car bad enough to overlook that, disabling them would be the first 'mod'.

There's just something so wrong about speakers playing fake V8 engine sounds on your ecoboost V6 half ton. It's the automotive equivalent of stuffing socks in to your underwear to make your bulge look better.

[Mibz]

Originally posted by Sentry
Who doesn't like a little more intake noise?

Me. Intake noise on an NA car is lame. Turbo? Yeah, all godamn day. NA, it's just extra cabin noise.

[Sentry]

Originally posted by Mibz
Intake noise on an NA car is lame.

I disagree. As much as I love turbo cars and the noises they make, NA cars have fabulous intake noise.

Listen to this thing. Sounds better coming than going.

[Mibz]

I'd be okay with my car sounding like that.

But it doesn't. It sounds like a dying giraffe.

[D88]

Removed it from my FR-S. It was too loud inside the cabin with it.

[eglove]

Deleted the sound symposer in my car - I wasn't aware the RS had a software based through speaker symposer. I thought it was a physical tube like the ST's

[heavyD]

It depends on the engine really. If it's a normally aspirated V8, inline 5 or 6 cylinder engine which inherently sound good it's overkill but most inline 4-cylinder and V6 engines inherently sound like crap. My Focus ST has it and I like it as it makes the engine sound better inside the cabin than any 4-cylinder engine should.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by eglove
Deleted the sound symposer in my car - I wasn't aware the RS had a software based through speaker symposer. I thought it was a physical tube like the ST's

Only North American manufactured Focus ST's have piped in symposer. European manufactured Focus ST's have it via speakers and since the RS is made in Germany that means speakers for us. I prefer the speaker setup seeing it can typically be disabled via fuse and doesn't involve any additional engine bay hardware.