PH Blog: noise matters
Ears still ringing from Garlick's TVR, Dan's been pondering the merits of noisy cars
I'm not proposing changing the PH slogan to 'Noise Matters' but, in a sense, it's perhaps the more relevant measure of a car these days. It goes back to my earlier witterings about flow - namely the way a car makes you feel is actually way more important than whether it's 0.1 seconds faster to 62mph than your mate's or can top 200mph.
It's another way of interacting with your car of course, a means of conversation almost. Another reason why manual gearboxes are so much more engaging of course - the noise the car is making is your choice, not that of the black boxes. It's not all about volume either, though that clearly helps. Cars don't have emotions of course, not beyond the ones we project upon them, but given that the ability to enjoy the physical responses of a fast car are so limited the sound it makes is perhaps the more relevant way of enjoying 'character'.
And here comes the inevitable MX-5/Eunos bit. Look, I managed to hold off until the third paragraph, give me some credit! Anyway, yes, my little Eunos makes quite a lot of noise, which I love. Doesn't go very fast but it sounds like it does and interaction between gratuitous throttle blipping, pointlessly double-declutched downshifts, ear splitting redline upshifts and the size of my grin are all directly related. I can probably trace this back to when I was a toddler and riding in the back of my grandfather's Alfasud. I can still remember my impressionable mind processing the flat-four bark as he accelerated and thinking "Mum and dad's car doesn't make a noise like that ... I like that noise ... I don't know why I like that noise but I like that noise" and three decades on here I am making a living out of doing pretty much the same. Perhaps a bit more eloquently. Well, a bit. Anyway, it's all Alfa Romeo's fault.
It was interesting to read the responses to my recent Tell Me I'm Wrong missive on the BMW M5 - the fiercest debate in the discussion afterwards focused on the rights and wrongs (mainly the latter, it would seem) of BMW's synthesised engine noise through the speakers thing. You know what? If you didn't know it was false you wouldn't care because it actually works. But I fully understand the scepticism and would favour 'proper' engine noise over pretend stuff any time. The musical comparison would be do you want your horn section consisting of three big blokes jiving in glittery jackets or bloke hitting a button on a keyboard? Easy win to the former I'd say.
It's not just BMW of course; publicly or not carmakers recognise how important an emotional pull engine noise is and have been indulging in all sorts of trickery to get more of the good stuff to us without annoying the legislators. And as the influence of the latter means fewer and fewer of the kind of screaming, high-revving normally aspirated engines we all enjoy there's going to have to be some inventiveness on the part of the manufacturers. Some are getting it right - I recall a long chat with the AMG engineers on the CLS63 launch about how hard they'd worked on making the turbo 5.5-litre V8 sound as good as it goes - and others aren't, the flatulent rasp of our Golf GTI Edition 35 fleet car and the closely related SEAT Leon Cupra Ramong them.
And returning to another theme we've been talking about a lot recently I think here's how Subaru can stamp some of its character on the BRZ to make it stand out from the GT 86. Please Subaru, look behind the sofa, go begging to your mum and dad - whatever it takes - but please find a few pennies to rub together and develop your own exhaust headers or intake manifold to give the BRZ a signature sound. It's promised as much from the cool looking Super GT racer already. These things matter and, to this day, remains the reason I'd always take an Impreza over an Evo. Head says an Evo is probably the faster and more hardcore car. Heart says I want the burble.
I'm not saying the BRZ needs to try and replicate that but a modern, fizzing, naturally aspirated aural signature would be the kind of thing that would swing the deal Subaru's way to the likes of us.
Dan
Mind you I still remember the person who at 3 am used to head to work on the nearby dual carriageway on a very noisy Moped - it wasn't the volume so much as the time it took at 35mph!!
Mind you I still remember the person who at 3 am used to head to work on the nearby dual carriageway on a very noisy Moped - it wasn't the volume so much as the time it took at 35mph!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drsj32iR0BQ
With my own personal cars, my Stilo Abarth 52.4 5 pot with an induction kit sounded amazing and I really fell for the car. The noise of my current mk1 Leon Cupra R is just sh*te is comparison! Its deep, but there's nothing really to it.
My next car has to make an good noise... thats the only pre-requisite
When he revved it and it popped and banged on the overrun, I wanted a TVR then and there!
YouTube link to a speed six at full chat....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSlkKO-ERD0
I have had loud Yank V8s in the past and while I am often tempted to make the Mustang louder, I actually prefer something a bit more subtle yet still muscular. I suppose cut-outs would be the ideal as there are plenty of times that I want less noise and actually now get embarrassed by really loud exhausts.
Dare we admit that the noise a vehicle makes is ooohh so important to us ?
Bringing out the true 'boy' racer in us all - as alluded to in your chidhood memories of the Alfasud.....Yes I am plenty old enough to remember that sound when they were new too !
Owning up to my 54th birthday yesterday, another 'confession' at the alter of PH.
My 993 C4S, courtesy of the two previous owners (thank you both) has:
1/ The Porsche induction air fiter (more holes in the airbox).
2/ RSR Exhaust modification (Opening up original silencers & removing a certain amount of sound absortion materials).
Result = One very gutteral, slightly louder but more meaningful sounding flat six (read brutal).....that will eat the pants off any later 911 variant with 'sports exhaust valve flap' standing still - let alone on the move !
Ha ha - ooops! ........'Boy' Racer moment......too old, too old ;-) :-)))
Regards and turn up the hearing aids.
PS. Must own up to the shock that when the car starts up parked near to another vehicle, the pressure waves set off that vehicles alarm - plus if you go down an urban street of parked vehicles there is a trail of alarms.....naughty German thing, good job there's no Chip Shops nearby (Stan Boardman joke).
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Probably why i fit so many aftermarket exhausts to customers Harleys....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_LmFqwwfqw
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