Intake vs exhaust noise, what car has best intake sound?

[daveofedinburgh]

Probably wont be news to many, but Chris Harris recently was Joe Rogans' guest on his always-brilliant podcast:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lcFPOPB0MmE

It's over 2 hours long so many interesting points are covered by two genuine petrolheads. One that really captured my attention (putting synthesised engine noise and 'death of the manual gearbox' aside) was intake noise vs exhaust noise.

Harris makes the point that he is a bigger fan of intake sound, as that's largely what the driver enjoys when inside the cabin. He also points out that while he's fond of a great exhaust note, it's really just the noise that the car 'leaves behind', while the driver continues to enjoy the intake sound.

So how many PHers really pay attention to and differentiate between intake and exhaust sound?

Which part of a cars acoustics do you enjoy the most?

Which car has the best intake sound, new or old?

I won't nominate anything yet, but I reckon there'll be a couple of 'usual suspects'...

[DeolTheBeast]

CSL...

[anonymous-user]

This has got to be in with a shout:




Sure, it's been to a voice coach, but not enough to camouflage it's natural voice!

[zeduffman]

CSL for sure

Some manufacturers direct some exhaust noise up towards the cabin though. It's not a case of all the noise coming out the back.

[Leptons]

My Old Clio 16v sounded awesome with a K+N filter. The best sounding inline 4 I've ever heard. With the exception of Subaru's I would say I prefer Induction noise over exhaust noise.

[krallicious]

For intake noise I think BMW M cars, in general, are the best sounding. Yes, the CSL is probably the best but the E9X V8's intake roar was fantastic.

[daveofedinburgh]

E46 M3 was one of my 'usual suspects', can a 'normal' one be made to sound like a CSL without massive expenditure?

[anonymous-user]

My 993 has a K&N filter plus the Porsche 'motor sound' airbox which sounds fantastic, in fact even nicer than the exhaust note which is good in itself.

I heard a Honda S2000 on throttle bodies once and holy st it sounded amazing.

[carl_w]

This TVR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt-_T2PTJEI#t=332 (start at around 5:30 if the link doesn't jump to the right place).

Sounds to me like it's mostly induction noise.

[EarlOfHazard]

Honda B16A2 with a K&N air filter sounds good!

[HannsG]

No contest...

E46 M3 with an air box. Either CSL or Geoff Steel. I want one for mine

[ging84]

Leptons said:

My Old Clio 16v sounded awesome with a K+N filter. The best sounding inline 4 I've ever heard. With the exception of Subaru's I would say I prefer Induction noise over exhaust noise.

This is the exact example i was thinking of it being tragically wrong

seen so many of these and similar hatch backs fitted with these open cone 'cold' air induction kits which just make a horrible grunting noise which the owners seem dead proud of

[NateWM]

My current DC2 Integra sounds biblically good with ITB's.

I do love a good exhaust note, but as said you can't enjoy it fully as you're not getting the full noise. Induction roar on the right engine just sounds amazing.

[Baryonyx]

Any Honda Type R (or even a B16) will produce an amazing intake noise. Whereas on an Impreza, the burbling exhaust is the centre of attention. Both sound fantastic, but in different ways.

[moribund]

carl_w said:

This TVR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt-_T2PTJEI#t=332 (start at around 5:30 if the link doesn't jump to the right place).

Sounds to me like it's mostly induction noise.

Bloody hell, 2001 was a vintage year for performance cars wasn't it!

[Leptons]

ging84 said:

This is the exact example i was thinking of it being tragically wrong

seen so many of these and similar hatch backs fitted with these open cone 'cold' air induction kits which just make a horrible grunting noise which the owners seem dead proud of

You're wrong, it sounded great.

[ging84]

Leptons said:

ging84 said:

This is the exact example i was thinking of it being tragically wrong

seen so many of these and similar hatch backs fitted with these open cone 'cold' air induction kits which just make a horrible grunting noise which the owners seem dead proud of

You're wrong, it sounded great.

I find it very unlikely that yours sounded great when others with the exact same modification sound truly awful

[AW111]

I have a 1.6 4 cylinder (4AGE) running 4 x 50mm throttle bodies about 3 feet behind my head, with a 2 1/4" exhaust system.
The intake is quite a lot louder than exhaust, especially from inside, and I think it sounds good.

The exhaust is pretty quiet, as I hate the highway droning you get with a lot of I4s, so I fitted the biggest muffler I could.

[Stuart70]

I had a Corrado VR6 with a k&n air filter. It sounded superb.; real muscle car effect.

Made not a blind bit of difference to the performance

[xRIEx]

ging84 said:

Leptons said:

ging84 said:

This is the exact example i was thinking of it being tragically wrong

seen so many of these and similar hatch backs fitted with these open cone 'cold' air induction kits which just make a horrible grunting noise which the owners seem dead proud of

You're wrong, it sounded great.

I find it very unlikely that yours sounded great when others with the exact same modification sound truly awful

Or you're both wrong and tastes can actually differ among the 7 billion individual people on the planet without being right or wrong.