Are noisy ICE cars becoming embarrassing?
Discussion
Stu08 said:
That puts me off them even more to be honest, I appreciate we are all different but that is so dull.
Whilst the acceleration is impressive it reminds me of Stealth at Thorpe Park from the POV camera - even that gets dull after several rides when the novelty of acceleration has worn off. Don't get me wrong, I really get what Tesla have done and think they have really changed the EV game to where it is today, just misses that sense of occasion with no sound.
Personally, most ice cars have become very boring 4 pot turbo'd bland mobiles with fake exhaust sound and even more piped into the cabin to make up for it.Whilst the acceleration is impressive it reminds me of Stealth at Thorpe Park from the POV camera - even that gets dull after several rides when the novelty of acceleration has worn off. Don't get me wrong, I really get what Tesla have done and think they have really changed the EV game to where it is today, just misses that sense of occasion with no sound.
Edited by Stu08 on Tuesday 16th April 08:27
My love for a good old screaming NA engine with great throttle response is still there but not many manufacturers are doing this any more due to emissions.
I'm not a great fan of turbo lag so the EV suits me fine with instant response and 100% torque at every situation. If I want noise I can just put a CD of a V8 on as that's essentially what most cars are doing anyway, fakery. Personally I'd rather the silence than the dull sound of a 4 pot.
Depends on the volume and where it's deployed I think. I think straight piping a car is unnecessary and makes it far too loud, but I don't have a problem with loud exhausts as long as you're not redlining it in traffic or anything like that.
My RS3 is really quite loud from the factory and I like the sound it makes.
I don't mind pops and bangs in the VAG/i30/Ford Performance stuff, it's a fairly simple way to add a bit of character to an otherwise fairly bland exhaust note.
My RS3 is really quite loud from the factory and I like the sound it makes.
I don't mind pops and bangs in the VAG/i30/Ford Performance stuff, it's a fairly simple way to add a bit of character to an otherwise fairly bland exhaust note.
Edited by tril on Tuesday 16th April 17:53
Back to the original post theme. People, well car enthusiasts, seem to like engine sound and associate a well tuned sound with a perfomance car.
Look at F1 when they went turbo electric the sound became bland. Fans complained and they are still looking at ways to bring the F1 scream back for the enjoyment of the sport.
Look at F1 when they went turbo electric the sound became bland. Fans complained and they are still looking at ways to bring the F1 scream back for the enjoyment of the sport.
Jonno02 said:
I think we can summarise this thread as:
VAG cars sound crap and are try-hard asbo machines, especially the louder ones.
But if it's got more cylinders, who cares about speed, as long as it's noisy.
I mean it's hypocrisy at its finest, but what else do we expect from here...
Agree. I had a cobra exhausted 350Z which sounded epic, but i was sometimes aware that the sound i was making was not really required compared to the fun i was trying to have at the time. AKA going through my village in the morning. Now i have a Cooper S with a map and it sounds quiet just pootling about but when i want to have some fun i get the revs up and it bangs away with a real urgency. I love it. Yes it is artificial but at least it's in line with the amount of fun i'm having/ trying to have at the time. VAG cars sound crap and are try-hard asbo machines, especially the louder ones.
But if it's got more cylinders, who cares about speed, as long as it's noisy.
I mean it's hypocrisy at its finest, but what else do we expect from here...
350Z on the Wolds said:
Jonno02 said:
I think we can summarise this thread as:
VAG cars sound crap and are try-hard asbo machines, especially the louder ones.
But if it's got more cylinders, who cares about speed, as long as it's noisy.
I mean it's hypocrisy at its finest, but what else do we expect from here...
Agree.VAG cars sound crap and are try-hard asbo machines, especially the louder ones.
But if it's got more cylinders, who cares about speed, as long as it's noisy.
I mean it's hypocrisy at its finest, but what else do we expect from here...
These pop & bang maps are frankly embarrassing, and only really exist in a desperate attempt to make a 4 cyl turbo sound exotic, the reality is very different. Unfortunately this is the new generation of performance car & the petrolheads entry into an enthusiast car. All the young lads idolize these characteristics & see older cars as 'slow crap'. Just recently I saw comments from a 135i owner about how the E30 M3 is an old slow piece of crap & anything pre E90 (e.g. his generation) from BMW is rubbish.
Soon we will see kids running EV's with 0-60 times of 2 secs, and they will see any fossil fuel car (ferrari or not) as rubbish incomparison to their automatic/plush milkfloat. It seems to me what is seen as pleasurable/desirable characteristics in a car from a drivers perspective is changing.
Soon we will see kids running EV's with 0-60 times of 2 secs, and they will see any fossil fuel car (ferrari or not) as rubbish incomparison to their automatic/plush milkfloat. It seems to me what is seen as pleasurable/desirable characteristics in a car from a drivers perspective is changing.
Edited by shantybeater on Tuesday 16th April 10:58
shantybeater said:
These pop & bang maps are frankly embarrassing, and only really exist in a desperate attempt to make a crap 4 cyl turbo sound exotic.
Totally agree.I've nothing against VAG's and I'd very happily drive a Golf GTI but the very first thing I'd do would be work out how to turn the farts and pops off.
AC43 said:
Totally agree.
I've nothing against VAG's and I'd very happily drive a Golf GTI but the very first thing I'd do would be work out how to turn the farts and pops off.
Yep, the girlfriends car is a MK6 Gti, has a miltek, induction kit, map and subtly sounds good, no farts/pops in sight. I've nothing against VAG's and I'd very happily drive a Golf GTI but the very first thing I'd do would be work out how to turn the farts and pops off.
406dogvan said:
simonbamg said:
Only embarrassing if your bothered what someone thinks of your car
Almost EVERYONE cares what people think of their car - outside of people who buy 'white goods' cars to get around which is probably <10% of all car owners.If we didn't care about that - we'd all drive the same car in the same color y'see
I recall one owner getting very upset and abusive because he was told it was unlikely his diesel Rover would become "collectable".
So many PH'ers treat their cars like an extension of their image or personality. It's a bit embarrassing really.
Just do what you want - if you like hearing a loud exhaust, then bully for you.
AC43 said:
shantybeater said:
These pop & bang maps are frankly embarrassing, and only really exist in a desperate attempt to make a crap 4 cyl turbo sound exotic.
Totally agree.I've nothing against VAG's and I'd very happily drive a Golf GTI but the very first thing I'd do would be work out how to turn the farts and pops off.
It's a marketing man's wet dream, in all fairness.
Give attention-seekers the option to have a car that draws attention to them.
The M54 3.0 6Cyl in my Z4 was the main factor I bought the car for. Sounds fantastic when giving it some, especially within the cabin since taking a piece of the foam out of the "sound generator" pipe leading into the cabin. Nice and quiet when driving around town.
Golf R, A45, RS3 etc just sound s
t imo.
Golf R, A45, RS3 etc just sound s
t imo. Suspect the embarrassment was reversed when the Golf passed the Model S when it was stuck for an hour at the next charging point (assuming it got that far).
Admittedly, a silly choice of opponent for the Golf driver, but come off it PH - half the reason a lot of us like cars is because of the noise they make, if it's a good one. Again, Golf R perhaps not the best example, but a pre-turbo straight-six from BMW, a 12 from Ferrari, or any number of V8s have far more character than a fast milk-float.
Admittedly, a silly choice of opponent for the Golf driver, but come off it PH - half the reason a lot of us like cars is because of the noise they make, if it's a good one. Again, Golf R perhaps not the best example, but a pre-turbo straight-six from BMW, a 12 from Ferrari, or any number of V8s have far more character than a fast milk-float.
(Nice) sound is emotion so to me a purely silent car is really dull; I may as well be on a modern train. A car that makes a tuneful noise is so enjoyable and that and the vibrations and associated feedback are an integral part of the experience, much the same as the vibration and noise at a good air display with fast jets.
Like all things personality type and age will come in to it hence the mix of opinions.
N.B. I agree with the VAG comments. I find the engineered-in noises cringe-worthy.
Like all things personality type and age will come in to it hence the mix of opinions.
N.B. I agree with the VAG comments. I find the engineered-in noises cringe-worthy.
There seem to be a lot of people on here who can only see it from their view point behind the steering wheel. The reality is that, yes it is embarrassing when/because its forced on others and most people aren't car fans.
If I'm accelerating up a slip road or on a nice twisty away from residential areas then great - I'll bang the engine in race mode, wring out every rev and produce fart noises galore.
But anyone who imposes loud noise (whether 4 cyl, v8 or unobtanium v12) on others is a knob. I am a huge car fan and noise is part of the appeal, but the b***end in my village who drives his modified Monaro past my house at 6am everyday pisses me off as it wakes me and the kids up. Same applies to the bloke with the Harley. It makes no difference that it sounds nice - its obnoxious to everyone on the street because your imposing it upon them and they have no way of avoiding it.
Adjustable exhausts / carefully mapped engines that mean you can pootle quietly when you need to should be a must on any petrolhead car in my opinion, and I wouldn't buy a daily driven car that didn't have one because I feel it's selfish to impose noise pollution on the vast majority of the population who aren't car fans. Its the same as having a neighbour playing really loud music all the time which most of us would get rightly wound up by.
We all need to be far more aware of how the general populace see's us and try to make ourselves as acceptable as possible to the inevitable march of green/eco friendly policy. Inability to consider how others view us will be a key reason why ICE and 'fun' cars will disappear, as governments are clearly cracking down on noise pollution and I cant see this stopping - drive quietly when you should (by keeping revs down or putting it in 'eco mode') and we might be able to keep them for a few decades more.
TLDR: yes its obnoxious so keep quiet when you're near others.
Yours sincerely - VAG fart-car owner.
If I'm accelerating up a slip road or on a nice twisty away from residential areas then great - I'll bang the engine in race mode, wring out every rev and produce fart noises galore.
But anyone who imposes loud noise (whether 4 cyl, v8 or unobtanium v12) on others is a knob. I am a huge car fan and noise is part of the appeal, but the b***end in my village who drives his modified Monaro past my house at 6am everyday pisses me off as it wakes me and the kids up. Same applies to the bloke with the Harley. It makes no difference that it sounds nice - its obnoxious to everyone on the street because your imposing it upon them and they have no way of avoiding it.
Adjustable exhausts / carefully mapped engines that mean you can pootle quietly when you need to should be a must on any petrolhead car in my opinion, and I wouldn't buy a daily driven car that didn't have one because I feel it's selfish to impose noise pollution on the vast majority of the population who aren't car fans. Its the same as having a neighbour playing really loud music all the time which most of us would get rightly wound up by.
We all need to be far more aware of how the general populace see's us and try to make ourselves as acceptable as possible to the inevitable march of green/eco friendly policy. Inability to consider how others view us will be a key reason why ICE and 'fun' cars will disappear, as governments are clearly cracking down on noise pollution and I cant see this stopping - drive quietly when you should (by keeping revs down or putting it in 'eco mode') and we might be able to keep them for a few decades more.
TLDR: yes its obnoxious so keep quiet when you're near others.
Yours sincerely - VAG fart-car owner.
Seems like an odd thread - is it not all just based on your perception? Someone could have easily started a thread saying are electric cars embarassing that they go so quick yet make the noise of a whinney mouse.
Also startled at the number of people on this thread that have so much bad to say about the noise from an ice car. I could count on one hand the number of times a cars noise has annoyed me enough to remember it in a bad way. Main one I remember is a GTR flying by me on the motorway and I literally thought it was a bloody plane about to land on the motorway. Clearly was modiffied to the hilt and not standard.
Maybe im lucky I dont have anyone in my area that drives around trying to make loud noises all the time and thats not because the cars are not around : F types, selection of M cars, audi RS cars etc
Also startled at the number of people on this thread that have so much bad to say about the noise from an ice car. I could count on one hand the number of times a cars noise has annoyed me enough to remember it in a bad way. Main one I remember is a GTR flying by me on the motorway and I literally thought it was a bloody plane about to land on the motorway. Clearly was modiffied to the hilt and not standard.
Maybe im lucky I dont have anyone in my area that drives around trying to make loud noises all the time and thats not because the cars are not around : F types, selection of M cars, audi RS cars etc
I have a modified Chimaera 500 (5 litre V8), it's fully de-catted but I did retain the standard box, she measures a tad under 105db at 4k rpm on a static test (Snetterton), and I've yet to get pulled on a fly by ... She just scrapes in for track days, and driving it in town (very rare) or leaving home I keep the revs as low as possible, and it sounds like a big rumbly V8.... open the taps though, and over 4k rpm the sound becomes spine tingling (DC/motorway/country roads). Combined with the savage acceleration it's very addictive 
Have to say I've never felt embarrassed whilst driving it...
... She just scrapes in for track days, and driving it in town (very rare) or leaving home I keep the revs as low as possible, and it sounds like a big rumbly V8.... open the taps though, and over 4k rpm the sound becomes spine tingling (DC/motorway/country roads). Combined with the savage acceleration it's very addictive Have to say I've never felt embarrassed whilst driving it...
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