VW UP exhaust sound

[macp]

Just bought a 75hp High Up and its a cracking little car. Just wondering what other owners have experienced with these cars. Mine sounds sort of like it has a sports exhaust but its totally standard. Its not an unpleasant sound and I reckon I will get used to it. I even had it up on a ramp to see if it was blowing but found no leaks whatsoever.

What was yours like ?

[Wilts_jeff]

Does it sound like a sports exhaust from inside or outside the car? The reason I ask is that the Up GTI pipes a sports exhaust sound through the speakers. Outside the car it has a very slight burble but nothing to write home about. That said the GTI is a cracking little car

[macp]

Wilts_jeff said:

Does it sound like a sports exhaust from inside or outside the car? The reason I ask is that the Up GTI pipes a sports exhaust sound through the speakers. Outside the car it has a very slight burble but nothing to write home about. That said the GTI is a cracking little car

Thanks Jeff I would say the sound is internal and yes I read about the artificial sound piped into the cabin in the GTI. I didnt think the lesser models would have the same but im not certain. Just had a bit of a drive home 'making progress' and actually its really not unpleasant even at 70/80mph on the motorway. Its does seem to like a few revs and the exhaust note is not that audible when its singing further up the rev range. Its actually quite a fun pint sized car.

[missing the VR6]

Just a characteristic of the 3 cylinder engine I'd suggest.

[macp]

So I took it into the exhaust shop. They found no problem (not leaking) they say doing the old hand over the tailpipe trick. But they say it could be the baffles. So a few days later I hear a knock when starting the car and asked the same shop to take another look. In their opinion its the flexi pipe at fault but they cant supply it. I asked them could this also be the reason the car is overly noisy. They said yes.

Thoughts ?

[steveo3002]

yes a broken exhaust will be noisy

[The_Doc]

Wilts_jeff said:

Does it sound like a sports exhaust from inside or outside the car? The reason I ask is that the Up GTI pipes a sports exhaust sound through the speakers. Outside the car it has a very slight burble but nothing to write home about. That said the GTI is a cracking little car

Not through the speakers.

The GTI uses a "Soundaktor" system, independently of the speakers. You can disable it.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=soundaktor&o...

[macp]

steveo3002 said:

yes a broken exhaust will be noisy

Hopefully its that steveo. Car just seems overly vocal and I notice its a little lumpy when idling. That could be a 3cyl thing though.

[macp]

missing the VR6 said:

Just a characteristic of the 3 cylinder engine I'd suggest.

Yes I get that but its very vocal and my old Polo triple was virtually silent in comparison.

[catso]

The_Doc said:

Not through the speakers.

The GTI uses a "Soundaktor" system, independently of the speakers. You can disable it.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=soundaktor&o...

Don't know about the Up but my S4 has a soundaktor that sounds ridiculous, especially that the exhaust note is quite pleasing anyway. It also only appeared to be present if the gearbox was in 'S' mode or manual.

I turned it off (down to 0% actually) using VCDS but you can also just pull the fuse out if VCDS or other coding system not available.

'Fake noise' has no place in a car...

[macp]

I had the door open and revving the engine I heard the exhaust spit a couple times. Cant be right, can it ?

[macp]

Just in case anybody is interested I found the problem. Topping up the washer bottle I noticed the airbox looked odd. It was cracked and not sitting on the throttle body hence all the noise. Also the rough running and knocking from the exhaust. All gone after a new airbox & filter fitted. The car is transformed and although it cant be described as fast its got just enough (using revs and stirring the box) to actually have some fun on the back roads. The chassis and steering are really pretty good and that combined with half decent tyres equals a bit of cheap fun.