Are noisy ICE cars becoming embarrassing?
Discussion
I saw a Tesla Model S and Golf R have a cheeky race away from some traffic lights today. The Tesla pulled a significant gap while the Golf parped away in the slightly contrived way that all DSG VAGs seem to do. It looked/ sounded embarrassing in some ways; almost a case of all show and no go from the Golf (even though it's a quick car by most normal standards).
In the past Joe public associated noise with speed and power. However with the increasing prevalence of silent, instant torque EVs, I wonder how long it'll be before the loud and comparatively slow ICE cars begin to look old fashioned?
I love a nice sounding engine, but am aware that being a car enthusiast is a minority hobby, and one that is increasingly being frowned upon by certain people.
Will noisy cars always be a thing?
In the past Joe public associated noise with speed and power. However with the increasing prevalence of silent, instant torque EVs, I wonder how long it'll be before the loud and comparatively slow ICE cars begin to look old fashioned?
I love a nice sounding engine, but am aware that being a car enthusiast is a minority hobby, and one that is increasingly being frowned upon by certain people.
Will noisy cars always be a thing?
Even though you are not really comparing apples with apples, I think you are right.
I think As electric cars get more and more prevalent, having a poppy bangy farty exhaust will become more and more socially unacceptable.
As long as there are tracks etc to feed our habit it is not such a bad thing though.
I think As electric cars get more and more prevalent, having a poppy bangy farty exhaust will become more and more socially unacceptable.
As long as there are tracks etc to feed our habit it is not such a bad thing though.
There have always been noisy, embarrassing and slow ICE vehicles. Think your stereotypical boy racer type with a 1 litre Corsa complete with fart cannon.
Bearing in mind there are still very few EV's which are quicker than a Golf R, I suspect "noisy" cars will still be able to hold their own for a while to come.
Bearing in mind there are still very few EV's which are quicker than a Golf R, I suspect "noisy" cars will still be able to hold their own for a while to come.
They already are. Anything with less than eight cylinders sounds dull, moving to tragic when made intentionally louder. I really don't see why anything built and sold for use on the road isn't damn near silent. And big single cylinder trail bikes should be crushed with the pillock still sat on it.
Codswallop said:
I saw a Tesla Model S and Golf R have a cheeky race away from some traffic lights today. The Tesla pulled a significant gap while the Golf parped away in the slightly contrived way that all DSG VAGs seem to do. It looked/ sounded embarrassing in some ways; almost a case of all show and no go from the Golf (even though it's a quick car by most normal standards).
In the past Joe public associated noise with speed and power. However with the increasing prevalence of silent, instant torque EVs, I wonder how long it'll be before the loud and comparatively slow ICE cars begin to look old fashioned?
I love a nice sounding engine, but am aware that being a car enthusiast is a minority hobby, and one that is increasingly being frowned upon by certain people.
Will noisy cars always be a thing?
£80k car vs £30k car.In the past Joe public associated noise with speed and power. However with the increasing prevalence of silent, instant torque EVs, I wonder how long it'll be before the loud and comparatively slow ICE cars begin to look old fashioned?
I love a nice sounding engine, but am aware that being a car enthusiast is a minority hobby, and one that is increasingly being frowned upon by certain people.
Will noisy cars always be a thing?
Really reaslistic comparison OP.
k VAG fart or some barryboy....grumbledoak said:
They already are. Anything with less than eight cylinders sounds dull, moving to tragic when made intentionally louder. I really don't see why anything built and sold for use on the road isn't damn near silent. And big single cylinder trail bikes should be crushed with the pillock still sat on it.
Someone who’s clearly never heard a Lancia Stratos, Porsche 993, Fiat Coupe 20v, Alfa GTV6, Honda S2000 etc etc etc All depends on the person. The people driving Golf Rs, A45s etc obviously love it and think its propa sick enit.
I suppose there is a bit of irony in that on PH plenty talk about fantastic sounding V8s, V10s, V12s but to the vast majority of normal people out in the world, the idiot making parping noises with his Golf R is probably the same as the idiot making parping noises with his classic Ferrari or whatever
I suppose there is a bit of irony in that on PH plenty talk about fantastic sounding V8s, V10s, V12s but to the vast majority of normal people out in the world, the idiot making parping noises with his Golf R is probably the same as the idiot making parping noises with his classic Ferrari or whatever
schmalex said:
My wife has a 5.0 Mustang. It sounds bloody gloriius when she opens the taps wide
One of my neighbours has one of these, it's obnoxiously loud when he starts it up (worse than I remember my Griffith being). He then usually sits there idling for five minutes before heading off. Weirdly though, after a few minutes it seems to quieten down a little. Is this some sort of 'feature'? I'm a sucker for a decent V8, and it sounds lovely as he floors it up the road.JulianHJ said:
One of my neighbours has one of these, it's obnoxiously loud when he starts it up (worse than I remember my Griffith being). He then usually sits there idling for five minutes before heading off. Weirdly though, after a few minutes it seems to quieten down a little. Is this some sort of 'feature'? I'm a sucker for a decent V8, and it sounds lovely as he floors it up the road.
Higher revs when started, like 1.2k lowering to 900 when warmerI've been thinking this for quite a while (a year or so), that young people (under 16) may well come to look upon all of the noise and drama of the internal combustion engine, in any format, as an antiquated embarrassment representing inefficiency. Juxtaposed alongside the sleek, silent killer efficiency of electric or other future powerplants, ICE will seem to them a reminder of a fossil fuel driven, dirty past. Look at the recent youth climate change protests. Where do you think ICE fits into all of that? Also, there seems to be a drive to present cars as the enemy of future health. There may be some truth to this in their current ICE format. All in all it does not present a rosy picture for the future of noisy ICE vehicles- that noise may just come to symbolise something bigger that may be a huge cultural turn-off.
As an aside, modern performance variants of ordinary cars, with their predetermined and quite deliberate popping and banging.....pathetic, crass ,vulgar, and importantly, unnecessary.
I'm old enough to remember a time when (whether in film and tv, or in real life), a normal street car that popped and banged was an object of derision- the use of the word "banger" as a derogatory term is a long-lived reminder.
As an aside, modern performance variants of ordinary cars, with their predetermined and quite deliberate popping and banging.....pathetic, crass ,vulgar, and importantly, unnecessary.
I'm old enough to remember a time when (whether in film and tv, or in real life), a normal street car that popped and banged was an object of derision- the use of the word "banger" as a derogatory term is a long-lived reminder.
I drove a mate's 355 the other week. Sounded great and 9000rpm from a low-slung V8 is always going to be an event. But 0-60 takes longer than my Golf.
I'm sure we all agree a noisy Ferrari is OK, but a noisy Golf isn't. However, in this situation, the Golf is the faster car, so surely the Ferrari needs to pipe down and the Golf can speak up?
I'm playing Devil's advocate to a degree, but how does a noisy car qualify as being 'worthy'?
I'm sure we all agree a noisy Ferrari is OK, but a noisy Golf isn't. However, in this situation, the Golf is the faster car, so surely the Ferrari needs to pipe down and the Golf can speak up?
I'm playing Devil's advocate to a degree, but how does a noisy car qualify as being 'worthy'?
It's not that petrol powered cars sound bad, it's that four cylinder turbo cars which fart and pop changing gear at 3k rpm is embarrassing.
Don't get me wrong there's something quite satisfying about the silence emanating from an EV as they pick up silly speed but I'll always prefer the sound of the 6.2 V8 in my CLS. At least that has the engine to back up the noise and doesn't seem like it's trying too hard.
I have no issue with the likes of an A45 or RS3 making a decent noise, they're quick and capable cars but the engine doesn't need to make all that fuss that's just a bit cingey.
Don't get me wrong there's something quite satisfying about the silence emanating from an EV as they pick up silly speed but I'll always prefer the sound of the 6.2 V8 in my CLS. At least that has the engine to back up the noise and doesn't seem like it's trying too hard.
I have no issue with the likes of an A45 or RS3 making a decent noise, they're quick and capable cars but the engine doesn't need to make all that fuss that's just a bit cingey.
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