Are noisy ICE cars becoming embarrassing?

[Konrod]

I have a TVR Tuscan and I was terribly embarrassed about the noise.

To solve it I put on straight through pipes and sleeved the end cans - now I'm not so embarrassed, especially when I lift off in in tunnels and it sounds like this

[usualdog]

9 pages and no one has mentioned the Abarth 595. If you don't smile when you hear one burbling through town there's something wrong with you!

[RDMcG]

I grew up with IC engines and love the sound of a performance car.

However, I would not be at all surprised to see the next generations have a very different attitude. If the IC engine ultimately ceases production and the norm is much quieter cars, then it will be less acceptable and will be like the sound of steam engines, foghorns,klaxons and others that exist in film and not in the present day, sadly,.

[Lewtyper]

I’m torn.

My DC2 with its spoon N1 rear section is obnoxiously loud and not particularly quick by modern standards. I do feel like a bit of a helmet in it sometimes but then again I feel like a bit of a helmet most of the time.

My 435d is very quiet for how quick it is and it’s nice to make a bit of progress without alerting everyone in a 3 mile radius.

[Dblue]

grumbledoak said:

Gameface said:

There many fantastic sounding 6 cylinder engines.

The only ones I hear around here are 911s. Lots of them. You can file them with the VAGs, frankly.

You have got to be joking!! Some of the greatest engine notes at any price are Porsche flat 6s.

[hairykrishna]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

It isn't. I used to wear noise cancelling earbuds on my long commute when doing it in my MR2. Cut out the wind noise and made it much less tiring. You can still hear sirens perfectly.

[pixelmix]

In the OP's original scenario, I'd reckon that the ICE driver has more fun most of the time though. For me, engine/exhaust noise is an important part of the fun driving experience.

I agree that it's fairly tragic when manufacturers insist on overly manufacturing sound. Thankfully my VW is manual so I avoid the fake pops and bangs that afflict many VAG cars (including some of the Porsche engine notes that sound like tractors at idle).

I often think that you need an old school V/i6 or V8 to sound good, but then hear something like a Caterham and remember that it is possible to make smaller engines sounds good. I'm off to search for a thread on cars with decent engine notes since my budget won't currently stretch to a V8...

[griffdude]

I have a pre-cat TVR with an 8-4-2 stainless steel manifold. It has replacement wadding in the silencer to pass noise tests, which seems to work with small throttle openings. However, it’s a different story when wide open.

[anonymous-user]

usualdog said:

9 pages and no one has mentioned the Abarth 595. If you don't smile when you hear one burbling through town there's something wrong with you!

I was about to mention them. There are a few of them local to me and they do make me smile.

[Crippo]

I’ve got a highly modified VX220 Turbo and I have driven it about 100 miles with the radio on in the 6 years that I’ve had it. The rest of the time I’m listening to the engine, turbo, induction, pops, gear box. I can feel what each of the tyres are doing how much traction I’ve got. I can feel every bit of motion and I can feel the steering wheel weighting, unweighting, tugging and gripping. I drive with the roof off nearly all the time. I can feel and hear the wind, the road noise, the gravel bouncing off the body work, The sounds amplify the feelings of motion.... to me this is driving and it’s damn good fun

[RemyMartin81D]

nickfrog said:

m4tti said:

xjay1337 said:

Not my exact car but same exhaust system
I get this every morning I start it!!

Luckily I don't often start early and take this car!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puFN75bq7Js

Sounds like a bunch of farting. Not cool.

Agreed, that's horrible.

Proof of the configuration don't make a good sound per se. That don't sound great for a 6 cylinder.

[Straff99]

I'll just park this here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rEWv49y5a0

[simonbamg]

dunnoreally said:

I beg to differ. I think a lot of the time when someone buys a noisy car, it's precisely because they care an awful lot what other people think. I'd say there's a few people out there who like the fact their Pipercross'd Corsa gets a reaction at all, even if it's largely a negative one.

Personally, I'd be a bit embarrassed by something with a 4 banger where the noise is all exhaust (looking at you A45 AMG), but I'd be very happy with the noise coming out of something with a bit more displacement. Especially if it's speed six TVR...

Saying that, just 'cause it embarrasses me doesn't mean it should embarrass you, of course.

Not really sure what you mean, but I wouldn’t care what you thought of my car what ever it was or how it sounded, I’m guessing your a typical PH car snob

[icekay]

Been thinking about this lately, not about ICE noise in general but the genuinely loud modified exhausts that I hear every day.

I'm fine with good, tasteful ICE noise, no matter if it's 4 or 8 cylinder, after all different enthusiasts have different budgets and types of car they prefer. But many people take it too far and on top of way too loud exhausts, they drive like tts to make the most possible noise - keeping first gear blaring through town being a common example.

These people give the good old fashioned ICE music a bad name, so the general opinion amongst friends and family who don't care about cars is that ICE should die already, why isn't every car electric etc etc. Real shame but if you live near any sort of main road, the fun in loud cars wears off real quick.

[nickfrog]

RemyMartin81D said:

Proof of the configuration don't make a good sound per se. That don't sound great for a 6 cylinder.

I think It massively helps when you're past a cold idle...
The N55 sounds as good as a N52 IME.

[HardtopManual]

I love a nice engine note with a bit of a tune behind it and a bit of volume - if it suits the car. However, the VAG fart/pop/bang nonsense is loathsome and shouts, "Look at me! [I'm driving an econobox with a big engine]". Usually to be found accelerating past a school then having to slam the brakes on 100 yards later.

[EddieSteadyGo]

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?

I'm an EV convert, but nevertheless, I think you are tapping into something which in 10 years time will be a mainstream view.

At some point in the near/ish future we will get one of the traditional premium car brands switching to making EVs only. And we can then expect adverts which will aim to show it isn't fashionable to drive a car which is noisy, dirty and slow.

At that point, people's perception of what a luxury car means will switch quite quickly. Driving something like 535d or X40d will be as cool as using a cassette deck when CDs first came out.

[clarki]

I quite like the noises the VAG cars make. Wouldn't fancy it on my own car but I see/here an RS3 most days and, well, it does make me look tbh.

[anonymous-user]

Fast and Spurious said:

How was this real observation unreaslistic (sic) ?

Because it's almost double the price, so how can you expect it to be as fast?

It's also completely different marquees aimed at completely different people. Really a Golf R is aimed at boy racers / older ex boyracers who can afford a £400 a month finance deal. Hence the burping exhaust.

If I bought an RS3 I would have the burps mapped out honestly.

[Burnham]

I've got a quick diesel that makes very little noise. Its draws no attention when I put my foot down. The lack of aural drama somehow makes it seem even more impressive as it appears sooo effortless.

Theres something nice about piling on speed without thrashing an engine to 8k rpm and the wail that comes with that. Maybe as I've got older I enjoy subtlety and torque over noise and drama.

That doesn't mean I dont like to hear a n/a V8 at full chat though!