Are noisy ICE cars becoming embarrassing?
Discussion
I'm lucky enough to have Tesla MS daily driver - and a big Mac for the weekends.
When I'm in the Tesla, blasting past a nice sounding R8 or Fezza just makes them sound like they're crying - "waaah - I'm so slow".
When I'm in the Mac, I'm loving the T-rex roar behind my ears.
Just looking at cars from both sides now....
When I'm in the Tesla, blasting past a nice sounding R8 or Fezza just makes them sound like they're crying - "waaah - I'm so slow".
When I'm in the Mac, I'm loving the T-rex roar behind my ears.
Just looking at cars from both sides now....
I really don't understand PH sometimes. Perhaps it's because a lot of the clientele are aged.
Mainstream manufacturers are producing hatchbacks with 300+bhp, which in an era of emissions and EV's will soon be a thing of the past. People on here moan about these 300bhp VAG hatchbacks making asbo noises but a car that makes around 300 too, as long as it's a v6 or a v8 is perfectly fine to wake up half the street.
I find anything over the top embarrassing. When some v8 roars past me at 10mph but it sounds like Thor has returned for the reckoning, it's a little tragic too.
Mainstream manufacturers are producing hatchbacks with 300+bhp, which in an era of emissions and EV's will soon be a thing of the past. People on here moan about these 300bhp VAG hatchbacks making asbo noises but a car that makes around 300 too, as long as it's a v6 or a v8 is perfectly fine to wake up half the street.
I find anything over the top embarrassing. When some v8 roars past me at 10mph but it sounds like Thor has returned for the reckoning, it's a little tragic too.
Getting into the pure performance of electric Vs ICE, how often are you lot racing people at traffic lights? Or on the roads?
I'm currently trundling about in a 14 year old BMW 645, it's got about 330bhp which in today's world isn't a great deal. However most cars seem to be bought and driven for economy so it rarely feels lacking.
Would another 300bhp (in any format) make a huge difference to how fast I drive? Probably not. So for me it boils down to what makes me happier when I drive it, and noise does play a part in that.
I've had fast bikes and got rid of them for license preservation reasons.
I've lived with the sort of acceleration that you would need something pretty super (or Tesla) to to beat, coupled with a more visceral riding experience than any car can manage. I still couldn't use all of the performance most of the time.
In fact the main issue was that the performance available was so far above what is legal or socially acceptable that I decided to take a step back and get something a lot slower as I'm not the sort of person to have something available and not want to use it.
A Tesla whatever can do 0-60 really quickly, but does it silently. No interest. The need to race one is unlikely to come up at any point.
I'd rather have a slower, louder, cruder Mustang that'll shout it's way to 60 and make me chuckle when I fire it up in underground car parks.
Sometimes less capable is a lot more fun.
I'm currently trundling about in a 14 year old BMW 645, it's got about 330bhp which in today's world isn't a great deal. However most cars seem to be bought and driven for economy so it rarely feels lacking.
Would another 300bhp (in any format) make a huge difference to how fast I drive? Probably not. So for me it boils down to what makes me happier when I drive it, and noise does play a part in that.
I've had fast bikes and got rid of them for license preservation reasons.
I've lived with the sort of acceleration that you would need something pretty super (or Tesla) to to beat, coupled with a more visceral riding experience than any car can manage. I still couldn't use all of the performance most of the time.
In fact the main issue was that the performance available was so far above what is legal or socially acceptable that I decided to take a step back and get something a lot slower as I'm not the sort of person to have something available and not want to use it.
A Tesla whatever can do 0-60 really quickly, but does it silently. No interest. The need to race one is unlikely to come up at any point.
I'd rather have a slower, louder, cruder Mustang that'll shout it's way to 60 and make me chuckle when I fire it up in underground car parks.
Sometimes less capable is a lot more fun.
Speed addicted said:
Getting into the pure performance of electric Vs ICE, how often are you lot racing people at traffic lights? Or on the roads?
I'm currently trundling about in a 14 year old BMW 645, it's got about 330bhp which in today's world isn't a great deal. However most cars seem to be bought and driven for economy so it rarely feels lacking.
Would another 300bhp (in any format) make a huge difference to how fast I drive? Probably not. So for me it boils down to what makes me happier when I drive it, and noise does play a part in that.
I've had fast bikes and got rid of them for license preservation reasons.
I've lived with the sort of acceleration that you would need something pretty super (or Tesla) to to beat, coupled with a more visceral riding experience than any car can manage. I still couldn't use all of the performance most of the time.
In fact the main issue was that the performance available was so far above what is legal or socially acceptable that I decided to take a step back and get something a lot slower as I'm not the sort of person to have something available and not want to use it.
A Tesla whatever can do 0-60 really quickly, but does it silently. No interest. The need to race one is unlikely to come up at any point.
I'd rather have a slower, louder, cruder Mustang that'll shout it's way to 60 and make me chuckle when I fire it up in underground car parks.
Sometimes less capable is a lot more fun.
Best response - couldn't have put it better myself.I'm currently trundling about in a 14 year old BMW 645, it's got about 330bhp which in today's world isn't a great deal. However most cars seem to be bought and driven for economy so it rarely feels lacking.
Would another 300bhp (in any format) make a huge difference to how fast I drive? Probably not. So for me it boils down to what makes me happier when I drive it, and noise does play a part in that.
I've had fast bikes and got rid of them for license preservation reasons.
I've lived with the sort of acceleration that you would need something pretty super (or Tesla) to to beat, coupled with a more visceral riding experience than any car can manage. I still couldn't use all of the performance most of the time.
In fact the main issue was that the performance available was so far above what is legal or socially acceptable that I decided to take a step back and get something a lot slower as I'm not the sort of person to have something available and not want to use it.
A Tesla whatever can do 0-60 really quickly, but does it silently. No interest. The need to race one is unlikely to come up at any point.
I'd rather have a slower, louder, cruder Mustang that'll shout it's way to 60 and make me chuckle when I fire it up in underground car parks.
Sometimes less capable is a lot more fun.
In my younger days I had a modded Mini (the original one) with a few engine mods, big wheels etc and an incredibly loud exhaust. If I remember correctly it was something like 3" bore with a single silencer and twin pipes sticking out the back. It was so loud it would set off car alarms as you went past. It probably actually slowed the car down, but if noise equated to speed, it would have done 200mph. At the time I loved it, although towards the end I was taking to wearing ear defenders while driving it. In fact when I sold it, I gave them to the new owner and said "You're going to need these !". Nowadays, I can appreciate the sound of a well driven supercar or an older classic with a nice exhaust note, but forced pops and bangs on hot hatches annoy me no end. As my old teacher used to say, "You know you are mature when you start asking people to turn the sound down" 
I love fast cars and the performance they can offer but for me I’d rather cruise around behind the lovely rumble of an old school v8 than go warp speed in a silent battery.
I can appreciate the performance you can get from EV’s but for me sound plays a big part in the fun and when that no longer exists a large part of the driving pleasure will die for me.
Id like one as a daily but would still need something special and good sounding just for fun.
I can appreciate the performance you can get from EV’s but for me sound plays a big part in the fun and when that no longer exists a large part of the driving pleasure will die for me.
Id like one as a daily but would still need something special and good sounding just for fun.
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'?
Err, yes, cold start. All modern ECU/EFI cars have this function, used to be called a choke in the old days with carbs 
Its only really more noticeable on a modern larger engine car with a less restrictive exhaust. I had a BMW 135i with the BMW Performance exhaust fitted, and it was a tad anti-social for the first 60 secs or so at 5.30am in the winter
No. Depends entirely on engine.
3 cylinder bikes, well triumphs sound lovely. My old Daytona 675 was wonderful. Four cylinder R1 with different firing order sounds like a V8 on a full system, which is weirdly why I own one with a full akrapovic.
There can be anti social use of any engine. Which is annoying. I'm not keen on some modern cars sounds. Too wet farty. Even an M4 I saw recently did not sound sonorous. However in no way would I say noisy ICE are embarrassing. How can you say a V8 it's embarrassing? Seeing and hearing a rare or old or exotic sounding car/bike makes my day.
Something like this https://youtu.be/MBbskqcgs_o
3 cylinder bikes, well triumphs sound lovely. My old Daytona 675 was wonderful. Four cylinder R1 with different firing order sounds like a V8 on a full system, which is weirdly why I own one with a full akrapovic.
There can be anti social use of any engine. Which is annoying. I'm not keen on some modern cars sounds. Too wet farty. Even an M4 I saw recently did not sound sonorous. However in no way would I say noisy ICE are embarrassing. How can you say a V8 it's embarrassing? Seeing and hearing a rare or old or exotic sounding car/bike makes my day.
Something like this https://youtu.be/MBbskqcgs_o
sambucket said:
Daston said:
most quick cars with pistons comes with noise so just wondered why you decided Pistonheads was a good place :P
Genuinely have no idea what this means! Most quick cars have low mpg. Do you like that too? Noise is a bug not a feature. Given a magical choice between a perfectly silent ICE Jag and a regular ICE Jag, you would pick the noisy one?
That is just nuts in my mind. But then I live in the arse end of nowhere cos I hate noise! Which is pretty nutty I can see. So each to their own
I once pulled out of house purchase because someone drove past on a harley and it shook the foundations.
aeropilot said:
Even better, a 3 cyl MV 500 GP bike at full chat going over the mountain on the island...............
I spent 3 wonderful weeks on the IoM when my sister was racing in the TT. One of my abiding memories is of Germans in the campsite bouncing their brand new bikes off the rev limiters until the engines glowed in the dark You are right about racing engines though. Le Mans with the Corvettes and Astons racing through the night sounds glorious.
Grahamdub said:
I spent 3 wonderful weeks on the IoM when my sister was racing in the TT. One of my abiding memories is of Germans in the campsite bouncing their brand new bikes off the rev limiters until the engines glowed in the dark
You are right about racing engines though. Le Mans with the Corvettes and Astons racing through the night sounds glorious.
The RSR’s and the Ford GT’s are up there as well. The 2017 RSR was/is one of the best sounding race cars of all time. Last years’ Aston was a massive disappointment in the sound stakes; I wonder if Corvette will mute the next gen car as well? I hope not... as above, the Corvette ‘Lullaby’’ has always been one of the highlights at Le Mans.You are right about racing engines though. Le Mans with the Corvettes and Astons racing through the night sounds glorious.
sambucket said:
Genuinely have no idea what this means! Most quick cars have low mpg. Do you like that too?
Noise is a bug not a feature. Given a magical choice between a perfectly silent ICE Jag and a regular ICE Jag, you would pick the noisy one?
That is just nuts in my mind. But then I live in the arse end of nowhere cos I hate noise! Which is pretty nutty I can see. So each to their own
I once pulled out of house purchase because someone drove past on a harley and it shook the foundations.
You're either a massive troll or have a contrarian point-of-view, either way you ask some genuinely interesting questions and got me thinking. I've come to the following conclusion: I like noise (I knew that anyway). We only have our 5 senses to experience this infinitely incredible planet we live on. Every experience is a combination of signals that are picked up by these senses and fed back to the brain. Everything about starting up my car adds to that experience, the smell of petrol, the sound of the engine idling, the feeling of being pushed back into the seat and the sight of the landscape flying by, not sure taste really comes into the driving experience? Noise is a bug not a feature. Given a magical choice between a perfectly silent ICE Jag and a regular ICE Jag, you would pick the noisy one?
That is just nuts in my mind. But then I live in the arse end of nowhere cos I hate noise! Which is pretty nutty I can see. So each to their own
I once pulled out of house purchase because someone drove past on a harley and it shook the foundations.
Edited by sambucket on Monday 15th April 00:24
So yes, I would choose the noisey car. Noise adds to the excitement, reminds you of the incredible engineering thats going on around you and causes all sorts of chemical reactions in the brain that I cannot explain… 
tomic said:
Farty vag cars and anything modified have ALWAYS been embarrassing.
A sonorous 6,8,10 (maybe) or 12 cylinder engine is a treat these days
That's just b0ll0cks.A sonorous 6,8,10 (maybe) or 12 cylinder engine is a treat these days
Back to the OP. Part of me wants to say 'I don't give a f
k what people think' – but I think I'd be lying. I do find myself caressing the throttle round town and built up areas to keep the noise down slightly. This is turn means I drive slower than I would normally (read safer, if you believe in our governments campaigning :rolls eyes I do love to crack the windows and open the car up on some country roads in the middle of nowhere though. K20 isn't known for being the fastest engine, but excitement is not lacking in the slightest. Give me a slower car with a nice sound over a fast car with st or no sound, any day of the week.For context, I drive a NA 4 pot K20A, with an aftermarket Fujitsubo exhaust (often described as a 'gentleman's exhaust' for its absence of fart can qualities).
I just try to enjoy whatever I am driving, I had a manky old TT with 4 cylinders, the airbox had been drilled and it had some other miods and I loved how it sounded, all hissing, induction noise and chirruping.
Prior to that I had a V8 Mercedes, which sounded quite nice, but couldnt really hear it properly.
350Z before that, I put a Cobra exhaust on it and it sounded pretty epic, a bit too epic as they arent all that fast compared to the racket it made, it reminded me of the overacting luvvies from Blackadder, my uncle had a Rover MG ZT 260, which had straight pipes, this sounded nice but also a bit too "theatrical",
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqZZfXdm7D0
Complete opposite to the Merc as that made little sound but went like stink.
Current M135i, sounds alright, i quite like the noise on upshifts and the subtle popping on the overrun when in Sport mode, contrived or not.
One of my favourites was my MK2 Golf GTI, loved how that sounded.
Prior to that I had a V8 Mercedes, which sounded quite nice, but couldnt really hear it properly.
350Z before that, I put a Cobra exhaust on it and it sounded pretty epic, a bit too epic as they arent all that fast compared to the racket it made, it reminded me of the overacting luvvies from Blackadder, my uncle had a Rover MG ZT 260, which had straight pipes, this sounded nice but also a bit too "theatrical",
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqZZfXdm7D0
Complete opposite to the Merc as that made little sound but went like stink.
Current M135i, sounds alright, i quite like the noise on upshifts and the subtle popping on the overrun when in Sport mode, contrived or not.
One of my favourites was my MK2 Golf GTI, loved how that sounded.
98elise said:
mehmehmeh said:
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.
To keep up with an 80k EV saloon you'll need a 200k ICE supercar with launch control, fat tyres, etc
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