Piped in intake sounds... - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

newb · 02-09-2015, 01:18 AM

Am I the only one who didn't know the new Mustang had this? They actually have a line running from the intake tube to the interior of the car to pipe in more sound. And it has a muffler which can be removed/modified to alter the sound to you liking.

Granted, this is still better to me than some of the electronic versions put in cars today as it is still technically engine sounds. But I find it silly that they have to go this far to make a V8 sound like a V8.

crysalis_01 · 02-09-2015, 02:01 AM

I think it has to do more with modern engines being ever more and more refined thus not being near as noisy as older engine. Then add on top of that how the masses want a cabin that has no; road noise, wind noise, etc. All the sound deadening material used drowns out even more of the engine as collateral damage. Besides we the enthusiasts are in the vast minority of buyers, so ours are not the tastes catered to for these mass produced vehicles.

That's why an aftermarket exists I suppose.

newb · 02-09-2015, 03:11 AM

So if enthusiasts are not the main marketing focus( and I agree 100%) and the main stream customer wants a quiet ride, why bother? Almost seems contradictory to me. We took out everything that gives this cars it's soul by sound deadening the crap out of it then artificially reintroduced the engine sounds that really caters to enthusiasts.

Muscle Car Memories · 02-09-2015, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newb

So if enthusiasts are not the main marketing focus( and I agree 100%) and the main stream customer wants a quiet ride, why bother? Almost seems contradictory to me. We took out everything that gives this cars it's soul by sound deadening the crap out of it then artificially reintroduced the engine sounds that really caters to enthusiasts.

Ford isnt the only manufacture doing it, there have been several doing the same thing in the past few years.

crysalis_01 · 02-09-2015, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muscle Car Memories

Ford isnt the only manufacture doing it, there have been several doing the same thing in the past few years.

I don't believe its a question of WHO is doing it, rather WHY do it. I have to imagine that that's a very complex answer. Perhaps even those who are not necessarily looking for "that sound" would still find it's absence odd. The buyer of the masses, is going to buy more on appearance than anything else. But even among them, test driving a v8 powered pony car, that I'm sure the salesman will extol, and not hearing said engine would be pretty noticeable.

This type of thing had me on the fence for quite sometime. I have however been able to reconcile with the fact that this "sound engineering" is all but a necessity these days. To be honest I now look at these measures; like the induction sound tube and even electronic sound enhancement (by way if sound cancelling unwanted frequencies and sound boosting of more pleasing frequencies) no different than someone changing the exhaust system or intake tract for a better sound.

Some will now and continue to hate it. That's the way of anything in this world. We are all entitled to our opinions. There will be times where this type of tech is poorly used and times where it's executed flawlessly.

LostPony · 02-09-2015, 09:47 AM

The sound being piped in either by the intake tube or artificially by the sound system allows the best of both worlds for the engineers and (majority of) customers. They can sound insulate the cars the way a large percentage of buyers want, and give the sound expected by the customer under acceleration, without having to listen to it all the time. We the enthusiasts don't mind the "noise", but as pointed out above, we make up a very small percentage of actual buyers.

Burt · 02-09-2015, 09:58 AM

It's one method some engineers have found to try and compromise for most of their customers. Most people want an insulated ride without tire or wind noise, and they want most of the mechanical noises, other than the intake and exhaust blocked out as well. However, in order to make the desired noises, they either have to crank up the volume (think Jaguar F-Type, SRT Mopars, and most V8 GM cars) or artificially bring it in, which lets the drivers hear it, and makes passing emission/decibel regs easier. I like what GM/Jag/Dodge do by using active exhausts, which are quiet when commuting and loud when not, or can easily be made loud all the time for those of us who want it.

It's a matter of taste. I want it loud, all the time, but I have a friend who wanted to take the intake sound tube off his GTI (they do it too) to make it even more quiet. At least they're trying to make everyone happy, otherwise they'd ignore us and only please the mass-market.

snarky · 02-09-2015, 10:15 AM

pretty creepy when you can no longer expect honest sound from your car. the ATS-V's LF-4 motor has sounds piped thru the audio system to enhance the engine tone. that's just lovely. about as lovely as the Bosch filter I bought today for my first oil change. 8 qts is going through this?? the filter on my John Deere riding mower is larger...

newb · 02-09-2015, 10:22 AM

I get that sound plays a large part in the brains concept of speed. I witnessed it plenty of times. My ex-wife has a V6 Honda Accord. At the time I drove a GMC truck with a great sounding set of Flowmasters. Her car was considerably faster than my truck but it was quiet. My son who was only 3 or 4, swore up and down my truck was faster. So I get it.

But I guess I am on the side of active exhausts as well. It's not just about the sound inside the cabin. I want the sound to be outside the car as well. When I stand on the gas I want everyone to know that it was a big screaming V8 that just went by. Not just me and my passengers.

MagnumForceGB · 02-09-2015, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newb

I get that sound plays a large part in the brains concept of speed. I witnessed it plenty of times. My ex-wife has a V6 Honda Accord. At the time I drove a GMC truck with a great sounding set of Flowmasters. Her car was considerably faster than my truck but it was quiet. My son who was only 3 or 4, swore up and down my truck was faster. So I get it.

But I guess I am on the side of active exhausts as well. It's not just about the sound inside the cabin. I want the sound to be outside the car as well. When I stand on the gas I want everyone to know that it was a big screaming V8 that just went by. Not just me and my passengers.

That's the problem, not everybody wants to hear a loud exhaust and complain to their representatives. Laws get passed and companies have to comply. Ford also had exhaust side pipes on their Boss 302 which sounded awesome while keeping the outside quiet.

LostPony · 02-09-2015, 11:05 AM

The side exhaust on a Boss 302 is anything but quiet. My neighbor uses my Boss 302 as his alarm clock.

Bhobbs · 02-09-2015, 11:13 AM

A muscle car and a luxury car are completely opposite but people want their muscle cars to be more like luxury cars. The raw, visceral nature of the muscle car is lost when you add in the comfort of the luxury car. Manufacturers have to find a way to get some of that muscle car feel or else people would complain.

MagnumForceGB · 02-09-2015, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LostPony

The side exhaust on a Boss 302 is anything but quiet. My neighbor uses my Boss 302 as his alarm clock.

With the restrictor plates in. The Ford engineers made a smart move by making those plates easy to remove. I wanted those side pipes but they discontinued them right before I was ready to order an exhaust.

90503 · 02-09-2015, 11:33 AM

For sure it's a sign of the times....We're sort of at a cross-roads with the technology, regulations, customer expectations, etc.

I see this sort of as somewhat of a gimmick, on the other hand it probably nips a lot of misunderstandings in the bud with dealers especially having to bear the brunt of trying to explain why the car sounds "different" to a customer if there were no "enhancements" with the cabin sound....

...Like everything else, if you take the time to research what it actually is all about, you can mod it to your heart's content one way or the other...

I just hope it doesn't go too far and have it back fire (no pun intended) by creating sounds that are miles apart from what the engine actually could produce....

02-09-2015, 01:18 AM	#1
newb Drives: 2013 1LE Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: DMV Posts: 1,548	Piped in intake sounds... Am I the only one who didn't know the new Mustang had this? They actually have a line running from the intake tube to the interior of the car to pipe in more sound. And it has a muffler which can be removed/modified to alter the sound to you liking. Granted, this is still better to me than some of the electronic versions put in cars today as it is still technically engine sounds. But I find it silly that they have to go this far to make a V8 sound like a V8. __________________ It's a Dingledarm. It's there to dampen side fumbling. If your marzelvanes fumble too much they can cause total protonic reversal. It gets ugly from there. This is really the biggest problem with the new Camaro. That and the tri-pronged blivot. Delivered 21 Jan 2013

02-09-2015, 02:01 AM	#2
crysalis_01 Iron fist, lead foot Drives: 2003 Mustang Cobra Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Wyoming Posts: 1,227	I think it has to do more with modern engines being ever more and more refined thus not being near as noisy as older engine. Then add on top of that how the masses want a cabin that has no; road noise, wind noise, etc. All the sound deadening material used drowns out even more of the engine as collateral damage. Besides we the enthusiasts are in the vast minority of buyers, so ours are not the tastes catered to for these mass produced vehicles. That's why an aftermarket exists I suppose. __________________ '03 SVT Cobra-SC4.6L V8 \|\| modded with mods'n'stuff

02-09-2015, 03:11 AM	#3
newb Drives: 2013 1LE Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: DMV Posts: 1,548	So if enthusiasts are not the main marketing focus( and I agree 100%) and the main stream customer wants a quiet ride, why bother? Almost seems contradictory to me. We took out everything that gives this cars it's soul by sound deadening the crap out of it then artificially reintroduced the engine sounds that really caters to enthusiasts. __________________ It's a Dingledarm. It's there to dampen side fumbling. If your marzelvanes fumble too much they can cause total protonic reversal. It gets ugly from there. This is really the biggest problem with the new Camaro. That and the tri-pronged blivot. Delivered 21 Jan 2013

02-09-2015, 09:47 AM	#6
LostPony Drives: 2012 Boss 302 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charles Town WV Posts: 254	The sound being piped in either by the intake tube or artificially by the sound system allows the best of both worlds for the engineers and (majority of) customers. They can sound insulate the cars the way a large percentage of buyers want, and give the sound expected by the customer under acceleration, without having to listen to it all the time. We the enthusiasts don't mind the "noise", but as pointed out above, we make up a very small percentage of actual buyers. __________________ 2012 Kona Boss 302 #2758

02-09-2015, 09:58 AM	#7
Burt Cone Killer Drives: 2012 SS Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: St. Albans, West Virginia Posts: 832	It's one method some engineers have found to try and compromise for most of their customers. Most people want an insulated ride without tire or wind noise, and they want most of the mechanical noises, other than the intake and exhaust blocked out as well. However, in order to make the desired noises, they either have to crank up the volume (think Jaguar F-Type, SRT Mopars, and most V8 GM cars) or artificially bring it in, which lets the drivers hear it, and makes passing emission/decibel regs easier. I like what GM/Jag/Dodge do by using active exhausts, which are quiet when commuting and loud when not, or can easily be made loud all the time for those of us who want it. It's a matter of taste. I want it loud, all the time, but I have a friend who wanted to take the intake sound tube off his GTI (they do it too) to make it even more quiet. At least they're trying to make everyone happy, otherwise they'd ignore us and only please the mass-market. __________________ 2012 Camaro SS - Sold Selling off my remaining wheels, tires, 27mm front sway bar, and MGW shift knob. Get them out of my house before my wife puts me out!

02-09-2015, 10:15 AM	#8
snarky ultracrepidarianism Drives: '14 1SS/RS/1LE/NPP '18 Accord Sport Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: where folks drive like shit Posts: 1,297	pretty creepy when you can no longer expect honest sound from your car. the ATS-V's LF-4 motor has sounds piped thru the audio system to enhance the engine tone. that's just lovely. about as lovely as the Bosch filter I bought today for my first oil change. 8 qts is going through this?? the filter on my John Deere riding mower is larger...

02-09-2015, 10:22 AM	#9
newb Drives: 2013 1LE Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: DMV Posts: 1,548	I get that sound plays a large part in the brains concept of speed. I witnessed it plenty of times. My ex-wife has a V6 Honda Accord. At the time I drove a GMC truck with a great sounding set of Flowmasters. Her car was considerably faster than my truck but it was quiet. My son who was only 3 or 4, swore up and down my truck was faster. So I get it. But I guess I am on the side of active exhausts as well. It's not just about the sound inside the cabin. I want the sound to be outside the car as well. When I stand on the gas I want everyone to know that it was a big screaming V8 that just went by. Not just me and my passengers. __________________ It's a Dingledarm. It's there to dampen side fumbling. If your marzelvanes fumble too much they can cause total protonic reversal. It gets ugly from there. This is really the biggest problem with the new Camaro. That and the tri-pronged blivot. Delivered 21 Jan 2013

02-09-2015, 11:05 AM	#11
LostPony Drives: 2012 Boss 302 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charles Town WV Posts: 254	The side exhaust on a Boss 302 is anything but quiet. My neighbor uses my Boss 302 as his alarm clock. __________________ 2012 Kona Boss 302 #2758

02-09-2015, 11:13 AM	#12
Bhobbs Drives: 2015 SS 1LE Red Hot, 1970 Chevelle Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Chino, CA Posts: 6,989	A muscle car and a luxury car are completely opposite but people want their muscle cars to be more like luxury cars. The raw, visceral nature of the muscle car is lost when you add in the comfort of the luxury car. Manufacturers have to find a way to get some of that muscle car feel or else people would complain. __________________

02-09-2015, 11:33 AM	#14
90503 Drives: 2011 2SS/RS LS3 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Torrance Posts: 14,416	For sure it's a sign of the times....We're sort of at a cross-roads with the technology, regulations, customer expectations, etc. I see this sort of as somewhat of a gimmick, on the other hand it probably nips a lot of misunderstandings in the bud with dealers especially having to bear the brunt of trying to explain why the car sounds "different" to a customer if there were no "enhancements" with the cabin sound.... ...Like everything else, if you take the time to research what it actually is all about, you can mod it to your heart's content one way or the other... I just hope it doesn't go too far and have it back fire (no pun intended) by creating sounds that are miles apart from what the engine actually could produce....