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The rise of fake engine noise

washingtonpost.com

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Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#71

Post by revisionzero »

MRSallee wrote: post #67

As a motor vehicle enthusiast, I think it's important to distinguish "real noises intentionally amplified by physical audio routing" and "electronic recordings or audio processing played through speakers." I don't object to routing engine noises to the cabin to allow for a loud-feeling vehicle (without necessarily being loud to people outside the car). To me, this isn't fake. The driver experiences real engine noise,…

"I haven't driven a car that does this, but my guess is that it's noticeably simulated."

According to the article, BMW does this, and I can say from first-hand experience in a newer model that it's not noticeably simulated.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#72

Post by Animats »

This may be a transient problem as people get used to new technology. It's like using Filmlook to put scratches and grain on HD video.

The 2013 Lotus Evora, a series hybrid vehicle with an electric motor and a fixed gearbox, took this to the point of silliness. Not only did they provide fake engine sounds, they provided shift paddles and required the driver to shift software-simulated gears. They even provided a momentary loss of power during simulated gear shifting. (http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/22/lotus-pondering-fake-shif...) The driver could select different sounds, or turn all this off and just let the electric motor do its thing, which yielded better acceleration. Here's a demo of all the sound options: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1CzoqEyACQ). Options include simulated straight-6, American V-8, and V-12 engines, plus some turbine-like sounds.

After some snickering from the automotive press, this feature was dropped from later models.

Many electric cars already have an outside noise generator, mandated by law in the EU and US. These switch off above 25 MPH or so, so they don't contribute to freeway noise.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#73

Post by cbd1984 »

reustle wrote: post #59
ars wrote: post #48

Am I the only one that associates loud noise with a weak engine? To me a powerful car just has an acceleration whine, and that's all. It's like a rocket exhaust: the "wilder" it is the weaker it is. A powerful, well tuned, rocket has a very sharp, and clean (i.e. not noisy) flame. Same with a car - if it's making a lot of noise, it's poorly tuned or designed.

It's not just you. It's also other people who don't have much experience with engine performance. Quieter mufflers restrict more airflow, something you don't want to do when you're trying to pass more fuel through a small engine.

Every joule which goes into making noise is a joule which isn't being used to make the machinery go.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#74

Post by derefr »

meric wrote: post #36
jcromartie wrote: post #20

Noise is just wasted energy that could be doing useful work unless, of course, you actually want the noise (like in a musical instrument). This is a really weird trend.

There will be a set of circumstances where you will be resorting to beeps to alert pedestrians without engine noise. Time spent to contemplate whether to beep or not constantly may also be wasted time.

Long before everyone has driverless cars—and not long after cars are silent enough for this sort of thing to matter—we'll have cars that are at least smart enough to know when there are pedestrians nearby and beep at them. (Or possibly even only play engine noise when approaching them.)

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#75

Post by cbd1984 »

wanderingstan wrote: post #69
analog31 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We will have to explain the origin of the sound coming out of our car speakers to our kids, like we have to explain the floppy disk icon for saving a file.

A friend's young daughter asked him why the phone made a "funny sound" when taking a picture. She's never encountered a film camera or heard a real shutter click before.

To be fair, someone who has a lot of experience with film cameras could legitimately ask the same question. Why the hell would a completely different technology ape the noises of a previous generation?

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#76

Post by thedaniel »

revisionzero wrote: post #71
MRSallee wrote: post #67

As a motor vehicle enthusiast, I think it's important to distinguish "real noises intentionally amplified by physical audio routing" and "electronic recordings or audio processing played through speakers." I don't object to routing engine noises to the cabin to allow for a loud-feeling vehicle (without necessarily being loud to people outside the car). To me, this isn't fake. The driver experiences real engine noise,…

"I haven't driven a car that does this, but my guess is that it's noticeably simulated." According to the article, BMW does this, and I can say from first-hand experience in a newer model that it's not noticeably simulated.

And folks are apparently already hacking their in-cabin sounds to sound like higher-performance models! (cf. http://jalopnik.com/someone-hacked-their-bmw-m135i-to-sound-... )

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#77

Post by eru »

ars wrote: post #52
eru wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The power in noise is actually fairly low. Like single digit watts low, for deafening noise.

You are only looking at the energy in the noise itself. But to make that noise there is a ton of wasted energy in vibration, friction from gears, etc. Noise is a symptom of "slop" in an engine. It might be unavoidable, but it's still a symptom of wasted energy.

Oh, definitely. Noise is often a symptom of wasted energy in a mechanical process.

And even producing noise with a speaker is rather inefficient. You need hundreds of Watt input for single digit Watt output in the interesting frequencies.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#78

Post by exprE »

ars wrote: post #48

Am I the only one that associates loud noise with a weak engine? To me a powerful car just has an acceleration whine, and that's all. It's like a rocket exhaust: the "wilder" it is the weaker it is. A powerful, well tuned, rocket has a very sharp, and clean (i.e. not noisy) flame. Same with a car - if it's making a lot of noise, it's poorly tuned or designed.

You're probably not alone, but I don't think that opinion is popular, either. The reason why many people associate loud engines with powerful (IC) engines is because powerful engines, such as those found in racing cars, are loud. Often very loud. It's also not possible to make them quiet without sacrificing performance.

If you meant to say that you don't think much of IC engines in general, you could've just called them inefficient and be done with it.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#79

Post by mikepalmer »

Recently drove a Tesla Model S P85D... best thing about it is that the torque is immediate and silent. Not only can you blow other cars away at lights, you can do it casually, with no noise or fuss. Car is here; put car over there. It's like piloting a UFO.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#80

Post by atonse »

analog31 wrote: post #40
baldeagle wrote: post #22

I drive a Leaf and a Volt, both technically electric cars. The sprinting power of an electric is pretty good, I often take modded civics off the line (stoplight) in the Leaf; the point being that electric cars can quickly move to a spot you don't anticipate them. The Volt has a 'pedestrian warning horn' that, when engaged by the driver, gently and rapidly beeps the horn to draw attention to the Volt. Since it is enga…

>>> As a cyclist, I enjoy having good situational awareness, and electric cars can definitely be surprising when they pass you. The car could have a bell and "on your left" speaker. ;-)

This seems like the perfect use for something like a mini LIDAR you can mount on a bike that detects a car behind you and just lights up a couple of LEDs on the handlebars.
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