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The rise of fake engine noise

washingtonpost.com

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Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#101

Post by na85 »

yaeger wrote: post #91
mikepalmer wrote: post #79

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.

Don't you see any problem with the silence in terms of safety? There is a reason bicycles need to have a bell. Because these you also cannot hear when they approach you. Although, it would be funny seeing a Tesla with a nice little bell and the tacked on law that you have to use it to alarm others in front of you that you are approaching. That'll be a sight to behold.

Cars come equipped with horns for that exact purpose (alerting pedestrians, etc.), though they are often used as displeasure-signalling devices.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#102

Post by hvidgaard »

jacquesm wrote: post #64
bri3d wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of this noise is pumped into the car (to make the consumer happy), not out of the car. The two most common systems in use today are the car stereo (either amplifying the real engine's sound or by simply synchronizing a synthesis mechanism to the engine's load conditions) or a "sound pipe" which runs from the engine's air intake into the cabin ventilation system. This article strangely managed to conflate the two…

If my car would make less noise I'd be happy. It totally baffles me why someone would want more useless noise in their lives rather than less if that's an option. Music is beautiful, artificial engine noise is just that: noise.

I think a lot of people like the roar of a reving engine during acceleration. Crusing on the highway, I'll take one quiet engine please. Inccidently, that is exactly what Ford have done in some of the newer ST model - during normal driving, the sound is not enhanced. However, when you accelerate the sound symposer system route more engine noise to the driver so they still get the roar, even though the engine is a downsized FI engine.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#103

Post by lloeki »

throwketchup wrote: post #81
analog31 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>> 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. ;-)

That or you can just listen for tire noise. Even electic cars are quite loud above 25 mph, or so, so it only really becomes a problem at stop lights. Even then, the distinctive power supply whine will let youn that a hybrid or electric is behind you.

Agreed about tire noise and whine, but the problem is level of ambient noise, and habit. If you have an IC car nearby, even idling, the electric one will be virtually silent.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#104

Post by fizx »

ferrari8608 wrote: post #94
aidenn0 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article makes it sound like that is going to have to go away, if laws are passed to make electrics play fake engine noise.

I just wonder, why does it have to be engine noise in particular? If I saw a Tesla, Leaf, Volt, etc. I wouldn't expect any engine or exhaust noise. Beeping, maybe.

I'd love Tesla to license https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdWswvLPdE0

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#105

Post by jarek »

yaeger wrote: post #91
mikepalmer wrote: post #79

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.

Don't you see any problem with the silence in terms of safety? There is a reason bicycles need to have a bell. Because these you also cannot hear when they approach you. Although, it would be funny seeing a Tesla with a nice little bell and the tacked on law that you have to use it to alarm others in front of you that you are approaching. That'll be a sight to behold.

At city speeds, tire noise exceeds engine noise in many internal-combustion vehicles as well.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#106

Post by na85 »

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.

>Same with a car - if it's making a lot of noise, it's poorly tuned or designed.

Easily disproved. F1 cars produce about 600 horsepower, are extremely performant, and are loud as fuck.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#107

Post by gambiting »

baddox wrote: post #82
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,…

Perhaps it's because I have no interest whatsoever in cars, but I have trouble seeing the distinction. If the idea is that certain sounds are merely the side effect of attributes which are themselves desired for reasons other than their sound, like a powerful engine, then it seems like any intentional design to produce or amplify those sounds are completely useless. What the driver wants is the actual attributes whic…

It's the same as hearing a recording of someone playing the violin vs. the real thing. Even with the best audio system you can still tell it's just a recording.

And I don't treat the sound the engine makes as a side effect of other attributes - it's just as important as acceleration or fuel consumption.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#108

Post by na85 »

cbd1984 wrote: post #73
reustle wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The energy lost to sound is minimal, and often there simply isn't an economic way to prevent those losses without reducing performance.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#109

Post by gambiting »

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.

Nope. A tiny 1.0L 3-cylinder engine will be loud all over and make a horrible whine as it accelerates. That's weak. You hear the engine "scream" without doing much. While a large 5.0L V8 makes a pleasant hum while accelerating hard(almost like the rocket whizz you described - it's powerful but controlled), and is virtually silent while idling. That's what I associate with power.

Re: The rise of fake engine noise

#110

Post by joshu »

Animats wrote: post #72

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 mom…

The evora isn't a hybrid. There was a hybrid version in Europe.
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