Posted on 01/21/2015 1:07:39 PM PST by Second Amendment First
Stomp on the gas in a new Ford Mustang or F-150 and you’ll hear a meaty, throaty rumble — the same style roar that Americans have associated with auto power and performance for decades.
It’s a sham. The engine growl in some of America’s best-selling cars and trucks is actually a finely tuned bit of lip-syncing, boosted through special pipes or digitally faked altogether. And it’s driving car enthusiasts insane.
Fake engine noise has become one of the auto industry’s dirty little secrets, with automakers from BMW to Volkswagen turning to a sound-boosting bag of tricks. Without them, today’s more fuel-efficient engines would sound far quieter and, automakers worry, seemingly less powerful, potentially pushing buyers away.
Softer-sounding engines are actually a positive symbol of just how far engines and gas economy have progressed. But automakers say they resort to artifice because they understand a key car-buyer paradox: Drivers want all the force and fuel savings of a newer, better engine — but the classic sound of an old gas-guzzler.
“Enhanced” engine songs have become the signature of eerily quiet electrics like the Toyota Prius. But the fakery is now increasingly finding its way into even beefy trucks and muscle cars, long revered for their iconic growl.
For the 2015 Mustang EcoBoost, Ford sound engineers and developers worked on an “Active Noise Control” system that amplifies the engine’s purr through the car speakers. Afterwards, the automaker surveyed members of Mustang fan clubs on which processed “sound concepts” they most enjoyed.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
“I went to high school with a guy who could make his truck backfire anytime he wanted”
I hate the HD dudes that tune for that.
fake engine noise
like liberals
My Shell station is at $ 1.75 for regular .
Interesting. This stuff is so integrated I could envision a horde of problems resulting in the need for a software guru at each dealer, not to mention warranty disputes with the manufacturer.
It should be a bump. We are looking for a travel trailer for the truck for retirement.
There's ya problem.
Caliph Baraq.
Doing his best to protect us against Evil Carbon!
“Enhancing existing engine roar with pipes is one thing, running fake sounds through the speakers is gay.”
You’re kidding, right? Please let them use their inner voice to fake these sounds and spare the rest of us the unnecessary noise pollution. They can even add the sound of horny, excited girls through the speakers.
My first car I paid 25 dollars for A 4 door Studebaker bullet nose, made in South Bend. I could work on that car : )
It’s like fake breasts for vehicles.
Some people say, “Hey, those aren’t real.”
Other people say, “Who cares? I like ‘em!”
“Many years ago (early nineties) I read an obscure scientific paper that analyzed of the acoustics of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine that concluded that the engine was purposely mis-designed in order to emit a large amount of energy in the the form of odd acoustic harmonics, thus giving it the characteristic ‘sound’.”
I don’t think they worried about that a hundred years ago when they came up with the 45 degree twin which allows a high torque engine to be placed in a small physical space.
Also, it is not the harmonics but the firing sequence that causes the unique sound.
It’s funny a young guy was asking me about a “carburetor” and I realized you have to go back to mid 80s to find them being used on new models, so 30 years ago. Some of the techs were born after that, LOL.
: )
So can I, 4wd and high clearance is awesome.
There’s a real opportunity there for someone to sell sound packages for people with cheap cars. Does your Crapolla sound like a tractor? Why not make it sound like a Ferrari V12?
As far back as the 1970s when I took a car for a test drive I always turned the radio off.
I have Gibson stainless dual extreme exhaust in my truck. Tips just behind the rear tires.
Interesting thought, especially in a world where mobile phone apps can be downloaded in seconds.
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