The pussification of America continues apace.
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 ...
The pussification of America continues apace.
A guy with a loud exhaust who lives down the street woke up to find his pipes filled with “Great Stuff”.
I had a six pack once...
Now it's more like a pony keg :)
His car was waiting on the concrete. It was, like all contemporary cars, too low-slung...He climbed down into the car and started the motor with a tremendous sparkle and roar.
...
He climbed down into the car and it whooshed off with much flame and noise.
...
Barlow surveyed it with awe. Swept-back lines, deep-drawn compound curves, kilograms of chrome. He ran his hands futilely over the door—or was it the door?—in a futile search for a handle, and asked respectfully, "How fast does it go?"
The psychist gave him a keen look and said slowly, "Two hundred and fifty. You can tell by the speedometer."
...
He was shut up as the car pulled out from the bay into the road with a great voo-ooo-ooom! A gale roared past Barlow's head, though the windows seemed to be closed; the impression of speed was terrific. He located the speedometer on the dashboard and saw it climb past 90, 100, 150, 200.
...
They seemed to be traveling so slowly, if you ignored the roaring air past your ears and didn't let the speedy lines of the dreamboats fool you. He would have sworn they were really crawling along at twenty-five, with occasional spurts up to thirty.
...
Screamingly sweet blasts of sound surrounded them as they stopped for a red light. "What the hell is going on here?" said Barlow in a shrill, frightened voice, because the braking time was just about zero, he wasn't hurled against the dashboard. "Who's kidding who?"
"Why, what's the matter?" demanded the driver.
The light changed to green and he started the pickup. Barlow stiffened as he realized that the rush of air past his ears began just a brief, unreal split-second before the car was actually moving. He grabbed for the door handle on his side.
So... what is the firing sequence on a 2 cylinder V-Twin HD engine ?
OK I can dig that. I was on the flight line at air races about a decade ago and the P51’s blew me away.
And how long will this little "whizz-bang" 6 cylinder hold up??
Give me the big 8 with a broad power curve even at low RPM.
The power curve has always been a problem for the whizz-bang sixes.
Whizz-bang ain't going to beat cubic inches for the long haul, plus there's a hell of a lot more to go wrong with a whizz-bang 6 since they're pushing it so hard.
Get back to me in ten-fifteen years, we'll talk about dependability.
I kept my last truck 15 years, no engine problems, expect to keep the new (2013) F150 V-8 ten to 15 years.
Wouldn't expect that out of a whizz-bang.
Been a subject of the automotive press for several years. Cadillac, Lexus, Porsche, VW. BMW, I think, pioneered just using the sound system (which can’t be turned off), which doesn’t involve messing with the engine mechanics at all. I believe they even put a speaker in the engine compartment.
I had a 65 Olds Delta 88 with a 425 CI engine, 360 HP and I think it was probably conservatively rated.
The exhaust was almost totally quiet. I did learn a trick from a mechanic who had a column in Trailer Life. He mentioned that you could reverse the air cleaner lid on many engines and it would improve both fuel efficiency and HP.
I did it and sure enough it left a wide gap all around and yet was still totally filtered. It did not affect the exhaust noise but it had the coolest wooooom! sound. I mean it sounded really cool as that huge engine pulled in air.
Wait till they offer the sexual groan on acceleration as a software option.
1979 Corvette L-82 with flow master exhaust. No enhancements needed
About 25 years ago, I answered an ad to e part of a focus group. It was an engine noise study being conducted by GM in an anechoic chamber. (a specially constructed room that is perfectly flat acoustically. (I later worked for a company that had an acoustic testing facility)
The proctor of the study had us listen to a variety of engine noises to determine which we liked best. Some were awful and squeaky, some we throaty. All were real as they identified them later. It seems at that time, GM had never determined just what sounds people liked in their cars.
It was a very interesting day and as I recall, I got paid pretty well for it.
I had a similar focus group gig years ago. Great way to make some spending money.
I had a 1989 Mustang GT with the 5.0 and a 5-speed, and 2.73 gears in the back. It got me, at best, 21 or 22 MPG on the highway, and was good for about 16 the rest of the time. IIRC, it was factory stock with 225 HP and around 300 lbs of torque. It was good for mid-14-second 1/4 mile runs at around 90 MPH and cost around $15 thousand.
The new V-6 Mustang puts out 300 HP, about 280 lbs of torque, and gets 30 MPG on the highway. It also does so for under $25,000 26 years later.
problem solved. Somebody built a car with a real Merlin in it. I am conflicted because it should be in an airplane, but imagine the carbon foot print. It's the kind of car I would love to do laps around Al Gore's house in.
Mopars of that era had the loudest exhaust note of any car on the road. My bud’s 340 Challenger could make yer ears bleed and nothing sounded more awesome than the old Hemis at full song - save perhaps an un-muffled Ferrari...
Imagine the scene at your local dealership:
"The engine, lights, trans, and turn signals work fine, ABS is wonderful and mileage is great, but my quadraphonic exhaust simulator went silent and I think it shorted out the outside temperature gage and seat heater.
Now I'm afraid to drive in traffic.
Back in the 90s I worked on powertrain software at an automotive supplier.
We used to joke that the car was just going to become a platform for running it.
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