What's fake about exhaust noise?

:lol: I love Ozzy.
 
All exhausts modify the sound of an engine in some way. Only an engine without an exhaust can be "pure", but then it just won't run correctly. Big straight pipes are the closest you'll get, but those are impractical if not illegal for road cars. So essentially, every exhaust system on every road car is made for the purpose of modifying the engine note in some way. Most are to quiet the engine. Sports cars and super cars usually try to balance practicality, performance, and aesthetics. An Aston Martin note is no more or less pure than a Ferrari than a Lamborghini than an Audi.

Even valved exhausts I wouldn't consider any more fake, as they serve the same stated purpose but in different ways.

So really, the only "fake" exhaust note are the synthesized ones as noted.
 
Interesting. I'll have to watch some Youtube clips of before and after.

Also, LCG, right there with ya. I was about to quote my original post and bold the word sound.

/Zer vill be no laughter

Just remembered about this.


Depending on how late I get off work tomorrow, I'll try to do a before/after video in my own car.
 
Last edited:
The new M5 is one of the worst offenders - it actually uses the stereo system to generate fake engine noise inside the cabin from the speakers.

I wonder - does it do that when you are playing music as well? Can't really be all that good for the music listening experience if you are an audiophile.
 
All exhausts modify the sound of an engine in some way. Only an engine without an exhaust can be "pure", but then it just won't run correctly. Big straight pipes are the closest you'll get, but those are impractical if not illegal for road cars. So essentially, every exhaust system on every road car is made for the purpose of modifying the engine note in some way. Most are to quiet the engine. Sports cars and super cars usually try to balance practicality, performance, and aesthetics. An Aston Martin note is no more or less pure than a Ferrari than a Lamborghini than an Audi.

Even valved exhausts I wouldn't consider any more fake, as they serve the same stated purpose but in different ways.

So really, the only "fake" exhaust note are the synthesized ones as noted.

there is the difference! tuneing the engine note != muting the engine and creating an artificial new sound

just listen to this

you hardly hear any engine, it's all exhaust ramble
you can take any pipe, of any diameter, bend it any way you want, it will never sound like that!!
you have to start adding vanes and ports and bypasses on the inside of the exhaust to get that effect
 
After watching various Videos, I think the best sound is with Straight Pipes, which is also pretty honest - but for the real world it's just too loud. I only deleted one of the two silencers on my MK2 Golf, and that was pretty annoying some times ;) (but also gave great rumble when rolling in gear :D ).


For Comparison: VR6 Engine with straight pipes


That also rumbles, but it's very different to the Merc - that just sounds weird somehow.
 
there is the difference! tuneing the engine note != muting the engine and creating an artificial new sound

just listen to this

you hardly hear any engine, it's all exhaust ramble
you can take any pipe, of any diameter, bend it any way you want, it will never sound like that!!
you have to start adding vanes and ports and bypasses on the inside of the exhaust to get that effect

They still aren't creating a new sound. It's generated all by the engine and modified by the exhaust. Even similarly built exhausts can vary wildly in sound across different engines (even of the same type). Saying you don't like "tuned" exhausts is one thing (and perfectly understandable), but calling them "fake" is just wrong unless they are generating a sound separate from the engine.
 
Small update to my experiences: as I previously said, the M5 is fine because you just can't notice there is something artificial going on. Most of the sound is coming from the real engine anyway. Today I got a brief shotgun ride in X5 m50d. Epic engine, but in that car the sound was clearly synthetic. It sounded almost more V8 than straight six. I didn't really like it.
 
Top