The debate over playing exhaust sound through the audio system...

[Kevlar]

/DRIVE talks about and debates the exhaust noise through the audio system. What are your thoughts?

[Rudolph320i]

I didnt know they had a gear indicator for the stick cars, too.

[montaillou]

...the exhaust noise through the audio system. What are your thoughts?

I think it's silly.

[BimmerBreaker]

I think there is nothing really wrong with it as long as it is amplifying the engine's true noise (as it is) instead of reproducing a sound different than that which the engine actually makes.

[auaq]

I think there is nothing really wrong with it as long as it is amplifying the engine's true noise (as it is) instead of reproducing a sound different than that which the engine actually makes.

That's exactly what they're doing apparently. I believe Porsche are doing the same thing unless I'm wrong. I know one of the Toyota tech mentioned of similar system in the Toyota/Scion FR-S as well.

[light351]

Ford has done this also with the mustang iirc.. I think it's one of those things that people will delete eventually.. Speaking of car enthusiast

[montaillou]

However, if they were creating a sound, I wouldn't mind that sound being, say, a tie fighter...

[Rudolph320i]

Really the only issue I have at all with it is I wonder how much weight it adds. These cars are heavy enough so, depending on how much it does add, Id rather keep em lighter.

[auaq]

I don't expect it to weigh like 10 to 15 kilos (or 20 to 30 pounds) so I don't think it would make a difference.

[BimmerBreaker]

Why would it add any significant amount of weight at all? It utilizes a small microphone type thing and utilizes the car's speakers normally used for music.

I also don't see why enthusiasts would delete this. It was basically added to the car FOR enthusiasts. Go drive an F30 and tell us youd be happy with that little engine noise in the cabin in your sports car. I don't think anyone would be, you can hardly hear anything in those cars with the windows up. Thats why they added this feature. All it does is take the noise and reproduces it DIRECTLY in the cabin. Nothing fake, no major weight added.

Like start/stop, I think until people have actually experience this feature firsthand they will talk badly about it.

[323i E30]

^ They should just get rid of that excessive sound insulation imo
I don't get why it should be dead quiet inside the cabin, but I mostly enjoy driving oldies so I'm probably biased :p

[auaq]

Yep, if you remove the system you won't hear any engine noise. You will have to roll down the windows and listen to your engine melodic notes in addition with unnecessary environment surround sounds/noises. I think it actually sounds great with the system on and overtime you would definitely get used to it and like it. The fact that almost none of us here has experienced one yet we're just talking only.

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^ They should just get rid of that excessive sound insulation imo
I don't get why it should be dead quiet inside the cabin, but I mostly enjoy driving oldies so I'm probably biased :p

It depends. Sometimes I prefer to have a quiet ride and at times 'some noise'. But, I do get your point though.

[Kevlar]

^ They should just get rid of that excessive sound insulation imo
I don't get why it should be dead quiet inside the cabin, but I mostly enjoy driving oldies so I'm probably biased :p

The point is you can have it quiet if you want to...

[Rudolph320i]

The point is you can have it quiet if you want to...

Exhaust cutouts.....but really it is a kinda cool idea.

[Kevlar]

Exhaust cutouts.....but really it is a kinda cool idea.

The M cars have cutouts with electric flaps actually... under load, the flaps open to bypass the silencers. Sensitivity of the opening is controlled by the switch on the console.

[dmw16]

I don't like it, but I can't really point to a reason or reasons why not. It just seems fake to me. If you want the drive to hear the exhaust, make the exhaust louder, don't trick me. I guess that's what it is...it seems like trickery to me.

[slocar]

^ They should just get rid of that excessive sound insulation imo
I don't get why it should be dead quiet inside the cabin, but I mostly enjoy driving oldies so I'm probably biased :p

Because not everyone enjoys hearing wind noise, tire roar etc. And it gives you the option to have the car either completely quiet or hear some exhaust noise (which is the only decent noise a moving car makes)

I don't like it, but I can't really point to a reason or reasons why not. It just seems fake to me. If you want the drive to hear the exhaust, make the exhaust louder, don't trick me. I guess that's what it is...it seems like trickery to me.

It's not: if they were giving you the sound of a Formula1 car inside the cabin when your car sounds nothing like it, that would be trickery ... it's still your car's engine making it's noise ... who cares where it's coming from. Quit worrying about how the noise comes in and just enjoy it.



ps. People had the same issue with the BRZ that just utilized a plastic tube from the intake to direct some sound into the cabin ... everyone was still in uproar over how "fake" it was ... people just need something to complain about ...

[Rudolph320i]

The M cars have cutouts with electric flaps actually... under load, the flaps open to bypass the silencers. Sensitivity of the opening is controlled by the switch on the console.

Well aren't I just behind the times lol.

[BimmerBreaker]

Well aren't I just behind the times lol.

Not surprising, I think BMW made as much of a technological jump from the E92 to the F80 as they managed over three generations from the E36 to the E92.

[Kevlar]

Why would it add any significant amount of weight at all? It utilizes a small microphone type thing and utilizes the car's speakers normally used for music.

The software guy in me was thinking ... why even use a small mic? They already know what the car is supposed to sound like, simply program the audio system to replicate it based on a variety of existing engine sensors. No additional weight would be needed at all... except software if you consider that weight.

[325bob]

I don't like it, but I can't really point to a reason or reasons why not. It just seems fake to me. If you want the drive to hear the exhaust, make the exhaust louder, don't trick me. I guess that's what it is...it seems like trickery to me.

It "seems like fake trickery" because it obviously is, and something I would expect from Nissan or Scion, kinda wish they had invested the fake audio time into weight and or price reduction. Can the poseurs program it to full throttle sound in rush hour gridlock for the full fake fun?

[graphite9]

Its incredibly lame, if you ask me. Which you did

[BimmerBreaker]

The software guy in me was thinking ... why even use a small mic? They already know what the car is supposed to sound like, simply program the audio system to replicate it based on a variety of existing engine sensors. No additional weight would be needed at all... except software if you consider that weight.

While in theory this could potentially work, in reality there are so many variables affecting the way an engine sounds that even at the same RPM in the same gear with the same amount of throttle input the engine can sound radically different in one situation to the next. Plus if you did that and added a CAI for instance, the induction noise it adds would not be piped through the system. So the microphone just picks up the actual noise.

I'm personally quite curious to see how this system will respond to an addition of a CAI or BOV for instance. In theory it should work fine but I'd be curious if the microphone is tuned to listen to noises in a certain range and if it will ignore or incorrectly reproduce a BOV whistle or similar. That to me is the true test of this system... if it stands up when people start modifying their engines.

[Kevlar]

With the variables that are given, they could probably program the engine note without a microphone. If they used a microphone, they would pick up ambient noise as well which would be brought into the cabin. Plus, that microphone is one additional part... $5 mic multiplied over 50,000 units can save alot of coin. BMW probably doesn't care to bring in the additional noise from your CAI or tapping valves (I'm told BOVs are a no-no on these cars BTW).

All that being said, the M3/M4 are not quiet cars even without the added interior sound.

[BimmerBreaker]

I think the reason they used a microphone was partly to say "we are using the REAL noise" the engine makes. It'd be a lot harder to defend this technology if it was a completely synthesized noise, since that seems to be the biggest complaint. While you are 110% correct a computer program could look at all the variables of the engine and determine the engine note that way, and it would be the same as if it was with the microphone, I think that would be both a poor use of processor power and would be a turn off to buyers.

Hard to say for sure. I think a big part of why they did use a microphone was both the simplicity and the accuracy. $5 microphone over 50,000 cars is indeed a lot, but so would be the cost of a piece of technology to process that information fast enough and the R&D on the additional electric components and etc.

I think it should also be considered that the modern M3/M4 are of the dimensions of the E39 M5. So if we treat it more like we would treat an M5, it would get much less grief. The (hopefully upcoming) M2 will fill the spot where the M3 used to be, the spot where all these E36 M3 owners expect M3s to be - just as the 1M did. Hoping the M2 isnt a limited run though... BMW really needs an affordable, fun car to get back to their roots.