Wow, the SLS just sounds great. I would buy this car for the engine/exhaust sound only. On the other hand, the C63 AMG sounds almost the same, no kidding. Almost.
RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M (03/2010), BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW
RC:
Wow, the SLS just sounds great. I would buy this car for the engine/exhaust sound only. On the other hand, the C63 AMG sounds almost the same, no kidding. Almost.
Agreed, I drove a couple of hundred Ks in a SL63 AMG last week and it sure is an attention grabber
Slow In, Fast Out
And all will be gone with the next generation turbo charged engines...what a shame.
I don't get it: I remember one of our friends had a turbo charged TransAm many many years ago and this car sounded just fantastic, that deep V8 growl was actually very loud and nice as far as I remember but maybe my memory is fooling me.
Why no nice deep V8 growl with modern turbo engines ?
RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M (03/2010), BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW
A couple of years ago when we were critiquing the SLS, they showed us a video with the SLS going around a track and our reaction (all eight of us) was utter surprise regarding the great exhaust sound. It was totally unexpected but welcomed. That alone made the car more attractive to all of us.
Why modern turbo engines lack the aggressive exhaust is beyond my mechanical knowledge. In Porsche's case, I assumed they deliberately reduced the sound as a marketing and environmental decision. Or could it be a mechanical issue?
I just hope that the BMW engineer I talked to is right and that the promised X5 M "sound update" comes this spring after the X5 facelift is introduced. Btw: my wife's M3 had a software update (DCG bug fix) which actually tuned down the exhaust sound a little bit (still pretty loud for a street car). There is now a new update which offers again a better and louder sound, I'm going to have it updated as soon as I can leave my wife's car for a day or so at the dealership. So yes, it is possible to modify the exhaust/engine sound by software but I have to admit that this is a pretty interesting and fascinating thing for me.
The thing is: most of the time, I get the "middle finger" shown when I drive slowly through the city because the M3 really has a very loud exhaust sound and when you downshift to from 3rd to 2nd, it sounds like double-clutching (?...not sure if this is the right expression in English) a race car, very aggressive. Especially women feel annoyed and elderly people are even mad. Stupid people.
I'm sad I couldn't go for the C63 AMG I testdrove, it sounded even nicer than the M3, very similar to the SLS in the above video with Jay Leno (lucky bastard ).
Why Porsche cars lack sporty sound? Well...right now because Porsche wants to sell their sport exhaust system (which btw. isn't as impressive as it was on the 997.1 and even 996).
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M (03/2010), BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW
I love it, Nick and RC and others going crazy over a great 1960's style muscle car sound.
Hehe, my 928 gives me that with the added bonus of european sophistication thrown in. Now you have to pay boatloads of money to get it from MB.But w/o the beautiful 928 curves.
Turbo cars sound lousy because the exhaust passes thru the turbo AFTER exiting the cylinder. It smooths out the air flow and that is why it sounds like a vacumn cleaner.
Its the opening and closing of the exhaust valves that creates the sound The best sound comes from a lopey cam, the more aggressive the camshaft, the more lopey the exhaust. The higher the compression the better and the bigger the cylinder the better. 2 valves are better than 4. All in all that is why my 2 valve, 4.7 liter extreme cam 928 sounds so dam good.
Burble when coasting down, screaming acceleration, and deep idle - awesome.
Thanks Andrea for posting these great video's, I drove that course every morning when I was in LA a few years back and mentioned it here before
You did save a lot playing the first on the list deal in the boom years, but I get your point.
I was looking at some garage threads on another forum today of guys who had large collections of all the top marques. Although I appreciate many cars and really like some, I have very little desire to own any of them. I used to want a Vanquish and now it looks dated, I used to have a slight desire for a Carrera GT, but not anymore, really don't like shifting. I posted vids here of the new E-class, and after being in 1 for 2 days this week-end, no desire, not special. I have been around just about everything.
The only thing interesting may be the One-77, maybe. I first experienced the 928 as a 20 year old and it is still w/o questiom the best looking and with my exhaust sounding car going. And it performs so well.
So low, so exotic, classy, no bad angle - Timeless
racerx:
I love it, Nick and RC and others going crazy over a great 1960's style muscle car sound.
Well...who doesn't ?
Thanks for the nice photos.
It IS possible to create a nice exhaust sound out of a turbo charged engine but apparently there is no real possibility to make it "switchable". Many car manufacturers seem to be afraid to create a too sporty sound, especially Porsche, a manufacturer who claims that they build cars for daily driving like the 911 for example.
I can see some truth in this but if a Porsche sounds worse than a VW Golf, I definetley can't see any sense in it.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M (03/2010), BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I find the SLS engine/exhaust sound coarse and just too heavily staccato... a bit like two Harley-Davidson motorcycle engines driving the car. I don't mind most V8 sounds (and will soon own one..) but this SLS sound just doesn't do it for me. Looks like good fun to drive though...
Present: 2005 STi, 2002 M Coupe
Future: 2010 Cayman S - pending order; 2010 Audi S5 - on order