Crown

EnglishManInNY:

After 10k miles in my 991 TTS it's become v loud in a traditional boxer sense. More notable with 2/3 throttle than full throttle oddly. Starting to get complains from people. 

From the outside or the inside? I never had the feeling that the 991 TTS was ever too loud from the outside unless the driver was using full throttle on the Autobahn.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

The reactions I get here from the GTS exhaust sound is mostly yells or hand signals to rev up the engine so that they can hear it louder... from people on the sidewalks to drivers behind me that I can see gesturing on the rear view mirror, smiling and waving their hand upwards signaling to step on the gas and increase the revs...

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

Carlos from Spain:

The reactions I get here from the GTS exhaust sound is mostly yells or hand signals to rev up the engine so that they can hear it louder... from people on the sidewalks to drivers behind me that I can see gesturing on the rear view mirror, smiling and waving their hand upwards signaling to step on the gas and increase the revs...

Different mentality I guess. I haven't really had issues so far but yesterday, there were hundreds (if not thousands) of people walking on the sidewalks around Schloss Nymphenburg because it was sunny and (for Germany) "warm", so the chance of getting a negative comment was high.  

Take my wife for example: While driving to Munich on the Autobahn, she asked me to turn off the sport exhaust because it was too loud for her. I get the feeling that people are nowadays much more sensitive to noise than a decade or two decades before. Noises have been reduced overall and people started to notice noises which stand out from the normal noise level much more often than before.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

RC:

Take my wife for example: While driving to Munich on the Autobahn, she asked me to turn off the sport exhaust because it was too loud for her. I get the feeling that people are nowadays much more sensitive to noise than a decade or two decades before. Noises have been reduced overall and people started to notice noises which stand out from the normal noise level much more often than before.

I have to confess that I prefer a more modest exhaust note as well these days   

Inside and outside. For example, I always thought it quite embarrassing when the driver behind you can hear your car shifting down, given 100% of the engine output, max revs for accelerating. I prefer the car behind me to just see what is happening ... Whoossshhhhh 

/\ same here. My office is in a central shopping area, and all these cars (mostly Lambos and Masers) driving around in circles in first gear are so annoying. It somehow was different 10+ yrs ago, when a Ferrari was something special, you see (and hear) too much of them these days.
I never notice a "thumbs up" of a pedestrian when one of these cars does it's show-revving, just people shaking the head or ignoring it completely.

Also, purely subjective of course, my cars feels more powerful when the sport exhaust is off. Effortless speed.

Guys, are we getting old here?  

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

issue is inappropriate use of cars and sports exhaust in urban areas .. 

unfortunately, those with cash to buy flashy and loud cars love to drive around urban areas in low gear with loud exhausts to be noticed; like what the poorer folks do with very loud music

all these folks need therapy and counselling

sfo:

issue is inappropriate use of cars and sports exhaust in urban areas .. 

unfortunately, those with cash to buy flashy and loud cars love to drive around urban areas in low gear with loud exhausts to be noticed; like what the poorer folks do with very loud music

all these folks need therapy and counselling

Intentionally revving in urban areas and driving at speeds of 50 kph (31 mph) in first gear is of course idiotic but I never do that and I still get the finger or some comment. Not often but it happens. Surprisingly, it never happens with my GT500 because people apparently assume it is a classic car.  

Sometimes I also get thumbs up (more often in the GT500 than in the 991 GTS but anyway...) but mostly from younger people.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

Whoopsy: Best sounding road cars are the GT3/RS of various years

Grant and I yesterday evening had the opportunity to listen to a F488 GTB closely followed by a 991 GT3 RS, both accelerating on the countryroad near the 'Ring. There was an unanimous vote (even including the bystanding girls ) which car sounded MUCH better than the other one - and I think it has nothing to do with loudness. As we say in Germany "der Ton macht die Musik"

public roads: Porsche 981S white/black/red, toll road  : Porsche 997 GT3 Arctic/Black

zzboba:

It somehow was different 10+ yrs ago, when a Ferrari was something special, you see (and hear) too much of them these days.

No problem: soon all these cars will go Turbo and the "loud" NA cars will be rare exceptions and hence maybe welcomed again

@ Carlos: I can relate to what you say - I never got so many encouragements to rev the car as during a great 2 week driving holiday in Northern Spain (all the way from Barcelona to San Sebastian)

public roads: Porsche 981S white/black/red, toll road  : Porsche 997 GT3 Arctic/Black

Very good discussion here.  The trend, especially in urban areas, is for quieter everything--construction noise, car horns, motorcycles, loud exhausts, loud music.  A good trend I think, considering all the stress in urban life, but all those noises are legal.  Which raises a bit of a "herd mentality" issue, and that grates on me.  I enjoy eccentricity, and that includes seeing and hearing a sporty exhaust sound occasionally.  

Carried farther, the herd mentality extends to sports cars themselves, with many people regarding them as toys driven by elite, arrogant people.  Sort of domination by self righteous silver Prius eco-types.  

So how do I deal with this "social pressure for sameness"?  I drive aggressively in open spaces, which I seek out on quiet roads with no traffic, and when I am in crowded situations I just remind myself how lucky I am to love and own a fine car...

Good point, Sydney  but sometimes I just feel bad by driving the car in these urban areas when I get a negative reaction. I understand that people want to enjoy nature, a nice walk on the sidewalk or even some fresh air but I also think that people react way too sensitive to noises lately, Munich is not New York where I think that even a Lamborghini Diablo with an open exhaust wouldn't really stand out.  Sometimes I get the feeling that it isn't about the exhaust but about the car per se and this annoys me. Maybe I'm wrong though.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

There is another issue as well:
Where I live, there aren't so many expensive sports cars driving around that it would annoy me. And whenever I see or hear a nice loud car, I enjoy it. But there are A LOT of people driving around in sh!t cars, with modified exhausts and convertible cars with VERY loud music. So much, that during summertime, I do not enjoy sitting on the balcony of my apartment, primarily because of the noise of these cheap ugly cars with intrusively loud exhausts and music, all that not because the owner enjoys it, but because he wants to show off his so-called wealth... During those days I have dreams of mounting a whaling canon on my balcony with which I can shoot explosive harpoons in their engines...

Very good discussion.

IMO there are several reasons for the noise-sensitiveness nowadays. One is the simplemindedness of owners. Another is the trend of fighting each and every unnecessary sound, no matter where it comes from. A third may be that manufacturers overdid the sound-design of their cars recently. To my ears a F355 sounds better than a 458 by a mile, though the latter is said to have a good sound.

We're at the point where you can be the fastest or just sound like you're the fastest.



The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

RC:

EnglishManInNY:

After 10k miles in my 991 TTS it's become v loud in a traditional boxer sense. More notable with 2/3 throttle than full throttle oddly. Starting to get complains from people. 

From the outside or the inside? I never had the feeling that the 991 TTS was ever too loud from the outside unless the driver was using full throttle on the Autobahn.

The complaints were from the outside. One comment said wow your car is so loud. Then next was - your car is so loud....I think the car is much louder in a positive way now than only a few 1000s miles ago...

2013 BMW 750 xDrive & 2014 x5 & 2014 991 TTS Cab 2014 BMW i3 2017 Porsche Mission E on order

Porsche-Jeck:

 

@ Carlos: I can relate to what you say - I never got so many encouragements to rev the car as during a great 2 week driving holiday in Northern Spain (all the way from Barcelona to San Sebastian)

That must of been quite a drive! 

Gotta say that I don't like the attention though when it happens, in urban areas I usually keep it quiet and keep the revs low, which is not a problem anyway in the city because in the city I follow speed limits and drive very defensively due to pedestrians, etc, but if its open areas I may try to accomodate a petition to hear the exhuast though, I know I like to hear sportcars too that are not my own 

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

You know, no matter how vocal we are, we are just the minority in Porsche's clientele.

I chatted with them over the weekend, discuss how the 911 has grow 2 sizes bigger. The reply was that that's what the customers wants, they are breaking sales records year in and year out, so going bigger must be the correct direction 

It would be the same thing with the muted exhaust note of the .2. 

Thats a good point, shows how Porsche's focus might differ form Ferrari, considering that the F12 is smaller than the 599. Then again it's probably not the same clientele so different methods do yield different outcomes for each manufacturer. 

Whoopsy:

You know, no matter how vocal we are, we are just the minority in Porsche's clientele.

I chatted with them over the weekend, discuss how the 911 has grow 2 sizes bigger. The reply was that that's what the customers wants, they are breaking sales records year in and year out, so going bigger must be the correct direction 

It would be the same thing with the muted exhaust note of the .2. 

Funny, I get the same from my Porsche contacts...3% and all.  Maybe one reason they never officially invited me for those famous evaluations and pre-production show offs. 

I do not think that the current 991 is too big. The rear seats could be a bit more comfortable, this is actually my only complaint. Yes, it isn't a small car but it drives like one and this is what counts.

Yes, I am pretty sure that Porsche did enough market research regarding the new bi-turbo charged engine and of course the "new" exhaust sound. Also, with the new engines, the 911 per se has entered a different performance category, even if we may not realize it yet. It is much easier now to provide more power at reduced production cost.

I still believe however that the n/a engines will get a lot of attention in the used car market, especially the last generation. I may be wrong about this but we are going to learn more over time.

--

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRnQrCtaDaQ

KresoF1:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRnQrCtaDaQ

Sounds exactly like my old 991 which I sold because I hated that sound 

Lars997:

KresoF1:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRnQrCtaDaQ

Sounds exactly like my old 991 which I sold because I hated that sound 

It sounds worse, trust me. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

The problem is not the cars themselves, but the useless pops and cracks manufacturers add in the exhaust even on sports cars that really don't need them.

This new trend is probably a way to compensate the arrival of turbocharged engines but it's getting plain ridiculous if you ask me. Take the new RS3. The sound is just horrible. It sounds like a tuned Honda civic with an added "sport" exhaust form some cheap reseller. Manufacturers seems to add these pops and cracks on every car they produce nowadays. IMHO, you look like an Ass when your car starts to emit such noises, specially in crowded area. 

amazon:

The problem is not the cars themselves, but the useless pops and cracks manufacturers add in the exhaust even on sports cars that really don't need them.

Agreed. I enjoyed the 991 Carrera PSE at a start, but the "fake" pops and crackles are slowly annoying me. The GT4 PSE sounds far better than the Carrera. Much more character to it, not just loud and *plop, plop*

2015 981 Cayman GT4 | White | Full Bucket Seats | Sport Chrono
2014 991 Carrera 4S | Dark Blue Metallic | PDK | Sport Chrono | SPASM

bluelines:

amazon:

The problem is not the cars themselves, but the useless pops and cracks manufacturers add in the exhaust even on sports cars that really don't need them.

Agreed. I enjoyed the 991 Carrera PSE at a start, but the "fake" pops and crackles are slowly annoying me. The GT4 PSE sounds far better than the Carrera. Much more character to it, not just loud and *plop, plop*

Sounds familiar

The new 991.2 Carrera S with PSE has two(!) sound symposers. Now guess why.  

I do not know why some people say that it sounds the same as the 991.1 from the outside because it does not. Not even close. It sounds however very nice from the inside but thats not the point.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

RC:

Guys, are we getting old here?  

The beauty about many of these modern cars is that one can have a valvetronic exhaust switched to quiet for for low key stuff and then wide open for more self indulgent hooliganism.

I have a Cargraphic valvetronic on my 7GT2 but I bought a Kline inconel cross over style exhaust and the sound was incredible, little clip I did below doesn't do justice but gives idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmsC61c1oes

The problem as discussed here is it isn't always appropriate to be popping and spluttering down pedestrian streets ! I now have the CG exhaust back on (which is very civilised) and am having Kline design me an inconel crossover design valvetronic which hopefully will give the best of both worlds.

@RC, it is always worth taking time out from being 100% family man and feeding one's petrol head side, it helps keep the old man syndrome away , we went to a vmax airfield event last Saturday with EVERY high end car there. The noises of these exotics dragging down the runway really were quite spectacular and definitely recharge one's inner youthful car addiction. There was a Lambo SV (I think) with some kind of sport exhaust and it sounded incredible, really made the hairs on your neck stand up. The La Ferrari, 918s, Veyron SS, etc etc didn't sound too shabby as well and for you there was some American car Hellcat I think which sounded like armageddon  

997 GT2 2014 3.9 Mezger, 800PS @ 1.0 bar

RC:

The new 991.2 Carrera S with PSE has two(!) sound symposers. Now guess why.  

I do not know why some people say that it sounds the same as the 991.1 from the outside because it does not. Not even close. It sounds however very nice from the inside but thats not the point.

The 991.2 base car with std exhaust was essentially "  silent " as it accelerated out of turns on multiple laps at Laguna Seca last weekend at the Rennsport Reunion V ..my friends concurred..we joked it was running a secret all electric drivetrain with fake exhaust coming from a speaker  !

the trailing 991.2 S with PSE just had a low burble sound, not very loud , on WOT ...no higher harmonics whatsoever 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbLrfNV3Kc4

pjd:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbLrfNV3Kc4

Not bad sounding at all and this is without sports exhaust.