# F1 noise !



## chefy (May 9, 2011)

Any F1 fans here ? well I know there are, but what do you think of the "noise" or LACK of it ? I don't like it ! they really need to noise it up, I have been to 8 GP's now, worked at 3, so that's 11 in all,, and, as I am sure any F1 fan must agree, the noise is all part of F1 ! Its part of the excitement.
The start of a race is (was) awesome, there is no way you can hear a thing, and even when 1 car passes you, you still cant speak/hear the person next to you ! and that is part of what makes it exciting.
Now that's been taken away, they continually keep trying to slow the cars down, but the engineers always beat them ! not now, they've narrowed the cars, smaller engines and only 1 exhaust - fine, I can live with all that, BUT they have taken the noise away as well !
I think they are slowly taking the "1" out of F1, and the "Grand" away from "Grand Prix" Hopefully they can bring some noise back !
Christian Horner & Ron Dennis were on Chris Evans breakfast show this morning, (not at same time) Christian reckons they should all get together (team engineers) and discuss it, and he is sure something can be done :thumb:
But, Ron Dennis, doesn't, he says it'll mean a completely new engine ! surely its more about the exhaust ? ! 
I am going to Silverstone this year again, I only hope they can do something before then, otherwise, I may just start going to the Silverstone Classics !
Anyhow, rant over, what does everyone else think.


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## AS_BO (Sep 29, 2013)

To be honest it more to do with the specification of the engine i.e. Turbocharged which has changed or made the noise quieter because of how a turbocharger works. I like it, don't get me wrong it's no howling V12 from the 1990's but if you look up the old Honda 1.5 V6 that went in the Mclaren MP4/4 they sound similar and they were awesome! Yes they've reduced the power output but the difference in torque is fairly sizeable so you are seeing the drivers having to manage wheelspin and oversteer a lot more. With turbocharging there is a lot of scope for development too by simply upping the boost pressure. Going back to that Mclaren they were rumoured to have over 1200BHP in qualifying trim from a 1500CC engine - nuts!


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## DarrylB (Feb 17, 2006)

This makes me sad, 2013 vs 2014


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## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

I agree, the lack of noise made it dull for me too. In fact I was so bored I didn't bother to watch it all and switched it off.
The drivers don't seem to be bothered though. I thought they all seemed quite excited overall.


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

I am somewhat baffled by all this fuss about both the sound of the engines and now the volume of noise they create. It was reported on the BBC this morning the organisers of the Australian GP are considering suing due to how quite the cars were. I simply cannot understand this, the race was good and hard to predict. Would the race have been a classic if the engines were 20dB higher?

I can understand that some people loved the visceral sound from previous years but was this the main reason for watching F1 cars or even one of the key reasons. Speaking of sounds, I would argue that since we moved away from 12 or even 10 cylinder engines, the best sounding car for the last few years has been the safety car and this has not been as loud as the racing cars.

I do wonder if the complaints from those who attend a lot of races is simply down to their loss of hearing and now cannot hear quieter noises. One minor issue is the quieter engines also means all those children who used to wear ill fitting ear defenders at the race will now not risk any short term hearing loss

The vast majority of people who watch F1 do so on their TV's, the sound was always reduced to a nominal level and gave none of the impression of the amazing volume of F1 car. At least now we can hear the tyres sequel if a driver makes a mistake and hear the radio communications very clearly rather than trying to guess what was said. TV sanitises so much of a race, the acceleration and braking of a F1 car does not translate well on TV but this is the same for many sports.


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

chefy said:


> I think they are slowly taking the "1" out of F1, and the "Grand" away from "Grand Prix" Hopefully they can bring some noise back !


F1 Grand Prix -> 1 Prix -> Bernie Ecclestone :thumb:

I see what you did there!


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Agree with LoweJackson and also think that, given the problems that several UK based tracks are having with complaints of noise pollution, it can only be a good sign of progression for the future of sport.


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## Tricky Red (Mar 3, 2007)

I would rather see a good race albeit with reduced noise than a procession of dullness to the flag with massive noise. 

Just my opinion.


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Its the Turbos I think. Back in the older days, the switch to Turbo made the cars sound much more muted, as far as I recall.

As a side note, I recall watching James Hunt / Murray Walker commentating on the Monaco Grand Prix back in the 80's (?) and Murray was filling in time by saying something like " _how can ordinary people possibly get an appreciation of what it is like to race an F1 car, we just cant imagine the immense power etc,etc _".

James Hunts reply was along the lines of " _Its very easy really, if you want to understand what F1 is like, just stand at the apex of the Monaco Tunnel without a pair of ear defenders as the cars go through _" !!!


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## organisys (Jan 3, 2012)

F1 is also about pushing the boundries of Motorsport and Automative Engineering, and the changes in the regulations this season certainly have a bias in this direction.

The quality and reliability of the mechanical and electronic components, together with the skills of the ECU programmers is going to be critical this season.


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## organisys (Jan 3, 2012)

GleemSpray said:


> Its the Turbos I think. Back in the older days, the switch to Turbo made the cars sound much more muted, as far as I recall.


Correct exhaust noise = wasted energy, particuarly in a exhaust gas driven turbocharger.


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

One of the reasons I went to last years Silverstone F1 was to hear the noise for the last time.


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## chefy (May 9, 2011)

Bit of a mixed response here ! thats always good eh ! I don't fully agree with lowejackson though ! apart from the best sounding car being the safety car ! I have said that for years.
My point here was that they are now "too" quiet, and not even racing car like !!
And - MY EARS ARE FINE by the way. Turbo cars can still be noisier.
This seems to be quite a thing, lots of peeps not too keen on this much quieter noise of F1, including some of the organisers of the sport.
McLaren have a sound booth / room for this at their HQ specifically for this sort of thing, so I think the guys will be in there with their tuning forks as we speak :lol:


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## Rickyboy (Oct 14, 2008)

Suing over the fact the F1 race wasn't loud enough?? For ****sake, stop the planet, I want to get off.


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

Rickyboy said:


> Suing over the fact the F1 race wasn't loud enough?? For ****sake, stop the planet, I want to get off.


I do wonder if this relates to the ongoing negotiations for races after 2015. So far a deal has not been done to race at Albert Park for 2016 onwards. Threats of litigation frequently seem to be linked to negotiations in F1


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## bigslippy (Sep 19, 2010)

What noise :tumbleweed:

Its losing its character


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## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

To be honest I hated the wine of the v8's. These v6 turbo hybrids sound awesome albeit very quiet even on TV you could hardly hear them. I reckon they will sort it out with the noise when more upgrades come. 

I think this is the best thing to happen in f1. Back in the senna days it was who could tame the beast rather than the cars doing the work. Now with the huge torque these cars have you can see the drivers struggling and having to work a bit harder. I remember martin brundle saying how slow the v8's where and unresponsive.


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

Paintmaster1982 said:


> To be honest I hated the wine of the v8's. These v6 turbo hybrids sound awesome albeit very quiet even on TV you could hardly hear them. I reckon they will sort it out with the noise when more upgrades come.
> 
> I think this is the best thing to happen in f1. Back in the senna days it was who could tame the beast rather than the cars doing the work. Now with the huge torque these cars have you can see the drivers struggling and having to work a bit harder. I remember martin brundle saying how slow the v8's where and unresponsive.


That is such a good point actually. Take the start for example, wheel spin shoots car across the track (cant remember driver) and botta hitting the wall busting the rim.
A bit of slidding aleays makes things a bit more interesting.

Down shift whine is cool, noise is a bit meh at the minute for me. Il still be watching it for sure, think that was a pretty good race for the start of the reason, hopefully a preview of whats to come.


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

the best thing about them being noisey was it stopped you falling to sleep


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## Laurie.J.M (Jun 23, 2011)

Paintmaster1982 said:


> *To be honest I hated the wine of the v8's. These v6 turbo hybrids sound awesome albeit very quiet even on TV you could hardly hear them. I reckon they will sort it out with the noise when more upgrades come. *
> 
> I think this is the best thing to happen in f1. Back in the senna days it was who could tame the beast rather than the cars doing the work. Now with the huge torque these cars have you can see the drivers struggling and having to work a bit harder. I remember martin brundle saying how slow the v8's where and unresponsive.


Another point to add to that is that this is also new territory for the people who are responsible for recording the TV feed and for the people within the TV channels who are responsible for mixing the levels between the race feed and the commentary. I bet after a few races it'll appear louder on TV as the sound can be mixed differently to compensate for the loss of volume.


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## organisys (Jan 3, 2012)

bigslippy said:


> What noise :tumbleweed:
> 
> Its losing its character


I would prefer to say changing it's character. Along with the whole automotive industry.

F1 is arguably the pinaccle of Motorsport (it at least has the highest profile).
It's right that changes in technology and other factors that influence the industy as a whole are seen to be part of the sport?


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## richtung (Apr 14, 2008)

I think quite a few of the teams have more pressing issues such as reliability problems or lack of power to worry about whether the engine sounds are appealing or not!


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## Wellsy VXR (Mar 17, 2014)

I was think of getting sky fitted so I can watch it. But waited to watch the first race highlights on BBC. 
Glad I did. The sound of F1 has died. 
Yes the racing is good and we can all rest easy knowing F1 saved the polar bear. 
But it now sounds awful.


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## chefy (May 9, 2011)

Wellsy VXR said:


> I was think of getting sky fitted so I can watch it. But waited to watch the first race highlights on BBC.
> Glad I did. The sound of F1 has died.
> Yes the racing is good and we can all rest easy knowing F1 saved the polar bear.
> But it now sounds awful.


Have to agree with Wellsy here ! 
I undersatnd what a lot of you guys are saying re technology and so on, better racing etc etc, but my ONLY gripe is the lack of noise !
as I already said, they barely sound like racing cars - never mind F1 cars, its an awfy job when you can here the traffic on the road next to the track, over the noise of the (F1) cars !!!

So, for all you engineers and boffins within F1 teams - NOISE it up boys


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## RD55 DUN (Dec 30, 2008)

chefy said:


> Have to agree with Wellsy here !
> I undersatnd what a lot of you guys are saying re technology and so on, better racing etc etc, but my ONLY gripe is the lack of noise !
> as I already said, they barely sound like racing cars - never mind F1 cars, its an awfy job when you can here the traffic on the road next to the track, over the noise of the (F1) cars !!!
> 
> So, for all you engineers and boffins within F1 teams - NOISE it up boys


Sums it up well.

As much as id love to see the return of the V10 noise, i appreciate that f1 has moved on and the new technologies.

Can they not fit screamer pipes to the cars, make the noise a little louder?


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

Noise never has, and never will be an area F1 companies spend time tuning.

If you had the budget for 4 more people would you build a sound room and have them beavering away at the noise which is a completely non productive/non value adding pursuit......and they will inevitable make suggestions like changing exhaust length/diameter/resonance/valve timing which will be less optimal in the science of extracting power....

....or would you employ the 4 people to research value adding things like downforce v drag optimisation, study the regulations to identify F-Duct / double diffuser type loopholes that can make an average car a season winning car or carbon fibre additives to enhance tensile strength?



chefy said:


> McLaren have a sound booth / room for this at their HQ specifically for this sort of thing, so I think the guys will be in there with their tuning forks as we speak :lol:


They may have a sound booth...but I'm sure it's not 'specifically for this type of thing'.


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## chefy (May 9, 2011)

Bero said:


> They may have a sound booth...but I'm sure it's not 'specifically for this type of thing'.


It is actually ! (It's not for listening to CD's :lol and it is the job of 1 guy to make sure that the exhaust note (as they call it, I think) is just so, this is for the road cars btw,
But, I only really said that in jest ! anyway.
I'm sure to get a louder noise from these engines / exhausts, it will NOT be that great a challenge, not for these guys.
So, watch out, or should I say listen out in 2 / 3 GP's time !!


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## rob28 (Nov 7, 2008)

I quite like the fact you can hear a tyre lock up or other things going on in the car now.
The old engines sounded awesome but they were just sooo loud.
Welcome to the modern era. If you're an F1 fan, noise should be secondary to the racing on track.


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## Johnny_B (Feb 3, 2013)

The whistle off the turbo is amazing! i quite like the new noise


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## chefy (May 9, 2011)

rob28 said:


> I quite like the fact you can hear a tyre lock up or other things going on in the car now.
> The old engines sounded awesome but they were just sooo loud.
> Welcome to the modern era. If you're an F1 fan, noise should be secondary to the racing on track.


I am an F1 fan - BIG time, the noise is a by-product of F1 ! and should still be there, I never said at any time that the noise was the be all and end all ! did I ? I read in this mornings Metro that even Graham Louden from Marussia i says the cars need to be noisier !


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

chefy said:


> It is actually ! (It's not for listening to CD's :lol and it is the job of 1 guy to make sure that the exhaust note (as they call it, I think) is just so, this is for the road cars btw,
> But, I only really said that in jest ! anyway.
> I'm sure to get a louder noise from these engines / exhausts, it will NOT be that great a challenge, not for these guys.
> So, watch out, or should I say listen out in 2 / 3 GP's time !!


Road cars are different - that a desirable and big selling feature :thumb:

I see Bernie E mentioned they might look at regulation changes to make the noise more pronounced once the season has settled in.


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## chefy (May 9, 2011)

Bero said:


> Road cars are different - that a desirable and big selling feature :thumb:
> 
> Aye ! No need to state the obvious tho !!


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## AndyC (Oct 25, 2005)

I thought from on-car that they sounded like old Group B cars - lots of snorting and wheezing under braking and overrun.

The racing seems a bit closer and cars edgier to drive - it all works for me.


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## chefy (May 9, 2011)

Headline in today's Metro - "Take away the roar and the sport becomes a bore" ! 
also saying, when the lights go out, F1 fans want to hear one thing - noise and lots of it !! here here !! lots of people including organisers not happy about the noise - or, lack of it !! it also says that this (noise) being one of the most important aspects of the sport ----- and it goes on !
This seems to be quite a big issue, so, its not just me ! :lol:


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

I'm more interested to listening to a Formula E race when they get under way, should sound like an air show!


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

chefy said:


> Headline in today's Metro - "Take away the roar and the sport becomes a bore" !
> also saying, when the lights go out, F1 fans want to hear one thing - noise and lots of it !! here here !! lots of people including organisers not happy about the noise - or, lack of it !! it also says that this (noise) being one of the most important aspects of the sport ----- and it goes on !
> This seems to be quite a big issue, so, its not just me ! :lol:


I have to say I agree, I am an F1 fan and I don't like the new noise at all, it just doesn't feel like the same experience overall and it's disappointing to me.

I guess they didn't think of this when they introduced the regulations as it's starting to become a bit of a big deal.


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## chefy (May 9, 2011)

Motoring is dangerous ! you will see this notice wherever you go to any racetrack, it should also read F1 is very noisy - cos, that's just how it is !
I think they'll get some noise back - I hope so.

Its just NOT cricket !  as they say - or snooker - or bowls, these are quiet sports, if its quiet you want - well, lets just say, Lords & Wimbledon spring to mind :lol: and I'm sure there's many a bowling club will welcome you also.


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