# Are You Happy With The Sound Of Your Car



## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

With the amounts some companies are spending on their new cars to make them sound good like Jag for example is huge, as they are building their brand around great sounding cars.

For you is it ever a consideration when you buy a car or do you not care quieter the better?

How would you rate the sound of your car 1 to 10 considering petrol and diesel in each section.

I for one was drawn to the AMG that bit more due to the pure sound compared to the M4 I was looking at, so do you think makers are wise to spend so much money on how the car sounds or is this just important for hot hatch, sports cars and super cars?

You may have multiple choice on the happy with sound one.


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

S5 V8- Yep, more than happy with it. AMG's sound nice. Don't like , un-refined noise for the sake of it , has to have that certain "tone". I'm sure you know what I mean.


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## DrEskimo (Jan 7, 2016)

DJ X-Ray said:


> S5 V8- Yep, more than happy with it. AMG's sound nice. Don't like , un-refined noise for the sake of it , has to have that certain "tone". I'm sure you know what I mean.


S5 V6...happy but not as happy as X-Ray 

One of the reasons I never even consider diesel is because of the sound. At idle even a new A7 3.0 TDI V6 sounds awful to me.

Ironically one of the things I most love about the bigger petrols is how effortless they are low down the rev range, and if just crawling along they are virtually silent.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

I'm fine with mine. A straight 6 BMW engine usually sounds nice. It's not especially loud, but it is a daily driver. There is the option of the performance exhaust which I didn't go with.


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

3.5l NA V6 - can't complain TBH, sounds better than any 3 pot diesel anyway.


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## pez (Jun 7, 2014)

2.0l turbo classic Japanese with a 3" exhaust system always sounds nice in my opinion, my brothers vectra vxr with a 3" straight through pipes sounds good under load but on idle it sounds like a tractor so that's a bit annoying but hay ho


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## LewisChadwick7 (Aug 22, 2014)

are we talking standard noise or as our own cars stand?  

I'm more than happy with the ST and can't beat the noise when it starts singing over 5k but this has many mods over standard 

the FR is just a boring diesel really


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## Sam6er (Apr 3, 2016)

My standard diesel BMW straight 6 sounds ok, not too bothered by it as its just my daily, but the weekend V8 BMW i was not too happy with as i felt it was a bit quiet. Had to get a custom Magnaflow exhaust done to unleash some more V8 sound :driver:


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

It depends on the car. If I was buying a "sporty" car, then I'd want it to sound the part, particularly if I was putting my foot down. That said, any car (unless it's just a weekend toy) needs to be able to shut up if you're just pootling about IMO. Can't understand why some people want to set up their car to drone away even at tickover!

For instance, our family bus is a 1.8 petrol estate with an autobox. It's generally very quiet and does the job with the minimum of fuss, which for that sort of vehicle is just what's needed.


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## CoOkIeMoNsTeR (Mar 6, 2011)

I am a prolific petrol owner but have had more than my fair share of diesels. I didn't like hearing the Volvo D5 because it was too noisy and unrefined, ditto the Freelander Td4 we had for years before but other more modern diesels are OK. Currently I have the 911 which makes a lovely noise, a classic air cooled Bosch fuel injected noise that is totally raw and natural, very nice  The 206 knockabout car is a diesel and all the better for it, it's an agricultural machine and it doesn't bother me that it sounds like one, that it does 60MPG and will run forever are more important that the noise. The new daily, the SQ5 is also a diesel and considering it is so inflicted it sounds pretty decent under acceleration with the windows down thanks to the fake exhaust noises and it's quiet enough with the windows up that, although I know it's a diesel, I don't really care. In short, yeah I'm happy, I'm all for fake noise on a diesel if it improves it haha.

The rest of the family actually have nicer noises on their dailies though. My Dad's Alfa 159 with its full stainless exhaust emits a lovely roar, my Mum has a petrol Evoque Convertible which also sounds decent, one of my brothers has a 5 cylinder V40 CC T5, the other has a Fiesta ST which makes a nice little rasp, and my sister has a V8 CLK55 AMG. You can guess which one sounds the best haha!

To answer your question, the noise depends on the car, if I were buying a car just to get around in, I don't care. A wafting car should be near silent, anything decent to drive should have a nice noise. I have a freind with a 335d who is forever telling me how nice it is to drive but I'm not so sure, competent it may be, it doesn't make a very nice noise


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

DJ X-Ray said:


> S5 V8- Yep, more than happy with it. AMG's sound nice. Don't like , un-refined noise for the sake of it , has to have that certain "tone". I'm sure you know what I mean.


Yes the S5 V8 sounds great have driven one a client had, yes the V8 Twin Turbo on mine sounds fantastic and until and extended test drive in one I was ok with the m4 , then the thunder got into my veins and even a run to the shops gets me to press the flaps to get the glorious nosie.



DrEskimo said:


> S5 V6...happy but not as happy as X-Ray
> 
> One of the reasons I never even consider diesel is because of the sound. At idle even a new A7 3.0 TDI V6 sounds awful to me.
> 
> Ironically one of the things I most love about the bigger petrols is how effortless they are low down the rev range, and if just crawling along they are virtually silent.


Yes the S5 V6 sounds nice as well but just lacks the more thunderous sound of the V8, the new C43 merc V6 sounds very nice as well.

Yes as much as I loved my F31 330d m sport as was great car and served me well it was just to good at what it did and became sterile.

Yes my AMG on comfort quiet mode at lights very quiet until I press the loud pedal but no drone on motorway at all quieter than the beemer



Kerr said:


> I'm fine with mine. A straight 6 BMW engine usually sounds nice. It's not especially loud, but it is a daily driver. There is the option of the performance exhaust which I didn't go with.


I think the M235i sounds great standard driven one twice, and with optional exhaust sounds even better IMHO

I will answer others later when get a chance, thanks Derek


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## mac1459 (Aug 25, 2011)

Astra J vxr Remus exhaust , lovely cold start, nice on tick over , no drone , open road ,open throttle oh i am very happy.
past cars have had custom exhausts fitted , never asbo level , just the right sound.
To me the exhaust should represent the vehicle.
mac


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

Focus st 5 pot, love the sound.. totally standard but must admit I'd like to unleash a bit more sound with an exhaust and induction kit


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

More than happy with mine, standard is OK, but a screaming Vtec through a Solid Fabrications full S/S system with decat puts a big smile on my face.


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Golf 1.6tdi.

Tractor noise at low speeds and surprisingly smooth and quiet as the speed builds.

Everyday car that ticks many box's, but I won't be getting a poster for the garage wall... 




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## Oldsparky (Jun 18, 2014)

I shall miss the high revving sound of my type r when it goes soon. Nothing else like it 


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

DrEskimo said:


> S5 V6...happy but not as happy as X-Ray
> 
> One of the reasons I never even consider diesel is because of the sound. At idle even a new A7 3.0 TDI V6 sounds awful to me.
> 
> Ironically one of the things I most love about the bigger petrols is how effortless they are low down the rev range, and if just crawling along they are virtually silent.


Still sound , look and drive nice though mate! 
Mine is 7 odd years old now though but they still look better than most new cars imo. Flash, but classy  
1000% with you on the diesels. Just, NO, NO NOOOO!! :lol:


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Love the sound of my straight six from my M2's 3.0 litre, especially when on track mode setting and the exhaust valves turned on. Boy it don't half pop and bang along with the over-runs.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

V6 turbo, i6 turbo and V8 na.

Engine / exhaust noise is an important consideration for me but has to natural rather than artificially generated.

The BMW has a good balance of sound / noise, the Saab is fine but has custom exhaust and the Westfield has more engine noise than exhaust noise which I'd like to change


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

Crap heap Auto Merc A160... with a knackered exhaust... No not really doing it for me. I've had much better lol.

But its motoring for under £130 a month (all in inc fuel/tax/purchase/insurance) so can't complain on the bangernomics/sound front.


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## Njs71 (Aug 29, 2017)

I have a 2014 BMW 420d which I love. 70mpg on motorway runs @80mph and it spins up in sports mode well. It's my first (what I consider luxury) car as I've always had bikes. 

First thing I always did on my bikes was change the exhausts to get the required smile inducing sound.

Am I happy with the sound of my car.....errr NO. I'm considering getting the active sound system put on it but need to do more research yet.


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## CaptainKirk95 (Jun 27, 2013)

More than happy with the sound of my mk5gti and it's turbo back Miltek exhaust.

Nice when driving around normally, no drone on the motorway and more than enough noise when you put your foot down:car:


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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

I consider a car on the noise, at least as possible.
Hate screaming, booming and popping exhaust noises.
Test drove an AMG and told the salesman, years ago if my car made that noise I would have took them to the garage for a new exhaust.
I don't mind a bit background burbling like an American V8.

I must be getting old, car manufacturers spend 100's of millions on insulation, quieter engines and we put it all to hell with a big pipe.


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

Mine has intake sound piped into the cabin, it sounds great when you wring it's neck.
Outside though is fairly quiet.

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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Apart from anything, i had bikes as a kid with big engines and loud 4-1 exhausts and i kind of got it out of my system back then, really, so a loud exhaust or even a fruity exhaust note doesn't really do much for me in a road car now.

For me, it now goes in the same category as Big back tyres, induction noises, 0-60 times, donuts, wheelies, general hooning around, thinking that you are Billy Big Balls, doing 170mph and then realising that the slightest twitch will take you across two lanes ....

Great for you younger guys, but not for me now.

I'll get me coat ... :lol::lol:


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Rayaan said:


> 3.5l NA V6 - can't complain TBH, sounds better than any 3 pot diesel anyway.


Sounds good to me



pez said:


> 2.0l turbo classic Japanese with a 3" exhaust system always sounds nice in my opinion, my brothers vectra vxr with a 3" straight through pipes sounds good under load but on idle it sounds like a tractor so that's a bit annoying but hay ho


Yes the droning part getting very annoying so im out on that front as well



LewisChadwick7 said:


> are we talking standard noise or as our own cars stand?
> 
> I'm more than happy with the ST and can't beat the noise when it starts singing over 5k but this has many mods over standard
> 
> the FR is just a boring diesel really


Yes standard cars or cars with some OEM exhausts etc fine



Sam6er said:


> My standard diesel BMW straight 6 sounds ok, not too bothered by it as its just my daily, but the weekend V8 BMW i was not too happy with as i felt it was a bit quiet. Had to get a custom Magnaflow exhaust done to unleash some more V8 sound :driver:


I have had 3 straight 6 diesel beemers acceptable sound as far as i would say for me, but a e92? M3 sounds great with magnaflow



steelghost said:


> It depends on the car. If I was buying a "sporty" car, then I'd want it to sound the part, particularly if I was putting my foot down. That said, any car (unless it's just a weekend toy) needs to be able to shut up if you're just pootling about IMO. Can't understand why some people want to set up their car to drone away even at tickover!
> 
> For instance, our family bus is a 1.8 petrol estate with an autobox. It's generally very quiet and does the job with the minimum of fuss, which for that sort of vehicle is just what's needed.


Yes agree heavily dependent on what you plan to do with your motor



CoOkIeMoNsTeR said:


> I am a prolific petrol owner but have had more than my fair share of diesels. I didn't like hearing the Volvo D5 because it was too noisy and unrefined, ditto the Freelander Td4 we had for years before but other more modern diesels are OK. Currently I have the 911 which makes a lovely noise, a classic air cooled Bosch fuel injected noise that is totally raw and natural, very nice  The 206 knockabout car is a diesel and all the better for it, it's an agricultural machine and it doesn't bother me that it sounds like one, that it does 60MPG and will run forever are more important that the noise. The new daily, the SQ5 is also a diesel and considering it is so inflicted it sounds pretty decent under acceleration with the windows down thanks to the fake exhaust noises and it's quiet enough with the windows up that, although I know it's a diesel, I don't really care. In short, yeah I'm happy, I'm all for fake noise on a diesel if it improves it haha.
> 
> The rest of the family actually have nicer noises on their dailies though. My Dad's Alfa 159 with its full stainless exhaust emits a lovely roar, my Mum has a petrol Evoque Convertible which also sounds decent, one of my brothers has a 5 cylinder V40 CC T5, the other has a Fiesta ST which makes a nice little rasp, and my sister has a V8 CLK55 AMG. You can guess which one sounds the best haha!
> 
> To answer your question, the noise depends on the car, if I were buying a car just to get around in, I don't care. A wafting car should be near silent, anything decent to drive should have a nice noise. I have a freind with a 335d who is forever telling me how nice it is to drive but I'm not so sure, competent it may be, it doesn't make a very nice noise


having to many diesels cars over the years then getting an F56 JCW got me back into petrol, I could be very bias and say your sister excellent taste


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

mac1459 said:


> Astra J vxr Remus exhaust , lovely cold start, nice on tick over , no drone , open road ,open throttle oh i am very happy.
> past cars have had custom exhausts fitted , never asbo level , just the right sound.
> To me the exhaust should represent the vehicle.
> mac


To me your last sentence sums up everything excellent point :thumb:


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## Bull12 (Jun 11, 2015)

I am fortunate to have a 3l v6 F-Type. Lovely and relaxed when driven sedateley. Turn the engine and gearbox up and it's aural bliss. Love a bit of supercharger whine as well.

The sound for, for me anyway is a big part of the experience. Think that's why I'm struggling to get into formula e...


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Bull12 said:


> I am fortunate to have a 3l v6 F-Type. Lovely and relaxed when driven sedateley. Turn the engine and gearbox up and it's aural bliss. Love a bit of supercharger whine as well.
> 
> The sound for, for me anyway is a big part of the experience. Think that's why I'm struggling to get into formula e...


I think the F type is a fabulous car in every aspect APART from that loud exhaust.

It just makes me cringe whenever i hear one opening up, just sounds forced and a bit wrong. Maybe its more enjoyable inside, but it really puts me off.

See one go past a bit more slowly and (relatively) quietly and its a fantastic car.

Is it me being wrong here??

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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

The Jaguar group have some lovely sounding engines, I noticed more and more cars are sounding better.


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## bigslippy (Sep 19, 2010)

In a word ....absolutely , picked up one of these march 2016:argie::argie:


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Soul boy 68 said:


> Love the sound of my straight six from my M2's 3.0 litre, especially when on track mode setting and the exhaust valves turned on. Boy it don't half pop and bang along with the over-runs.
> 
> View attachment 52023


Speaking of this when I did my AMG driver training at brooklands few weeks back the guy that took me out was a works Toyota race driver, and he had M2 with performance exhaust as well, sounded great when he left Brooklands he loved it.


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## Ep3guy (Jun 12, 2013)

More than happy with my screaming VTEC civic type r


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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

Ep3guy said:


> More than happy with my screaming VTEC civic type r


Me too 

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## NeilG40 (Jan 1, 2009)

Yeah, my Nissan Leaf is perfect, practically no noise.


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

bigslippy said:


> In a word ....absolutely , picked up one of these march 2016:argie::argie:
> 
> Audi A6 3.0 TDI 313 HP - great sound - YouTube


Did somebody mention Diesel and sounding good? I will have to have a listen to one local here A7 with the same engine i believe, the guy really likes it.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

991 Carrera S. Has the best of both worlds. Refined and modest when you want it to be around town, open the exhaust and hoon it in 3rd gear and try not to look at the speedo.

You have to distinguish between the noise generated by the exhaust and that from the intake side.


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## Alfa male (Jun 16, 2009)

How about a screaming Alfa Romeo GTV V6 with a Wizard exhaust !


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## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

My car sounds like a tractor and I couldn't really care. It gets me from a to b and will be run to the ground. 8 years old and less than 50k miles so should have plenty life in it yet


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## pee (Apr 6, 2009)

I'm happy with the sound of my Abarth 595 not sure my neighbours are though as it is a little loud on a cold start up :devil:


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

ollienoclue said:


> 991 Carrera S. Has the best of both worlds. Refined and modest when you want it to be around town, open the exhaust and hoon it in 3rd gear and try not to look at the speedo.
> 
> You have to distinguish between the noise generated by the exhaust and that from the intake side.


Sounds great to me, yes agree fully on last part re noise.



Alfa male said:


> How about a screaming Alfa Romeo GTV V6 with a Wizard exhaust !


Yes please



Will_G said:


> My car sounds like a tractor and I couldn't really care. It gets me from a to b and will be run to the ground. 8 years old and less than 50k miles so should have plenty life in it yet


How are you WillG? yes sometimes you just need a car for A to B work horse been there a few times in past



pee said:


> I'm happy with the sound of my Abarth 595 not sure my neighbours are though as it is a little loud on a cold start up :devil:


Love the sound of the Wee Abarth's


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## Sam534 (May 10, 2017)

Gt86 sounds garbage outside the cabin standard, the intake noise piped to the cabin helps but I always feel a bit cheated. Fitted a secondary decat which helped a little but no growl, going for a cat back next when cash allows

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## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

Derekh929 said:


> How are you WillG? yes sometimes you just need a car for A to B work horse been there a few times in past


Hi Derek,
Good thanks, thinking of getting back into it again. Found a bit of mojo tackling my sisters 51 plate Astra which was thick with tree sap.

Still going about in the 520d and do fancy a change at times but most days I'm doing 8 miles tops. Not great for a diesel I know but as I said earlier just gets me from a to b.

Hope you're keeping well and if you're ever down in Aberdeen give me a shout and I'll catch you for a coffee.

Will


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Will_G said:


> Hi Derek,
> Good thanks, thinking of getting back into it again. Found a bit of mojo tackling my sisters 51 plate Astra which was thick with tree sap.
> 
> Still going about in the 520d and do fancy a change at times but most days I'm doing 8 miles tops. Not great for a diesel I know but as I said earlier just gets me from a to b.
> ...


Good to hear Will, sounds like a good project on your sisters car, yes 8miles a day in the 520d not the best of ideas but hey it gets you to work, that's what's important.

Yes I'm doing good will , when I get a chance to get through to Aberdeen some day I will give you a shout for catch up:thumb:


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