Sound generator - question

[tomotomotomo]

The sound of "power" should come from things that actually add power.

Maybe for a race car.

However for a modern road-going sports car people expect nice, powerful noises and relative comfort. If you slap a hulking great supercharged v8 in and call it a day, you're not going to sell many cars.

This is why manufacturers spend so much cash on NVH. You'd be hard pressed to find a fast car that doesn't have some sort of active exhaust valve, cabin piping, or powertrain designed to enhance certain frequencies. Even the little throttle blip on ignition is only programmed in to make you feel nice.

 

[v8z4]

The sound of "power" should come from things that actually add power.

Maybe for a race car.

However for a modern road-going sports car people expect nice, powerful noises and relative comfort. If you slap a hulking great supercharged v8 in and call it a day, you're not going to sell many cars.

This is why manufacturers spend so much cash on NVH. You'd be hard pressed to find a fast car that doesn't have some sort of active exhaust valve, cabin piping, or powertrain designed to enhance certain frequencies. Even the little throttle blip on ignition is only programmed in to make you feel nice.

Sounds to me like "modern road-going sports car people" are a bit sissy....

Z8 was build from BMW with a V8. Every year GM sells around 1500-1700 V8 Corvettes ranging from 450-650HP. Camaros, Mustangs, GTOs, etc. all with V8s and they sell.

 

[aquazi]

Z8 was build from BMW with a V8. Every year GM sells around 1500-1700 V8 Corvettes ranging from 450-650HP. Camaros, Mustangs, GTOs, etc. all with V8s and they sell.

The Z8 was considered a disaster but the volume of sales!

Even GM itself recon the demise of te v8 is just around the corner, in 2006 they produced 1.7million V8's, that fell to 1.15 in 2011 and are shifting to higher volumes of their 2.0 ecotec.

Give it 5 years and these muscle cars will be running V6, or even turbo'd inline 4's, with the same power and sound generators!




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[Bad_Pritt]

It all depends on preference: I like power a lot, I drive a Porsche now and then, 300, 400 or 500 bhp. It's amazing in performance and sound... but I don't need that power and lack of comfort on a daily basis. Sometimes I just want to cruise at low speed, top down, along the French coast... but I need the sound to make heads turn :evil:

 

[ben g]

If only we could all afford to have a V8 in our Zed
I'll settle for the sound and the eco/fuel/tax/insurance-friendly engine

Just takes a little wrenching.... :evil:
Ehh, I'll settle for the HP/rush/gas guzzling/funness

sorry mate, not everyone has the luxury of rock bottom fuel prices like you experience in the ''best and only country in the world that matters''.

 

[Phil-E30]

Just a question, do all 3.0 Z4s come with the sound generator (terrible name) ? I like the idea of it.

 

[tomotomotomo]

Sounds to me like "modern road-going sports car people" are a bit sissy....

Z8 was build from BMW with a V8. Every year GM sells around 1500-1700 V8 Corvettes ranging from 450-650HP. Camaros, Mustangs, GTOs, etc. all with V8s and they sell.

I'm not arguing against any particular engine layout; I love a v8 howl as much as the next person!

Just highlighting that every sports car that ends up on the road has a team of people who have designed its sound to match up with what the target market expect, using methods that don't necessarily add power.

 

[Bing]

Just a question, do all 3.0 Z4s come with the sound generator (terrible name) ? I like the idea of it.

All facelift ones do... Pretty sure the prefacelift did, but can't say for certain. Given their is a different kind of sound generator for the M54 (prefacelift) engine I'd say the odds are good.

 

[Phil-E30]

Just a question, do all 3.0 Z4s come with the sound generator (terrible name) ? I like the idea of it.

All facelift ones do... Pretty sure the prefacelift did, but can't say for certain. Given their is a different kind of sound generator for the M54 (prefacelift) engine I'd say the odds are good.

The car I am buying is December '03, another one I went to test drive that was March '03 had one, I just hope this one does have it.

 

[Bing]

Have a look under the bonnet

 

[Phil-E30]

Where in the engine bay is it located? It is in England and I am in Belfast, so I will have to ask for a picture of it.

 

[Bing]

It's on the right hand side as you look from the front - have a look at the links in Bad_Pritt's post on page one of this thread and you will get and idea. The second link is to zpost and is prefacelift, the first link is within this forum - the pics are missing up front but I posted a link and a few facelift pics in the last couple of pages.

 

[Phil-E30]

Thanks Bing. I am a bit disappointed now, I was told on here that all 3.0 Z4s had this feature and as a result didn't ask about it when asking about the car.

 

[v8z4]

I'm not arguing against any particular engine layout; I love a v8 howl as much as the next person!

Just highlighting that every sports car that ends up on the road has a team of people who have designed its sound to match up with what the target market expect, using methods that don't necessarily add power.

Agreed. I'm just pointing out (my opinion) that buying and installing "sound generators" is (to me) rather pointless. What is the point of having a car that is "all sound and no go"? If a person wishes to hear more sound, change the exhaust. There will be some HP increase (perhaps not a lot but more than the zero that the sound generator makes) and the car will be lighter thanks to dumping the huge factory mufflers. Then the car not only sounds good but runs better.

But, hey.... people can do what they want. I run near straight pipes on my Z4 (chambered bullet mufflers) and spherical bearings in all my suspension points. So perhaps my views are a bit more aggressive that most.

sorry mate, not everyone has the luxury of rock bottom fuel prices...

Fuel economy as reported on http://www.fueleconomy.gov

2012 BMW Z4 sDrive35i 6 cyl, 3.0 L, Manual 6-spd, Premium Gasoline
City 19
Combined 21
Highway 26

2012 Chevrolet Corvette 8 cyl, 7.0 L, Manual 6-spd, Premium Gasoline
City 15
Combined 18
Highway 24

So, i6 vs V8 is negligible at the end of the day. "Rock bottom fuel prices" of not....

in the ''best and only country in the world that matters''.

where did that misinformed and narrow minded comment come from.... :?

 

[ben g]

is that corvette the one that shuts down half it's cylinders, by any chance?

what a silly invention. doesn't add power.

 

[v8z4]

is that corvette the one that shuts down half it's cylinders, by any chance?

what a silly invention. doesn't add power.

I had not heard of AFM (active fuel management) being used on the C6s (doesn't mean it isn't). It does look like the C7 (2014) might get it though.

Yeah, it's a pretty silly thing. However it is a relitivley easy thing to remove and I know of lots of people who remove the system on pickups and SUVs. It doesn't seem to add much in the way of fuel economy as most people who remove it report near-to-same MPG before/after. I think it's more of an EPA thing than anything. The Federal Gov likes to impose all kinds of stupid mandates rather than letting capitalism sort things out (sadly it looks like now that we have another 4 years of OBummer, things will only get worse).

 

[Phil-E30]

I know it isn't Z4 related, but if you think Obama was the wrong choice in that presidential election v8z4, then you sir, are a blithering idiot, either that or an overly wealthy and slightly dim American.

 

[v8z4]

I know it isn't Z4 related, but if you think Obama was the wrong choice in that presidential election v8z4, then you sir, are a blithering idiot, either that or an overly wealthy and slightly dim American.

Well first, F* U because you don't know me, my reasons, or my beliefs. Regardless of your view you have no right to call anyone an idiot for their views. So again, go F* yourself!


Now that we have that out of the way and seems we have moved to politics, I believe that BOTH individuals were the wrong choice. I did not agree with either one, however it is my opinion that Obama was the worse choice (of two bad choices). His views and policies are entirely against free enterprise, free choice, and self reliance. I never felt he was qualified for the job due to a lack of experience and only felt he was elected for being black. However once he did win (the first time), I had high hopes that he would be a forward thinking individual who would work to solve the divisions within this country and around the world. He has not been. He has adopted an attitude of "I'm right and my way is the only way". At the same time I didn't agree with Romney, but at least I was willing to give him a chance to do better than Obama has.

I'm not rich by any means (my wife and I live with our 2 children in a modest, middle income home), however I choose to not be jealous of the wealthy and do not wish to have their wealth redistributed to me. I believe that if I want to be rich one day, I have to become educated (I have a BS and MS in accounting and have started an MBA with plans to attend law school one day), work hard (I work as an accountant at a very small aircraft parts company), and save my money for the kind of future I want. I believe that you can not spend your way out of problems (debt, poor economy, etc.) and you can not force people to side with you in a "my way or the highway" attitude.

 

[Bumpy]

I dislike these sorts of "sounds" being generated .
Lets just try and learn to love one another ...
Or at least be civil.
Group Hug ?

Bumpy

 

[v8z4]

I dislike these sorts of "sounds" being generated .
Lets just try and learn to love one another ...
Or at least be civil.
Group Hug ?

Bumpy

I enjoy civil discussions involving differing opinions and outlooks. It is only through the sharing and analysis of differing viewpoints that growth and knowledge can be attained. Unfortunately, not everyone holds to this belief. It seems that many view opinions that are different from their own as being inherently wrong and often use this to make unfounded judgements of the individual's beliefs, character, and values.

I hope that one day society will return to viewing different outlooks as a positive opertunity for growth.

Group hug...