Where's the line?

S

sbottum622

Member
I have no idea if this is common in the UK or not, but I can't tell you how many times I hear a crazy loud exhaust only to find out it's a civic or likewise. Honestly, sometimes they just sound awful.

So I'm wondering wheres the line between awesome and annoying? Does it depend solely on the car?

How do you guys feel about this?
 
It doesn't particularly bother me as long as they don't drive past my house at 2am, but I don't really see the point if the only purpose they serve is to attract attention by making a racket. I know a few folk on the MX5 forums over the years have fitted loud exhausts then taken off on long road trips only to return saying how annoying it was day after day, the drone got on their nerves, especially on motorways.

I can't really say much though because I ride a bike (big twin BMW) with an Akropovic end can - always run it with the baffles out and I love the sound it makes, I never find it annoying but I would if it was in a car I think. Maybe it's because I wear ear plugs on the bike or maybe it's just that the bike sounds really crap with the standard exhaust :idunno:
 
The line is something only you can decide.

Obviously we have laws regarding decibel limits but even at those upper limits, car exhausts can sound stupidly loud.

Personally, as long as the driver isn't redlining it in every gear, I have no issue. Always love to hear the sound of a v8 and above. It's the pansy 4 cylinders that get me. Sounds like a bean can.

I speak from experience after putting an exhaust on my corsa, thinking I was a badboy at the time. Must have looked a right pleb to anyone over the age of 12.
 
I was stood outside my local Indi Tyre place this afternoon waiting for some new non run flats on the family BMW F11 and numerous cars went past with non standard exhaust. I think it's the car as much as the exhaust for example a jaguar xk8 with big pipes rumbled past and sounded lovely followed by a SL55AMG with a huge exhaust sounded really fruity. Then a 1999 vintage polo went past with a bean can out the back sounded like it was the exhaust blowing....sounded bloody awful....I can't really think of any 4 cylinder car that sounds nice with a noisy exhaust...

Unless someone can tell me otherwise
 
Though not for me personally, I see the appeal of 'those bloody honda kids' and their exhausts.

Becausevtecyo.
 
The reason I ask is because I just ordered an eisenmann race exhaust, and pardon my language, but I don't wanna look like a complete douchebag.
 
Nothing wrong with a loud exhaust. The problem is where people, often the Corsa and Civic crowd, choose to use them. It does help if the cat sounds good in the first place though.

Personaly you cant beat a nice 5 pot beat, or the classic flat plane V8 of a 455. :thumbsup: 8) :thumbsup:

Zeds good, but not my favourite note. :o
 
Like its already been said, the line is wherever you want it to be.

I do wonder what people think of the noise from the 35is because people do look and wonder where its coming from, I just don't think they expect it from a BMW. I know its loud but when Mike came home two nights ago to tell me that the Audio Lass from his work was saying that she wanted to put a beefy Z4 exhaust note in the game because as she was working to work last Saturday a Blue Z4 hard top drove by her and she said she heard it before she saw it.....turns out it was me she heard/saw.

I think that for some people they might think the car is too loud, my nephew says it sounds like a race car, but then he's 4! and my Dad says he doesn't get why I want a loud car, not actually realising that I didn't actually know the car was like that until the sales man drove it out the handover bay when I bought it! Point is that BMW built my car that way but to most people they might just think its a silly aftermarket look at me noisy exhaust when in fact its standard but totally different to every other Z4 seen driving about.
 
I used to like loud. I had Straight through exhausts on my Honda Valkyrie trike - flat 6 and 1500cc, it sounded amazing and you would hear it long before you saw it. However, after a few years it does become a bit of a strain and I preferred the low rumble of the Honda Rune, again a flat 6 but 1800 trike. The drone was deep enough to open the San Andreas Fault from here!

My Zed seems to fit into the latter and suits me just fine, BUT wouldn't mind something with a bit more of a louder note. How fickle am I?!
 
For me switchable exhausts are the perfect option. In the off position when heading to work at 6am so as not to annoy the neighbours, switch it on when you're out on the open road.
 
My best mate fitted a Miltek non-resonated pipe to his car (golf R32) on thursday...we spent saturday putting it back to standard!

Way to much drone for every day driving, very much over the line. :thumbsdown: A lot of this mods sound amazing on youtube and the forums, but living with the everyday is another matter...IMO
 
I was always a little disappointed with the noise my Z4 made, but never got round to doing anything about it. There was nothing wrong with it as such, just always wished it had a bit more "grunt".

Then I picked up my 370z, and the noise was beyond a disappointment, there just isn't any exhaust note at all as standard! A common complaint if I'd had bothered to read up first. The trick is to get a decent aftermarket exhaust tailored to your car, not a cheap, quick-fix system. The Cobra system I had fitted to the 370 sounds absolutely fantastic when driving it hard, but with noticeable drone at all when cruising!
 
Can you guys not remember being a youngster with no money :rofl: most of the previously mentioned exhaust systems alone cost more than than the cars noisy cans are attached to :rofl:
I'll man up and admit to having crappy old cars with even crappier noisy exhausts and rubbish air filters when I was young , I'm convinced my 76 mark 3 cortina 2 ltr with a chrome mesh air filter sounded exactly like a m3 csl does now . :rofl:
 
Paulwirral said:
Can you guys not remember being a youngster with no money :rofl: most of the previously mentioned exhaust systems alone cost more than than the cars noisy cans are attached to :rofl:
I'll man up and admit to having crappy old cars with even crappier noisy exhausts and rubbish air filters when I was young , I'm convinced my 76 mark 3 cortina 2 ltr with a chrome mesh air filter sounded exactly like a m3 csl does now . :rofl:
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Yep - I had a triumph toledo and I thought the noise it made was fantastic.

Until I found out the noise was one of the push rods breaking through the rocker cover.

It actually sounded like a machine gun when i was gunning it :D.

Also had an astra GTE - a long story but for one weekend I was running it with no exhaust at all from the manifold - It was pretty scary :D
 
AlpinaBoy said:
I can't really think of any 4 cylinder car that sounds nice with a noisy exhaust...

Unless someone can tell me otherwise
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My four cylinder Westfield sounds fantastic. Between the induction roar through the carburetors and 99dB of exhaust by my right hip it sounds like a Supermarine Spitfire... So I say, but I am going a little deaf from driving it :P

I have an aFe cold air intake and Remus exhausts on my ///M. This combination gives me no difficulties with passing noise tests for UK track days (usual limit is 99dB at 0.5m and 45 degrees) and has no drone but sounds amazing under load over 4,000rpm.
 
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