Fake engine sound

[604Bronco]

Pfft, you and your fake engine noises. Go big or go home…

Ford Performance probably has a deck of playing cards for sale…

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[Rydfree]

That is a good point. When I was young with my first car (1980's), if you ran a 'cherry bomb' muffler or straight pipes you regularly got a ticket, or were impounded. I think it was in the 1990's when all the judges, lawyers, and other respectable upper-middle class people (the folks who actually run local government) started acquiring Harley's (and its attendant "straight pipes save lives" culture) that vehicle noise laws became widely ignored. Now many vehicles come from the factory muffler by-pass that far exceeds local noise ordinances.

I have also noticed how the big car zines and online video reviews (such as "Sarah'n'tuned") emphasize the sound a vehical makes, seemingly over actual vehical performance. Just yesterday I was watching Sarah'n'tuned' (who is not a two-dollar-whore that's fer sur )review a 2024 F150 Tremor & a 2025 Explorer ST. In both she was real excited about how both cars sounded under throttle yet did not know (and/or care) that what she was hearing was fake. It's not like she is mechanically ignorant...

At this point I will resist a rant about authenticity, young(er) people accepting the artificial over the real, and the collapse of western civilization

Mentioning Sarah'n'tuned and Fake in the same sentence, hmmm.

 

[Acadist]

Pfft, you and your fake engine noises. Go big or go home…

Ford Performance probably has a deck of playing cards for sale…

Just seeing this pisses me off!!!! Think of the financial hit I took because no one told me not to use my baseball cards!

 

[orion]

I completely agree. However we only own a percentage of the Bronco. They are part owners. Ford reserves the right to constantly modify your purchase as long as it can be done remotely. Sounds are one of them.

Wonder if they are going to brick them at some point so we have to "upgrade"! I swear that's what phone companies do to make you buy a new phone!

 

[joes bronco]

Wonder if ford can come up with a way to make my 2cyl. 4wheeler sound like a mustang GT??

 

[contented]

I have a 2020 BMW M2 Competition, BMW’s smallest and least powerful high performance M car. It has a 3.0 L inline 6 making 405 HP. Not bad for a 3,300 lb car. It’s quite a car. BMW forums were full of the same kinds of comments as I ve seen here. I bought right into it to. So, I turned sound enhancement off via a tool similar to Forescan. After about two weeks, I turned the sound enhancement back on. I hated the “real sound“ of the engine. Contrary to popular belief, sound enhancement, at least BMW’s version”, is not a soundtrack that you can hear playing. It is a very subtle modification of the sounds one hears in the driver’s seat. So subtle in fact that what one thinks your hearing is the sound of a great engine when making a full throttle acceleration. I love it.

My 2.3 Badlands engine was replaced earlier this year (long block and turbo) under warranty. Bringing it home from the dealer I thought, wow, they must have made some changes in this version of the engine. It sounded great. Then it hit me, it’s probably sound enhancement. I didn’t mind it at all. It was clearly different than before and definitely better IMHO.

What one likes, the next doesn’t. If you’re hearing a soundtrack play, I’m willing to bet you’re not hearing sound enhancement, but some other noise or interference coming through your speakers. And besides, its so noisy inside at highway speeds, even with a hardtop, it‘s hard to tell much of anything when going down the road. But, what do I know. . Is Ford as good as BMW at this, I’ve no clue. Don’t mind it at all.

 

[gbub]

This is off topic but I can't imagine a BMW inline 6 sounding bad. Both the older 70s 2.8L and 3.0L make a sound that is music to my ears and they don't make anywhere near that HP. BMW must have really messed up the newer exhaust system.

 

[contented]

This is off topic but I can't imagine a BMW inline 6 sounding bad. Both the older 70s 2.8L and 3.0L make a sound that is music to my ears and they don't make anywhere near that HP. BMW must have really messed up the newer exhaust system.

I reread my post and I was guilty of exaggerating. I should not have said “I hated the real sound“. More appropriately I didn’t care for it as much as when sound enhancement was on. Standing behind the car on a cold start, it has a growl that always brings a smile and wakes the neighbors. Quiets down in few minutes, but as my wife goes up the street in it and I’m standing in the garage, it still sounds good. At full throttle w/ windows up, I prefer the enhanced sound., which is glorious. When I took BWM’s one day M school a few years ago, I had the opportunity to hear this model at full throttle from the outside as other students navigated a training course. Sounded really good.

As I think about it, a better description might be sound enhancement takes a good sounding engine to the next level to the person in the driver’s seat. As an aside, that 405 hp engine makes 405 lb-ft of torque which comes on by 2,400 rpm. It will happily light up the rear tires when asked. I’m almost too old to fully enjoy the car.

In closing, sound enhancement is not a sound track that plays, but a subtle modification of what one hears in the car. Happy New Year. BTW, nice group of cars in your garage.

 

[dpAtlanta]

Since this thread is bouncing all over the place... here is an exhaust that needs no interior enhancement............. this is vehicular exhaust crack:

ZR1 hunting in a GT350R Pure beautiful noise!

 

[HuffDaddy]

I don't buy it. But also, who cares if it's true. If you like the sound when you're in the vehicle, great. Why care whether people outside the vehicle hear it? When I put together exhaust systems on old cars and trucks, I design it for my ears, not other peoples'. I don't really understand why people are down on the fake exhaust noises -- exhaust sounds are truly just "noise" to other drivers.

You get rid of it because it sucks.

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