[aajami]

Originally Posted by Ian///M

I am well aware of how the LFA works... never said it was through the speakers

So the m5/M135i is pre-recorded, or a mic picking up actual live noise and feeding live through speakers? ... if prerecorded then that sucks

Wasn't implying that you didn't know otherwise. Was just reinforcing the point.

Not sure about the M135i, but the M5's engine sound is pre-recorded.

[Dackelone]

I rather like the way the M135i sounds - even IF it is fake engine noise.

[hwelvaar]

People,

It's about the times we live in.
Everything has to be politically correct. Cars must protect pedestrians. Cars must not wake the neighbours. Cars must not burn too much petrol. Cars have to comply to a thousand regulations.

If BMW comes up with products that comply to these regulations, but finds ways to still excite people with their 'drivers cars' then that's OK.
It's just the engineers trying at their best to deliver what the audience expects, while adhering to politics and regulations.

This trend is just starting. Expect it to get worse over the next 20 to 30 years. So enjoy it while you can. Enjoy your old NA engines if you have them, enjoy your new turbo engines with a small sound tweak if you got one of those.

Who knows when we'll all drive silent electric cars...

PS: I'm not going to debate whether BMW should have been more transparent about this 'feature.'

[Bradbury]

Originally Posted by hwelvaar

Expect it to get worse over the next 20 to 30 years.

You don't even have to look that long ahead in time. I do believe that the EU has a goal for 2020 that the average new car will have a CO2 emission of 95 g/km. I don't know how they expect to reach this goal. Increase the price of cars based on CO2-emissions?

We have that in Norway. When we buy a new car over here we pay a one time tax based on - among other things - the amount of CO2 it emits per km.

For every gram over 110g we pay £85
For every gram over 165g we pay £200
For every gram over 235g we pay £320
(that would be appr. £8500 for the manual M135i)

There is also a rebate for every gram under 110g, yet still we're a long long way from the 95g average. I doubt the technology will improve that much over the next seven years, so maybe the EU will force us all to buy shitboxes in the future. Even more likely is that they will force the manufacturers to make shitty cars.

So yeah, the future is looking grim for petrol heads. Enjoy it while you can...

[logiclee]

Originally Posted by Remonster

BMW's fake sound system just plays a recording of the engine's sound, it's like playing Forza or Gran Turismo and hearing the car's engine sound. Other cars (911, Mustang, etc.) have a physical tube that goes through the sound dampening and allows the engine's actual noise to come through. I haven't heard the new M5 in person yet so I can't comment on how realistic it sounds, but I will say that I hate this idea in principle. I don't have a problem with other cars cutting holes through their sound dampening to let real engine sound come through and I think that's what BMW should have done.

At the end of the day, if BMW wanted the driver to hear more of the engine then why didn't they just make the engine / exhaust louder? My 335is has one of the loudest exhaust systems of any stock BMW (it's definitely way louder than the E90 M3 we used to have and even louder than an M3 with M Performance exhaust) and that's one of my favorite features of my car. I love the way it sounds but if the sound was faked through the speakers it just wouldn't be the same. I don't even understand why they had to fake the M5's sound in the first place, my friend has an X6 M and that thing sounds incredible from inside.

The recording is not a straight recording though. It's been modified to give the type of sound the M Performance engineers want to achieve when the sound is played back with the normal engine noise. The specific frequencies are enhanced depending on rpm and the loudness depends on throttle position. This is how bmw create the great engine sound, removing sound insulation also increases road noise

As new models come out they are having to comply with ever increasing EU legislation on emmissions and noise. BMW, VAG and Merc all have amplified audio engine systems available as do the big Jap manufacturers so expect to see this more in the future.

Cheers
Lee

[dj john]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

I rather like the way the M135i sounds - even IF it is fake engine noise.

+1,i love this car,it,s a beast in my mind..one day this car will travel from germany to norway

[NTTY]

Originally Posted by BM635

So will improving the speakers be as important as upgrading the exhaust?

Indeed. Go for AvantGarde Loudspeakers. German quality too.



Cheers.

[cncmastr]

Originally Posted by bimmerjph

CSL Airbox right?

Originally Posted by Echo M3

I love that airbox rattle. BMWs used to be ALL about induction noise.

Indeed. CSL Airbox ftw.

[ozinaldo]

Originally Posted by Ian///M

Pre-recorded is epic fail. I thought it was just a external mic pickup. That's just wrong if pre-recorded.

It is sinful wrong if true. Did anyone watch the futuristic film Strange Days (1995, director Kathryn Bigelow, stars Ralph Fiennes)? Reminds me that one. Great film by the way.

[donaldt]

Hi Guys
I called BMW Hong Kong and left a message about my quiet car and no answer yet
does anyone have any idea how I can get more noise from the unit?
is it possible to do some tweaks to increase its output or something?
I wonder if I can swap a M5 unit in for better sound(okay its sad but I would), but since they have different rpm I wonder what would happen

I am looking to drop in an K&N to see if it adds any noise (it usually does although minimal), and I am thinking if I need to get a full exhaust system instead of just the muffler this time...

[BM635]

Originally Posted by NTTY

Indeed. Go for AvantGarde Loudspeakers. German quality too.



Cheers.

Just thinking, if the aftermarket audio system in my Audi did wonders for Tony Bennett & Friends, why not for that additional Gran Turismo track in the background?

[BM635]

Originally Posted by NTTY

Indeed. Go for AvantGarde Loudspeakers. German quality too.



Cheers.

Just thinking, if the aftermarket audio system in my Audi did wonders for Tony Bennett & Friends, why not for that additional Gran Turismo track in the background?

[e679]

Wakaka. Hilarious! I could not imagine that one day I will say this in BMW dealer "I would like my car to sound like Porsche 959 this week. The sound of 300sl gull wing that i had wasn't really suit my taste."

[bjf66]

Now for the question everyone is waiting for: Where can I get one of these boxes for my E92?

[tommybisler]

This is like those Audi R8 style DRLs.

They looked great on the R8 but the fact they're now on every poverty spec 4-pot diesel, they are ruined.

My point is, how long will it be before they put the same tech in something like a 116i to make it sound more sporty.

[JohnVidale]

Embarrassing that this is hard to turn off, if I'm understanding the description right. Sounds like one WISHES the car were making?

It might be fun as an option to dial in a variety of noises: a lawn mower, a helicopter, a blender, some Rolling Stones, a jet engine.

[bimmerjph]

Originally Posted by JohnVidale

Embarrassing that this is hard to turn off, if I'm understanding the description right. Sounds like one WISHES the car were making?

It might be fun as an option to dial in a variety of noises: a lawn mower, a helicopter, a blender, some Rolling Stones, a jet engine.

I like the Rolling Stones idea. Whenever the engine starts having problems it could pipe in "Beast of Burden". Haha

[Propagator]

Imagine an alternative history where this fake engine noise through speaker technology was first introduced by, say, Toyota on the Scion tC to make its lame I4 sound like an old school Alfa V6. I wonder how many of you that defend this Active Sound BS would've defended Toyota for that.

My guess is that most of us would've laughed at it as a lame gimmick that only a lame brand like Scion would pull on its lame customer base and declared how great it is that an awesome German company like BMW would never do anything so lame.

Instead, what we have is one of the finest performance car brands in automobile history (///M) spearheading the legitimization of this kind of gimmick. In terms of autotune analogy, this would be like Adele being the first one to popularize autotune.

And as some of us buy into this gimmick out of misplaced love of BMW, we are reducing incentives for automakers to produce engines that actually sound good. If this fad catches up, there will be little connection between the quality of engine noise and the actual quality of the engine. Any Toyota or Hyundai can sound like an Italian flat-plane V8 if they think it'll sell better.

And enough with EU regulation and turbo and all of that. None of that is insurmountable given enough R&D. And unplugging it is not a solution, as this gimmick exists precisely so that they won't have to spend money and time tuning the actual engine noise. So you unplug it, and you have a mediocre sounding car. How's that a solution?

So let's all come together in hatred of the fake engine noise. The general public will never figure it out, but at least we enthusiasts should bitch about it, and bitch about it a lot, because otherwise this thing will spread like a wildfire.

[ovekvam]

Originally Posted by Propagator

otherwise this thing will spread like a wildfire.

Please spread like wildfire. I don't really see any downside with this concept. I can get nice engine sound inside my car, without annoying my neighbours.

[NTTY]

Originally Posted by e679

Wakaka. Hilarious! I could not imagine that one day I will say this in BMW dealer "I would like my car to sound like Porsche 959 this week. The sound of 300sl gull wing that i had wasn't really suit my taste."

Want to make it sound like an electric car. It's environmentally friendlier.

[bimmerjph]

This will be next. I guarantee it.

[NTTY]