SteveE400

I've been reading that some automakers have been piping artificial "engine" sounds into the sound systems of their high-performance models (e.g. Mustangs, BMW, etc.).


MB doesn't do this, do they? I do notice that our E400 is much louder than tour GLK350, but this is true both inside and outside the car.


Please tell me that the engine sounds I'm hearing in the E400 are real, and not "Memorex!"

KEY08

It's totally fake. If you stand outside you can't even hear the engine running at full throttle. Sorry to break the news to you.

SteveE400

I'm sort of kidding -- I have stood outside the rear of the E400 when it is running. What I hear from the tailpipes is definitely NOT artificial. What I'm asking about is the rumble I hear inside the cabin.

Jeffy

Pretty sure MB doesn't do this in the E class or most other of their cars. I just got a '16 CLS400 and boy is it quiet as far as engine noise goes... I can barely hear that little 3.0L with its two turbo "mufflers".

SteveE400

If your CLS400 uses the 3.0L Twin Turbo engine, I imagine that once you start "using" the engine harder you will realize that it is capable of making some noise if you let it. Mine is near silent except for the (planned) exhaust burble at 1,000-2,000 RMP in Economy mode. In Sport mode it sounds like a very healthy 6-cylinder engine. . . until you punch it. Then it sounds more like a hot rod, with mechanical noise from under the hood and exhaust noise out back. Very satisfying to drive, although I imagine the CLS is not intended to be as "in your face" about it.


I am mostly posting this to be a "feel good" post for MB owners, as many BMW owners are complaining about the amount of artificial sound their cars make.

Tonycpa

What's up Steve,

You mean similar to how when they play laugh tracks on comedy sitcoms?

How SOFT has this generation become!?!?

Anyway, if they must, can they play these in mine?

SteveE400

I'm just waiting for the angry BMW owners when the factory slips up and loads their M5's with the soundtrack of a turbo 4-cylinder!

looney100

Man, those 'Vettes are loud. A little more than I would expect coming out of an E Class.

A few your ago while watching 'Pimp My Ride' (remember that show?), I saw them install some aftermarket gadget that connected to your sound system and ignition - so that it could read your RPMs - and allowed you to choose the exhaust note from one of several different cars (Ferraris, etc.) and then faked the sound appropriately.
That might be cool - driving around in some Honda Civic that sounded like it had an Italian V12.

Tonycpa

All they want for Christmas is their 2 front teeth and some Meisterschaft!

KEY08

Hey Tony, how about posting a video clip of your exhaust. I would like to hear that.

Tonycpa

It's true. A few years ago when I had my Vette, I used Lou Gigliotta (LG) Pro Long Tube headers and the Borla Stinger cat back exhaust. It's a sound that stays with you for life.




True story, one night while walking to the train station after work, an older woman in her 50's was walking toward her car at a brisk pace trying to catch me. She tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if that was my Vette. I said yes it is. She told me she sits in her car for 5 minutes each night waiting for me to start it and drive off because she loves the sound so much and that it reminds her of when her dad used to take her for joy rides and to the track when she was a little girl.

Regarding the civic...lol...those goofs

Tonycpa

I will soon. A bunch of guys are interested in hearing it as well. The Meisterschaft was installed a few weeks ago. This Sunday, the car is going to TTM to have the MBH Motorsports 3" race exhaust (downpipes and midpipes, all cats deleted) and Vibrant Performance bullet style race resonators installed. We also need to send the ECU back down to West Palm Beach so the boys at RENNtech can program their Stage II tune.

Somewhere around November 7th, I hope to be able to schedule an appointment at VTR to have the car dyno'ed. That will probably be the best time to make a sound clip of the exhaust.

KEY08

Ok, thanks. Sound clips of that exhaust are very elusive as you know. Your other changes will have probably a greater impact on the overall sound once you are done, so not sure how much of the Meisterschaft will be coming through. Should be a pretty damn rugged sound when you are through with it all.

Tonycpa

^^^A lot of the well known MB performance shops told me it is very difficult to make the V8 Biturbo sound very loud and I agree with them. The Meisterschaft axle back alone was not even close to being loud enough for me. We'll just get it as loud as we can and be happy.

SteveE400

Well, Tony, that's what we get for having turbo's. They give us all sorts of HP and torque, but in doing so they also act as mufflers.


The only turbo's I remember as being really loud were the 6-cyl turbo buses that the army used to use to shuttle us to the rifle ranges and bivouac areas at Fort Campbell. Now those were loud - far louder than my Corvair autocross bomb that ran open headers on the street for 25 years. I once had a Georgia State Trooper stop me (in that Corvair) on the highway down near Augusta. He wanted to know if I knew that there were blue flames coming out of my exhaust pipes. I asked him "Was it even from side to side?" (No crossover pipe, even flames would have meant that carbs were synchronized.) I then told him that he should wait until I pull away. There will be a spectacular ball of yellow flame from both pipes when I shift to second at 6,000 RPM.

Tonycpa

lol!

Now I know. This is the first vehicle I had with turbos. I do like the sound that comes into the cabin when I get on it. It sounds like the pavement is being ripped open.

However, I must admit the sound of a supercharged V8 with a cam is my preference.

I used to follow the progression of this twin turbo Vette built by the guys who did all the work on mine and I never thought it sounded muffled...obviously not factory turbos though

This built twin turbo sounds loud too

SteveE400

I doubt that there is any intention to have the turbo's act as mufflers, but basically any restriction in the exhaust system will serve to muffle the noise to some degree.


Back in the 1960's, we had a Corvair turbo that we ran with no air filter and no muffler. That little beastie was so noisy that we had to push it for the last block to get home, lest we wake up the whole neighborhood. I thought it was loud. Then I built up a normally-aspirated car with open headers and learned what REALLY loud meant.


It is all relative, but I think any car with a turbo would likely be even louder without it.


I, too, appreciate the quiet murmur Gonzo makes in normal driving. It is sort of like having him muttering under his breath. . .


The main thing I've noticed is that the "ordinary" MB's with turbos are a bit loud at idle and low RPM, and get quieter as the RPM's go up. The AMG's with turbos just get louder and meaner.

Streamliner

When I was a kid, my buddies and I would fasten old playing cards to the forks of our bikes with clothes pins. The cards were hit by the spokes and made a noise. We thought we were hot stuff. By reading these posts, it's quite evident that many here never did grow up. Noisy vehicles are a menace to society. It's too bad the cops no longer seem to enforce the laws banning such idiotic behavior.

jahquan3

We did a similar thing too but we used quarter juice plastic bottles. Shove them in near the wheel and you had a make shift make believe hot rod. I guess I never grew up since I'd love to have a Mustang pumping noise into the community as the whiners shake their heads while I pass by

Tonycpa

If people want quiet, they can go to the library

SteveE400

Well, you had me going there, until I saw the smiley at the end. . .


If noisy vehicles are a menace to society, what about that Prius doing 54 MPH in the left lane of the freeway?


I don't want to start a flame war here, but I do enjoy the sound of a well-tuned V-8 engine. I just don't want to drive a loud one as a daily driver. The E400's exhaust note on acceleration is modest, and I find it "engaging." I like the fact that it settles down to near inaudibility at cruising speed, so that the luxury feeling can take over.

KEY08

This has been MB's standard operating procedure ever since I have been driving the big V8 highway sleds for eons.

rediesel

I encountered one of those Sunday. Caused me to loose and regain 30MPH. I told my wife as my 6.3L roared past him on the right that I just used whatever gas he was saving by driving like that.