4 ms·

There are a lot of car things that have no functional benefit, but exist because they used to mean something (but not anymore) or are useful at racing speeds bu

by jerlam 4y ago

There are a lot of car things that have no functional benefit, but exist because they used to mean something (but not anymore) or are useful at racing speeds but not at normal ones, or are simply traditional. One I find particularly amusing is the Ford Mustang Mach-E, a fully battery-powered vehicle, has the ability to play fake engine noise through the cabin speakers because some drivers think engine noise is a feature of "real cars".

6stringmerc 4y ago
It’s not even an electric car thing - my Focus ST came from the factory with a little sound pipe thingy from the engine to the cabin to make it feel more racy. When I bought it used it was disconnected, which is fine, because the MBRP 2.5” cat back exhaust already installed is about 3x louder than stock. I’m pretty sure BMW was doing it too when they started going all turbo and losing the song of the NA.
- GordonS 4y ago
  I drove a BMW x5 a couple of years back, and it piped fake engine noise into the cabin. IIRC, it was a petrol v6/v8, so was quite capable of making it's own sound, so the whole thing was pointless - but worse, the fake engine noise sounded totally fake! Honestly, I felt pretty silly with it enabled!
  - doubled112 4y ago
    > quite capable of making it's own sound But so isolated from the world around it that you can't hear it.
- KMnO4 4y ago
  In a way, I’m kinda fine with this. There a lot of things that make a car feel faster, and giving them higher displacement engines and louder exhausts has more disadvantages than it’s worth for most people. You can get the same experience with slightly more cabin noise (that doesn’t annoy your neighbours), a longer first gear, kickdown pedal, etc. It’s kinda like Coke Zero. If you can get 95% of the same experience, why opt for the sugar?

4 ms·

There are a lot of car things that have no functional benefit, but exist because they used to mean something (but not anymore) or are useful at racing speeds bu

by jerlam 4y ago

6stringmerc 4y ago
It’s not even an electric car thing - my Focus ST came from the factory with a little sound pipe thingy from the engine to the cabin to make it feel more racy. When I bought it used it was disconnected, which is fine, because the MBRP 2.5” cat back exhaust already installed is about 3x louder than stock. I’m pretty sure BMW was doing it too when they started going all turbo and losing the song of the NA.
- GordonS 4y ago
  I drove a BMW x5 a couple of years back, and it piped fake engine noise into the cabin. IIRC, it was a petrol v6/v8, so was quite capable of making it's own sound, so the whole thing was pointless - but worse, the fake engine noise sounded totally fake! Honestly, I felt pretty silly with it enabled!
  - doubled112 4y ago
    > quite capable of making it's own sound But so isolated from the world around it that you can't hear it.
- KMnO4 4y ago
  In a way, I’m kinda fine with this. There a lot of things that make a car feel faster, and giving them higher displacement engines and louder exhausts has more disadvantages than it’s worth for most people. You can get the same experience with slightly more cabin noise (that doesn’t annoy your neighbours), a longer first gear, kickdown pedal, etc. It’s kinda like Coke Zero. If you can get 95% of the same experience, why opt for the sugar?