Emotional connection without engine sound?

[04Ram2500Hemi]

A lot of people would argue that part of the emotional connection with a vehicle is how it sounds. There’s something about the way the rumble of a V8 makes a person feel. I still remember the first time I heard the scream of the Supercharged Hellcat V8. There was just something magical about it. The new C8 with the naturally aspirated V8 is the same with mechanical sounds sitting just behind the driver’s head. In fact, most connections with a vehicle since I was a kid was how the vehicle sounded. It was a huge part of the experience.

Scout is an interesting vehicle that captured a lot of people with aggressive and functional looks, switches, and connection to the past. What I wonder as a non EV owner is will I and other gear heads miss the mechanical connection of the sound of an engine?

 

[N Wilson]

A lot of people would argue that part of the emotional connection with a vehicle is how it sounds. There’s something about the way the rumble of a V8 makes a person feel. I still remember the first time I heard the scream of the Supercharged Hellcat V8. There was just something magical about it. The new C8 with the naturally aspirated V8 is the same with mechanical sounds sitting just behind the driver’s head. In fact, most connections with a vehicle since I was a kid was how the vehicle sounded. It was a huge part of the experience.

Scout is an interesting vehicle that captured a lot of people with aggressive and functional looks, switches, and connection to the past. What I wonder as a non EV owner is will I and other gear heads miss the mechanical connection of the sound of an engine?

As a lifelong gearhead who put 40 Series Flowmasters or glasspacks on all my vehicles when I was younger, I shared some of that concern. Heck, I had a 1970 Cadillac with a 472 in it that I put headers and Flowmasters on, and it was my daily driver for about 4 years.

However, I recently test drove my first full EV about 2 weeks ago and I can say that when you feel the instant acceleration and speed, you don't miss the sounds.

 

[J Alynn]

I suspect it will be an individual experience. When I had my TLX type S I enjoyed revving the engine-Japanese performance has a whole different style sound but very rewarding. That said 98% of the time I didn’t want to hear the engine or the road noise.
I’d actually prefer active noise cancellation so I can max the enjoyment of the stereo at higher volumes as well as being as silent as possible if I’m on a slow roll on a backroad during the summer months with the windows down and the cabana open.
That said-if you are a gear head and love the noise you may very well hate the silence. Even in my current hybrid there’s something satisfying about driving on just the motors because I don’t have to listen to the noisy engine. But that my personal hunch.

 

[THil08]

A lot of people would argue that part of the emotional connection with a vehicle is how it sounds. There’s something about the way the rumble of a V8 makes a person feel. I still remember the first time I heard the scream of the Supercharged Hellcat V8. There was just something magical about it. The new C8 with the naturally aspirated V8 is the same with mechanical sounds sitting just behind the driver’s head. In fact, most connections with a vehicle since I was a kid was how the vehicle sounded. It was a huge part of the experience.

Scout is an interesting vehicle that captured a lot of people with aggressive and functional looks, switches, and connection to the past. What I wonder as a non EV owner is will I and other gear heads miss the mechanical connection of the sound of an engine?

Next time you take any of you cars out for driving, block out the engine noise and find how else you communicate with a vehicle. My Mini runs so smooth some times I park and forget to shut the damn thing off and I have my auto. And on the inside it’s like a rolls Royce no engine noises. It’s basically an EV hahah. So I’ve learned to use other things as my connection with it, road noise, tire noise, steering wheel movement. And now I’m running it on almost 100% corn. It’s running on Ignite Yellow E98. Also I removed its loud ass exhaust system and replaced it back to standard after my neighbor called the EPA on me. God are neighbors annoying. But when I step on it with my windows down and sunroof open all you hear is PSSHHTTT… SUTUTUT…

But when I’m tasked with shakedowns at work EVs are probably the most fun since they give zero feedback lol. So all you go off of is does it Studder? Does the steering wheel shake? Does the vehicle pull to a side? What’s the throttle response? Are you qualified to even be doing the shake down? Maybe.

 

[cyure]

As a lifelong gearhead who put 40 Series Flowmasters or glasspacks on all my vehicles when I was younger, I shared some of that concern. Heck, I had a 1970 Cadillac with a 472 in it that I put headers and Flowmasters on, and it was my daily driver for about 4 years.

However, I recently test drove my first full EV about 2 weeks ago and I can say that when you feel the instant acceleration and speed, you don't miss the sounds.

I get what you are saying. That torque is amazing. But I am secretly hoping we get sounds we can turn off an on if we want to. Like the Ioniq 5N. That thing has all kinds of sounds and even mimics manual transmission sounds if I am remembering correctly.

 

[R1TVT]

The emotional connection to something so powerful AND so quiet is hard to describe. In reality, there is a subtle noise that can be detected as you power up or down. Instead of it being a staccato of gears clacking and disengaging, and exhaust breathing, it is a more linear, straight-line, subtle and smooth noise (and of course its in the background).

That power, coupled with incredible torque is wild because of its quietness. The stealthiness of EV's hiding hundreds of silent HP is a huge selling point. And when its in a stealthy truck, its even more mind-bending.

Its like when captain Ramius engaged the Caterpillar Drive in the Hunt for Red October...
You just fly off the line stealthily and disappear - leaving all the ICE trucks fumbling around in your wake.

 

[OH1984]

I suspect it will be an individual experience. When I had my TLX type S I enjoyed revving the engine-Japanese performance has a whole different style sound but very rewarding. That said 98% of the time I didn’t want to hear the engine or the road noise.
I’d actually prefer active noise cancellation so I can max the enjoyment of the stereo at higher volumes as well as being as silent as possible if I’m on a slow roll on a backroad during the summer months with the windows down and the cabana open.
That said-if you are a gear head and love the noise you may very well hate the silence. Even in my current hybrid there’s something satisfying about driving on just the motors because I don’t have to listen to the noisy engine. But that my personal hunch.

It’s wild actually I’d agree. When I first got my Bronco I thought it was too quiet for a v6 twin turbo so I added a high clearance exhaust. Sounded awesome outside of it, but commuting and highway it got old very fast. Put the stock exhaust back on it before trading and it was a much more enjoyable ride. Now with the Tesla M3P, I don’t miss the sound at all.

 

[shadyog]

I recommend adding a speaker system like the Challenger, but allow the community to upload files and pick the sound they want. This would allow your scout to sound the way YOU WANT it to.

 

[jordanlund]

There are sound kits for EVs to fake engine noise, and apparently even plans to add seat rumble. LOL.

https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/fake-engine-noise/

For me? Not a big deal, but I get for some people it is.

 

[THil08]

I recommend adding a speaker system like the Challenger, but allow the community to upload files and pick the sound they want. This would allow your scout to sound the way YOU WANT it to.

The challenger sounds horrible, if you’ve ever been next to one.

 

[Sctlovr]

I actually hit a cyclist years ago while driving a Prius when he turned right in front of me, not hearing my car. We were going very slowly and he wasn't hurt, but it really upset me. The silence has been my only concern. My father is blind and has used car noise for years while walking and crossing streets. He has to hope that drivers realize how silent they are and watch out for him. A little noise can be a good thing!

 

[shadyog]

I actually hit a cyclist years ago while driving a Prius when he turned right in front of me, not hearing my car. We were going very slowly and he wasn't hurt, but it really upset me. The silence has been my only concern. My father is blind and has used car noise for years while walking and crossing streets. He has to hope that drivers realize how silent they are and watch out for him. A little noise can be a good thing!

Does it make me a bad person for wanting to hold up a 10 score card for nailing a cyclist?

 

[J Alynn]

I actually hit a cyclist years ago while driving a Prius when he turned right in front of me, not hearing my car. We were going very slowly and he wasn't hurt, but it really upset me. The silence has been my only concern. My father is blind and has used car noise for years while walking and crossing streets. He has to hope that drivers realize how silent they are and watch out for him. A little noise can be a good thing!

Sorry to hear that. I have one on my list too. College town, bike going wrong way on an alley behind a hedge. Oncoming car waved me through as we was blowing into intersection so there we were. Biker was fine, my car was scratched and he jumped on bike and took off because he knew he was at fault and guessing he didn’t want to deal with consequences. They will definitely make some noise. The other problem is bikers wearing earbuds in both ears. When I used to ride a lot it was music in right ear only so I could always hear traffic coming along with my handlebar mirror.

 

[R1TVT]

Does it make me a bad person for wanting to hold up a 10 score card for nailing a cyclist?

Yes. That could be anyone's father, mother, uncle, aunt, sister, brother, cousin, child. So yes, it does.

 

[R1TVT]

I actually hit a cyclist years ago while driving a Prius when he turned right in front of me, not hearing my car. We were going very slowly and he wasn't hurt, but it really upset me. The silence has been my only concern. My father is blind and has used car noise for years while walking and crossing streets. He has to hope that drivers realize how silent they are and watch out for him. A little noise can be a good thing!

This is not a thing anymore. You don't drive around silently in an EV or HYBRID under 19 MPH.
Also, once you hit 20, you have tire and wind noise from the vehicle - more so in a truck.

https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/nhtsa-sets-%E2%80%9Cquiet-car%E2%80%9D-safety-standard-protect-pedestrians#:~:text=Under%20the%20new%20rule%2C%20all,about%2019%20miles%20per%20hour).

 

[MaddMatt]

I confess to having had similar concerns. I've always loved cars, and at my age that means always loving engine noise too. my best/worst personal car was a Nissan Titan with a full cat-back system on that 5.6. Just sounded mean (in a good way), to be honest I kind of loved it, but it resonated in the cab so bad that I had to carry ear plugs if I was driving more than a couple hours. But I still kind of loved it.

But to be completely honest, 4 months of owning our BEV, and I'm starting to find loud engines annoying. As has already been said, once you pull away from the light THAT fast and THAT quietly - you don't miss the noise. At least I don't.

 

[shadyog]

Yes. That could be anyone's father, mother, uncle, aunt, sister, brother, cousin, child. So yes, it does.

As someone who has to deal with them using the 70mph freeway as a bike lane routinely, it's easy to be cold.

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

Yes. That could be anyone's father, mother, uncle, aunt, sister, brother, cousin, child. So yes, it does.

So then only a 9.5 for the score?

 

[Chavannigans]

I had full exhaust on almost all of my vehicles. My favorite was a my 100 Series Land Cruiser.

Doug Thorley shorties with an 18" Magnaflow and custom pipework that tucked everything above the frame. Sounded great bouncing off the rev limiter. No drone on the highway and no more smashing exhaust on rocks.

Also had a 2015 Passat TDi with a hybrid turbo and 3" turbo back exhaust . Make gobs of power and sounded feisty.

After selling those and getting into my GX470 that was completely stock .... and being too poor to do a full exhaust after we bought our house.... I have grown to appreciate the quiet cab.

I have noticed I drive less aggressively and am less stressed with the quiet truck.

Wife and kids are also happier when we hit the road.

Maybe I am getting old but I like the idea of a quiet smooth ride from an EV.

 

[JohnBills]

A lot of people would argue that part of the emotional connection with a vehicle is how it sounds. There’s something about the way the rumble of a V8 makes a person feel. I still remember the first time I heard the scream of the Supercharged Hellcat V8. There was just something magical about it. The new C8 with the naturally aspirated V8 is the same with mechanical sounds sitting just behind the driver’s head. In fact, most connections with a vehicle since I was a kid was how the vehicle sounded. It was a huge part of the experience.

Scout is an interesting vehicle that captured a lot of people with aggressive and functional looks, switches, and connection to the past. What I wonder as a non EV owner is will I and other gear heads miss the mechanical connection of the sound of an engine?

It will definitely depend on the person. I was a mechanic for many years, a lifelong automotive fan, and have been driving EVs since 2019. Sometimes I do miss the sound and many other times I'm glad it's gone. I have found I still connect with the machine. My GV60 Performance is in the shop right now thanks for a rogue rock in the road and I really miss it.

The GV60 has an option to have feedback noise in the cabin to match acceleration (one option is a gas engine sound). It's fun but I ended up turning it off after a couple weeks.