I've always liked how quiet my Honda's have been. My V-6 coupe sounds like it has a small V-8 under the hood when you step on it, but it's all engine sound, not exhaust noise.
They have also worked on quieting down the cabin. When I rented a new Civic EX-T back in August, it was the first car I'd driven with a pushbutton start. I didn't know what was going on, but that was so quiet and smooth that I couldn't tell the engine was even running until I looked at the tach. When I nailed it on the freeway, yeah, it had a little growl to it (once that turbo kicks in and the CVT hits a matching sweet spot, it pulls
hard). But otherwise, it was miles away from my old '92 Civic where you heard
everything. Even that "ping" sound from the tires as they went over bumps in the road. But even there, the road noise drowned out the engine.
Our CR-Vs here are quiet, even standing next to them. And our Acura that the flood ate was also similarly quiet.
I live in a tourist town now and shake my fist at every meathead who feels the need to drive something you can hear coming and going 3 miles in any direction.
I have a 2003 GoldWing. Pulled into a parking spot beside a woman getting out of her car. She said all she heard was my radio on low. But boy does that thing do, 0 to 60 in 4.4 seconds.
That reminds me of a major annoyance on our highways. This summer on my first road trip, there were many groups of riders on "that brand with the noisy exhaust pipes." I was already doing 80-85 through places like South Dakota, Wyoming, etc., so I couldn't exactly pass the bikes up. There were times when we were behind bikes like these for 20, 30, even 40 minutes, and it got f***ing annoying listening to that cracking, droning exhaust, especially when the roads got hilly and they struggled to climb them. In some cases, we'd pass them, then a few miles they would speed up just to pass us again. Or on 2-lane roads, they rode in formations that never allowed anyone to pass, and refused to pull aside to let a dozen cars behind them pass. Assholes. Continuous noise droning makes a trip even more tiring and tedious. If they want to hear that nonsense, fine. Just keep it the hell away from me.
Even in our quiet subdivision here, some asshat owns one of "that brand with the noisy exhaust pipes" and feels the need to crack the throttle several times down the street in the dead of night. And mentioning tourist towns, they apparently feel the need to sit at the red lights or stop signs and constantly crack that f***ing throttle.
A friend of my ex's owned a smaller Honda bike. That thing was idling in the driveway while we were talking and we could barely hear it running. And there were plenty of other bikes on the road we heard...or rather,
didn't hear, on our trip. GoldWings are quiet for sure--just a faint drone and a "whoosh." A couple of weeks ago, we passed five riders on Suzuki bikes and all you could hear was a bit of engine drone. BMWs and Ducatis? Similarly quiet. I also noticed that riders that were
not on "that brand with the noisy pipes" were all properly suited for riding--full riding gear, helmets, road cases, etc., even in 90+ degree heat. I guess I don't get that whole "tuff guy" thing where you ride in a tank top with no helmet. We even saw one riding in flip-flops! My daughter calls them "organ donors."
P.S. Get off my lawn!
Low restriction exhausts sound great in the driveway when idling but on the road, it will get tiring.
It used to annoy me when my exhaust was leaking. Especially when I would hit a speed where things would resonate and all I could hear was that drone in the background.
I don't know what it is though, but why do those old glasspack mufflers sound so
cool? Sure they can be loud at times, but that is one distinctive sound that I actually like to hear. Reminds me of the cars I grew up around in our neighborhood in the 70s, I guess. It beats the "ricer" cars with the fart-can mufflers!
F150 2017: Luxury, status, douchiness, he-manliness (I guess
).
In my part of town, it's the status symbol of the ADD-afflicted urban redneck, making up for gross deficiencies in manhood I guess. The intimidators. Tailgating their way through traffic, inches from the cars in front of them, blowing through red lights and stop signs because traffic laws apparently do not apply to them.