I own what many would consider to be a 'loud' car - a Hyundai i30N. Its not the fastest or flashiest car out there but I think its a pretty good balance of performance and value. It is completely stock as it came out of the dealership and pops and bangs when it is in the relevant sport/custom mode.
However, it also has a 'normal' and 'eco' mode which turns the exhaust sound right down (amongst other things).
As a car lover / petrol head / whatever you want to call me, I absolutely believe that these modes should be used when just bimbling round town etc. It really annoys me when people accelerate harshly, drive aggressively, break speed limits and are just a general nuisance in their cars around town or on the public roads. There is a time and place for driving like that and it is called a track day (notwithstanding the fact that many of the exhaust mods that you see would not pass a track day db check). Unfortunately though, it is people like this who will spoil it for the rest of us and result in clamp downs on 'performance' cars. I do chuckle and also boil in fury at others' driving when I am nicely sat at 19/20mph in a 20mph limit and have a line of cars catch me up (can nobody stick to the speed limit nowadays?) as it perhaps isn't the typical way of driving me car.
What I do not find acceptable though is what happens with my neighbours. I go into the office once maybe twice per week at 7am and in the winter need to defrost the car. I sit there (as above in eco/normal mode so it is no louder than your average car) whilst the car is defrosting and without fail they come outside to have a go at me for sitting with the engine on, as if it pleasures me to get up 5/10 minutes earlier on a cold winters morning. I think it is a stigma that probably comes from the abovementioned acts by the cretins of the road. (Last laugh is on me though as all of the mud from bike washing now washes into and clogs up their drains...)
A few near me have a kids soft toy tied on the bumper. I googled it out of curiousity and it seems to be a "drift charm". But they are usually on the the back a front wheel drive Fiesta / Corsa. Maybe they are for the handbrake turns?
I live in rural North Norfolk, i'd love to have a V8 Audi sound of a sunday morning, instead we get retired farmers on 1950's antique tractors who start them up and leave them chugging away early sunday morning to "warm up" before going off to some show or ploughing match....
A guy on my road owns a Lamborghini, and it doesn't even have a cab..
accidentally step the back end out on his Ford Mustang going through some traffic lights.
How we gasped in awe as he slid into a kerb and cracked his alloy wheel off.
I had one of those forever ago. Waiting at the lights at a two lane T-junction, I'm in the right-only lane in a 1977 Fiesta, chap off to my left in the 'right or left' lane in a sporty-looking 3-Series. The lights changed, I set off at a lick (because rust doesn't weigh much), our hero takes umbrage at being dropped by a student in a 1.1L shitbox and boots it. With wholly predictable results from what happens when you stand on the loud pedal in a powerful rear wheel drive car whilst halfway through a 90' turn.
There is a local with a Harley though that seems to need 20mins of idling to warm up at 8am every Sunday, but I’m not bothered by that. He’s just an old bloke with a hobby.
Polishing?
I like the comments about the middle aged AMG owners…..I had an AMG Merc (GLC). Didn’t pop and bang but did rumble if that makes sense. I would never sit and rev it on the drive though. Also had a TVR (5 litre engined beast), that properly made a great grumbling sound without revving. I got shouted out once by a horse lady, I came to a complete stop to let the horse pass, the lady still shouted at me for my engine making the horse nervous. I probably should have turned the engine off but didn’t think, so my bad.
Brother has a Harley, no idea the type, but blooming heck that’s noisy. He doesn’t do early starts so his neighbours are safe! Really slow bike as well so no idea why it’s so noisy.
I currently have a Cupra, makes a nice noise but doesn’t pop and bang. It’s only a 2 litre, so pulling away from the house it’s fairly quiet. I also had a Mini Cooper S that did pop and bang….that wasn’t intentional…damn piece of junk was a nightmare!
I’ve had a few other noisy cars. But I wouldn’t be going out early or driving like a loon. Neighbour has a very noisy car and she does go out early at weekends. It’s some new Porsche Cayman thing, makes a nice noise and makes me smile when I hear it. (She’s also close to middle aged if that makes any difference….i’ll have to tell her she should just be driving a sensible car)
Neighbour has had a series of performance cars M5 and some track cars M5 and current merc v8 make a lot of noise on start up as single drive between houses shakes worse still is his wife’s Kia ev emits some weird Star Trek phaser noise to set off and our bedroom window is usually open that won’t change cos I won that argument with mrs g both sleep better with it open🎉 but to OP yes each estate must have at least one
Ours is the King of the local hells angels equivelent. Lots of revving bikes up and down the road of a weekend and evening.
My daughter is also in a gang where they wear matching vests and sew patches on showing their gang affiliation and achivements, but its called Brownies.
There was a proper throbber in Darwen doing this yesterday when I got back from my ride, just going backwards and forwards , overrevving, speeding round the town centre. Looked like a red Celica or something or other.
There's a few that go round between the round abouts in Longridge, using Derby Road as a drag strip.
By any chance the crappy ancient BMW 3 series, white with spotlights BenjiM? Seen him doing handbrake turns on the wide bit before the cricket club.
Genuine pops and bangs when the rally comes through next weekend. They were doing recce when we were out pedalling on Saturday - on proper best behaviour in quiet cars with their own self imposed 30mph limit on the lanes with speed traps to enforce.
Jesus granddad’s, what the **** is there to do as a kid?
What excuse do the knobbers on Harleys have?
Last laugh is on me though as all of the mud from bike washing now washes into and clogs up their drains…
Slow clap.
Where i lived the estate goon lived directly opposite me in his mum and dads house. "Souped up", debadged and body kitted fiesta. Not so many pops and bangs, but wheel spins and bean can exhaust.
Until one of the neighbours cut through a couple of spokes on each (3 spoke) wheel one night.
So that shut him up for a couple of weeks. Was a lot more restrained afterwards.
FWIW we had (it's been scrapped now) a pop and bang test car at work, 450 bhp and ~600 Nm from a 2.5 litre tends to do that, wasn't even calibrated in. it just happened. But under 2000 rpm and at low loads, it just burbled.
So all normal driving... it just burbled. Got a bit loud at motorway speeds.
At anything over 5500rpm and wide open throttle it was like opening the gates of hades. But anyone doing that on anything other that a closed circuit or test track/event should be locked up. It's one reason (of many) it never made it to production in any shape or form.
What I do not find acceptable though is what happens with my neighbours. I go into the office once maybe twice per week at 7am and in the winter need to defrost the car. I sit there (as above in eco/normal mode so it is no louder than your average car) whilst the car is defrosting and without fail they come outside to have a go at me for sitting with the engine on, as if it pleasures me to get up 5/10 minutes earlier on a cold winters morning. I think it is a stigma that probably comes from the abovementioned acts by the cretins of the road.
Why do you do this? Scrape the screens, start the engine, leave. I do that even when it's 25 below zero (if i forget to put the car away!)
Why do you do this? Scrape the screens, start the engine, leave. I do that even when it’s 25 below zero (if i forget to put the car away!)
Scraping the ice can scratch the windscreen and using deicer can have adverse effects on paintwork/coatings etc
Don't worry the Tories are here to saves us! Just notice my MP tweeting about the latest help for that downtrodden community "the drivers", with their "Plan for Drivers" which I noticed includes the following;
"Noise camera research – showing local authorities the success of this technology to secure evidence to prosecute those who have illegally modified their vehicle’s exhaust"
Scraping the ice can scratch the windscreen and using deicer can have adverse effects on paintwork/coatings etc
Handy tip: An alcohol water solution sprayed on your windscreen would instantly melt the ice and wouldn't have any adverse effects.
Not much of this where I live, just t0ssers on (delivery?) scooters coming alongside you and squeezing through non-gaps between your car and traffic islands
Also, warm water exists.
Honestly man, what has that to do with defrosting a windscreen?
An alcohol water solution sprayed on your windscreen would instantly melt the ice and wouldn’t have any adverse effects.
Recently found out you can use meths in your windscreen washer as it acts as an antifreeze.
Not much of this where I live, just t0ssers on (delivery?) scooters coming alongside you and squeezing through non-gaps between your car and traffic islands
Don't ever drive in Italy!
Scraping the ice can scratch the windscreen
FFS, it's frozen water, not a wet paste of silicone carbide and cement.
If you're living in a market where you have to scrape often and hard enough that scratching the screen is a serious risk. You'll be getting through a screen every couple of years anyway with chips and cracks from road debris.
and using deicer can have adverse effects on paintwork/coatings etc
Don't use it then.
FWIW unless the I30 N has an electric oil pump, you're doing the engine no good at all.
I sit there (as above in eco/normal mode so it is no louder than your average car) whilst the car is defrosting and without fail they come outside to have a go at me for sitting with the engine on
If they spot a occasional event without fail at 7am ish perhaps your car isnt as quiet as you thought? Or something weird accoustically is going on amplifying the noise into their house.
For OP. Just one would be a good thing. Currently often like a really enthusiastic reenactment society has decided sod rifles lets go for field artillery.
I understand precisely what you're going through. There's always that one man in the village with a noisy automobile. Dealing with that type of noise is frustrating, particularly in a small town like ours.
What I do not find acceptable though is what happens with my neighbours. I go into the office once maybe twice per week at 7am and in the winter need to defrost the car. I sit there (as above in eco/normal mode so it is no louder than your average car) whilst the car is defrosting and without fail they come outside to have a go at me for sitting with the engine on, as if it pleasures me to get up 5/10 minutes earlier on a cold winters morning.
Bad gateway ate all my last reply so I'm late to the pile on.
As if it pleasures them to have to go outside on a freezing morning and tell you to stop being antisocial.
And yes, unless it's so cold that the grounds freezing and it'd be a hazard, just pour a cup of warm water over the screen and fling it off with the wipers. Facebook keeps trying to convince me that you can even do it with a ziplock bag of warm water to avoid the puddle.
Loads round my way and it's a mix of the cheap chav modified cars and lamborghinis and the like (this is Surrey). All high revs and bang bang bang down the road. Plus couple of the V8 monster trucks that cruise round the council estate. Then all the loud bikes.
I'm on a busy road with a straight stretch by my house that means they're going to floor it then take foot off and trigger the bangs.
Plus there's the occasional late night parade when they've been kicked out of a car meet.
Then there's the sound systems with deep bass vibrating all the windows and doors.
Those i30n's aren't quiet! If there was one sitting outside your house idling at 7am every day it would get old very quickly.
I've got a neighbour who does the same with a Focus ST. Not the loudest car in the world but when it's sitting there burbling away while I'm in bed it's bloody infuriating.
What is he even doing? It's not a racing car that needs heating up before setting a qualifying lap. Just start the bloody thing and drive away.
Have to admit both our cars need to idle a bit in the morning in certain weather conditions. The ice and condensation on the inside of the windows isn’t that easy to clear. Just manually clearing it doesn’t do a great job.
Not sure it’s doing much harm to the engine, the one with an oil pressure gauge shows 5 bar at cold idle, dropping to 4 bar when the oil heats up. Luckily one has aircon and the other heats the coolant very quickly. So it’s not for long.
Im another putting my hands up for defrosting the window on frosty mornings via the heater
Clears the inside and outside and much better than the numpties driving off with just a wee bit for vision
My transit pickup doesn't pop or gurgle
I can't stand loud cars and people driving like bell ends as much as everyone else on here it seems, but surely there's more people here that must've been a boy racer back in the day!?
20 years ago I used to be driving rs turbos and the like, they were loud and stupid, wasting money trying to make them faster and for what!? God knows, it was just what we did. Grew out of it though.
What is he even doing? It’s not a racing car that needs heating up before setting a qualifying lap.
Back in the day, turbo timers were quite the thing, would allow the car to idle for a bit after parking up and locking the car to allow the turbo to cool down, theoretically you should allow the to get up to temp before setting off. Bollocks of course for normal people.
Chavved up to hilt mouth breather in a Nissan GTR two doors round the corner from us. Lives there with his girlfriend/verbal punch bag (who is a rep for the well known housing developer who built the estate and dealt with our purchase). Loves to leave it on idle on the drive early morning, presumably while finishing his breakfast spliff.
We have someomne with an overly noisy kevved up Mercedes hot hatch something or other. He also rides MTBs (Enduro-bro type), I wonder if he is on here...
“ Back in the day, turbo timers were quite the thing, would allow the car to idle for a bit after parking up and locking the car to allow the turbo to cool down, theoretically you should allow the to get up to temp before setting off. Bollocks of course for normal people.”
Even my 38 year old car has a second pump that runs on, circulating coolant to the turbo after switch off.
I do let it idle a bit before switching off if it’s hot enough that the fans kick in when parking up. Takes a few seconds to bring the temperature down. The fans should run on after shutdown but never have.
Actually now I think about it the radiator fans are probably the noisiest part of the car.
Standard exhaust.
No pops or bangs but occasional and certainly not intentional flames.
Genuine question. I assume that manufacturers spend quite a lot of time, effort and money to make their vehicles run as well as possible. Why then does having your vehicle chipped 'improve' this? And if it does, why don't the manufacturers offer it, or do they?
Anyway, asking for a friend, is it possible to get a Berlingo chipped to become all snap, crackle and pop antisocial?
I'm sure there will be benefits.
Genuine question. I assume that manufacturers spend quite a lot of time, effort and money to make their vehicles run as well as possible. Why then does having your vehicle chipped ‘improve’ this? And if it does, why don’t the manufacturers offer it, or do they?
“as well as possible” within legislative limits / mostly emissions. And the car has to stay within emissions through its expected service life. Also within mechanical limits i.e. should not break for its warranty life. Neither of which concern “chipping” tuners. You can see where this is going.
I ‘think’ the oem cars that pop and crackle add more air on overrun.
I assume the chipped shagged out BMW down the road has the timing retarded and maybe leaner in the low load part of the map? Dunno. I’ve never felt the urge to make more noise.
I guess when it’s only one MOT or enthusiastic corner from the scrapyard, long term mechanical damage doesn’t really matter?
I'm thinking that chipping can contribute to earlier than expected damage to the engine?
Is that what you are getting at? I'm not at all savvy in this area.
I’m thinking that chipping can contribute to earlier than expected damage to the engine?
Is that what you are getting at? I’m not at all savvy in this area.
Downsides/ actual problems
- premature wear of engine and gearbox
- worse emissions
- potential for exhaust noises like the morning after a garlic chicken Naga washed down with a keg of gassy lager
- insurance validity questions due to vehicle not being road legal by virtue of failing the emissions requirements
- reinforces I'm the fastest thing on the road/MCDonalds car park so get out of my way (other takeaways are available) mindset.
Oh good grief I'm getting old and tired 😉
There's a time when I would have considered it if I'm honest although the pop and bang stuff would never have appealed and I have owned one antisocially exhausted car but it was always driven with great delicacy and restraint anywhere populated.
Thanks for that. It reinforced my belief that some people are a bit silly.
I googled Rolling Coal earlier. That's more than silly.
