Are Porsche going to stop removing the noise?

[topgear253]

Hi everyone,

I poster last Autumn on whether going from a 911 to Cayman would be a disappointment, and after many of you kindly offered my your advice that it was not a downgrade, I bought an 18 month old Cayman S PDK. After a couple of months I agree, it's a superb machine and I've been very happy with my new beast.

However, there is one area that I'm disappointed with and that's the in cabin noise (which I did know before I bought it). I'm very much a newbie to Porsche but since my first one 4 years ago, a 996, I've driven many different 997's, a Cayman Gen1, owned a 993 and hired a 3.2 and it's really surprising how that lovely flat 6 soundtrack is diminishing with each revision to the point where I would say that now it's hardly more impressive than a normal road car, and at the current rate, the 991 is going to sound almost electric.

I did a supercar day at Dream Car Hire last year, and drove the new 911 Turbo, R8, F430, DBS and it has to be said that although the turbo was an awesome machine to drive it's noise seemed amost silent compared with the distinctive tracks of the competition. Also, I don't always take notice of the journalists but in so many road tests now they're picking this up, and even if they don't mention it directly, they often say that it doesn't "stir the soul" like a supercar should, which I think again might be the lack of a stirring soundtrack. The GT3 has a great noise but I'm not sure that you should have to buy the most track orientated version of a 911 just to get the flat 6 noise to be audible.

In my humble opinion Porsche are technically doing a cracking job with just about all their cars at the moment and I'm really surprised that this vital emotive part of a sports car seems to be completely passing their development team by, particularly as it was one of the great soundtracks originally. I'm interested to know what you guys think?

Alex

 

[John H]

I suspect it has very little to do with Porsche, and mostly to do with meeting EU noise regulations.

 

[etechremapping]

Hi I'd go with you - my brother had a C4 964 and the noise was awesome. Not sure if it had a sports exhaust. it would rumble the house whenever he'd visit. Then he got a C2 993 and it was quicker, more refined, still amazing - yet quieter. Same story with the next 996.... then the 997 was about the same. So anyway - I plumped for a 2008 DE1 Cayman 's' with the sports tail pipe. It's nice, great noise from the exhaust on the lower cam, quiet 3k revs to 3700 ish - then the second cam it's unquestionably Porsche flat 6. But.... I feel it's still not loud enough. A couple of the guys at my local Porsche club have louder 911's. Old ones - one's a RUF so expected but all the old 911's sound awesome at full chat up the mountain ranges. Do we really have to start looking after market to get exhausts louder at higher revs?! I've ended up putting a K&N sports filter on which really helps the induction noise (!) Along with a nice remap (!) (I've just set up as an approved Viezu Technologies Dealer) But anyway.... I agree - plenty of cars are louder. c'mon porsche. Sort it out. we want loud sometimes - especially when we're driving 'enthusiastically' !