[BorrowedTool]

Considering the loud whine of the engine, I would like to get a louder exhaust system with beefier exhaust notes to balance the two. The engine to exhaust noise ratio... It seems unusual compared to the gas cars I'm accustomed to driving and I miss hearing it.

Do you guys think changing/modding or replaceing the exhaust system would be worth it for a hybrid? Would it even work? Only in sport mode maybe a little?

Feel free to chime in guys, in need of some suggestions BUT DONT TELL ME TO JUST CRANK UP THE RADIO LOL 😝it's not the same

 

[insightfully]

I think you could modify the exhaust, but it will still seem/sound odd because of the hybrid nature of the car. The gas engine and exhaust wouldn't run continually, and you'd hear it cut in-and-out as EV mode turns on-and-off in hybrid mode. It would probably offset some of the noise from the gas engine, but only when the gas engine is actually running. It might make the noise seem more severe, since it'd be going from silent (EV) to engine (extra exhaust note)...

 

[d3n13d]

The powertrain on this car is not well suited to an aftermarket exhaust. Due to the engine in this car mainly acting as a generator (when the engine is running it tends to always maintain a certain RPM range), I would think an exhaust would just sound like an unnatural loud drone. It would also cut in and out suddenly. You would be better off attempting to modify the exhaust sound that is piped through the speakers in sport mode, wonder if this is possible.


If you do it, I would be interested in hearing it!

 

[westb87]

The powertrain on this car is not well suited to an aftermarket exhaust. Due to the engine in this car mainly acting as a generator (when the engine is running it tends to always maintain a certain RPM range), I would think an exhaust would just sound like an unnatural loud drone. It would also cut in and out suddenly. You would be better off attempting to modify the exhaust sound that is piped through the speakers in sport mode, wonder if this is possible.


If you do it, I would be interested in hearing it!

From what I understood (and I could be wrong), the ASC (Active Sound Control) simply turns off when in sport mode, which just attempts to allow you to hear the engine tones without working to try and silence them as it does in other modes.

 

[insightfully]

From what I understood (and I could be wrong), the ASC (Active Sound Control) simply turns off when in sport mode, which just attempts to allow you to hear the engine tones without working to try and silence them as it does in other modes.

You're right on ASC operation changing with Sport mode; but in addition to ASC adjusting sound quality, there is also a distinct additional 'engine note' that is added to the mix.

From Press Kit:
- SPORT alters the Active Sound Control (ASC) for a more aggressive engine note.
- [The system is] comprised of dual overhead microphones, an ANC/ASC electronic processor, and the audio system's speakers.
- ASC improves the engine sound quality by making the sound pressure level more linear as the engine revs increase. [...] ASC helps smooth out the engine sound by reforming the sound signal as needed and sending it to the speakers.

Not sure if Honda whether uses Harman technology (as Tesla does) to add the external (acoustic vehicle alerting system) and internal (sport) engine note, but the Insight's timbre in SPORT mode definitely doesn't come natufally from components in the car. 'Fake engine noise' has become a new industry as the number of electric vehicles increase, and customized/programmable engine sounds will be coming soon.

What I'm curious about and haven't yet explored is whether the engine note in SPORT mode is solely heard inside the car (via speakers/ASC) -OR- if the sound can also be heard on the exterior? I'm guessing it's interior-only for the Insight, though the Harman/Tesla example in the youtube link above also influenced exterior sound.

 

[westb87]

You're right on ASC operation changing with Sport mode; but in addition to ASC adjusting sound quality, there is also a distinct additional 'engine note' that is added to the mix.

From Press Kit:
- SPORT alters the Active Sound Control (ASC) for a more aggressive engine note.
- [The system is] comprised of dual overhead microphones, an ANC/ASC electronic processor, and the audio system's speakers.
- ASC improves the engine sound quality by making the sound pressure level more linear as the engine revs increase. [...] ASC helps smooth out the engine sound by reforming the sound signal as needed and sending it to the speakers.

Not sure if Honda whether uses Harman technology (as Tesla does) to add the external (acoustic vehicle alerting system) and internal (sport) engine note, but the Insight's timbre in SPORT mode definitely doesn't come natufally from components in the car. 'Fake engine noise' has become a new industry as the number of electric vehicles increase, and customized/programmable engine sounds will be coming soon.

What I'm curious about and haven't yet explored is whether the engine note in SPORT mode is solely heard inside the car (via speakers/ASC) -OR- if the sound can also be heard on the exterior? I'm guessing it's interior-only for the Insight, though the Harman/Tesla example in the youtube link above also influenced exterior sound.

Hot dang, I should have looked at the press kit first. Thanks for clearing this up! I noticed that those of us in the states don't get the option to turn off the angelic EV exterior sound that warns pedestrians like our neighbors up north do. It is a good question as to whether the speaker used in that system also receives the sport mode treatment too.