A guy I work with has an Audi Diesel. I had no idea until he told me. So it can be made quiet.
Many people take quiet trucks and add louder mufflers. They like that low rumble sound.
As for Harley’s…I’ve yet to hear the quiet Harley. I know that when Orange County Choppers started selling overseas they had to make modifications to lower the db level significantly. They even made the statement that their bikes would never sell in the US if they were that quiet.
I am wondering how electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf can be made to have a nice low rumble. There are obviously no mufflers to change for louder mufflers. About the only way to make an electric car sound “cool” is to fit it with wire wheels and fashion a card holder to the fender so that a baseball card can brush the spokes as we used to do with our bicycles when we were kids so they would sound like motorcycles.
BMW (M3/M4/M5) adds computer-generated engine sound through the stereo. A Leaf could be made to sound like a Viper V10, big block 427, anything you want (to the occupants anyway).
@insightful–my gosh, truth is stranger than fiction. Why would anyone want to generate noise? I was joking about making the Nissan leaf noisier. Now you tell me that BMW has a stereo that generates noise. I think my Black and Decker rechargeable battery mower is great in that it doesn’t generate much noise. I like cars to be quiet.
Another factor is climate. Diesels have their own eccentricities above the 43rd parallel. They’re fine for large trucks, 'cause they start those in the morning, warm them up, and run them 'til sundown or beyond, but for cars that constantly get shut down and cool off, they’re not so great.
A neighbor of mine has a new 4X4 crew-cab diesel, Ford I think (not sure, I see the truck often but never really looked) and it sounds like a freight train is going by every time he pulls out of his driveway. He never has anything in the bed or even any dirt on the tires, so I’m pretty sure it’s a “mine is bigger than yours” purchase in his case. To each his own.
Re: sound from the EVs, I believe European and perhaps U.S. regulations now require them to create an artificial engine noise below certain speeds. Without the noise, visually impaired people can’t hear them coming.
@Same,basically Smokey Yunick said the same thing small diesels have idiosycrancies that make them not so great for colder climes,you can probaly get the bigger direct injection diesels started in most cold places-but the smaller guys with their very smaller fuel lines would be more prone to waxing and smaller mass would make them cool off pretty fast not to mention the batteries dont have near as much grunt in frigid weather,plus the oil is thicker and harder to pump,so give me a gasser above the 45 th paralell.
Used to be around an old D-7 Caterpillar with a pony motor it took a set of jumper cables at least 1 can of ether and a gallon of gas to start that thing in cold weather,that thing would chortle and barf for it seemed 2 minutes after you got it hitting,but it did pretty good when you got it started(also kind of fun starting a D-8 in cold weather,we used to work on old Macks most of the day getting them going,sometimes to well in the evening,Diesels have come a long way-Kevin
We’ve had cold spells up here that have shut down the school systems because they couldn’t get the busses started. And, yet, diesel lovers like my neighbor swear they’re the best thing since buttered bread. Go figure.
Diesel engines used to inject fuel into the cylinder via a fixed profile cam. And that fuel went in all at once and combust as soon as it meets the hot compressed air. This sudden rise in pressure tends to vibrate metal, hence the characteristic clatter, which does nothing to aid propulsion. Modern diesel uses piezoelectric injectors that can deliver fuel in multiple portions. They also can vary the pressure and duration of the charge. The characteristic clatter is almost mitigated in a modern diesel.
It is certainly no longer a technical challenge, and is done in those vehicles wherein noise is a factor to their markets, like Benzes, but it seems like a segment of the large pickup truck buyers like the noise. Makes them feel manly I guess. I suppose it’s much like Cherry Bomb mufflers were in my day. Has that sound of power. Although I have to admit, I have heard full size pickups with quiet diesels. My neighbor’s isn’t one. But he seems like a nice guy, which I’d much rather have as a neighbor than Charles Manson with a quiet car.
I agree with chunkyazian’s statement on noise reduction. The change from mechanical to common rail injection took place about a dozen years ago and made a dramatic difference in noise. Some didn’t believe the new trucks had a diesel engine until the hood was opened.
Common rail injection employ a strategy called pilot injection or multi-staged injection. A small amount of fuel is injected during the compression stroke to initiate the burn followed by additional pulses of fuel.
Owners at the time complained the fuel economy on their new truck was 1-2 MPG lower than their old truck but at the time most people were buying larger trucks than their trade-in. Personally I think the noisy diesels of the 1990’s were more efficient.
The diesels I use are really ugly starting cold though they start easily. They belch black smoke and are very noisy. The problem is, they do need to warm up more then a gas motor which exacerbates the noise problem. The biggest problem driving a tractor with out emission control devises is breathing this crap into your lungs. It reminds you how much work is needed and why they are much more expensive in cars and trucks. Personally, I would never buy one in a car or truck unless I absolutely had a need for the motor. It is s huge waste of resources buying a diesel truck to go to the mall. Gasoline motors with turbo charging and even some hybrids are slowly inching up on the power and economy advantages while giving you none of the problems…if done well. The absolute best place for diesels are on boats because of the safety in fuel use but again, they pollute and are noisy in that use.
The TDI VW’s and other modern Diesel’s are much quieter than the 70’s-80’s versions but many full size trucks with the Diesel are pretty noisy by comparison. Overall they’re not nearly as loud as they used to be but the pickups are easier to spot as being Diesel just from the sound.
I’ve been around 12l Detroit diesel engines and they were no louder than diesel pickups. Considering that each cylinder displace 2l, those big diesel are relatively quiet for their size.
Actually, now it’s gas engines that are sounding more like diesels under the hood. Direct injection can be very noisy.
@dagosa, was that a poody-tat or a different kind of tat you had in mind?
Re quiet Harleys: if a rider has way too much money to spend and wants a quiet bike, he’ll get a BMW.