The New EcoBoost Mustang Lies
How has the Dodge Challenger become the most technological, forward-thinking, reasonably-priced car out there? Let me explain what I mean. Last night we learned that the new Mustang EcoBoost uses fake engine noises pumped in through the speakers, and with the simple task of removing a fuse, both the stereo and what was thought as exhaust noises, disappears.
The same can be said about the BMW M3, M4, and M5. Even the almighty noise of a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG is fake. Why, you might ask? Because all of these cars are turbocharged.
At this point you are likely saying, “But wait, Jonathon, aren’t some racecars turbocharged? And aren’t they loud as all hell?” Your question is exactly why I am writing this.
We’ve known forever that when you stick a turbo or even a pair of turbos into an engine that it constricts the noise coming from the exhaust due to the placement of the turbo. That’s the entire beef with Formula 1 fans at the moment. Turbos tend to make cars quiet. That is unless you enlist the services of the aftermarket, then turbocharged cars are loud as all hell, which brings me to my Challenger point.
Currently, the Challenger Hellcat has a 6.2L supercharged 707-hp V8. Now, none of that means it’s going to be a quiet engine, unlike a turbocharged engine, but to keep with noise compliance, the Challenger forwent conventional exhaust that would have silenced its mighty roar. Instead, the Hellcat uses an electrically controlled baffle system so that when on full-throttle the exhausts open up and the entire system essentially runs uninhibited to produce 707 atomic bombs of furious noise.
The Dodge engineers figured out a way around the noise-cancelling problem. They knew that enthusiasts, which will be the Hellcat’s sole customer base, like noise, but don’t want to always run straight pipes. The same can’t be said, however, for Ford, Mercedes, and BMW.
We know turbocharged cars can be noisy as hell. Just look at the 2JZ engines that some pro drifters run, or the turbocharged Formula 1 engines of the late 80s. It is possible, so it makes me wonder, why the hell didn’t Ford try to come up with some way of making the EcoBoost sound good enough to not pump fake noise through the speakers? That solution had to be expensive … most likely as expensive as figuring out a real solution.
Why not just build a system like the Hellcat’s, where at full-throttle, baffles in the exhaust open and you just essentially have straight pipes? It would comply with the law, but give real noise to the car. And when the car isn’t running hard, the baffles close and the car becomes just as quiet without all the trickery.
In addition, Ford created a real problem for itself in the long run. Mustangs have always been tuner cars, and will likely get a massive host of aftermarket products, including new exhaust systems. However, you won’t be able to hear it because of the fake noise pumped in through the speakers, unless you pull the fuse, which also turns off your stereo. Hopefully, someone figures out how to just turn the fakery off.
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