What can be done to make the engine louder?

[JawsIX]

No matter what changes you make, or the reasons you give (noise/costs/spectacle/safety), a percentage of the fanbase will always find something wrong with what you have done. Given the size of this sport's global fanbase, even a small percentage of naysayers will amount to millions of people posting their indignation on the internet and predicting the demise of F1.

I say leave the engines as they are. It is a wonder you can hear them at all over the noise of the complaining. Where is the point in spending millions retooling the formula for noise whilst simultaneously negotiating a cost cutting agreement? It makes no sense!

People will adjust : give it a few seasons and the vast majority will be wondering what all of the fuss was about ... these things just take time.

Don't know about that...I've spoken to a lot of people who went to Melbourne every year but have said they won't be going back because the noise isn't the same. It's a lot less of an issue for TV audiences of course because of the commentary and the ceaseless ads.

Just watched the Empire Strikes Back in honour of May the 4th. Was thinking the cars now sound a lot like Chewy.

[wesley123]

I don't see the issue with the sound. You can now finally hear the cars without receiving permanent damage to your hearing. Not only that, but it reduces actual noise pollution, something the civilians living in the area will surely appreciate. This will reduce the need for tilkedromes in the middle of nowhere.

If the sound is all that matters to you then there are many of other ways to get your fix. Take for example going on YouTube and searching for F1 cars with the volume all the way up. This will also immediately demonstrate the noise pollution.

There are many more things to racing than just the sound and imo this is one of the very, very, very few good changes that happened to F1 in the past few years.

[tathan]

Promoter/owner/man+dog say something is crap, repeat ad nauseum.

Public believe it actually is crap and don't go see it.

There's a correlation with a likely causation.

[the user]

Oooor... by the end of the season most people will stop moaning and they won't change anything. Personally I don't have issues with the noise of the engines.

What about race promoters who are reliant on "the spectacle" for the foot participants buying tickets? The promoter of Australian GP has already made some statements and we are just beginning our season.

If the tickets stop selling, the venues will be gone. It is theoretically possible to hold a race at an empty track just for the benefit of TV viewers. In such scenario, the F1 would then have to start paying the track owners. I just don't see it.

Somoene correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the attendance figures have been falling in many venues even before the introduction of V6s. For example we had a situation last year with Vettel dominating half of the season. It lowered interest in F1 too and viewership figures fell as well. Race-processions and one-man domination (in one word - uncompetetiveness) is far more important to attendance than noise. Because that's what racing is about - actual competing which creates the spectacle. We need more of that. More equally strong teams. And not digging at superficial 'issues' such as noise.

I personally hated the V8s. Last two good sounding engines for me were the Mercedes V10 from 2001 and the Ferrari V12 from 1995.

[kooleracer]

I don't think problem is the turbo. There enough turbo mounted racing car that makes an awful lot of noise. The main problem is F1 has the MGU-H attached to the exit of the exhaust. The turbo and the MGU-H have totally muffled the sound. So maybe less harvesting from the MGU-H and more harvesting form the MGU-K can fix the problem. But also people need to realize that the V8's, V10's and V12's were just ridiculously loud engines with high rev. limits and high fuel consumption. Technology hast moved on and so should F1 fans, but I must admit when I watched WEC yesterday the Toyata LMP1 and the Rebellion R-one sounded like "real" race cars. But The Porsche and the AUDI LMP1 cars are also really quite its the way the pinnacle of motorsport is going. And if you can't you head around it go visit NASCAR, GP2 or the V8 supercars. Because Indycar, DTM (2016 onwards), Formula Nippon and Super GT all have downsized turbo engines.
I would rather get rid of DRS then get more volume from the exhaust pipe to be frank.

[rich1701]

F1 sound is a trademark of the sport. I go to races because of the spectacle and the noise is fundemtally apart of that. So when I hear people say it should be quieter because of health and safety reasons. Part of me dies inside. Honestly, how can you call yourself a motor racing fan? Wear ear plugs, deal with it.

Bernie wants it to be louder which means it's going to happen but how?, the question was how should we maker it louder? Not should we make it louder? It isn't a debate, it should be a constructive discussion of ideas of how they can be made louder. I don't know how, but I would be interested like the OP on how.

[CMSMJ1]

How are Formula E going to cope then with no ICE noise at all? Just whirring and screeching?

I've seen and heard the electric bikes on the IoM and they are fast, but soulless.

[hollus]

Please gentlemen, express your position, but don't tell everyone what to do and how to feel. I am an F1 fan, and I don't want to need earplugs. Wearing a sound amplifier oneself is equally an option
You feel like that. Some don't. Assuming everyone feels the same way is, well, assuming.
Acknowledge diversity (or don't). Discuss how to make it louder if you wish, but accept that some people are fine with it just the way it is.
Discuss how to make it louder, but stating that it has to be louder... it can be louder, or it can be less loud.

[321apex]

Discuss how to make it louder, but stating that it has to be louder... it can be louder, or it can be less loud.

You get "attaboy" from me
Thats exactly what I meant when posting. We don't need crystal ballers calling others idiots while saying that quiet is good. It may be far from being so, how far we will soon find out.

The writing is on the wall!
NOISE sells F1, without it, it's close to a squeeky basketball court.

The rulemakers are burning midnight oil analyzing what to do to make the spectactle more appealing to the race goers in 2015. What ideas are they entertaining?

[beelsebob]

The Silverstone managers announced today that their sales are the highest they've seen in years. This would go a long way to suggesting that the domination of a single driver has far more effect over sales than the noise level.

Sales were dwindling long before the noise became quieter. That's because in all countries other than Germany, no one could see their favourite driver stand a chance until now. Now sales are continuing to fall (except in britain), again, because no one can see their favourite driver stand a chance. It's not because it's quite, it's because it's uncompetitive.

[douglas]

Mercedes will test some solutions this week at Barcelona to improve the sound.

Source (German): Motorsport Magazin

[Holm86]

Mercedes will test some solutions this week at Barcelona to improve the sound.

Source (German): Motorsport Magazin

It's next week. During the in-season test.

And here is a link in english.

[MOWOG]

It's not because it's quiet, it's because it's uncompetitive.

I agree completely. The noise issue is a red herring that distracts our attention from far more important changes coming to our beloved sport - standardized front and rear crash structures, standardized front wings, standardized active suspension components. If they could draw up technical regs that standardized the drivers, they would!

The sport is undergoing huge changes. Some of us will like the changes, others will not. But the question in my mind is whether the sport can survive at all in a digital world where there are literally hundreds of viewing options designed to capture a fan's entertainment dollars. Certainly where it is headed is a long, long way from the days when giants like Clark and Hill and Moss and the other Hill and Mansell and Senna and Prost, et als, held us in rapture and awe at their skills.

Drivers today are just another piece of the technical package. They are becoming more like chauffeurs - albeit highly skilled chauffeurs - then the hairy chested, manly men we remember.

Will that be enough to keep interest in the sport alive? Personally, I have my doubts. You, of course, have every right to disagree.

[Phil]

I don't see the issue with the sound. You can now finally hear the cars without receiving permanent damage to your hearing. Not only that, but it reduces actual noise pollution, something the civilians living in the area will surely appreciate. This will reduce the need for tilkedromes in the middle of nowhere.

If the sound is all that matters to you then there are many of other ways to get your fix. Take for example going on YouTube and searching for F1 cars with the volume all the way up. This will also immediately demonstrate the noise pollution.

There are many more things to racing than just the sound and imo this is one of the very, very, very few good changes that happened to F1 in the past few years.

IMO, that's not quite fair. I remember when I went to the first F1 race (2011) and the sound was the single most overwhelming aspect of the whole weekend. So loud and extraordinary, that I am at the point where I can safely say, anyone who hasn't been to a F1 race live can not imagine how extremely mind blowing that sound is... well, until before 2014 that is.

The sound I experienced that weekend, was nothing short of an unforgettable experience - only equal or surpassed by perhaps witnessing live, the start of a Concorde or a military jet - which, I believe most people wouldn't have had that opportunity.

Unfortunately, the sound is also the biggest reason why I would want to go to a F1 race. The coverage is mostly bad, so following the race (especially now days with the strategy calls) is difficult - and you can forget about the detailed stuff like KERS or DRS. The sound is the only thing that could generate any sense of a spectacle and atmosphere. If you take that away, I wouldn't be surprised if as a result, the crowd is also subdued and the whole event offers less of that addictive atmosphere.

A bit like imagening a hockey game, without the action that fuels the crowd to create that intense atmosphere. I haven't been to a F1 race this year yet - but given the sound, I'm really not sure if I will. And I believe this doesn't make me any lesser fan of the sport.

[WhiteBlue]

I watched the WEC races at Silverstone and Spa where we have similar technology as F1 but less restrictions. Everybody was happy as they could be and the new Formula is a huge success. People simply do not care if a car makes more or less noise. They want to win. At the moment the noisiest cars are doing the winning. I think it is F1's downfall that they have narrowed the design options for a cost control model that finally had no chance to be introduced. Eventually they introduced a stepped freeze and that made the narrow engine and Recovery system spec obsolete from a cost control point. But F1 is unable to learn from the experience. They should open up the freeze and the regulations as LMP1 has done. I don't mind if they do a standard active suspension and homologated aero sets three times a year. That's fair enough. But i want some competition back into the propulsion system and the manufacturers to put up a proper fight.