Quiet Racecars

I know of course, that much of the noise in a racing car comes from solid(ish) drivetrain mounts and bushings, intake, and exhaust. There is still a difference between a street car with these things, and a racer, but what exactly is it that makes a track car sound like a tin can on the inside? Removal of the sound deadening? that, plus no carpet? No interior door panels?

I had a 79 civic ITD car that when sat next to its street counterpart (which also had no more sound deadener), the track car would ring like a bell when you hit the floorboards. Never did figure that out.

sobe_death wrote: but what exactly is it that makes a track car sound like a tin can on the inside? Removal of the sound deadening? that, plus no carpet? No interior door panels?

That's it, mostly. You remove all the sound deadening materials and it becomes a big hollow tin can. I remember one time driving my car around for a couple days with no carpeting on the floor, I was surprised at how much noisier it was.

Even the door panels, and I'm talking about old solid card door panels on some very solid doors, make a huge difference.

you should try it with no headliner.

My ITB GTI got a lot "tinnier" when I took the bump strips off the outside of the doors. Any thing that takes mass or reinforcement from a surface will allow it to resonate more.

stuart in mn wrote:

sobe_death wrote: but what exactly is it that makes a track car sound like a tin can on the inside? Removal of the sound deadening? that, plus no carpet? No interior door panels?

That's it, mostly. You remove all the sound deadening materials and it becomes a big hollow tin can. I remember one time driving my car around for a couple days with no carpeting on the floor, I was surprised at how much noisier it was.

Seconded. My dad has a stripped Lancia Fulvia racer, and just coasting gently down a seemingly clean road sounds like storming a pickup down a gravel road. Every little bit of debris/rock/pebble that gets picked up by the tires bounces off the undercarriage and un-lined fenders, and with nothing on the metal from the inside, there's nothing to stop it resonating throughout the shell.

Of course, when you get on it, you can't hear anything over the engine anyway...

Lol me and my boys had a fully built b20vtec ( it belongs to my friend though and is long gone now) civic with no carpet, we chiseled off the stuff on the floors, took out every door support and body support there was, no roll cage, open headers and lexan windows and slicks.. Talk about LOUD the car was a soda can on wheels ..his 16 year old brother could lift the back off the car off the ground.. And the motor was making 260hp n/a. It was the fastest, scariest, loudest and most dangerous car i ever been in.

Along with the car stripped out not only is it way louder, but you will notice how much colder the car gets on those winter days

Huh, so if I pop out the sound deadening, but still keep the door cards and thin carpet, it should make it livable?

Yea, i wouldnt chisel off the stuff on the floor, you should be alright. depending on your exhaust also.

The exhaust is STUPID quiet for a straight through muffler with no cat or resonators. Hell, it's so quiet, you can barely hear the thing idle.

Then i would think you should be fine,..if you dont mind me asking what is your purpose of removing the sound deadening stuff?

sobe_death wrote: the track car would ring like a bell when you hit the floorboards. Never did figure that out.

IF the floor was actually the same.... then it likely was stitch welded, or some further structural changes.

Hey oldskewltoy i would just like to thank you for your contributions and knowledge towards the toyota community. Never got the chance till' now

stuart in mn wrote: That's it, mostly. You remove all the sound deadening materials and it becomes a big hollow tin can. I remember one time driving my car around for a couple days with no carpeting on the floor, I was surprised at how much noisier it was.

That's why my rallycross car still has most of its interior.

Darksider203 wrote: Along with the car stripped out not only is it way louder, but you will notice how much colder the car gets on those winter days

Aaaaand that's the other reason.

Hotter in the summer, too.

In reply to Darksider203:

Weight reduction, why else?

Just trying to figure out if removing the already meager interior from my old car is a place I should look, or if I am better finding other ways.

I wonder if composite roofs resonate like crazy...

Spherical bearings + roll cage + 1000lb/in springs + lexan windows + everything gutted to the outside skin == 55 gal drum half full of ball bearings tumbling thru a library.

In my case, I think 1000lb/in springs would fold my chassis in half unless I installed a cage!

Darksider203 wrote: Hey oldskewltoy i would just like to thank you for your contributions and knowledge towards the toyota community. Never got the chance till' now

If your looking' to shave weight without making your eardrums bleed, you may want to look into a set of noise cancelling headphones. While I have no personal experience with them, they are the bomb for loud cars according to Car and Driver: http://www.caranddriver.com/columns/tires-like-children-should-be-seen-and-not-heard They were pretty pricy when they first came out but you can pick up a mediocre set for under $50 now; I just haven't been able to justify a use for them.

I'd also recommend an electric exhaust bypass; Quick Time Performance is a pretty reputable brand.

Mmadness wrote: If your looking' to shave weight without making your eardrums bleed, you may want to look into a set of noise cancelling headphones. While I have no personal experience with them, they are the bomb for loud cars according to Car and Driver: http://www.caranddriver.com/columns/tires-like-children-should-be-seen-and-not-heard They were pretty pricy when they first came out but you can pick up a mediocre set for under $50 now; I just haven't been able to justify a use for them. I'd also recommend an electric exhaust bypass; Quick Time Performance is a pretty reputable brand.

I'm about to pick up a cheap pair. I usually wear earplugs.

Yeah, but I don't want to daily drive with earplugs. I just want to get the street car down to "because race car" weight, without killing conversation between passengers.

I don't even know why I'm looking at this. +- 20 lbs in a 200hp, 1500lb car isn't going to make so much difference.