I'm not somebody with a particular fondness for the volume of engines, but I do think there's something to be said for the unearthly scream. The video posted is an interesting juxtapostition with the new car and the old engine sound. Mostly I think the newer engines sound better with more texture, but I wouldn't be at all adverse to them having more of a scream to them either. It's a cool effect particularly as they get going and head off into the distance.
I also do think that the new engines are not only nicer sounding but also louder than they seem on TV in person. They're definitely still loud enough that I need to wear earplugs or I'll quickly become very uncomfortable, and they really do have some interesting texture to them. I hope that the sound engineers will start mixing that in better for TV broadcasts, because even with the raw sound for FP1 and FP3 (as we get it hear in America, at least, with no announcers and not actually shown on TV) the engines usually sound better than they do in the qualifying and race broadcasts, and I think that's what a lot of people are basing their complaints on.
SmoothRide wrote:
I guess the car culture is really a dying breed in society if people have to ask why the engine sound matters. I can't imagine any car guy (or girl), who has actually experienced the powerful reverberations of a race car engine in a real life setting, to have any doubts about how it adds to the experience.
This is my go-to video for real life F1 sound. If you max out your speakers, provided they are powerful, you can sort of approximate what it feels like in the flesh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj8S-ig_NiAVery few people are actually asking why the engine sound matters. Most people agree that it does add to the experience. Where people are differing is in what
way it matters; many people don't care about the sheer volume, some people prefer less volume, and some people prefer more -- but just about everybody has some preference on the actual quality of the sound.
Personally, I am much happier if I am able to watch a race in person without my ears hurting and without them ringing or feeling uncomfortable for days afterwards. It's hard to enjoy a race, or anything else, if one's ears are hurting and one is developing a headache. And yes, I do still wear ear plugs when attending races, because they're still loud enough that I need to. I'd personally be happier if I didn't have to, but I realise that I do have over-sensitive hearing so I'll have to do that when other people don't have to. I don't really understand why anyone who no longer has to wear ear protection to attend races is unhappy about that; it seems like it'd be a good thing, really, being able to actually hear everything with your own ears and nothing in the way.
That said, I do love the sound of a powerful engine. Heck, that's one of the reasons I chose my current car -- I really like the V8 rumble. I enjoy the quality of the sound and the texture to the sound, but I don't enjoy any sound at uncomfortable volume -- it's uncomfortable. That goes for everything. Music, fireworks, engine sound -- I appreciate them all quite a bit when they're at a relatively comfortable volume, but I can't appreciate them when they're so loud that they just become noise and hurt my ears. It surprises me that so many people apparently feel differently, although I suppose that some of it is probably people with a higher threshold of noise before the discomfort kicks in.
As far as the reverberations go, that's also not something that's universally enjoyed. I do know that some people really love that feeling, but personally, I actually dislike being able to feel the sound. It's not a pleasant feeling to me. I can tolerate it, and it doesn't bother me as much as pain in the ears does (because it's not actually painful), but it's definitely not something that I consider a plus. Sure, it can be impressive, but that doesn't necessarily make it enjoyable, and at least for me that volume of sound is by no means required for something to be impressive. As a necessary byproduct of the most powerful engine it's an acceptable side effect, but if it is unnecessary, I see no reason at all to try to kick up the volume. It's not needed, and it
is a barrier for some people to attend races, and for some places to want to host them. Focusing on getting an awesome texture for the engine noise I can see, but to me, the best thing is to just go with whatever is the natural byproduct of the most powerful engine built within the regulations -- much like with the aero rules. I want to see and hear the car that's to the limit of the regulations, not the car that's designed to be beautiful and loud. If it happens to look aggressive and have a nice, textured engine sound, that's a plus... but so long as it's fast and innovative, I'm not going to complain if it does neither of those things. I may complain if it's so loud that I can't actually attend a race without pain, and I sure as heck would rather be able to actually hear what's going on than have to clap on ear defenders so I can get through a race without pain -- but if that's what I have to do
because that's the result of the most powerful engine within the regulations, I'll accept it as the price to pay to see that.
The long and the short of it is that people who very much enjoy the same experience (attending a race in person) do so for many different reasons, and different aspects of the experience are important to different people. Something that is an indispensible part of F1 to one person isn't necessarily going to be so to another person. For myself, I can't imagine not finding the development aspect of F1 to be central to the sport, but I know there are people out there who disagree or even would prefer that wasn't part of it. In person, I'm more about the visuals and the experience of being able to see the cars in person, but I do definitely find a quality engine sound to be a plus -- I just disagree completely with some people on what that is.
Also, people in general are more aware of the longterm hearing damage that being exposed to such loud sounds can cause now than they used to be, and less people are going to be eager or even willing to expose themselves to that than they were. That's also extending to noise regulations. Especially with all that, it just doesn't make sense to pursue engine
volume as a goal. High quality engine sound, sure, but not just sheer noise output.