Exhaust note: Who's right?
 

My ears, or the guy in the Sport Z video?

Those of you who've heard it in person, please share your comments on the Sport Z reviewers quote "The engine note is whiny... exhaust note virtually non-existant".

The reason I'm bringing this up is because up until he said this in the video, I kept thinking how great the engine sounded. And the exhaust note from the Fuddruckers videos sounded really good to me too. He's the first person I've heard bag on it.
So whats the scoop?

OK, to tell you the truth, I heard it in person about a week ago and I thought that it could have been more, eh, exciting. They didn't rev it much at all but it was pretty quiet. At least quieter that I expected. But there was that video series from someone and they revved it pretty good with the camera situated behind the exhaust and I thought it was good. I don't know for sure now. Oh well, like jmanz sais, "Nizmo is coming, are you ready?"

Front of the car, you hear the wonderful VQ. Rear of the car, you definitely hear the exhaust. In the car you hear a beautiful symphony of engine and exhaust. There is really nothing I can compare it to.

he clarified this on another sight by saying the exhaust was vertually non-existant from the cabin. but he did write that the exhaust was disappointing and not as good as it sounds on the video.

well thanks Vandy, your post wasn't there before. now you can take it from the horse's mouth,



not that Vandy is a horse, I ment he has herd it.

"Nizmo is coming, are you ready?"
 

who is nizmo?

I am assuming you are referring to the guy in the video.

The inside sound does not hit until you go above 3500 RPM (mainly engine). Because I watched the Z enter and exit the parking lot about 10 times I know you can hear the deeper exhaust notes more from behind the car than in the car (makes sense, right?). The car we had you could still hear the exhaust from the cabin. At times I was having trouble separating the two sounds, thus the comment about the symphony. It was not as loud as the video portrayed but it is way louder than say a maxima or altima. Nice sporty sound.

I have heard it personally and think the guy in the video was WAY OFF.

It sounds awesome.

Re: Exhaust note: Who's right?
 

Jason,

Your ears and mine. I heard the sound outside of the car myself and agreed with VandyZ's comment relative to stand in front and rear of the car. Check the sound in the Nissan pre-order CD, it is close enough.

No experience with the sound inside or while the car is running. From the Sport Z video, I can clearly hear the exhause note while the car is revving, so I don't understand Carl's comments about non-existence. May be the microphone is more sensitive than his ears, or he expects the roar of an American V8 muscle.

If the sound inside of the car is anything like the video, I am more than happy. If the exhaust note is too loud, it will become tiresome after awhile.

Exhaust Note
 

I was able to listen from both inside and outside the cabin...

From inside: Fairly loud as it was revved to 6000+ RPM. Nice even sound. Thought it was going to be a bit more "throaty" than it was, but nevertheless... Nice cabin sound as the car gurgled a bit coming back down to idle.

From outside: Obviously louder. Screams a bit more than it did inside. A little "throatier" than the inside sound. Sounds nothing like a Porsche Boxster. Much deeper, no whining whatsoever. A thick roar, then back down to a somewhat quiet idle.

That's the best I can do guys... :p Don't sweat it, the car sounds like a sports car without any whining.

I heard tire chirping on each shift from 1st to 2nd!

The reviewer probably has a Z32TT with twin grapefruit cannons. Of course it's not loud enough. :rolleyes: That entire review (article and video) was fairly weak and definitely caters to the Z32 crowd who do not want to hear that the 350Z turns out to be quite a bad-ass car.

Nissan's explaination for the exhaust:

Along with a powerful engine, engineers deemed it necessary to give the Z a powerful sports car sound to match – one without the low frequency booming or rumbling that can grow tiresome on long trips or high-pitched mechanical sounds. Nissan engineers studied the “emotional” aspects of intake and exhaust sounds by testing vehicles such as the Maserati 3200GT, Ferrari 360 Modena and its own Skyline GT-R. As a result, the exhaust sound is now maximized at low RPM (1,000-3,500 RPM), but quiet at normal cruising range. Intake sound has been maximized at high RPM (3,500-6,000 RPM), especially at wide throttle openings, but toned down during cruising. Nissan used straight intake ducts and removed the 0.5-decibel harmonic to give a “clear” intake sound. Overall, the 350Z’s exhaust has reduced backpressure, and is freer flowing than any other Nissan.

Ok - thanks for the all the comments guys.
I'm still hopeful, but I cant wait to hear it in person.

i agree, personally i think he did make a few offenses on the car, specially the interior, he said something like this place is cheap the other place is cheap yada yada...............:rolleyes: