i think it depends on your background, i love old massey ferguson tractors that go on forever and would run on old sort of oil, naptholene, lard and lasted for eons doing a proper job, tilling land etc. That makes an ugly noise for some, not for me, i think it is stirring and solid. Some folks are about "what it is" some "what it does". The 123 is the latter.
Originally posted by thebenster: haha you old devil.
i think it depends on your background, i love old massey ferguson tractors that go on forever and would run on old sort of oil, naptholene, lard and lasted for eons doing a proper job, tilling land etc. That makes an ugly noise for some, not for me,
I'm with you there! I spent most summer holidays when at school helping out on a local farm. I drove old Massey Fergusons, Fordsons and a lot of John Browns. Great sound and was my first intro to driving.
I've said before, but once up to 40-50mph often the tyre noise is louder than the engine in a diesel car. At much higher speeds this is still the case, however in a petrol where the revs generally sit higher at comparative speeds you hear the engine over the tyres - making the diesel a more pleasent environment on a long motorway cruise.
At lower speeds, especially in stop start traffic, most diesels will be more noticable - however anyone driving in these conditions are likely to be bored and have the radio on, overpowering any engine noise!
The noise on modern diesels sound ok. Only taxi cabs, buses and coaches are bad.
When I fired up my tdci after 7 days in repair it sounded a lot noisier comapred to the tinny/milk float 1.2 petrol hire car. Much preferred the diesel growl.
Would it be corect to say BMW, Ford, Honda and Renault have the best diesels, and Vauxhall, VW/Audi and surprisngly Mercs have inferior units?
I am not an anti-diesel Bigot. My car has a diesel engine, and I am happy with the MPG, Performance and ease with which it drives with all the low-down torque available. As things stand, if I got another car, it would be a diesel-engined one.
But I really, really, really hate the noise!
You don't hear it when cruising on the motorway, but it sounds horrible when stuck in traffic, and once you hear it you can't mask it with the radio. A Psychologist explained to me how the brain filters out the other sounds in favour of the diesel racket.
---------------------------------------------------- "mad-g" is the display name of "mad-git"
Think how awful a tuned Evo 340 sounds. A racket, basically, with no tunefulness and just a boring noise, like nearly every other 4 cylinder car. Great car, yes, but a boring sound.
Originally posted by Bamford: I took a BMW 123D out today, for no reason other than i could and yes, it is quite agricultural at tickover and very low revs.
But thinking about it, is it SO bad, that a CAR, with a combustion engine, has a growly, purposeful noise at low revs>
I grew to like the noise the more i drove it!
The sound is in the ear of the beholder.
I personally cannot stand the sound they make, but I'd never argue with anybody that said they liked the sound or didn't mind it.
Originally posted by Bamford: Think how awful a tuned Evo 340 sounds. A racket, basically, with no tunefulness and just a boring noise, like nearly every other 4 cylinder car. .
Good point! I agree entirely.
In the ear of the beholder many petrol engines can just as sound bad as a diesel. I dislike ANY engine sound that has a harsh discordant sound, whilst at the same time fully respecting the other positive qualities that the engine may have (such as great low down torque, or be sweetly revving).
And "Loud" does not have to equal "bad". I go to the Mustang rally at Waddesdon Manor every year, and the (loud) sounds those big American engines make is wonderful. Sheer music!
---------------------------------------------------- "mad-g" is the display name of "mad-git"
Mmm, just got back from 2500 miles in Belgium and Germany and the old 1.4TDi has a bit of a growl at 85/90mph - not a bad noise as such, but I had to turn up the stereo - has confirmed my first impressions with it, though, is good as a town car and A roads but not really suited to high speed work - the old 1.9 was much better - as i said before the gearing kills it - it could do with a higher 5th gear.... having said that it never slowed up when using cruise on some of the steep Autobahn gradients which says a lot for its torque...
Originally posted by Syntax Error: To be fair, ANY engine with less than 5 cylinders is not going to sound great under heavy acceleration/revving.
Hey hey, hold up Syntax, there are SOME nice sounding 4 cylinder engines... My 1100 bike for one, sounds mint, and has a delicious pop and fart on the overrun. Im sure Bams has had several nice sounding 4's as well.
But I do agree in the main of it, 6's, 8's and upwards are more commonly sweeter sounding!
Air cooled VW boxer sounds nice chugging along and the morris minor 900cc has a great fart over run. Neither is very macho, just reassuring and charming.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Syntax Error: To be fair, ANY engine with less than 5 cylinders is not going to sound great under heavy acceleration/revving. QUOTE]
Erm...Honda S2000.
A lot of people have grown to accept diesel noise because it signifies torque performance, economy and a degree of reliability. It's a 'reassuring' noise for many.
