why do people not like the sound tube?
 

personally i love it. both people i've given a ride to have mentioned how nice the car sounds without me mentioning there is a sound tube.

i haven't gotten above 4k yet, but it really makes a nice growl. much lower tone than the si with intake i came from.

to be honest, it sounds like the engine is bigger than it is.

It works, but it's kinda like cheating. Like cars that have exhaust sounds pumped in through the sound system.

for stock cars it's ok and it works

but for people who has aftermarket intake and exhaust its kinda pointless since you cant really here that sound coming from the tube.

plus it makes the engine bay look cleaner without it. haha

Can you post pics of the engin bay with out the sound tube

It makes sense to me for a stock motor/exhaust setup. You get the sound of a sporty car only on the inside.

When people do install sport exhaust, intake etc, it becomes redundant. In fact it's purpose is to compensate the driver for a missing sport exhaust. Much like BMW with the sound through the speakers.

Personally? I don't care one way or another about it. I can't even tell it's there, to be honest. My 626 was a pretty loud car, so the FR-S is actually pretty quiet compared to it. I will say that the FR-S sounds better. I'm new to the whole boxer thing, but I can say I love that boxer growl.

i don't think it's in any way as artifiial or "cheating" as the bmw sound through the speaker thing. the sound we're hearing is at least the sound our intake is actually making. they're just letting more of it into the cabin. personally i plan on leaving the stock intake alone, adding a nice catback would really compliment the sound.

How can you tell the difference between sound generated by the sound tube and sound coming directly through the firewall?

The sound generator can't be heard much until over 4K rpm, so you really haven't heard it yet. I temporarily disabled mine by clamping off the rubber hose to the cabin, and I decided that I like hearing mechanical sound rather than intake honk. You may change your mind about the sound tube after the break in. At any rate, it's easy enough to just disable it rather than remove it completely.

That deep "growl" you hear when you pass 3000 RPM is the sound from the sound tube.

Our boxer engines are actually fairly rev-quiet without it...

really the ONLY reason i dont like it is becuase w/o it, the engine bay looks cleaner (damn sound tube uses a suprising amount of space. plus i have aftermarket exhaust which negates any use it has at this point.

I have the buzzer set to go off with the shift light, and I have a hard time hearing it with the sound tube. I kinda like it, but I also want to see how much quieter is it without it and if I can hear the buzzer any better.

Here is a picture from @Dynosty

http://www.dynosty.com/wp-content/up...fore_after.png
And another from @xcelir8brz
https://xcelir8brz.squarespace.com/s...fk?format=500w

It costs, it weighs, it occupies space, and it does zero to improve performance, mileage, or anything. Stupid gimmick. Only slightly less annoying than BMW, VW piping fake sound through the stereo.

Really hate the very idea of this trend.

Thats different, faking a sound is, well...poser. Using a sound that is already produced and allowing it access to extend its volume to a other place is to cause excitment.

BMW making engine noises because they shut off some cylinders while driving on the highway is just stupid. Toyota making a tube from a quiet engine to the cabin to create engine noise is to cause excitement when playing around with Higher revs.


But its still hilarious how people will plug the sound tube saying " i want a quieter cabin" but then buy some cheap ass exhaust that's louder then a riced out Civic. :lol:

But i pose a question to you sir, do you like loud exhausts? Do you like to hear your engine when driving hard?

Makes about as much sense on this car as a dual exit exhaust does. Just for looks/sound on both counts. I'd gladly take the few pounds less weight, and cleaner engine compartment by deleting the sound tube (and having a lighter single exit muffler).

I am not a big fan of the trend to falsely manufacture sounds a la BMW, and agree the lame sound tube on FRS is at least actual sound being generated by the engine, but how about this concept... Give me a nice sounding stock exhaust (my SRT4 didn't require a sound tube to sound exciting) and take all the $ scion invested in said sound tube development and simply provide a more exciting sounding exhaust note... This is a track car in street clothing and how many track cars use a sound tube to keep their drivers interested? I personally believe scion neutered the exhaust and HP output in an effort to spur on the aftermarket community...

I think the sound tube is worthless. If somebody put a sound tube on a civic or any other car they would be considered a complete ricer. There is no need for it.

Scion had no input in the design of this car except for maybe the rename. Also, I'm sure if the car was sold here as a Toyota it would be a lot harder to get away with modifying it to the extent some of the users ohere have.

Edmunds Inside Line has put together a great list of ten things you didn’t know about the Lexus LFA—here’s an example:



Spectacular Sound



Two separate ducts route intake noise into the firewall from the intake manifold, allowing two different octaves of engine music to penetrate the passenger compartment. As a result, the LFA’s engine note dominates the driving experience.



Developed in conjunction with Yamaha’s musical instrument division, engineers tuned the LFA’s engine note the same way sound is tuned in an Ovation guitar. Uniquely shaped ribs in the intake manifold cover are designed precisely to produce a pleasing engine note.

I'm sure the fact that it's a 4cyl vs a V10 so theres going to be a difference in intake note.
Also, the LFA has a sound tube coming from the exhaust as well.

And that's why threads like this should not be started.

It's beyond stupid. The growl tube came out of my car from the get-go. It wasn't noticeable till north of 3500 rpms but then it started coming on strong. I know I didn't accomplish anything but I let Scion know I thought it was a cheap shot and the money spent on the tube could probably have paid for a nice console cover/arm rest.

For the people that think Scion had anything to do with the sound tube...
A picture of an engine bay from a GT86...notice the sound tube...
http://www.autoguide.com/gallery/d/5...ta_gt_86_8.jpg

I like it, and I will leave it alone.

I had to take mine off. The tune makes the engine noise louder. It was annoying. Without the tube you can hear engine just as well if not louder now.

Sent from my flux capacitor using Taptalk

Guys, the car has character, it has a sound tube... Whether you like it or not, it was built with the car, and meant to be part of the car.
Some like it, some don't; hence the delete options out there. (Own preference)

I personally love the way the car was built ground-up and how it was all so well thought of, every little detailed aspect of it. (Aside from all the glitches and bugs it has obviously)

I like it.

I dont like the idea of it, it feels like a gimmick.

That said im pretty new to driving standard and still just easing my way into the car, so if it helps me hear the engine rev maybe it is helping me learn when to shift. I could see myself eventually removing it though.

There's probably one in a BRZ also. Since it's attached to a boxer engine perhaps I should have blamed Subaru!!

The sound thingy adds 3db inside the cab. No thanks. I removed first week. I came from an S2000 with a pretty engine bay. I thought so anyway.
I disliked the way the tubes looked on the boxer, so removed the one I could... The engine bay is growing on me though...:happy0180:

It is lame. Poseur. Do you wear a Codpiece perchance? Same deal.

Harks back to sticking baseball cards in the spokes of your bike when you were a kid.
Should also note that the noise is annoying.

Other than that, I like it just fine.

Good analogy, except with modern technology There is probably an "App for that". Uses GPS to track your speed and varies the sound through your iPod headphones accordingly. :)

OMG I feel so OLD!:sigh:

I don't like really *loud* exhausts on street cars. Particularly 4-bangers that are slooow. The FR-S/BRZ are slooow, and the idea of a "sound tube" designed to make them sound fast is to me perfectly absurd. But at least it is confined to the inside of the car.
I like to hear what the engine is doing, but it doesn't have to be loud.

FWIW, my 240Z was pretty loud, but it made 255rwhp and was primarily a track car. Single 3" exhaust, Walker DynoMax muffler. 3x2 45mm carbs = lotta intake noise as well. Pretty glorious sound I must admit. But it was in the name of performance.

The V8 RX-7 is somewhat rumbly/grumbly around town, but really roars at WOT roaring up to 7000+ rpm. For ~525-540hp, it isn't that loud for normal usage. Headers into 2 x 3" into twin cats and single 3" aft of the Y into a Racing Beat muffler. Intake breathes from in front of the radiator, so not so much intake honk.

Both of those cars are louder than normal in the interests of making power. They sound great, but my intention wasn't making noise, it was maximizing power (or minimizing losses).

S2000 has stock exhaust, many aftermarket headers/exhausts for that car make a ton of noise while making less power! I *hate* how ear-piercing so many aftermarket exhausts are on that car.

Anyway, sound tube on the FR-S/BRZ adds zero power, adds weight and cost, takes up space. Stupid gimmick. IMO...

but do you enjoy the sound? i do.

The weird thing is not knowing what the car sounds like outside the car. It might be loud as hell inside, but whisper quiet outside, for all I know. Without a tube, at least I would now that it is loud outside.

Personally, I like it. And I don't feel as if it's cheating, because the sound isn't fake, it's just being amplified through a tube so that you can hear it. However, I plan on purchasing the TRD exhaust in the next few months, and at that point, I don't know how much extra sound the tube will really be producing.

I like it. :thumbsup: I like to keep my car 100% stock, so I wish it was even LOUDER since I won't be getting an aftermarket exhaust.

I prefer to hear the engine over the road/wind noise anyway.. not that there's alot of road/wind noise IMO, but anything to get the engine revs to be louder than other outside noise is good with me.

I have no problem with it, it's not like it's getting in the way when you have to do an oil change or anything.

And how much could it really weigh? If you're after weight savings you're probably better off just putting down that big Mac instead!

Rice rice baby

Red Tube TRD
http://youtu.be/NK1DcgcITHc?hd=1

Green Tube TRD
http://youtu.be/Wqrec3WBhXk?hd=1

Blue Tube TRD
http://youtu.be/6sAHDH69l00?hd=1

Funny enough, I had been thinking about picking a set of those up :D