Cool thread! Thanks for sharing the cutaway pic of the exhaust and the links to the other stuff. Some really good info in this thread.

 

Great info in those links... thanks OZ!

 

Foosh you keep saying that the V6 without active exhaust sounds almost the same as the V6 with active exhaust and I must really disagree with this.

I drove both and also have listened to the startup and revs of two models literally next each other in the British Motors showroom in San Francisco and the V6 with active exhaust is MUCH louder.

If you go to a cars and coffee meet I suggest you try a side by side comparison with someone who has the active... There's no way one could come to the conclusion that they sound similar.

Both models have the spitting sound because that is generated engine-side via over-injection, but the exhaust-side sound is much louder with the active.

The reason most people buy the active exhaust is not because they want to be able to mute the car. It's because it sounds significantly louder and richer than the base model without the option. The difference isn't a point of subtle minutae that only an audiophile could discern. It's jaw droppingly, heart thumpingly palpable and that's why it's such an overwhelmingly popular option!

Btw our views may differ every now and then but I enjoy reading your posts on the forum

 

I'm glad my car has the active exhaust with the switch. I love the loud exhaust, but I also like my Neighbours. Keep it in off mode on my street and then hit the on mode as soon as I turn the cornet

 

yeah boys....take it out to the parking lot

 

Actually, what I thought I said (or was trying to say) was that the base exhaust was louder than the V6S (active exhaust) with the valves closed, which was interesting to me. I don't think I ever said that the base was louder than active exhaust with the valves open, but perhaps I wasn't clear enough. Just looking at the cutaway in this thread, it's clear to me that active exhaust has to be louder with the valves open.

In the article Oz posted, it was noted that the valves are always open on start-up, so if your observation is based upon start-up and revving the engines side-by-side, you are likely right. But, in normal street driving, the valves are often closed, unless you have the switch and select them to be open all the time. The V6S I drove did not have the switch. I think I also read that they are open in dynamic mode, and I don't think my test drives were in that mode.

I certainly realize that no one is buying active exhaust as an option to mute the car. In fact, I speculated above that it might be paradoxical that was what they were sometimes getting as an expensive option on the base car, unless they also purchased the console switch, drove in dynamic, or pulled the fuse to keep them open all the time.

Really, all I was saying is that the base exhaust is LOUD all the time, plenty loud enough for me, and with the valves closed, the V6S is quieter. In addition, I have noted that my impression was based upon what I was hearing inside the car during my limited test drives of both with a sales person sitting beside me in a busy urban area. Since my enjoyment of the car is not based upon standing outside and listening to the exhaust note, I'm not at all concerned about what spectators are hearing.

I also very much enjoy your contributions to this forum and find your posts always useful.