The sound of an engine is very important and one of the reasons you pay so much for a Lamborghini or Ferrari are the awesome engine noises. So, how can you make your whiny 4-cylinder sound like an exotic V10? Meet the SoundRacer V10.
How it works
Plug it into your cigarette lighter and it will read the rpm of your engine though the fluctuating current form the alternator. As the engine revs so does the alternator. The V10 soundtrack will play though your stereo system. A neat technical solution but does it work in practice?
Before I ordered the device I read reviews on Amazon. Some liked it some hated it. So, that wasn’t exactly useful. I decided to test it myself. Here is what I found.
Does it work?
In my research on Sound Engineering I came across the SoundRacer. This was MY IDEA a few years back and finally somebody overcame the tech challenges to made it a real product. I’ve contacted SoundRacer (a Swedish company) to get a sample for the review you are reading right now.
Once I figured out how to calibrate the system (it’s pretty easy) it became addictive. I started revving the engine everywhere, stayed in low gears and stomped on the gas as much as a could.
The V10 sounds the best just off idle (1000-1500 rpm), and develops into a scream anywhere past 3,000 rpm.
Word of caution. At the beginning you will get addicted to the sounds and rev you engine into stratosphere. After 15 minutes of testing my Audi A5 3.2 engine compartment emitted a wave of hot air and some funny rubber smells. Be careful with older cars as you might just push them to overheat.
As much fun as it was initially the novelty wore off. After one week I barely use it.
Here are the problems:
The sound quality is not good enough
It sounds realistic in idle and it sounds great just off idle (1000-1500 rpm) but once the rpm climbs it’s not good enough to fool anyone. To be host my V6 sounds better than the V10 from the speakers. And my stereo system is pretty good. I tested it in a 2009 Nissan Altima 4 cylinder and it sounded worse. I also took a 6 year old on a test drive and he liked it, but did not love it. So there you have it. If kids love it you have a winner.
It can’t keep up if you are driving fast
And that was the real deal breaker. I want the sound to change as the rpm change. Driving fast it could not keep up and it took too long to realize when I was shifting.
The only time it tracked accurately was at medium speeds. If you let the engine rev slowly it delivers a V10 sound in sink with the engine speed. But that is an unnatural way to dive. Either you floor the gas and rev high or you take it easy and shift early. Who slowly revs the engine until 5,000 without going fast?
It think this is a great idea, but I’m looking forward to the improved version 2.0.
As it is right now I can’t recommend it because it has limited usefulness. The sound needs to be more realistic and it needs to track the rpm’s quicker especially at gear changes. Other than that, I still love the idea. Please fix it and I’ll be the first to buy one.
You can get the SoundRacer in two versions: V8 and V10. I tested the V10 but the V8 is cheaper and *might* sound more realistic.
Links to Amazon.com:
SoundRacerV10 $49.95
SoundRacerV8 $39.95
read more posts on CraigSelection.com
How it works
Plug it into your cigarette lighter and it will read the rpm of your engine though the fluctuating current form the alternator. As the engine revs so does the alternator. The V10 soundtrack will play though your stereo system. A neat technical solution but does it work in practice?
Before I ordered the device I read reviews on Amazon. Some liked it some hated it. So, that wasn’t exactly useful. I decided to test it myself. Here is what I found.
Does it work?
In my research on Sound Engineering I came across the SoundRacer. This was MY IDEA a few years back and finally somebody overcame the tech challenges to made it a real product. I’ve contacted SoundRacer (a Swedish company) to get a sample for the review you are reading right now.
Once I figured out how to calibrate the system (it’s pretty easy) it became addictive. I started revving the engine everywhere, stayed in low gears and stomped on the gas as much as a could.
The V10 sounds the best just off idle (1000-1500 rpm), and develops into a scream anywhere past 3,000 rpm.
Word of caution. At the beginning you will get addicted to the sounds and rev you engine into stratosphere. After 15 minutes of testing my Audi A5 3.2 engine compartment emitted a wave of hot air and some funny rubber smells. Be careful with older cars as you might just push them to overheat.
As much fun as it was initially the novelty wore off. After one week I barely use it.
Here are the problems:
The sound quality is not good enough
It sounds realistic in idle and it sounds great just off idle (1000-1500 rpm) but once the rpm climbs it’s not good enough to fool anyone. To be host my V6 sounds better than the V10 from the speakers. And my stereo system is pretty good. I tested it in a 2009 Nissan Altima 4 cylinder and it sounded worse. I also took a 6 year old on a test drive and he liked it, but did not love it. So there you have it. If kids love it you have a winner.
It can’t keep up if you are driving fast
And that was the real deal breaker. I want the sound to change as the rpm change. Driving fast it could not keep up and it took too long to realize when I was shifting.
The only time it tracked accurately was at medium speeds. If you let the engine rev slowly it delivers a V10 sound in sink with the engine speed. But that is an unnatural way to dive. Either you floor the gas and rev high or you take it easy and shift early. Who slowly revs the engine until 5,000 without going fast?
It think this is a great idea, but I’m looking forward to the improved version 2.0.
As it is right now I can’t recommend it because it has limited usefulness. The sound needs to be more realistic and it needs to track the rpm’s quicker especially at gear changes. Other than that, I still love the idea. Please fix it and I’ll be the first to buy one.
You can get the SoundRacer in two versions: V8 and V10. I tested the V10 but the V8 is cheaper and *might* sound more realistic.
Links to Amazon.com:
SoundRacerV10 $49.95
SoundRacerV8 $39.95
read more posts on CraigSelection.com
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