[HN Gopher] Engine Sound Simulator
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Engine Sound Simulator
        
       Author : hyperific
       Score  : 287 points
       Date   : 2024-07-02 22:32 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (markeasting.github.io)
 (TXT) w3m dump (markeasting.github.io)
        
       | alopes wrote:
       | This is really good!
        
       | cathalc wrote:
       | This is truly music to my ears!
        
       | dsjoerg wrote:
       | Add buttons for people on mobile?
        
         | snthd wrote:
         | Even better, use the gyroscope.
        
       | Otek wrote:
       | hmm, I either don't know how to use it or it doesn't work in
       | Safari
        
         | peterfirefly wrote:
         | Reload. Click in the window. Then rev up the engine. It breaks
         | when you switch sounds -- so reload, select sound, click
         | somewhere, etc.
        
       | HeatrayEnjoyer wrote:
       | Tapping on the controls is broken. Typed text in gear number
       | field is erased immediately.
       | 
       | The app sounds fun. Excited to try it again later.
        
       | carlos-menezes wrote:
       | This is way too fun.
        
       | simse wrote:
       | reminds me of this masterpiece:
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKT-sKtR970
        
         | Clueed wrote:
         | I love his videos but all the sound demos are a a bit too much
         | sometimes :D
        
       | nsingh2 wrote:
       | Very cool, get to top RPM in gear 6 and drop down to gear 1 for
       | an ear-rending shriek.
        
       | xattt wrote:
       | This would be great to load up onto an RPi and put into a kids
       | toy. Maybe use it to pimp up one of those toddler steering wheel
       | sets.
        
         | hyperific wrote:
         | ^^ This.
         | 
         | I thought the same thing. I want to rig up a optical encoder to
         | a bicycle tire and use the output to drive the engine simulator
         | - make my bicycle sound like a sports car.
        
           | imiric wrote:
           | Way overengineered... Back in my day we were happy with
           | sticking a plastic bottle between the tire and frame :)
           | 
           | Looks like kids still do it today:
           | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWRv17qvM0s
        
             | hyperific wrote:
             | Granted, but can a plastic bottle be modified to make my
             | bike sound like a Star Wars speeder bike?
        
         | otteromkram wrote:
         | Why turn your kid into a degenerate before they've even reached
         | adolescence?
        
       | jcims wrote:
       | Fun! Would be funner if it handled the money shift.
        
       | elromulous wrote:
       | If you liked this, y'all owe it to yourselves to checkout
       | AngeTheGreat's channel. It's truly amazing work.
       | 
       | https://youtube.com/@angethegreat
        
         | fourteenfour wrote:
         | Yeah, I always look forward to their new developments. This is
         | similar to Ange's effort with SiliconX to add realistic engine
         | sounds to an electric motorcycle though this appears to be for
         | an electric race car.
        
         | jkingsman wrote:
         | Absolutely -- the procedurally generated fluid-sim engine sound
         | generator is just wild:
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bJTkBsiTPc.
        
           | genewitch wrote:
           | if you get to the 0.1.11a release and are annoyed that you
           | have to manually edit some file to change engines, you can
           | use 0.1.14a of the community edition of the software
           | https://github.com/Engine-Simulator/engine-sim-community-
           | edi...
           | 
           | it is almost the same except has some _severe_ qol
           | improvements.
        
         | kivle wrote:
         | For a less scientific approach LAxemann has some interesting
         | videos as well. He uses software synthesizers to create the
         | sounds. His introductory video is quite interesting:
         | 
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afvKUTIL4D8
         | 
         | He has other examples and updates on his channel as well.
        
         | dclowd9901 wrote:
         | That rigid body engine sim is, without a doubt, one of the
         | coolest software projects I've seen in my entire life. If only
         | we could get sim racers to adopt this tech.
        
           | willis936 wrote:
           | Ange's top patron is BeamNG, arguably the most physically
           | accurate sim racer out there right now (in some areas, it
           | still needs improvement). I predict within five years BeamNG
           | + engine sim will leapfrog what anyone else has done in this
           | area and recreated what we all thought video games were doing
           | when we were little kids.
        
       | Waterluvian wrote:
       | This is amazing. I think a small amount of window dressing would
       | make this a classic page people bookmark and return to frequently
       | just for fun. Especially if that make it mobile friendly.
       | 
       | Like even just two pedals and two flappy shifters on screen with
       | all those other tools hidden behind a collapse or whatnot.
        
         | gffrd wrote:
         | If you downshift with RPM too high, UI breaks off and falls to
         | floor of screen
         | 
         | Whole Page turns red when you hit RPM limit
         | 
         | Shift score. Can you pick the perfect shift point based on
         | sound alone?
        
           | fourteenfour wrote:
           | The sequel to Dragster for Atari 2600!
        
       | xnx wrote:
       | Tangentially: Does anyone know where to find a collection of the
       | low speed sounds emitted by electric vehicles (in the US at
       | least)? I'd be interest to hear the different approach different
       | manufacturers have taken.
        
         | ricktdotorg wrote:
         | i too would be very interested in this! i am for now a petrol
         | head but continue to be fascinated and also mildly irked by the
         | varying EV sounds.
         | 
         | some sound like galactic spaceships, some like weapons, some
         | like "blurred mechanical noise", and some are almost
         | indescribable in words. some can be semi-nightmarish.
         | 
         | i'd love to play with a soundboard that had all the different
         | EV manuf sounds on it.
        
           | dylan604 wrote:
           | Shortly after moving into my current place, I would randomly
           | hear this hum that for the life of me I could not figure out
           | what it was. I had even looked at maps to look for some sort
           | of place nearby that might make sense. It wasn't a constant
           | hum, and there was seemingly no schedule for it. A week ago,
           | I just happened to be in my drive way instead of the fenced
           | backyard when I heard the noise. It was my neighbor's EV
           | <facepalm>
        
             | rootusrootus wrote:
             | There was a short moment when I thought the future looked
             | like no fumes and no noise (well, at least no engine noise;
             | tires are quite loud at speed). And then the government
             | decided that EVs should not be quieter than ICEVs, in fact
             | they should be _louder_. And some of the hybrids on the
             | roads (looking at you, Toyota) are the loudest of them all.
             | 
             | Different strategies for different cars, though.
             | 
             | My neighbor's Highlander hybrid is audible a couple blocks
             | away as it comes into the neighborhood.
             | 
             | Our old Bolt EV was not quite as loud, but still
             | distinctive and never a surprise to anyone as it came down
             | the street.
             | 
             | My Model 3, however, makes a white noise sound going
             | forward that you don't really notice aside from _very_ low
             | (single digit) speeds in a very quiet environment. But in
             | reverse, it howls pretty loudly, and is probably louder
             | than any of the hybrids.
        
           | dekhn wrote:
           | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWxrK_3LlEr9WsfOL8N41.
           | ..
           | 
           | I absolutely love the reverse sound my Toyota RAV4 Prime
           | (hybrid) makes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUT94MBt_Ao
           | To me, it sounds like the future. Sort of a hovering UFO.
           | People's heads definitely turn when I back out of my
           | driveway.
        
             | ttul wrote:
             | When I first got a RAV-4 hybrid, I had no idea that this
             | sound was being pumped out of a speaker. I thought it was
             | an artifact of the electric motor. As it happens, companies
             | spend a lot of time designing their unique electronic sound
             | as a signature of the vehicle. My dog has learned to
             | recognize the sound and he barks when the car is as much as
             | 1km away.
        
               | xnx wrote:
               | Video coincidentally posted today that details some of
               | the design requirements of these sounds: "What should an
               | electric car sound like?" (
               | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnAGXvVNMB8)
        
             | repler wrote:
             | I think you're the only one.
             | 
             | I wouldn't mind as much if the volume wasn't 5 times louder
             | in reverse than drive.
        
             | WheatMillington wrote:
             | That sounds horrible.
        
             | scoot wrote:
             | Let me make sure I've got this right... According to the
             | video, if the driver of a Toyota EV reverses through a
             | "cross walk", and hits a pedestrian, it's the pedestrian's
             | fault for not getting out of the way?
             | 
             | And, in order to prove that it must be the pedestrian's
             | fault for not noticing the vehicle reversing through said
             | cross walk, the vehicle omits an obnoxious noise at high
             | volume?
        
               | dekhn wrote:
               | I didn't watch the video, but both practically and
               | legally speaking, in the US when a car hits a pedestrian
               | it's considered the car driver's fault, excepting some
               | circumstances. The noise doesn't have anything to do with
               | it- cars have to stop for pedestrians in marked
               | crosswalks, and should stop at any formally defined
               | crosswalk (not all "crosswalks" are directly labelled or
               | signed as such).
        
           | smitelli wrote:
           | My main objection to the newer EV sounds is that they are
           | tonal enough to be recognized as a musical chord, but not a
           | pleasant one. It's either vaguely minor like a horror movie
           | score, or a downright dissonant mash of pure sines.
        
           | Tao3300 wrote:
           | > semi-nightmarish
           | 
           | There's one I hear regularly that sounds like a choir of
           | demons.
        
             | spdustin wrote:
             | Is it the Honda hybrid sound? I owned two hybrid CR-Vs
             | (loved those cars, but got into an accident one year ago
             | today that totaled a three month-old CR-V hybrid and car
             | prices went up so fast we had to downgrade). We always
             | called it "Hell Choir". It makes for an amusing contrast to
             | the horn, which sounds like a clown car.
             | 
             | https://youtu.be/K_7Hd3M2qrc
        
         | buildsjets wrote:
         | I'm not going electric unless I can choose the Hampsterdance as
         | my motor sound.
        
           | rootusrootus wrote:
           | I really hope we can get to a point where there are multiple
           | approved sounds to choose from. If the car has to make noise,
           | might as well be able to select from some options.
           | 
           | Probably won't see Hampster Dance approved, however...
        
           | addled wrote:
           | On the one hand, yes!
           | 
           | But more realistically, think of the headache of trying to
           | keep your engine's Hampsterdance in sync with the
           | Hampsterdance blaring from your car's stereo, (as it
           | naturally would be).
           | 
           | Not to mention all the other excellent tracks on
           | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampsterdance:_The_Album
        
           | vardump wrote:
           | Seems like a great choice.
           | 
           | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WpMlwVwydo
           | 
           | I think I'll petition NHTSA etc. to make this song mandatory
           | for electric vehicles.
        
         | wumms wrote:
         | i3 with Jetsons sound (fake but fun):
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NgSZ8sjDgU
        
         | akira2501 wrote:
         | I recently started getting something related in my youtube
         | recommendations and that is the recordings of PWM motor signals
         | from japanese and american trains[0]. There's also people
         | building their own boards and motors to generate these same
         | waveforms[1].
         | 
         | [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgxlM_kiDL0 [1]:
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0B2bvd9rFQ
        
         | seoulmetro wrote:
         | God, the Hyundai sounds are terrible in Korea. They sound like
         | a UFO and are very loud. They tried to go too hard with the
         | future vibe and it drives me nuts living in the small streets
         | of a very busy Seoul.
         | 
         | Oh my god it actually sounds like a more high pitched version
         | of the Jetsons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NgSZ8sjDgU
         | 
         | Edit: Found it, look how loud this shit is!
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgvUu2YZ5ps
        
           | xnx wrote:
           | Having a loud/annoying low-speed sound would be a dealbreaker
           | for any EV purchase.
        
             | seoulmetro wrote:
             | That's the thing. When you're driving you most likely can't
             | even hear it unless it's dead quiet (and when it's dead
             | quiet these things don't adjust, they are LOUD).
        
           | s1gsegv wrote:
           | I did notice this when I had a city apartment with a window
           | facing the street: regulators have not taken noise pollution
           | into consideration. They made it very loud so as to be sure
           | to alert all pedestrians, which is good, but it is also far
           | more noticeable than a quiet ICE in several situations. If
           | I'm in a building, I really do not want to hear a vehicle!
           | Noise pollution is a real problem and the current regulations
           | unfortunately do step backwards in my opinion.
        
             | seoulmetro wrote:
             | It will happen eventually... hopefully. I'm usually ahead
             | on my complaints to the average Joe. So since I started
             | complaining a couple years ago I give it til next year to
             | start being enforced.
        
           | tedd4u wrote:
           | Holy crap, is that modified or do they all sound that loud?
           | And not just in reverse? Not the future we were promised.
        
             | seoulmetro wrote:
             | They all sound like this (the newer models obviously,
             | probably as far back as 2020)
             | 
             | I'm sure there's a way to hack it and turn it off... but
             | who's going to do that?
        
       | HanClinto wrote:
       | Absolutely delightful!
       | 
       | This is way more fun than it has any right to be.
        
       | explorigin wrote:
       | Automation (game) does a pretty good job of simulating sounds:
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkU5KkF_L4I
        
       | mosfets wrote:
       | Anyone know good tutorials for simulating drone/airplane
       | propeller sound?
        
         | dylan604 wrote:
         | That would be an awesome PsyOps sound to get people looking in
         | the wrong direction
        
           | hyperific wrote:
           | This is a scary but incredible idea.
        
             | dylan604 wrote:
             | It'd probably much cheaper just to fly a set of drones in
             | the area rather than deploy a full PsyOps team and gear.
             | They do it with actual jets while the actual attackers are
             | flying in fast and low from the opposite direction now that
             | you've sortied your defensive aircraft towards the bait.
        
           | draugadrotten wrote:
           | Used to have fun back in my childhood playing Round Sounds
           | from a set of speakers on the roof of the apartment building.
           | People on the street started looking for the airplane.
           | 
           | https://aircraftrecords.com/products/round-sounds-
           | volume-1?v...
        
       | genewitch wrote:
       | wow, most of the time the engine sounds of cars designed to go
       | 0-100 quickly sounds super generic, but this i can actually get
       | to sound like two different cars i've owned. I could almost get
       | it to sound like a Lancer Evo X but there's no blowoff or turbo
       | sound... maybe in the next version!
        
       | a2128 wrote:
       | Looks like this uses soundbanks instead of actually simulating an
       | engine like AngeTheGreat's simulator. The author of this one has
       | published their source code here
       | https://github.com/markeasting/engine-audio
        
       | mywittyname wrote:
       | Pretty cool!
       | 
       | Downshifting under braking doesn't feel accurate. Most fast cars
       | brake like 2-4x their acceleration rate, but in this sim, the
       | braking feels more like 100x.
       | 
       | The sound of an engine under decel is just as awesome as
       | acceleration.
        
         | jachee wrote:
         | Deceleration is where you get fuel overrun and backfires, too!
         | VrOOOOooomm-pa-pop-pow-ooooom.
        
           | LoganDark wrote:
           | Slightly off-topic, but I hate when people modify their
           | engine / exhaust system to do this on purpose, just to be
           | obnoxious. You're not cool, dude. You're just a jerk.
        
             | otteromkram wrote:
             | No, this is 100% on point. I support your comment and it
             | isn't off topic at all.
             | 
             | They are certainly cunts and it would be amazing if police
             | actually enforced noise ordinances for passenger vehicles
             | at some point. Fingers crossed! As always!!
        
       | jonwilks wrote:
       | The smile on my face...
        
       | jonwinstanley wrote:
       | This is great!
       | 
       | For a game I was making years ago, I tried to make a "crowd
       | noise" generator. As in for a football/soccer match.
       | 
       | But it was not my skillset and I failed miserably.
       | 
       | Does anyone know of something that might get me started?
        
         | rzzzt wrote:
         | A non-procedural approach might be easier: collect loops of
         | baseline murmurs / elevated cheering / peak ecstatic crowd and
         | vary the volume of each based on what is happening on screen.
         | If you have variants of each "energy level" you can also
         | smoothly fade between them, queuing the next one randomly as
         | the current version runs out. This way the wrap-around point
         | should not be that noticeable.
         | 
         | Something similar is done for music that varies according to
         | gameplay intensity:
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_music
        
         | sangnoir wrote:
         | This is sometimes known as "walla". This tutorial is specific
         | to Sound Particle (audio app), but the basics can be
         | implemented easily from scratch.
         | https://youtu.be/nigFrC2mORk?si=Cktdb3aTrIs5vUbB
        
       | rootusrootus wrote:
       | More fun than I expected. Now I want more engine sounds. I wonder
       | how hard it would be to contribute new engine models. Like, what
       | is the recording process and processing required to build the
       | source sounds.
        
       | culebron21 wrote:
       | I touch Theta param in the left part of it, and the sound
       | disappears, all the numbers go mad into infinity and then become
       | NaN. Also there's no sound if none is selected in controls, but
       | changing anything in controls makes the same effect -- all params
       | spiral into infinity. Not fun.
        
       | numbsafari wrote:
       | I've got one of these. It's called a toddler.
        
         | genter wrote:
         | I've also got one. It's called my jackass neighbor.
        
           | numbsafari wrote:
           | Frank? That you?
        
       | jagged-chisel wrote:
       | OT, sound simulator related:
       | 
       | I recall a thunder simulator (generator?) from years ago. You
       | could draw/modify a "line" representing the ground surface, give
       | it a few seconds, and it would output thunder. Early-ish internet
       | days, Java applet. Might have been on a university web site.
       | 
       | I tried searching fairly recently and came up empty handed. Is it
       | possible that _anyone_ here on HN might remember this and have a
       | reference? I would settle for a paper.
        
       | rzzzt wrote:
       | Around 5000 RPM I get transported to the back seat of a two-
       | stroke Trabant struggling to reach 70 km/h on a mild incline.
        
       | giobox wrote:
       | You can sort of "heel and toe" with the space and b keys, while
       | shifting down. Use the same finger for both keys for added
       | realism.
        
       | jellydonut9 wrote:
       | Partially related: I love the sounds of electric vehicles.
       | They're so futuristic and weird! If you close your eyes, you can
       | imagine a spaceship instead of a car.
        
       | bring_back_sky wrote:
       | Digital sound is criticized but creating fake analog sound is
       | celebrated.
       | 
       | [1] Hyundai Ioniq 5 N https://youtu.be/HZczpFsv9ZY
       | 
       | [2] The Secret To Making Your Car Sound Like An Old F1 Racer Is
       | Found Under Pressure https://jalopnik.com/the-secret-to-making-
       | your-car-sound-lik...
        
       | inasio wrote:
       | Free startup idea: Restomod an old Porsche/Mustang into electric
       | and keep the rumble and feel of a big V8.
       | 
       | Needs: Engine sounds, haptic seats, and a few small modifications
       | (e.g. clutch pedal, gear stick)
        
         | TheLoafOfBread wrote:
         | Cars are already having in-built engine sound simulators,
         | especially ones with manual gear to force people shift when
         | necessary.
        
       | adolph wrote:
       | It would be interesting to see an engine sound sim with various
       | malfunctions, sort of like the call-in part of Click and Clack.
       | 
       | Just this afternoon my daughter asked why a car was making a
       | particular sh-hiss between some cylinder beats and I speculated
       | it was a small head gasket leak between cylinders allowing some
       | of the ignited gases to expand into exhaust. Maybe it was
       | something else though, maybe crispy cooked feline remains against
       | a fan belt.
        
       | ElCapitanMarkla wrote:
       | My 4 year old is loving this
        
       | osigurdson wrote:
       | I managed to get negative RPM - cool!
        
       | osigurdson wrote:
       | I'd like to hear a gas turbine sound simulator. It would be cool
       | to hear a T700 (Blackhawk engine) enter the critical RPM ranges
       | for example.
        
       | phs318u wrote:
       | Reading a lot of the comments it seems that most people here are
       | keen to have otherwise quiet cars fitted with fake sounds. While
       | I appreciate there's a safety aspect to making some sort of sound
       | for pedestrians, I am actually looking forward to a future that
       | makes cities and heavy traffic areas both quieter and cleaner. If
       | you live in such areas, this would be a great quality of life
       | improvement and dare I say, may improve property values in such
       | places.
       | 
       | I'd hate to think that 20 years from now I'll still be subject to
       | morons deciding to delight the neighbourhood at 2am with their
       | overblown engine sounds.
        
         | fnordpiglet wrote:
         | Yeah Skeuomorphic EVs is a bad idea.
        
           | DonHopkins wrote:
           | I kinda like the Skeuomorphic Brooke 25/30-HP Swan Car, which
           | has Eerie Glowing Skeuomorphic Swan Eyes, can Rudely Spray
           | Skeuomorphic Steam from its Skeuomorphic Swan Beak to clear a
           | passage in the streets, can Obnoxiously Skeuomorphically Honk
           | with an exhaust-driven, eight-tone Gabriel horn that can be
           | operated by means of a keyboard at the back of the car, and
           | can Disgustingly Dump Skeuomorphic Bird Shit onto the road
           | through a valve at the back of the car.
           | 
           | It even has a baby daughter, Cygnet The Baby Swan Car!
           | 
           | I bet Elon Musk and every CyberTruck owner would love to
           | drive a CyberSwan.
           | 
           | https://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/car/brooke-25-30-hp-swan-
           | car...
           | 
           | Brooke 25/30-HP Swan Car
           | 
           | This Brooke Swan Car is truly extraordinary. It was the
           | creation of the eccentric and wealthy Scotsman Robert Nicholl
           | 'Scotty' Matthewson, who lived in early 20th century
           | Calcutta, the capital of what was then British India
           | 
           | Matthewson wanted to shock the local elite with his car, and
           | he certainly succeeded in doing so.
           | 
           | The bodywork represents a swan gliding through water. The
           | rear is decorated with a lotus flower design finished in gold
           | leaf, an ancient symbol for divine wisdom. Apart from the
           | normal lights, there are electric bulbs in the swan's eyes
           | that glow eerily in the dark. The car has an exhaust-driven,
           | eight-tone Gabriel horn that can be operated by means of a
           | keyboard at the back of the car. A ship's telegraph was used
           | to issue commands to the driver. Brushes were fitted to sweep
           | off the elephant dung collected by the tyres. The swan's beak
           | is linked to the engine's cooling system and opens wide to
           | allow the driver to spray steam to clear a passage in the
           | streets. Whitewash could be dumped onto the road through a
           | valve at the back of the car to make the swan appear even
           | more lifelike.
           | 
           | The car caused panic and chaos in the streets on its first
           | outing and the police had to intervene. Matthewson sold the
           | car to the Maharaja of Nabha, whose family owned it for over
           | seventy years.
           | 
           | The car was discovered years later in its original state,
           | albeit in poor condition. The sumptuous Indian silk
           | upholstery had been eaten away by rats.
           | 
           | In 1991 it came into the ownership of the Louwman Museum and
           | was fully restored. New upholstery was commissioned from an
           | Indian weaving mill following the discovery of remnants of
           | the original material under the seats. All the gadgets were
           | made to working order again. In 1993 the Swan won the Montagu
           | Prize at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in
           | California.
           | 
           | https://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/masterpieces-of-
           | mobility/swa...
           | 
           | Designed to shock
           | 
           | The Brooke 'Swan Car' is truly extraordinary. It was the
           | creation of the eccentric and wealthy Scotsman Robert Nicholl
           | 'Scotty' Matthewson, who lived in early 20th century
           | Calcutta, the capital of what was then British India.
           | Matthewson wanted to shock the local elite with his car, and
           | he certainly succeeded in doing so.
           | 
           | Quite a sight!
           | 
           | The car's first outing in the streets of Calcutta lead to
           | newspaper headlines: "Women screaming" and "animals in the
           | streets scattered in all directions". At the time traffic in
           | Calcutta was already very busy and chaotic. The authorities'
           | response was to be expected: they banned the car from public
           | roads.
           | 
           | A work of art on wheels
           | 
           | The body represented a swan, probably inspired by Swan Park
           | in Calcutta where Matthewson lived. The accessories are just
           | as quirky as the body of this work of art on wheels. In
           | particular the system that allowed hot water to be sprayed
           | from the swan's beak and the brushes used to keep the tyres
           | clean.
           | 
           | The Maharaja of Nabha
           | 
           | Matthewson decided to sell the car. A buyer was found in the
           | person of the Maharaja of Nabha. After a conflict with the
           | neighbouring principality, the Maharaja was forced to
           | abdicate. His son, at the time 9 years old, succeeded him.
           | The Baby Swan was built specially for him and beautifully
           | complements the Swan Car.
           | 
           | Meet the Swan Car
           | 
           | The cars didn't see much use and in the 1980s part of the
           | Maharaja of Nabha's car collection was sold, including the
           | famous Swan Cars. Both cars were acquired by the Louwman
           | Museum and subjected to a thorough restoration.
           | 
           | https://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/car/cygnet-the-baby-swan-
           | car...
           | 
           | Cygnet The Baby Swan Car
           | 
           | To accompany the large 'Swan Car' The Maharaja of Nabha had
           | this smaller version made for use on his estate in the 1920s.
           | 
           | The body was hand-beaten from steel sheet and fitted with an
           | electric motor. It was called the 'Baby Swan' or 'Cygnet'.
           | Note the cygnets at the front. This is probably the oldest
           | Indian-made automobile.
           | 
           | Both cars are now reunited in the museum, like 'mother and
           | daughter'.
        
         | otteromkram wrote:
         | Yes! I've already written NHTSA and US DOT about getting these
         | synthetic noises banned. The more people who do the same, the
         | more likely it'll get noticed.
         | 
         | Now, we just have to figure out how to include motorcycles...
        
           | fragmede wrote:
           | you know they're the ones that required them, right?
        
           | sandworm101 wrote:
           | >> getting these synthetic noises banned.
           | 
           | Not possible. Db limits are one thing, but a content-based
           | rule would be akin to banning certain types of music.
        
         | IAmGraydon wrote:
         | Unless I'm missing something, these sounds only occur inside
         | the car. Can you explain how that affects you?
        
           | constantcrying wrote:
           | EVs at low speeds need to produce external sounds to warn
           | pedestrians.
        
           | techwiz137 wrote:
           | In ICE cars, some people remove the mufflers and modify the
           | exhaust for louder and more deeper sounds.
        
             | anentropic wrote:
             | anti-social vehicles
        
           | lobochrome wrote:
           | Oh but they don't! Lots of German "performance" cars now have
           | speakers under the car to make obnoxiously loud sounds. They
           | can't produce them naturally because the muffler regulations
           | prohibit unfiltered exhausts - hence speakers.
           | 
           | AMG, Audi RS, M Power - they all do it.
        
             | florieger wrote:
             | Do you have an AMG example? Afaik they only play engine
             | sounds in the interior.
        
           | USiBqidmOOkAqRb wrote:
           | Yes, you are missing something. Query for your favorite
           | search engine is "active sound exhaust system". This is how
           | it affects me.
        
         | HPsquared wrote:
         | I wonder if they could go the other way and use loudspeakers
         | for external active noise cancellation.
        
           | pancsta wrote:
           | wtf is external noice cancellation
        
             | eclecticfrank wrote:
             | I believe they refer to something similar to this:
             | https://youtu.be/y2RAsubSDAk?si=anuRAPCCI9Z0NQMJ&t=144
             | 
             | Sorry, for the obnoxious video. I couldn't find another
             | quick example.
        
           | doubled112 wrote:
           | https://www.jdpower.com/cars/shopping-guides/what-is-
           | active-...
           | 
           | They already do have active noise cancelling, but I believe
           | it is to benefit the passengers.
        
         | deadbunny wrote:
         | Having lived in apartments on many busy roads in my life the
         | main source of noise from cars is tyre noise, not engine noise.
        
           | bmcahren wrote:
           | Try living downtown in South Florida.
        
         | basil-rash wrote:
         | By far the worst offenders when it comes to neighborhood car
         | sound are EV's. They have decided across the board to blast the
         | most bone chilling drone imaginable every time they are backing
         | up a driveway or driving at low speed - you know, the kind of
         | thing that happens in neighborhoods all the time.
         | 
         | The tone itself is the worst part. It's as if it was
         | specifically engineered by top audio scientists to be as
         | repulsive as possible (that's probably exactly what happened),
         | then they turned the volume dial up to 11 so it's still grating
         | even in your house several doors down. I believe Tesla led the
         | charge here, but now they're all equally guilty of disturbing
         | the peace and wanton noise pollution.
         | 
         | Just play a nice v8 sound at a reasonable volume for gosh sake!
        
           | hollerith wrote:
           | I like the hissing sound that some delivery trucks started
           | making about a decade ago.
           | 
           | Experiments show that people can determine the direction of a
           | hiss (a sound composed of many frequencies) better than a
           | beep or a pure tone.
        
           | qrohlf wrote:
           | There's some regulation here to contend with that mandates
           | these EV sounds have to include a 1khz-4khz tone which is
           | probably what you're noticing since it's on the higher end of
           | the usual urban audioscape. The Verge did an interesting
           | piece on this recently -
           | https://www.theverge.com/24182348/ev-sounds-low-speed-
           | survey...
        
       | wmsmith wrote:
       | Reminds me of the sound racer v8[0]. This gismo was a lot more
       | fun that people gave it credit for -- it read the rpm from the
       | 12v signal in the power and modulated a v8 over fm. Had a blast
       | in my little four cylinder sounding like a beefy v8!
       | 
       | [0] https://www.soundracer.se/?p=98&p2=505
        
       | richrichardsson wrote:
       | I love that when you get to max RPM in 6th gear and then just
       | downshift to 1st you hit comically high RPMs!
        
         | willis936 wrote:
         | More than you ever wanted to know about this.
         | 
         | https://youtu.be/p9SbDvMhCFs
         | 
         | And a decent specimen.
         | 
         | https://youtu.be/EjHMkkkLQaU
        
           | al2o3cr wrote:
           | The best/worst of those videos are the ones where you can
           | actually HEAR a bunch of metal bits hit the ground right
           | after the shift :)
        
       | DonHopkins wrote:
       | I liked to lie to people that my big old modular Thinkpad (the
       | one with two bays for batteries, disk drives, cdroms, etc) had a
       | tiny gas generator module in it to charge up the batteries, then
       | I'd mime pulling the start cord, while surreptitiously playing a
       | loud audio file of a chainsaw starting up and running, to prove
       | it.
        
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