How loud is too loud?

[ChinoCharles]

Weakest sound heard: 0dB
Quiet library: 30 dB
Normal conversation @ 3'-5': 60-70 dB
Telephone dial tone: 80 dB
City traffic inside car: 85 dB
Train whistle at 500 ft: 90 dB
Truck traffic: 90 dB
Subway train at 200': 95 dB
Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss: 90-95 dB
Snowmobile: 100 dB
Motorcycle: 100 dB
My Yaris at WOT: 102 dB

I actually wasn't allowed to autocross today because I was too loud. :laugh: It was a Porsche car club. Bunch of stuck up people. If my car was German they wouldn't have cared and there were Porsches there that were louder than me, but they didn't want to lose to an econobox. Can't blame them. I would get pissed at losing to something with half the displacement, too.

Grrrrrrrrr.

[gte123v]

102db at what distance?

[fmicle]

102db at what distance?

Probably with your ear glued to the exhaust ;-)

[ChinoCharles]

10 feet diagonally from the rear of the car.

He comes up with the decibel meter and I thought I heard him say "OK, put it on the floor and lets see what happens." Apparently he said "Put it to four and lets see what happens." I guess they measure @ 4000 RPM. Who knew. I did the test at WOT, hence fail, but I bounced the rev limiter a couple times, so either the guy thought I redlined at 4000 RPM (yeah right) or he just didn't care/actually didn't want me to run.

The external wastegate does not help in this situation.

[ChinoCharles]

I guess so man. It was nuts. They didn't even measure it... I pulled in and parked and walked up to the booth and he goes "who owns the Yaris?" I raised my hand and he goes "you can't run." I joked about going to Target to grab some poster board and markers and protest. I didn't fight it, but I went with 5 guys from my local car club and they fought up and down. They grabbed the dB meter and tested my car and it was in the 97-102 dB range. Their max is 95 dB, which any heavily modified car will usually eclipse unless there are a lot of doohickeys in the exhaust path. All I have is a muffler... no cats, no resonator. Anyway, he measured the car and goes "there, are you happy now?" I wasn't even the one fighting it! Pricks. If they think I'm dumb enough to think it was totally about the volume of the exhaust, they're insane. I was wearing a black shirt with a skull on it and driving a turbocharged Yaris. I know what was up. My buddy with a Hahn Racecraft turbocharged Saturn Sky with a weak tune (for now) was running rich and backfiring at what had to be a solid 110 dB, but I was the menace.

I'm calling it Yaris discrimination. :bellyroll:

Deepens my resentment for weekend racer autocross people that think blowing through cones in a parking lot makes them sweet. There are more elitist autocrossers than in any other form of motorsports IMO. That isn't to say they're all bad. I've met GREAT autocross enthusiasts. I've also met people that will laugh in your face if you run anything other than 5 certain sets of tires or if you're in the wrong gear coming into a turn. Can't be just about having fun... its SERIOUS BUSINESS. Puh-lease.

Drag strip Tuesday. People will run minivans and work trucks there. Nice and laid back. Good stuff.

[ChinoCharles]

That is awesome!

[Tamago]

time an exaust dump. throw that sound into the ground before it gets to the rear of the car. messes with the dB meters.

[ChinoCharles]

IE: wastegate dump tube? I think I have one.

[Bob Dog]

Rich sods really do hate and fear any hand that might beat money

[GeneW]

Rich sods really do hate and fear any hand that might beat money

They're also terrified of character.

"Old School" rich used to make their kids earn their things, force them to work "just a bit harder" and taught them humility. They were expected to carry on the "family tradition" that got them to their "current station".

Some were into "physical culture", a good example being Teddy Roosevelt, who came from money but worked hard to "fit in" with anyone.

Today, it seems, many but not all of the wealthy just don't have character. They are characters.

Gene

[Tamago]

i've never had problems with any PCA event i've been to. guess it's all in your attitude ;)

[Lazerdot]

The PCA is the sanctioning body that rents the space used for AX. Many times this ability is is limited by the folks who live in the area. As with airports, some people just love to make issues out of any noise. The PCA I run with will tell us all, it's a subjective but to protect the ability to AX they may not allow someone to run based on noise. Not the PCA's issue really just the reality of people, those that make noise and those who complain about it.

If in doubt it's probably to noisy, don't blame the club if they think so too.:burnrubber:

By the way, there are some snobs out there as they gauge our Yariss. Could be Yaris envy...