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Engine cover? I have a cunning plan..


Edmundo2

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I've seen a few vids re people having a blast driving Caymans with the engine cover removed. They sound great but no doubt the novelty wears off very quickly as the noise becomes tiring..

 

That said for the odd weekend blast a bit if extra mechanical noise might sometimes be nice when I'm in the mood. I've yet to try driving the car with just the carpeted cover removed but with the metal cover still in place but i should imagine it could strike the right balance of enough extra noise vs too much ? I'll try it when I'm next out but what are your experiences?

 

Like is often the case I guess it depends on what sort of mood you're in. On that basis I was thinking that if it sounds good I may find myself running like that for short weekend blasts but then refitting the carpeted cover when ever doing longer journeys.. The only down side is the bare metal cover being exposed feels and looks a bit cold/stripped/naff.

 

It's not a big deal but I was thinking....could I get the metal cover flocked in a colour matched grey to match the carpet? That way it still looks and feels stock/finished/warm at first glance when running without the carpeted cover but the flocking should barely add any thickness to the metal cover so I can then just fit the original padded/carpeted cover back over the top as and when I'm feeling less banzai?

 

Clearly I'm suffering from Covid boredom but it might only cost £50 or so which is a necessary return to realistic spending vs my recent mods and it would give me something to do..

 

Anyone tried it? Is it inspired or a stupid idea and a waste of time, money and flocking materials?

 

Ed

 

 

Edited by Edmundo2
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I've run with the complete engine cover removed & its mega loud lol...

I've also run with just the ali cover on and also the ali cover removed with just the carpet cover fitted!! ...Great sound of the induction roar through the plenum when giving the accelerator a prod! 🤣🤣

Whatever way you do it, its ridiculously loud!

I'd invest in a clear cover if they weren't so damn expensive & available in the UK!

 

I've also mounted my external Drift Ghost HD action cam mic in the engine bay to record the raw engine noise on trackdays 😁😁

Edited by Mavrik
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I've been running my R with both the top and behind the seats bulkhead carpet removed. Sounds about right to me.

 

Gen 2 has less engine mechanical and induction noise than a gen 1 though. The gen 2 also has a liner on the engine side of the aluminium covers that help dampen them slightly compared to a gen 1.

 

You'll get alot of engine heat soak into the top cover when you park up the car so windows need left down for an hour or so - beware of that if you've got no garage/driveway.

Edited by Andyoz
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Really helpful thanks and yes it will be interesting to see what's right in a Gen 1. I'll have a play about with it to see what it's like. My other option was to buy a second cover and carefully cut some big blocks of the foam away so that I can still re-insert them and choose between standard and loud..Also I'm not sure what flocking is like ref high temperatures? Would it be ok on the top side of the engine cover if I go with me original plan?

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I've had the idea to cut a small hole in the engine cover for a while. I reckon it would only need to be tiny too, though you'd probably want it right the way through to the engine bay and plug it with a bit of insulation and carpet so it's discrete.

 

It only takes a small break in the cabin seal to get a reasonable noise increase: try rolling down the windows just a millimetre. I'm sure you could make it more elegant and have it wired to a switch, too...

Edited by Hunter
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To update, having gone shopping in the croc today without the carpeted shelf I think my cunning plan was certainly worthy of Baldrick..Not only was the gap below the carpeted cover bigger than I remembered, ( meaning a flocked cover would look lost/pointless), but also the extra noise was not particularly nice, just a constant sucking of woosh of air rather than anything particularly mechanical..

😕

Still it was a good excuse for a drive..

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2 hours ago, Edmundo2 said:

To update, having gone shopping in the croc today without the carpeted shelf I think my cunning plan was certainly worthy of Baldrick..Not only was the gap below the carpeted cover bigger than I remembered, ( meaning a flocked cover would look lost/pointless), but also the extra noise was not particularly nice, just a constant sucking of woosh of air rather than anything particularly mechanical..

😕

Still it was a good excuse for a drive..


Try taking the metal cover off and going for a drive, that’s insanely loud! 

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Kinda depends upon what you want from the car. A 987.1 croc with one or both covers removed is a riot for a short period but would probably get very tiresome for longer drives or if you want to take a passenger (particularly a female one). You would also lose some practicality as you wouldn't be able to use the area above the engine as a shelf and you get water in if you go through a large puddle. 

 

However if you've not driven your croc with the cover removed then you should do so at least once!

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4 hours ago, eponymoose said:

 

Yeah, I've always found when you remove sound deadening cars just sound harsh and thrashy. Tried it on my gen 1 Croc and it just sounded like the engine was going to implode, not nice.

 

With cars like a GT3 with reduced sound deadening, it's still tuned / managed to make sure that the worst of the bad noises are damped. No doubt it's possible to increase the right noises but I think it would take me than just ripping bits out...

 

Its surprising just how much Porsche do control the sound you hear in the cabin.  My 991 has a 'sound symposa', which when I first read about it I was horrified it was similar to what BMW and others do, in that it plays pretend engine noise though the car speakers.  Thankfully it's not that, it's a relatively passive device which is essentially a tube through from the engine bay to the rear of the cabin, piping in real engine and intake noise to the cabin...now that I can live with, just about.   

 

 

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Yes I had pondered this..I was wondering if the carpet in the rear boot above the exhaust being removed might bring more desirable noise but to be honest that's not that practical/quickly reversible and starts heading towards race car..The problem I found with the engine cover was that the dominating noise is just a rushing of air which at sedate speeds is just annoying...

 

A bit more mechanical noise from gears and pistons or more exhaust noise would be nice but achieving this without excess road noise or the air intake flow noise becoming dominant is the key for me..

 

I've got Carnewal and 200cel headers + BMC/desnork already so it really doesn't need much more but was just a thought.. 

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@Edmundo2  Removing the carpet in the rear boot does increase the exhaust note, but get's very hot on track. I recorded 90 degrees once!

 

I remove the engine carpet cover when on track, but put it back again for the drive home to make it a little more bearable. Takes just 30 seconds to do, so easily reversible. 

 

Removing some of the sound deadening from the engine bay and surrounds increases mechanical noise a lot, not for everyones taste I'm sure. 

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What about a compromise of removing some of the engine cover sound deadening? Ie. Cutting holes (not all the way through) in the foam. 

 

This approach would probably allow you to maintain the shape of the cover whilst slightly reducing the deadening.

 

You could also probably save a bit of weight. The cover is pretty heavy

Edited by Lennym1984
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Hi Lenny, 

 

Yes that's possibly an option I'd pondered and was thinking I could chop a big block of the foam out but in such a way that you could re-insert the block, ( interference or Velcro), when you want it quiter..

 

However as mentioned the noise I noticed most was the air intake but not in a good way like induction roar. What I need to know is whether removing some foam would bring extra noise but still block out this noise? 

 

I will think on and poss have a play about. Cheers 

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1 hour ago, eponymoose said:

'Shaving' the foam underside of the engine cover carpet somehow to make it thinner could be another option.

 

Maybe buy one from a breakers to experiment...

Yes a used one to have a play with and most likely make mistakes on, ( measure twice , cut once, swear three times ), is probably the way forwards..

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2 hours ago, Martin Hamilton said:

This is just about tolerable - I made a cover to sit over the top for long journeys 

AAC39FCC-CDD6-47B9-8B54-3F37178BE694.jpeg

Gorgeous that, would love one that fits a 981.

 

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On 26/01/2021 at 15:31, Martin Hamilton said:

This is just about tolerable - I made a cover to sit over the top for long journeys 

AAC39FCC-CDD6-47B9-8B54-3F37178BE694.jpeg

Hi Martin

 

You made this or bought it from the US?

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  • 5 months later...

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