Cabin noise with CAI or SRI?

[hyperpm]

Car is daily driver along with our Outback and was wondering how much louder it gets in cabin with CAI or SRI? Any drone?

[desperado-c]

Car is daily driver along with our Outback and was wondering how much louder it gets in cabin with CAI or SRI? Any drone?

Can't talk about the SRI, but with a CAI it's definitely a lot more sound than stock. You get both the intake suction noise (like a gigantic straw would make, not my favorite) and the blowoff sounds (like those) when you let off the gas on boost. People who can hear high frequencies better than I can say they can hear the turbo spooling up too. No drone to speak of. I think that's more of an exhaust issue unless your just talking about engine noise on the highway. Somebody somewhere who had tried both commented that the CAI sounded louder to them b/c the sound is coming from the wheelwell instead the engine compartment where it is somewhat blocked off. They also said it had a tinny sound, which I agree with and don't care for, either

I took my CAI off and put the stock box back on for various reasons and was pleased to be able to hear the engine growl noise again. I miss the power, though, and ordered the Cobb to give it a try if they ever get back in stock. Then when and if they come out with a box, I'll probably get that, too, to cut down on the intake suction noise. Another positive for me on the Cobb is no tinny sound, either b/c it's short and doesn't resonate or b/c it's plastic.

[lestat13]

That's my issue, I LOVE the cobb power but now find the suction noise overpowering at times. I am looking forward to their cold air box design for that very reason

[mckraut]

It's only really noticeable under heavy throttle though. I've learned to live with it and the wife doesn't even mind it.

[ericm]

The AEM CAI generates quite a bit of suction noise at part throttle... about 1/3 to 1/2 is the worst. Less than that and there's nothing; more and it's less (and I can hear the turbo more, which is a much more pleasant sound).

At cruising speed it's as quiet as stock.

[intak3_bLkMs3]

yeah cobb sri is really noticeable man but i love... if you keep it under 3 grand wont ever notice it at all

[skeeter149]

i love it and think that it might be the noise of the turbo spooling not the intake sucking. not 100 percent but hey you bought a turbo car why noy listen to the sweet sound of spool?

[desperado-c]

i love it and think that it might be the noise of the turbo spooling not the intake sucking. not 100 percent but hey you bought a turbo car why noy listen to the sweet sound of spool?

Those two sounds are totally different. Turbo spool is a high-pitched whine since that sucker's spinning up to like 100k rpms. It's cool. Suction is like a giant vacuum cleaner noise. Not cool, IMO, and drowns out the engine growl. Doubly not cool.

[DaleNixon]

Ugh... I really really want to hear my turbo. I want the whooosh hissss sound so badly! I'm bone stock right now.

What would be the best way to achieve this? Would the Forge BPV do this for me with the stock airbox? Or would I be better off buying a Cobb SRI?

(ricer)

[Alexsered]

Ugh... I really really want to hear my turbo. I want the whooosh hissss sound so badly! I'm bone stock right now.

What would be the best way to achieve this? Would the Forge BPV do this for me with the stock airbox? Or would I be better off buying a Cobb SRI?

(ricer)

get the CP-E CAI, you wont be dissappointed.

[DaleNixon]

I'm pretty nervous about getting a CAI because of the amount of bad flooding we get on our roads in these parts. I know this has been beaten to death, so I won't ask to discuss that in this thread.

Anyone with a Cobb SRI want to chime in on whether or not you can hear the turbo without any other mods?

[Kain]

You don't hear the turbo with an intake. You hear the air rushing in through the filter. Some with an turbo inlet pipe have said it amplifies this sound. I probably heard the turbine spinning the most when I was stock.

[DaleNixon]

I guess I'll just buy a Forge BPV then. Assuming it won't void my warranty. I never hear whistling... maybe a mild whistling at times.

[lestat13]

You don't hear the turbo with an intake. You hear the air rushing in through the filter. Some with an turbo inlet pipe have said it amplifies this sound. I probably heard the turbine spinning the most when I was stock.

True, you never hear our turbo. The only time I have heard them is with catless full exhausts. And even then its only a spool down sound as you get off the gas. Intakes gives us a vacuum sound, but I would rather it be the spool sound too.

Really, the inlet pipe gives more vacuum sound but still no spool sound?? That's disappointing

[DaleNixon]

I guess it's time to go to faketurbo.com!

[leadf00t]

Ugh... I really really want to hear my turbo. I want the whooosh hissss sound so badly! I'm bone stock right now.

What would be the best way to achieve this? Would the Forge BPV do this for me with the stock airbox? Or would I be better off buying a Cobb SRI?

(ricer)

No, I installed my Forge BPV, and there is no sound difference between it, and the stock BPV. I have heard that it doesnt become audible until you install an aftermarket intake.

[DaleNixon]

Cool. I'm in the process of trying to find out what my dealer would do if I installed a Cobb SRI. Then I have to actually find a Cobb SRI.

[OMGWTFHAX]

Cool. I'm in the process of trying to find out what my dealer would do if I installed a Cobb SRI. Then I have to actually find a Cobb SRI.

Why dont you just get the SRI and keep the stock intake box? That way you know if you need to go in for warranty covered maintenence you can just re-install the factory box and no one's the wiser. Im doing that with my AEM CAI and Forge BPV Ive ordered.

[zenofspeed]

I dunno if this is true on the speed3, but on both my other cars (mr2 turbo and rx7 turbo) the best way to HEAR the Turbo was a Downpipe. If you put an ebay downpipe or equivalent on the car, the thin metal doesn't dampen the turbo spool and dramatically increases its volume.

[DaleNixon]

Why dont you just get the SRI and keep the stock intake box? That way you know if you need to go in for warranty covered maintenence you can just re-install the factory box and no one's the wiser. Im doing that with my AEM CAI and Forge BPV Ive ordered.

I thought about it. If the car died on the road and I had to invoke Mazda's roadside assistance, how the hell would I get it swapped before going to the dealer?

Also, if I do decide to do this, I'm not going to talk about it on the internet. Oh who am I kidding, it'll probably end up in my sig!

[gtlaw]

I guess I'll just buy a Forge BPV then. Assuming it won't void my warranty. I never hear whistling... maybe a mild whistling at times.

well it could void the warranty, but its so easy to remove that the dealer never has to see it.

with the stock box running the yellow spring its noticeable, but not loud

[lestat13]

I thought about it. If the car died on the road and I had to invoke Mazda's roadside assistance, how the hell would I get it swapped before going to the dealer?

Also, if I do decide to do this, I'm not going to talk about it on the internet. Oh who am I kidding, it'll probably end up in my sig!


My plan, in a worst case senario, have it towed home or to the nearest performance shop (or someone who will do downpipe) have them swap it, and then have it towed independently to mazda. Hell, $200-$300 for 2 tows is a lot cheaper than 10k for an engine. That downpipe is the only thing I haven't done on my car myself, but after hearing about it, it's something I am not comfortable attempting and risk something like stripping my turbo's threads

Intake or bpv/bov is a lot easier, but even if you have the stuff at home, tow home, swap, tow back.

[AutoEuphoria]

I didn't notice the turbo spooling noise until after I installed the CS catless downpipe. Now I can hear it spool up a bit, but you don't hear the noise for long.

[gtlaw]

I thought about it. If the car died on the road and I had to invoke Mazda's roadside assistance, how the hell would I get it swapped before going to the dealer?

Also, if I do decide to do this, I'm not going to talk about it on the internet. Oh who am I kidding, it'll probably end up in my sig!

for an intake, and BPV I would go home, get them, replace them where the car died then call roadside assistance

[MSMS3]

I guess we've gotten a little off topic, almost stolen the thread, regarding the noise level of SRI or CAI intakes, but I'll put my two bits in on the topic and on the turbo spooling sound. I'm long winded. Bear with me!

1. I'm still running the stock intake. This is partially because I do have a K&N CAI on another non-turbo vehicle I own and it is LOUD. It's one of those big cone filters inside a three sided metal box with the top open which seal when the hood's closed. It also has a particular annoying resonation at certain engine rpm's especially at throttle positions in between light throttle and WOT that really pisses my wife off. It is annoying enough that I do switch back and forth between it and the factory airbox with a K&N drop in filter after the noise starts getting even to me.

Oh, and did I mention that the thing is LOUD? This makes me hesitant to go with an aftermarket intake despite my other mods until someone comes up with an aftermarket airbox that muffles some of the sound. On my other vehicle I ended up putting a lot of Dynamat on the sides and bottom of the the K&N "box" and the underside of the hood above the box. This helped with some of the noise but did not help the resonation which is probably due to the intake tube. The Cobb SRI might not have that issue, but will still be loud.

2. About turbo "whine": Yep, it's high pitched but not very loud. I doubt you would hear much of that with the change in intake. But I am running the TurboXS DP/RP "stealth back" combo and you can hear the spooling, just barely on acceleration and a little more clearly on deceleration. It's not particularly bothersome.

3. But the exhaust drone and increased exhaust loudness of the DP/RP did lead me to cut (yeah, I held my breath on this but it worked out great) the RP and removed a 15 inch section from the middle long enough to insert and weld in a Vibrant 3 inch Ultra Quiet resonator. That thing works! It is a straight through design with a lot of sound absorbing material inside the outer shell. Because it is straight through, there is no restriction and no poer loss. Now I can hear the engine again and the drone is gone. Nice deep mellow sound and still have the full benefits of the catless 3 inch DP/RP.

Sorry about any hijacking of the thread. CAI or SRI = LOUD. Your choice.

If factory intakes are reasonably quiet on 400-500 horse new Corvettes, high flow and noise control can exist together. I don't really care for people to hear how "fast" my car is. I'd rather have them hear quiet and see taillights getting smaller and wonder why!

[desperado-c]

I guess we've gotten a little off topic, almost stolen the thread, regarding the noise level of SRI or CAI intakes, but I'll put my two bits in on the topic and on the turbo spooling sound. I'm long winded. Bear with me!

1. I'm still running the stock intake. This is partially because I do have a K&N CAI on another non-turbo vehicle I own and it is LOUD. ....

Sorry about any hijacking of the thread. CAI or SRI = LOUD. Your choice.

If factory intakes are reasonably quiet on 400-500 horse new Corvettes, high flow and noise control can exist together. I don't really care for people to hear how "fast" my car is. I'd rather have them hear quiet and see taillights getting smaller and wonder why!

I agree with everything you said. If you don't want loud intake noise you definitely need a fully enclosed box on your aftermarket intake. Even that might not be enough. Come on Cobb, let's get that box designed. If and when it comes out, I'll definitely give it a try. Might have to add some dynamat to quiet it down some more.

One note on resonance, the CP-E definitely had a tinny sound. I'm thinking that one benefit of the Cobb being made of plastic might be a lack of the tinny resonance which you seem to say you can get even with a short metal tube like that in an SRI.

[lestat13]

I have the cobb sri and I don't have any tin sound like you are describing. Unfortunately, I have the corksport stealthback and don't get any turbo whine sounds, but that is probably from the divorced wastegate design.... sad face....

[Dash08]

Ugh... I really really want to hear my turbo. I want the whooosh hissss sound so badly! I'm bone stock right now.

What would be the best way to achieve this? Would the Forge BPV do this for me with the stock airbox? Or would I be better off buying a Cobb SRI?

(ricer)

Hey man, Just do what I did.
Remove the bottom of the factory airbox from the car and zip tie the filter to the top of the box. Voiala!! Instant SRI!
You'll love it. I do. I love all of my turbo sounds!
You'll hear your factory BPV as well. It's awesome!!

[DaleNixon]

Is that safe?

[Dash08]

Is that safe?

Yep.
Been running it for about a month now. No problems.
I used 4 big zip ties, joined 2 of them, and wrapped it around the top box and filter. Just make sure you've got a good seal.
Sure, it's a bit ricey, but it works well!
If you don't like it, you can still switch back. PM me with any questions.

All of these guys are right though. The sounds are loud, specially the turbo suction through the intake (over 3000 RPM). So if you don't like the noise, stay with the stock airbox.

Sorry to jack the thread. Just trying to help someone out.

[desperado-c]

Yep.
Been running it for about a month now. No problems.
I used 4 big zip ties, joined 2 of them, and wrapped it around the top box and filter. Just make sure you've got a good seal.
Sure, it's a bit ricey, but it works well!
If you don't like it, you can still switch back. PM me with any questions.

All of these guys are right though. The sounds are loud, specially the turbo suction through the intake (over 3000 RPM). So if you don't like the noise, stay with the stock airbox.

Sorry to jack the thread. Just trying to help someone out.

How often do you have to change your filter?

[hyperpm]

Well I finally have Cobb SRI and it's turbo noise/suction above 3k rpms is quite loud especially if windows down and radio off. I like the noise but hoping I don't get tired of it. Power is amazing.

[Dash08]

How often do you have to change your filter?

It's too soon to tell. I've had it like this for 1 month, but it's looking good. Filter element is still white. Only a few very small patches of dirt. This is still the OEM filter too.

[Jasnall]

I did a BPV with my stock air box...no sounds

Installed my COBB Sri...woooowhooooooo! BPV sounds great

I believe you do hear the turbo spool with an intake, But like people are saying alot of the noise is the sound of air being sucked into the intake really fast, kinda like when you put ur hand on the hose of the vacuum and it makes that hissing sound. I friggin love it. But it is very noticeable windows up or down, just depends what you're looking for.

[DaleNixon]

I so want to hear the suck suck whoosh whoosh psssht psssht Cobb hurry the fuck up and ship my shit!