488 engine sound generator !!!!!!!!!

Do you know at the 2020 s beginning, every Ferrari produced " must have " 69 db max ?

 

This subject came up in the F80 thread and I was ready to post - like people did in this thread - that it was just a membrane to transmit sound, like on the 599 GTO and many other cars, but then I looked up the part at Scuderia, and they say the following.

SOUND GENERATOR
Product Description:

Ferrari part number 310096 is a sound generator. It is used to enhance the engine sound of Ferrari vehicles. It is typically installed in the intake manifold or exhaust system, and uses a speaker to generate a more powerful and exciting sound.

Sound generators are often used in turbocharged and hybrid vehicles, as the engines in these vehicles can be quieter than traditional gasoline engines. Ferrari uses sound generators in many of its vehicles, including the 488, California T, F12, GTC4, F8, and SF90.

The purpose of the sound generator is to improve the driving experience by making the car sound more powerful and exciting. It can also help to create a more immersive driving experience, as the driver feels more connected to the car and its engine.

It is important to note that sound generators are not used to increase the actual performance of the car. They simply enhance the sound of the engine.

We at Scuderia Car Parts have an in-depth knowledge of the parts we sell, and can help you buy this part seamlessly. Feel free to send an enquiry to our team regarding this part.

310096 SOUND GENERATOR for Ferrari 296, 488 & more

If correct (and we have to assume it is), this is pretty damning evidence. I've read that on the Corvette C8, they play sound through the interior speakers, but unlike for example the GR86/BRZ that plays a synthesized sound, they apparently have a microphone somewhere near the engine and they amplify only certain frequencies of the engine.

Contacted by Motor1.com, Chevrolet has issued a response: “If customers like how the seventh generation sounds, then they will love the sound of the LT2 engine in their 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. The car actually uses the exact same strategy and execution as all seventh-generation Corvettes, including the 2019 ZR1. It’s important to note, nothing coming out of the speakers would sound like an engine on its own. We rely on the engine for all of the audio content, but given the passby requirements and the multiple cavities between the exhaust tips and the driver, some frequencies are lost and need to be supplemented. This results in an engaging and visceral driving experience, as our seventh-generation owners can attest to.”

In that sense it is not completely synthetic, because the sound is not synthesized as such, it is amplified portions of 'real' engine sound, but I wouldn't call it natural.

The specifics of this Ferrari speaker are unknown to me based on the info above, maybe it simply amplifies the sound it receives through the pipe, maybe it plays sound from one or more microphones around the engine or exhaust, maybe it plays a synthesized sound that mixes with the natural sound in the pipe. The exact strategy determines how synthetic the sound is, but there is no denial that the sound is not natural sound like on the 599 GTO, that pipes in the sound, without any speaker.



In this system part 28 is simply a membrane to only let the sound through (and not air). So the sound is 'natural', it can only be altered or enhanced by the shape and choice of materials. Or as Ferrari themselves wrote in the 599 GTO press release:

A careful choice of materials and geometry has made it possible to bring into the passenger compartment, in correct proportion, and emphasizing some frequencies, the intake sound harmonized with the sound of the exhaust, which present a 6-in-1 manifold scheme, exactly as on the track car.

I am very sensitive to fake engine sounds in the cabin in YouTube reviews, and to be honest I have not noticed the 'fakery' in 296, SF90 or 488 reviews, so I guess there is merit to placing the speaker inside the hot or cold sound tube as opposed to using the speakers in the cabin. The audio signal being played by the sound generator might originate from engine sounds like on the Corvette, but we don't know that in Ferrari's case. So while possibly not synthetic, it is certainly not natural and thus artificial on the F-cars with the sound generator. Which is basically all of them these days (see list).

 

I will say I have found no evidence for electronic connections to this part, not in the manuals nor visually (do a google image search for "ferrari 310096"), but I can't ignore Scuderia saying it is a speaker, and there is also such a thing as a passive radiator.

If it is merely a passive radiator then it is sort of a glorified membrane, and not all that artificial.

 

The similar price of the old membrane and new sound generator further supports it is not an active speaker, which I guess should be a relief to some.

 

I was reading your post above and thinking ..it's a passive radiator...like on some home audio speakers. Yep!!!

 

Yes, the evidence seems to point in that direction. It is probably also more heat-resistant than the 'Membrane Holder Housing' in the 599 GTO, since it is now also placed in or near a hot tube as part of the exhaust system in the SF90 family.



The 296 family apparently has both a hot tube (to pipe in sound from the exhaust) and a 'cold' tube (to pipe in sound from the intake), and they placed the Sound Generator in the cold tube (after the intercooler if I'm understanding the diagrams correctly), roughly the same placement as in the 488 family.

 

Following the parallel discussion in the F80 thread, the below member found a patent that confirms what I had deducted: there are simple membrane devices and there are more complex "mass-spring" system devices that are effectively a passive radiator (tuned around a certain frequency), and plastic devices can only be placed at the very (cool) end of an exhaust system with additional insulation for the devices, or devices can be made more heat-resistant using metal for application in hotter parts of an exhaust system. Case closed.