i7 with Maxhaust (virtual V8 Sounds)

[DroMike]

I just saw this -- I didn't know something like this existed. I have the i7 but admit, every now and then I DO miss the sound of my 300HP ICE vehicle a little... I think it'd kind of neat. Has anybody installed something like this on any of your previous cars does anybody know someone who has?

[Berliner]

I actually find the video quite funny and I somehow like the idea, but I wouldn't install it personally, especially because I think a lot of money I spent for the i7 went into making the car as quiet and smooth (regarding the ride) as possible, so adding this would kind of contradictory in my eyes.

Although I assume that the sound would just be for you and your excitement, the problem is that it is mostly present on the outside - and as the i7 is a pretty obvious EV, it has some kind of embarrassment aspects for me and people will judge even more I guess

At least I wouldn't be able to drive this Maxhaust thing with confidence :-)

It seems like a funny gimmick that would be worth the while for like 200 bucks, but for 1500 USD it is sounding 50% worse than the real thing for at least 500% of the price I would be willing to pay.

[DroMike]

I appreciate that. I've researched and found that serious auto aficionados seem to dismiss these fake sounds or find them repugnant, etc. etc. I guess in not knowing they even existed in the first place, I'm a bit behind the times.

But other than it costing about $1,600 for the full package (less installation), I'd like to have it (although I'm pretty certain it won't happen). I don't think many people know or care that my car is an electric vehicle. The i7 looks like any other nice sedan and certainly like any other 760/740, etc. -- I mean it doesn't say "electric" on it so unless you intimately knew BMWs, I'd think 97% of the population would think it was an ICE vehicle anyway. And evidently you can switch the sounds on and off at will. I tell ya, I wish I would've NOT spent $995 for the Pano Sky Lounge Roof and used that money towards this. To my ears, it sounds good to use every now and again. Honestly however, after paying a 6-digit figure for my i7, I'm far from comfortable having it modified (even if only electronically).

Anyway, thank you for your honest comments.

- Mike

[rollingtaser]

i'd pay 50 bucks for this just for fun, not more...

what would be cool are some really futuristic space sounds! for that i'd pay 100 bucks

but this, well, not sure if it is the video or not, it sounds not really good.

[AlteBMW]

Is there an app that makes a 760ix sound like an i7?

[evanevery]

I bought it an installed it on my i8. The i8 already has an external "speaker" so all I did was wire it up so I could switch between the BMW i8 sound and the Maxhaust sound (something not natively supplied with the kit) being piped to that speaker.

I ran it for a while and then just removed it. Even though my adapter allowed me to quickly switch the external sound source, I just wasn't using the Maxhaust much. In fact, even when it was on, I only had it running at full volume at traffic lights. Once I started moving I had the volume reduce pretty quickly (as I could never get the Maxhaust freq to properly track with the engine speed - in the i8, I had it configured to run only in sport mode when the engine was running)

The problem is there is no really good way to synchronize the sound freq of the external Maxhaust with the internally generated BMW sound in the cabin. I even hung a mic outside the rear of the car to sample internal vs external sounds simultaneously. I tried to match the expected freq of a 3 cyl, 4 stroke i8 motor at specific RPM's to the output freq of the Maxhaust. You can adjust the maxhaust freq response but it simply would not track properly, fast enough, or with the necessary resolution. The Maxhaust simply uses OBDII info to control its output.

Its a cool party trick but auditory dissonance was the problem. I simply went back to the BMW generated sound which tracked much better.

Maybe its not such a big issue with the i7 (as its not a convertible like my i8) but I think the BMW stuff is much more refined and accurate...

[DroMike]

Wow -- now THAT's a helpful and insightful post. Thanks Evan!

[AlteBMW]

Question: is there an external speaker on EVs for pedestrian safety reasons? Is that different than what is being discussed here? I'm just curious.

[DroMike]

Originally Posted by AlteBMW

Question: is there an external speaker on EVs for pedestrian safety reasons? Is that different than what is being discussed here? I'm just curious.

I'm the OP.

Yes, and yes. On all EVs at least here in the United States, electric vehicles must be able to produce backup sounds via an onboard speaker (or speakers) when they reverse at speeds of less than 20MPH (or something like that) -- otherwise, they'd be doing so completely silent where both the driver might not be viewing the entire area he/she is backing up into, and/or a pedestrian might be unaware of or not expecting a 6,000 pound vehicle backing up could be predisposed to getting hit.

Otherwise, my initial post here was made because I separately saw the video of V8-like ICE sounds placed on an (electric) i7 and thought it was interesting.

[Laguna Beach]

I think the coolest thing about the i7 is that it’s silent and ridiculously smooth which I feel makes it rolls Royce luxury. Adding fake noise to a perfect serene ride doesn’t make sense. I had a loud M6 which I loved but it was because I knew it was a mechanical work of art making the symphony.

Fun party trick a couple of times I’m sure but I wouldn’t spend any money on it and would soon tire of it.

[seans]

Originally Posted by Laguna Beach

I think the coolest thing about the i7 is that it’s silent and ridiculously smooth which I feel makes it rolls Royce luxury. Adding fake noise to a perfect serene ride doesn’t make sense. I had a loud M6 which I loved but it was because I knew it was a mechanical work of art making the symphony.

Fun party trick a couple of times I’m sure but I wouldn’t spend any money on it and would soon tire of it.

⬆️

[2001S15]

For the life of me can't understand stuff like this because IMO in my EV I want it to be tomb silent. The EV experience is just so different - instant surge due to lack of transmission, silence is a big part of that. Like the concept doesn't even align... there's no gear shifts and the corresponding sound changes, etc.