Photo by Sundesh Chaudhary from Pexels
The loud exhaust of a Lamborghini is something exotic car owners and appreciators love.
I had the opportunity to drive one of the supercars from Ultimate Exotics here in Ontario. I asked one of the customer service people: do the police pull over people in their exotic cars a lot? He said: “most definitely.”
But it wasn’t for the reasons you would think: speeding or reckless driving. It was for noise violations.
In this article, we’ll answer if Lamborghinis are loud and, if so, why are they so loud. We’ll explore some of the main reasons, and will talk about the final reason, car culture, in the end.
Are Lamborghini’s loud?
Typically, Lamborghini’s are loud. The Lamborghini Huracán Performante was recorded as loud as 109 decibels when the average car can generate 60 decibels.
Not all Lamboghini’s are quite as extreme. The Lamborghini Urus SUV is significantly quieter than the sports cars in the lineup because of the turbos and the exhaust tuning.
Why are Lamborghini’s so loud?
Most of the noise from supercars comes from the exhaust, i.e. what’s coming from the tailpipes. Lamborghinis are loud because their exhaust systems are less restrictive than typical cars to make more horsepower and because the owners like the loud exaust note.
Reason’s Lamborghinis s are loud:
Lamborghini cars have less restrictive exhaust systems.
The engineers at Lamborghini are expected to make cars with as much power as possible.
Power is limited by the amount of air an engine can take in, which is limited by how much exhaust gas the engine can expel. If power were the only factor, then the exhaust system would be an open pipe. But our culture also values reducing noise and emissions, so exhaust pipes are connected with mufflers and catalytic converters.
Because Lamborghini buyers value power and like extra noise, the engineers are Lamborghini design less restrictive but louder mufflers and catalytic converters.
Lamborghini cars do not have turbochargers.
Some of Lamborghini’s rival cars feature engines with turbochargers, such as the Porsche 911 Turbo. Turbos use the exhaust gas to spin an air compressor sucking in more air and making more power. But the turbine wheel evens out the exhaust pulses, reducing the volume of the exhaust notes.
Lamborghini has not used turbochargers in its supercars; the cars all have been naturally aspirated, which are louder than turbocharged motors.
Read more on Supersportiva: Learn about Lamborghini’s history with turbochargers, and why why they avoid them while Ferrari and Mclaren needed to embrace them.
The Lamborghini Urus, the SUV, does feature a twin-turbo V8. But the SUV drivers prefer the reduced exhaust sound as they are more likely to daily drive their SUV than the supercar drivers.
Lamborghini owners modify the exhaust system.
Lamborghini owners often choose to install aftermarket exhausts with less restrictive mufflers or no mufflers at all. It’s the muffler’s job to reduce the noise of the exhaust, so without it – the cars are ear-bleeding-ly loud.
The prevalence of these mods adds to Lamborghinis’ reputation of being some of the loudest cars.
For example, George Millar, a.k.a MooseCraft, has a Lamborghini Murcielago with a straight pipe exhaust. See this YouTube video where he and shows his brother how loud and powerful the yellow beast is.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Lamborghini’s have loud exhaust notes because owners like it that way.
It’s crude, it’s crass, it’s impossible to explain, but we gearheads love the sound of a beautiful sounding engine. When you have machines that sound as good as Lamborghini V10s and V12s, you want to hear it as loud as possible.
It’s something non-car-people will never understand. The average person hears a Lamborghini in their neighbourhood, or a going down a main street, and wonder why it has to be so frickin’ loud.
But to the exotic car owners and appreciators: we get it. Exhaust notes are a form of music all our own.
Read more on Supersportiva: Learn about the top 7 reasons Lamborghini owners cite for owning their supercar.
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