I like the sound of Saleen's Model S... How did they do it? Tesla Model S, Fully Tuned: Saleen FourSixteen - XCAR - YouTube (at 7:14) I would LOVE to have a button that toggled the sound on and off
My guess is that it is an unintended consequence of their drivetrain gear modification and they are passing it off as a "feature." It does have a unique sound; but, don't even like the more subtle balloon squeal noise made by my Tesla under hard acceleration. I prefer the sound of silence.
As tom66 said, they modified the drivetrain. In one of the videos they mention that they changed the way the teeth of one of the gears is cut in order to intentionally make that noise. I personally don't like it at all. The silence of my Model S is one of the greatest things about it. - - - Updated - - - It wasn't unintentional. They intentionally made it sound this way.
Wow, that sound makes me grind my teeth. That black and white interior too..... Yikes. Different strokes I guess.....
To me, this indicates Saleen is still catering to the same audience as for its Mustangs and other "muscle" cars. Model S is a different kind of car and its customers have different expectations. Saleen best learn this quickly if they want to have a hope in hell of selling any.
They apparently replaced the stock helical cut gears with straight cut gears to get the sound. Don't ask me what that actually means... that's just what I heard.
I agree! I believe Saleen's primary goal was to change drive train gear ratio for added torque at lower speeds (that was the intended design change). The unintended result was the drive train sound. I'm guessing that if someone were to ask for the same Saleen gear ratio, but without the sound, it wouldn't be possible (at least not easily). Agree that quiet is best, switchable between quiet and "RC electric motor" sound would be second best (an an interesting option to have) and sound only is least desirable.
Helical cut gears have their teeth cut at an angle, slanted eg., ///////// whereas straight cut gears are cut vertically eg., lllllllll Helical cut gears have less backlash than straight cut gears and transfer power much better than straight cut gears. Well that is how they are sold in RC helicopter world I suspect this is true for full size versions too
I'm glad they've done this and it may attract more people to Tesla, especially those who like mods. It would be nice to have an adjustable sound, as I personally prefer the silence of an EV.
I think that tesla does need a sound, but this isn't the right one. Plus the sound shouldn't be audible inside the cabin, you put your windows down to hear it.
The Harley Davidson Livewire demo motorcycle also has straight-cut gears and sounds the same. I personally don't like it on either vehicle.
Sounds like a gear drive on a V8 to me. Sounds cool on a 70's Challenger but seems out of place with an EV. Still can't get over their hideous front end...
I like what they did to the nose and seats. The colors... well, I'm sure they are customizable. The sound was interesting as well, but would prolly 'grind my gears' if I had to live with it. In short; if I had the inclination, I'd take a partial modification but not all.