The exhaust sound
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Just arrived home from work on the day after disconnecting the soundaktor. Mine is a simple base Cayman, but I expect there will be a similar experience with the GTS. Half way home I decided to take the (very) long way, because the car is a much more pleasant place to be without the artificial sound created by a device that vibrates the fire wall. For the first time, I stayed in Sport mode all the way. Why might this be the case?
First, a fire wall is no organ pipe - the odds of it producing an ear-pleasing tone seem low. It may resonate at certain frequencies, but regardless of the sondaktor's efforts, these resonances seem unlikely to follow the natural harmonics of the engine as it goes through its rev range. This will produce dissonance - either because the vibrations of the fire wall will not match the engine frequency, or will be out of phase with the engine's sound.
Second, the human brain works harder when a sound isn't quite right, and this produces headaches. To understand this in practice, listen to a great album that you know very well on a really bad pair of headphones or an really bad old radio: After a while, you will get a headache. While the psycho-acquistics are not fully understood, it seems that the brain takes what it hears and 'adds back' what it knows ought to be there. So, it seems plausible that we all know what a great engine sounds like, and our brains are trying to make our cars sound good by 'fixing' the inadequate and confusing sounds produced by he soundaktor.
Anyway, it's easy to disconnect - and equally easy to reconnect if you prefer the sound with the soundaktor enabled.
First, a fire wall is no organ pipe - the odds of it producing an ear-pleasing tone seem low. It may resonate at certain frequencies, but regardless of the sondaktor's efforts, these resonances seem unlikely to follow the natural harmonics of the engine as it goes through its rev range. This will produce dissonance - either because the vibrations of the fire wall will not match the engine frequency, or will be out of phase with the engine's sound.
Second, the human brain works harder when a sound isn't quite right, and this produces headaches. To understand this in practice, listen to a great album that you know very well on a really bad pair of headphones or an really bad old radio: After a while, you will get a headache. While the psycho-acquistics are not fully understood, it seems that the brain takes what it hears and 'adds back' what it knows ought to be there. So, it seems plausible that we all know what a great engine sounds like, and our brains are trying to make our cars sound good by 'fixing' the inadequate and confusing sounds produced by he soundaktor.
Anyway, it's easy to disconnect - and equally easy to reconnect if you prefer the sound with the soundaktor enabled.
See @panda’s post #29 here: https://www.718forum.com/forum/electronics-audio-lighting/7698-soundaktor-sound-generator-3.html
The trim panel is semi-rigid and pulls out easily. A 3mm or 5mm flat blade screwdriver is needed to push the the plug downward/out. Took no more than 30 seconds
The trim panel is semi-rigid and pulls out easily. A 3mm or 5mm flat blade screwdriver is needed to push the the plug downward/out. Took no more than 30 seconds
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Thanks guys. Im going to see what it's like disconnected. My GT350 is twice as loud with the pipes in the loud mode and I never tire of it and it doesn't bother me in the least. The 718 is a beast power wise and handles superbly. Comfortable also. The sound just doesn't do anything for me. I may trade for a 911 Carrera come spring.
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Alrighty. Looks like Porsche either eliminated the soundactor on the 2018 GTS or moved it somewhere else. I pulled the panel and looked for it and the two studs it's supposed to mount to are there but no soundactor mounted, nor the wiring harness or plug. It was a real SOB getting the panel back in place. Waste of 10 minutes of my life. 
Maybe someone with an 18 GTS will eventually be privy to where they put it or if indeed they eliminated it altogether.
Maybe someone with an 18 GTS will eventually be privy to where they put it or if indeed they eliminated it altogether.
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Glad I haven’t bothered yet, I’d find a way to mess it up....maybe I’ll have the dealer do it someday. I notice a big difference in sound between Sport and Sport+. For long distance driving, Sport mode gets tiring. I sometimes think about an after market exhaust , but don’t want the intrusive fake sound .Alrighty. Looks like Porsche either eliminated the soundactor on the 2018 GTS or moved it somewhere else. I pulled the panel and looked for it and the two studs it's supposed to mount to are there but no soundactor mounted, nor the wiring harness or plug. It was a real SOB getting the panel back in place. Waste of 10 minutes of my life.
Maybe someone with an 18 GTS will eventually be privy to where they put it or if indeed they eliminated it altogether.
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435 Posts
If you do go to the dealer and inquire about it, be sure to post what you find out. Like mine, yours is also an 18 GTS and I doubt that mine is an isolated anomaly. The mounting studs are clearly present where the soundactor should be and there is none present, so I would assume they didn't use it on the GTS.
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275 Posts
GTS doesn’t have soundaktor
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974 Posts
From where does information come? Ie: how do you know?
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I know this is quite well documented already, but I created a "photo essay" for the Soundaktor removal anyway.
Documents every stage of the process.
Here:
https://www.718forum.com/forum/how-diy/16146-soundaktor-removeal-boxster.html#post139248
Removed it today. Should've done it a year ago...
Sounds better. A lot extra noise is gone, and the car is just as fast as before
Documents every stage of the process.
Here:
https://www.718forum.com/forum/how-diy/16146-soundaktor-removeal-boxster.html#post139248
Removed it today. Should've done it a year ago...
Sounds better. A lot extra noise is gone, and the car is just as fast as before
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Winter.zed:
If this is a response to my questions, were your comments/instructions about a GTS?
That is what I am questioning. It seems that maybe the GTS doesn't have the Soundaktor and the post I replied to claimed definitive knowledge. That's why I asked. I don't want to tear the back end apart if there is nothing there.
Thanks!!
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94 Posts
Sorry, I may have jumped on the wrong thread. By "well documented" I meant the removal of the soundaktor in general, is well documented not the question whether the GTS has one or not. I just realized there is an other older thread for the "noise machine" removal. Sorry.
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Not a problem at all. Thanks!
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I have an 18 GTS and just tore open the side panel yesterday and nothing there. Maybe mines special and the only GTS that came from Porsche without one. It's not that hard to open her up, go take the panel out and take a look see.
It's also mentioned on Rennslist that the GTS has none.
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