05-09-2019, 09:44 AM | #221 | |
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If you take a look at the photos in the Maxhaust install instructions you will see that there are a couple of "pin blocks" which slide out of the connector. The size, type, and layout of the pins used with that connector can change based on the specific "pin blocks" that are inserted into it. For example, if I remember correctly, our harness uses two different size pins in a specific arrangement (audio pins/wires are larger than the CANBus pins/wires). The point is, just because you see an angled CAMlock connector which appears to match that used by our External Amp, be wary that the actual pin arrangement/layout used inside the connector may not be identical. Just a heads-up...
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05-23-2019, 09:15 AM | #222 |
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06-10-2019, 10:18 AM | #223 |
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I'm finally back in-country and have a chance to test that inline amp (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) to boost the i8's native exhaust sound.
1. I wired up the amp to my harness connector and started the car and pur her in "sport mode" to be sure the engine fired up. However, I could detect no change in the sound of the vehicle with the amp in place. 2. So, now I am concerned that maybe the signal level in the harness was "Line Level" and not "Speaker Level". It might be possible that the signal interception was between the source and the amp although I was expecting a speaker-level signal. I could re-wire that particular amp for line-level input, however if that was indeed appropriate, I would NOT want to feed the speaker-level output from the amp into another amp which was expecting a line level source. That could be disastrous! So I needed to find some way to determine/confirm the signal level in the harness. 3. I made yet another custom connector which would let me easily tap into the harness from outside the trunk. I broke out my oscilloscope, and with my wife in the car, I sampled the native BMW signal in the harness. My wife started the car, kept her foot on the brake, shifted into drive, and moved the lever into sport mode. The signal I captured is shown below. 4. Note that the measured signal has an amplitude of only 32 millivolts. A "speaker-Level" output would be in multiple volts, and a line level output would be less than a volt (but not this low). So something was missing here... 5. What I failed to anticipate, was that the i8 does not provide any external audio augmentation when the car is idling. I was able to confirm this by opening and closing the harness circuit while the car was idling. I did not notice any change in the sound of the car at idle! So, apparently BMW does not produce any sound augmentation while the car is idling! * If you want to have an augmented idle sound, it looks like you have no choice but to use an aftermarket sound booster (Maxhaust, Maserati, etc) as the BMW module doesn't provide any sound at idle! 6. However, the question still remains about what the exact signal type is. I was able to confirm that the signal level in the harness is indeed "Speaker Level" as expected by feeding in a speaker level source directly to the harness itself. I did this with the car turned off as I did not want to blow up any downstream amp if it should be powered up. But its kind of interesting to note that you CAN feed the BMW external speaker with music from a standard audio amp! (Although it obviously favors the lower frequencies)! * The signal in the harness is indeed "Speaker Level" 7. So now the question becomes: When and how does BMW actually provide sound to the external speaker? Only above certain RPM's? Only at higher loads? Only at higher road speeds? More investigation is needed... 8. A major complication is that we can't simply RUN the engine in the i8 while in park or neutral - and we have no way to REV the engine while in park or neutral. (PLEASE correct me if you know otherwise!) Additional challenges arise from trying to discriminate between the sound generated internally vs externally while actually driving the car. IOW: Its hard to detect when the external sound is being generated with the internal sound being generated at the same time! 9. So, I've got another couple of items on order which should be arriving in the next few days to help get a handle on how/when the BMW amp generates external sound: Line Out Converter (LOC): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Bluetooth Transmitter (rechargeable): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Bluetooth Speaker (rechargeable): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - The Line Out Converter will allow me to reduce the Speaker Level output of the BMW Amp to a Line Level suitable for input to the Bluetooth Transmitter. - The Bluetooth transmitter will transmit the BMW sound to the rechargeable wireless speaker (or bluetooth headphones) I can have INSIDE the car. - This will allow me to easily hear when BMW generates the external sound for the i8. More to follow!
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06-10-2019, 11:39 AM | #224 | |
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06-11-2019, 04:06 PM | #225 |
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This is great data. Thanks for taking the time to do this, especially by taking the time to get real data with o-scope samples (Ham Radio op here, so I truly appreciate).
It's a shame BMW didn't augment the sound at rest. It sounds like getting anything decent out of the BMW stock system is unlikely, but I personally appreciate your ability to gather good data as you continue to test and tinker! Regarding #8, it is possible to rev the engine in Park after you turn the vehicle On by kicking down the gas pedal to the floor. It should start and stay running in Park. I needed to do this in order to have the emissions facility test my car via OBDII. The test wouldn't run without the combustion engine working. Upon start up, it worked fine. But it sounds like your standard Geo Metro 3 cylinder. No sound augmentation. |
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06-12-2019, 08:45 AM | #226 | |
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Yeah, thanks! I'm going to "run this one to ground" just because I want to find out more about the external sound system. The "generic" connector I spliced into my harness makes these types of experiments pretty easy, so why not? That wireless speaker should be arriving today so I'm hoping to have more to report in a few days... I really like the in-cabin sound that BMW provides, I only wish the maxhaust/maserati sound could be tweaked to better integrate with it without so much audible dissonance... I guess I find it more important to experience the best "exhaust" sound INSIDE the car than what those OUTSIDE the car might hear. I bought the car for me, not "them"...
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06-13-2019, 07:57 PM | #227 |
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The Line Out Converter, Bluetooth Transmitter, and portable Bluetooth Speaker worked perfectly!
Line Out Converter (LOC): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Bluetooth Transmitter (rechargeable): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Bluetooth Speaker (rechargeable): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I was able to hear the externally generated sound clearly inside the car while driving and there are a few surprises (at least to me)! There is more than one sound being generated! 1. There is turbine like sound which is generated when the car is at lower RPMs and or in EV mode. This turbine "whoosh/whine" will get louder as the car is put under more load and its pitch will increase as the speed of the car increases. The turbine sound is just like you would expect to hear from an electric car of the future in a SciFi film! 2. There is also a typical engine exhaust sound which is generated if the engine is running. It will be very quiet at low RPMs and become louder and higher pitched as the RPM increases. The engine sound appears to only be generated when the engine is running though (otherwise all you get is the turbine sound). 3. I'm not sure what the rules are as these sounds are "blended", but it appears to roughly follow the amount of power being generated by electricity vs motor. So, at lower RPMs and very low speeds the turbine sound is dominant and then as the speed and power of the car increases the engine sound becomes more prevalent. The approximate transition point appears to be around 3000 RPM. Mostly turbine below 3000 and then mostly motor above 3000. This is just a rough description of what can be heard if you can bring the external sound inside the car where it can be heard better over the internally generated sound. It should also be noted that the internally generated sound and the externally generated sound are not at all the same (as I had originally guessed). They are very different. Although the internal sound has no "turbine component", the artificial engine RPM's of the BMW internal and BMW external sounds DO seem to be in synchronization. (The audible dissonance of the BMW internal sound vs the maxhaust/maserati external sound was one of the issues which led me to remove the maxhaust/maserati modules). It may very well be that the internal sound is the same as the external sound except without any turbine component at all. I'm not sure where I will go from here. The little amp I bought doesn't seem to make any appreciable difference in the volume of the external BMW sound and maybe I will see if I can get more volume out of a different unit. The basic premise is accurate though. If you tap your harness in a similar fashion, you can switch between sound sources very easily! The sound level in the harness is "speaker level" and the "actuator" under the car is really nothing more than a speaker. I recommend trying the LOC/BT Transmitter/Portable Speaker test for anyone who REALLY wants to hear what their car sounds like from the outside while it is moving. The way the turbine sound blends into an engine sound is pretty cool. It truly makes the i8 sound very special. If anyone has any questions or ideas I'ld love to hear them!
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06-27-2019, 06:58 AM | #228 |
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06-27-2019, 02:50 PM | #229 |
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You're welcome!
I now have my next candidate amp to try and boost the factory sound. Not in a big rush to try it (as I have a couple of other activities on the burner) but I will report back in any case when I have a chance to test it...
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11-15-2019, 08:49 AM | #231 |
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Its not related to the install in any way. (Unless you cut/spliced the wrong wires or bumped/disconnected the harness from the rear camera while removing the trunk trim panels...)
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05-20-2020, 11:17 AM | #234 |
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Maxhaust
Hi Everyone,
I was thinking of getting the maxhaust exhaust system and needed some help. I wanted to know if anyone who has it and whats their thoughts on it? Also, I spoke to Maxhaust and they advised that I need two units the sound module and bluetooth module. Does this mean I still continue to use the existing speaker? and is the current speaker good enough for the louder amp or would it be better to replace the speaker too? many thanks for your help. Hussein |
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06-26-2020, 06:14 AM | #237 |
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