A.S.E (Active sound enhancement)???

[TreVette]

Please don’t say it’s so, how can this be possible???
According to the video posted Z06 vs. GT3, it mentions the new Z uses this.

 

[Murray20c8]

Yup

 

[tyho]

I'm not clear on exactly how this works. Does the radio actually have a sound setting that mimics the car's exhaust or is the exhaust frequency tuned so it somehow goes over the car's speakers? Why would GM put something like this in a car that is supposed to have an amazing sounding exhaust?

 

[Rruuff Day]

I'm not clear on exactly how this works. Does the radio actually have a sound setting that mimics the car's exhaust or is the exhaust frequency tuned so it somehow goes over the car's speakers? Why would GM put something like this in a car that is supposed to have an amazing sounding exhaust?

My understanding is that it's purely an entertainment sound system enhancement feature but if I'm wrong, I agree. What do you need canned exhaust sound for in these cars. An EV? Well, I guess if you want old school sound. I heard an EV SUV backing up the other day. Made a sound much like a rabbit under attack from a coyote.

 

[Cariboocreek]

My understanding is that it's purely an entertainment sound system enhancement feature but if I'm wrong, I agree. What do you need canned exhaust sound for in these cars. An EV? Well, I guess if you want old school sound. I heard an EV SUV backing up the other day. Made a sound much like a rabbit under attack from a coyote.

More like a rabbit dying while under attack from a coyote..

 

[Rruuff Day]

More like a rabbit dying while under attack from a coyote..

same sound, just a moment or two later in the process....

 

[Sturmgewehr]

Unless cruising down the highway my windows would be down most times with the revs up high. That would probably negate any fake sounds being pumped into the cabin!

 

[Murray20c8]

It's done with all the C8 varieties. Including the Stingray. I never notice it myself.

 

[meyerweb]

I would guess it's similar to what's done in the Stingray coupe (but apparently not the HTC), which has been described as below. There are reports that this may have been removed from the 2023 Stingray, but if it's on the Z06 I'd be surprised if it's not also on the Stingray. To the best of my knowledge, on the Stingray the sound enhancement is RPO code NKD on the Stingray coupe, and I've not seen anyone with an HTC that has that RPO code. My guess is that because the exhaust is easier to hear in the HTC, GM felt it wasn't necessary.

As far as I know, 2020 to 2022 coupes included RPO code NKD, convertibles did not. Presumably because with the top down or rear window open you can hear the exhaust much more than in the coupe. I've not seen anything that indicates the 2023 is any different.

The effect of ESE is subtle. It's not piping a full real (or fake) exhaust note through the speakers. Per GM:

Exhaust sound pumped into cabin? - MidEngineCorvetteForum.com

Motor1 reached out to GM for comment, and they were told that the car still relies on the engine for its base sound signature, "but given the passby requirements and the multiple cavities between the exhaust tips and the driver, some frequencies are lost and need to be supplemented. This results in an engaging and visceral driving experience, as our seventh-generation owners can attest to."

https://www.hotcars.com/2020-chevry-...ne-fake-noise/

The mid-engine layout of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette provided a challenge for its engineers in many ways. Even something as simple as keeping the signature Corvette sound intact proved trickier than in the past, prompting technological intervention to ensure an ideal experience.

With a mid-engine setup, the engine sits between the cabin and the exhaust outlets. That's a lot of mass between the ear and the outlets—not to mention more physical distance. Compounding that is the presence of additional heat and sound shielding to improve cabin comfort.

"The exhaust system is as loud as it can be to meet noise regulations, but the exhaust tips are now 17 inches farther from your ears and there is a lot of heat and noise insulation in the way," GM's Chris Bonelli told Motor Authority.

Unfortunately, all of that very necessary material mutes several key frequencies that contribute to the exhaust note that the driver hears. To get around this, Corvette's engineers wired the Corvette's audio system to grab select frequencies from the engine to fill out the sound. The solution? As Motor1 reports, the Corvette got a little digital assistance.

"This makes the sound seem too distant at times, so we choose to enhance it for the cabin. It’s important to note, nothing coming out of the speakers would sound like an engine on its own. Some frequencies are lost, so we use audio content directly from the engine—not a recording—to supplement those frequencies," Bonelli said.

In other words, everything the driver hears inside the C8 Corvette Stingray's cabin comes from its 490-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 engine. The frequencies being added back in aren't from recordings or artificially synthesized; they're just being delivered via the speakers rather than the ambient sound.

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/...ine-in-the-way

GM, in the person of Tadge, has also said that intake (not exhaust) sound is funneled back through the side vents which are just behind the occupants heads and audible when the windows are down.