Thread: Any way to quiet down an intake during the "warm up" stage?

I love my TDCRacing FWI, but I really don't like (nor does my wife, and believe me, she tells me about it) the "breathing dragon" sound, as someone here put it, that the car makes when it is cold started. The sound goes away in a relatively short period of time, but I've also had a couple of neighbors ask me what's wrong with my car and if I am going to be able to get it fixed since I've been working on it so much lately, and people have heard me leaving in the morning since their windows are open in their homes overnight. They aren't being rude about it, just more inquisitive is all, but I feel bad that I am making more noise that I was before. Maybe it is because this guy up the street likes to drive his loud motorcycle late into the evening/night and it drives me nuts that I don't want to be doing the same (I know it isn't THAT loud) in the morning.

Is there anything that I can do to cut that sound down a little?

wtf would u want your car to sound quiet....... it has a blower on it......

Originally Posted by GTPJOE90

wtf would u want your car to sound quiet....... it has a blower on it......

I don't mind the supercharger whine, I am just talking about that first 60-120 seconds or so after starting the car where the thing sounds like is isn't running right. Then when it warms up it is back to being "quiet" until I hit the gas. I like that part, but not the "cold start gurgling air nastiness".

Is that all I would gain from a Northstar (or LS1) Throttle Body is less startup noise when the engine is cold? I thought that those were more for guys running some serious mods. I am planning on dropping to a 3.5" pulley and getting a tune is about it so I am just wondering. What about a ported throttle body? Would that work as well for getting rid of the cold start noise?

You can't have everything when you modify your car. You gotta sacrifice something. It isn't that bad, trust me. Try having a cammed car that loped so much it would nearly die at stoplights

Originally Posted by silverstreak

Ported tb won't take away the noise. If its bothering you that much than put the stock box back on. Screw the nieghbours. Ask your wife if she would rather walk the next time she complains. Im not fond of the noise either but it only last 2-3 mins on cold starts ... who cares.

I was just asking...

Originally Posted by nickbuol

I love my TDCRacing FWI, but I really don't like (nor does my wife, and believe me, she tells me about it) the "breathing dragon" sound, as someone here put it, that the car makes when it is cold started. The sound goes away in a relatively short period of time, but I've also had a couple of neighbors ask me what's wrong with my car and if I am going to be able to get it fixed since I've been working on it so much lately, and people have heard me leaving in the morning since their windows are open in their homes overnight. They aren't being rude about it, just more inquisitive is all, but I feel bad that I am making more noise that I was before. Maybe it is because this guy up the street likes to drive his loud motorcycle late into the evening/night and it drives me nuts that I don't want to be doing the same (I know it isn't THAT loud) in the morning.

Is there anything that I can do to cut that sound down a little?

I was the one who came up with the dragon comment.........I also have not found a solution for mine, but I didn't care as much about it as you. Mine also seems to do it for several minutes not just one or two. I dont have a solution for you. The sound is just echoing back from the throttle body and with little resistance for the intake(both in and out, that is why the stocker is not good for performance-and is good for sound, and why the aftermarket is much louder-but performs better. This is all about flow of air.) No solution for your problem that I am aware of. Also, this is the case with all of the aftermarket manufacturers that I have seen, not just with the TDC racing intake. I guess we just have to pay this small price for performance.

I'll deal with it no problem. I was just wondering if it was a resonation issue with the intake pipe where it could be wrapped to quiet it down, or if the sound is coming from elsewhere and just isn't blocked by the restrictive air box. No big deal really, I was just curious.

i actually like that sound.

Originally Posted by Bio248

i actually like that sound.

yeah, but you are a sick and twisted individual.........just the way you like it.

Hold down your horn when you start your car.

Your wife and neighbors wont even notice the vacuum like noise caused by aftermarket intakes. :P

Originally Posted by DnaProdigy

Hold down your horn when you start your car.

Your wife and neighbors wont even notice the vacuum like noise caused by aftermarket intakes. :P

Nice....

Im with bio it sounds good.

To be perfectly honest, I kinda miss the sound that my old TB made... It's kind of an attention-grabber.

Could try to dynamat the fender area around the filter and also put some reflective/duct shielding around the intake pipe to the tb.

insulation in the fender area might work if you can mount it in there and still get good air flow somehow.....worth a shot.