The 2016 power units should sound up to 25% louder to fans at circuits due to the new exhaust regulations, according to Pat Symonds.
New technical regulations introduced for this season require teams to have at least one pipe from the wastegate exiting out of the rear of the car as well as the main exhaust pipe. Previously there was only one tailpipe but Williams chief technical officer Symonds explains the impact of the change and sees a “quite significant“ increase in volume as a result.
“Because there’s a pipe joining the wastegate and the main tailpipe it acts as what is known as a side branch resonator,” Symonds said at the Autosport International Show. “A fancy name, but what does it mean? It means that actually even with the wastegate closed it acts like a silencer in the exhaust, so getting rid of that means it is going to be a bit louder.
“It will be a bit louder, about 1 and a half [decibels]. Now most people will say what is one and a half db? Decibels are terribly difficult things to explain. They are a scientific measure and they measure the acoustic level but actually your ears perceive things a little bit differently.
“In terms of what you are actually going to perceive, even with the wastegate closed you’re going to perceive that the engine is around 14% louder. And with the wastegate open that should be 20-25% louder, so quite significant.
“In addition I think you may hear some of the signature noises from the turbo, some of the whistles and pops and things like that, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to wait and see with that one.”
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