PumaSpeed Turbo Whistle - Troubleshooting

[kivnul]

Hey all. I have a X47R that of course has the lovely whistle sound effect. I believe Jeff has had success in toning it down by putting the stock airbox back in place. I currently have plans on making a sound blanket/shroud to put over the CPE airbox I have to see if it helps. I have stuffed the CAI pipe in the bottom of the box with a rag to see if it helps and it appeared to reduce the noise very slightly.

I am curious however on what exactly is making the sound. In my mind, it can either be:
*Clipped blades cavitating - No fix possible
*Sharp edges on re-circulation? port - Possible bevel?
*The design of the Hi-Flow intake elbow - Replace with stock

So my first question is if anyone has attempted to replace the upgraded metal intake elbow with the stock plastic one? I may attempt this myself soon but I worry it will be a lengthy pain in the butt. (especially since I was super smart and put a tiny amount of liquid gasket on the joint to the turbo since there is no real gasket/oring on the interface)

Image of the intake side of turbo as reference


Material I want to use as a blanket
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GFW5Q0/

 

[jeff]

Good luck!!

I talked to a guy who is pretty smart and he told me the whistle was due to the clipped fins. Not sure if that is true but he’s pretty knowledgeable and he has talked to Tony at Pumaspeed multiple times and I think they have discussed this.

I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure that stock elbow is not going to fit, even if it did it would really hinder performance, I would not recommend that.

Back when I had a CPE intake I also considered putting some sort of sound blanket over the airbox. But then I thought to myself what in the heck am I doing, I’m covering up this gorgeous airbox. I did like you mentioned cover the bottom snorkel and I did notice about a 25% reduction in noise.

I lived with the noise for several seasons but I just got tired of it especially in the cold it is very loud. I tried to convince myself I liked it but I did not. Finally I said screw it and swapped intakes. I’ve discussed this elsewhere but I still believe the CPE intake is better than the RAMAIR that I currently have. Temperatures are one or 2° higher with my new set up. Air flow and spool and timing is all about the same. I think if there is any power difference it is negligible but the CPE definitely offered slightly lower intake temperatures and maybe a tiny bit better MPG though now after several tanks of gas on the new intake setup MPG is about where it was with the CPe.

Still I am very happy with the new set up, i barely hear the whistle at all now and instead I can hear the bassy part of the engine working if that makes sense. It’s pretty great.

Good luck! Live with it, muffle it, or swap intakes like I did. I tried all 3 options and ultimately needed to swap it out to have peace in my life. Once I sold and shipped the CPe I broke even on the cost of a RAMAIR crossover pipe, induction pipe, and panel filter.

 

[kivnul]

Thanks for the info Jeff. I was hoping that the noise comes from the tiny vacuum line hole in the bent elbow/inlet pipe. I already purchased the deadening material so I am going to make the blanket anyways and see what it does. I plan on making it wrap around and fasten to itself with velcro, easy to remove if I want the car to look all fancy pants.

 

[JDG]

Any update with this?

 

[kivnul]

Any update with this?

Sure! I wrapped the airbox itself as best I could with the material (soft side facing in). It reduced the volume by around 40% or so. I then added another layer on the inside of the box (soft side out) and it made no difference. If I had done it soft side in again it may have helped, dunno. Plugging the pipe that hangs down helps quite a bit as well. I picked up a expandable 3" plug for use during winter (have not installed it beyond a test fit). If I remember I will try to snap a couple of photos. If I ever have cause to take apart the turbo or piping to it I will see if removing the metal intake elbow that came with the turbo and replacing it with stock makes any difference.

 

[TDavis]

Just now seen this thread. Is the whistle really THAT apparent?

 

[Clint Beastwood]

oh wow is it the sound at :50 on this video? https://youtu.be/bfPDpJbrDsU

 

[TDavis]

oh wow is it the sound at :50 on this video? https://youtu.be/bfPDpJbrDsU

Oh my. Depending on your taste that could be hilarious or really ear piercing. Interesting tone for a turbo whistle thats for sure.

 

[jeff]

That's the exact sound, didn't realize the X37 made it as well. It happens at 0:50 only and abruptly ends, only for a few hundred rpms but it is there for sure. The sounds from 0:51 after are other things.

 

[kivnul]

I confirm its there at :50 for about a second. The high pitch noise. There is something else going on after that. I know there are better videos out there, I'll see if I can find one.

 

[kivnul]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbfMYyOMgbc

This video shows it perfectly.

 

[TDavis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbfMYyOMgbc

This video shows it perfectly.

Me being the young and immature person I am, I feel I could easily deal with that and think it sounds nice, I've rode in my friends K04 GTI and its a constant whistle. This seems like it more high pitched so in the long run it'll be interesting to see if my opinion has changed but judging by just the video itself its not too bad. I'm sure in person its a little worse though.

 

[kivnul]

Some people do like it. My ears work really well at that frequency so it is hella loud. Add in the fact that it only does it under part throttle and you are rocking around town whistling everywhere on your commute, the sound bouncing off buildings and whatnot. At the track / autox? not a peep. If it was related to how fast I wanted to go it wouldn't be so bad.

 

[Ford ST]

I couldn't install it then that would tear my wife's ears up. When people whistle it puts her in physical pain.

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[TyphoonFiST]

I couldn't install it then that would tear my wife's ears up. When people whistle it puts her in physical pain.

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Couldn't resist....but time to just say....plug em up buttercup!

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[Ford ST]

Couldn't resist....but time to just say....plug em up buttercup!

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I can't give her a hard time I'm really sensitive to noise as well. My wife lets me do whatever I want so I'm lucky. I don't believe popcorn should be allowed in movie theaters. Why the hell should I have to pay money to listen to pigs with bad manners eat. Off topic but I understand why people get frustrated with noise.

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[TyphoonFiST]

I can't give her a hard time I'm really sensitive to noise as well. My wife lets me do whatever I want so I'm lucky. I don't believe popcorn should be allowed in movie theaters. Why the hell should I have to pay money to listen to pigs with bad manners eat. Off topic but I understand why people get frustrated with noise.

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I am the Captain of giving a Hard time to anyone in need! I can hear shit my BAE cant hear....like my trans noise that was in 4th gear...she couldn't hear it...until it was Screaming...Then she is like what is that? Why you not get fixed?

 

[dmb]

old 1693 cat's sounded like the rods were loose at idle [pre-combustion chambers] but once under power all you could hear is the turbo, for hours and hours, loved it. can't hear now though, must have been the straight stacks on the cummins jake brakes that did me in.

 

[pwnall1337]

I have the cobb intake right now and the whistle is a non issue for me. I just drove her today, I can barely hear it.

 

[Woods247]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSgYtmCnyYw