Fiesta ST Sound Symposer

[CanadianGuy]

I like many others have quickly grown tired over the past few weeks of hearing those annoying whirling hollow sounds and faux exhaust noises coming into my cabin caused by the sound symposer which Ford chose to install in the FiST... I finally decided to eliminate this feature without appearing as if anything was modified or removed...

The solution as already mentioned previously by a few others is very easy....I chose to just simply plug the source on the charge pipe that feeds the symposer box....And as a result of doing so I no longer hear those hollow swirling sounds which often occur during low-mid throttle accelerations...And quite frankly now I can really enjoy hearing my Cobb exhaust system which now sounds far better even in the cabin while cruising after that sound symposer function was effectively removed from the system...

Now if your only interested in not channeling the sound into the cabin you can just simply remove the symposer tube after the box which leads to the cabin...

But more importantly (IMO)....Considering that I've now raised max boost levels higher (with my current tune), along with some future projects planned, I simply wasn't comfortable having that much boost pressure channeled to a sound symposer box diaphragm which could get damaged over time and cause some problematic leaks to occur since the symposer source is taken directly off the charge pipe...As a side note: Eventually I'd like to have a pipe fabricated to replace the current stock pipe that connects from IC hardpipe (cold side) to the throttle body which would eliminate the port leading to the symposer...

Outlined and shown below is a "how to" ...(which btw was not original on my part as I have read through a few other examples posted on other forums)....

1) Spread the hose clamp open and remove the lower hose (see #2 in Pic below) from the Symposer box to charge pipe port..

View attachment 2357

2) Insert Dorman rubber (1" - 1.125") expansion plug (#02600) which you can purchase at any Autozone store for $2.99...

View attachment 2358

View attachment 2359

3) Once the rubber expansion plug was inserted and secured in place re-install the symposer hose back over the plug and then reinstalled the symposer box such that you'd never know anything was modified...

View attachment 2360

The entire project took less than 20 min and cost $3.00....

Should create this as it's own post for others to find quickly.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Would the dealers consider this (or try to use this mod) as a warranty/recall/TSB repair denying excuse, even though it is NOT affecting anything functional at all?

IF we do the complete delete route on this, must this all be re-installed before going to the dealer for ANY reason, just like any tunes must be pulled out and the factory tune re-installed for a dealer visit?

 

[Intuit]

If the "symposer" tube runs off the intake *before* any sensors such as MAF, it isn't even possible for it create a situation where it would cause a problem; with possible exception of sucking in unfiltered air.

 

[CanadianGuy]

The only problem the delete may cause is a boost leak if it is not a tight fit. Other than that no issues. My dealership have said it was easier to work on the car as the unit was not in their way. You milage may vary.

 

[jeff]

I like many others have quickly grown tired over the past few weeks of hearing those annoying whirling hollow sounds and faux exhaust noises coming into my cabin caused by the sound symposer which Ford chose to install in the FiST... I finally decided to eliminate this feature without appearing as if anything was modified or removed...

The solution as already mentioned previously by a few others is very easy....I chose to just simply plug the source on the charge pipe that feeds the symposer box....And as a result of doing so I no longer hear those hollow swirling sounds which often occur during low-mid throttle accelerations...And quite frankly now I can really enjoy hearing my Cobb exhaust system which now sounds far better even in the cabin while cruising after that sound symposer function was effectively removed from the system...

Now if your only interested in not channeling the sound into the cabin you can just simply remove the symposer tube after the box which leads to the cabin...

But more importantly (IMO)....Considering that I've now raised max boost levels higher (with my current tune), along with some future projects planned, I simply wasn't comfortable having that much boost pressure channeled to a sound symposer box diaphragm which could get damaged over time and cause some problematic leaks to occur since the symposer source is taken directly off the charge pipe...As a side note: Eventually I'd like to have a pipe fabricated to replace the current stock pipe that connects from IC hardpipe (cold side) to the throttle body which would eliminate the port leading to the symposer...

Outlined and shown below is a "how to" ...(which btw was not original on my part as I have read through a few other examples posted on other forums)....

1) Spread the hose clamp open and remove the lower hose (see #2 in Pic below) from the Symposer box to charge pipe port..

View attachment 2357

2) Insert Dorman rubber (1" - 1.125") expansion plug (#02600) which you can purchase at any Autozone store for $2.99...

View attachment 2358

View attachment 2359

3) Once the rubber expansion plug was inserted and secured in place re-install the symposer hose back over the plug and then reinstalled the symposer box such that you'd never know anything was modified...

View attachment 2360

The entire project took less than 20 min and cost $3.00....

I deleted mine today using the Dorman part (thanks for that) but I put the plug at the top of the symposer box where pipe #1 is illustrated. Wondering if anyone else has done that or could comment on why this is or is not acceptable from an engineering perspective. Yes there is a bit more pipe for air to bounce around in but it's sealed quite tightly so it seems that it should all be the same. I chose that location because the clamp on my car at #2 in the illustration provided was turned counterclockwise in such a way that it would take Ant-man to get in there and get a set of pliers on it....I couldn't even see one of the clamp ends it was so far in there. And, capping the airflow at the top as I've done is truly about a 2 minute job without wrestling with the clamps, especially if they're turned as mine were.

Anyone done it this way or see any detriment to doing so?

Took a drive, all is quiet, I kind of miss the symposer. The reason I did this is I'm prepping to install my exhaust and have read where many folk did not enjoy the exhaust mixed with symposer sound....we'll see, I'll try it both ways once the exhaust is in.

 

[LilPartyBox]

I removed the entire assembly (#3). I assumed the box was the source of the honk and I wanted it dead, dead and dead some more.

 

[Waterfan]

that would work very well for eliminating the sound into the cabin...

However, as I mentioned earlier in addition to eliminating the cabin sound, I simply wasn't comfortable in having that much boost pressure channeled to a plastic sound symposer box with diaphragm which can get damaged over time with raised boost levels and cause some problematic leaks to occur since the symposer source is taken directly from the charge pipe...

This approach which cost a whole $3 resolves that "potential" problem as well....

View attachment 2361

Just chiming in to say I used this exact method myself several months ago (expansion plug in charge pipe) and I could not be happier with the results. The "cabin honker" got on my nerves almost immediately. I love that extra incremental bit of weight savings in the nose from full removal and de-cluttering the engine bay slightly.

Thanks again [MENTION=1333]BoostBumps[/MENTION]

 

[jeff]

The only problem the delete may cause is a boost leak if it is not a tight fit. Other than that no issues. My dealership have said it was easier to work on the car as the unit was not in their way. You milage may vary.

Just chiming in to say I used this exact method myself several months ago (expansion plug in charge pipe) and I could not be happier with the results. The "cabin honker" got on my nerves almost immediately. I love that extra incremental bit of weight savings in the nose from full removal and de-cluttering the engine bay slightly.

Thanks again [MENTION=1333]BoostBumps[/MENTION]

Thanks for the info guys. Help me understand and forgive my ignorance here, but if the symposer is pushing sound into the cabin, how is it ever a closed system? I see the logic of Boostbumps quote there about not letting boost pressure bounce around in the symposer, thus the logic to block it at the charge pipe rather than up high as I did - makes perfect sense. But the symposer is merely a noisemaker, not an on/off valve. Is there a valve somewhere between the symposer that actually closes the system?

I'll check my boost pressure in the next few days, normally I max around 26.5 so we'll see if plugging things up on top of the symposer has caused an issue....still it was much easier than getting to that charge pipe which in my case was not easy at all due to the positioning of the lower clamp.

 

[Waterfan]

Thanks for the info guys. Help me understand and forgive my ignorance here, but if the symposer is pushing sound into the cabin, how is it ever a closed system? I see the logic of Boostbumps quote there about not letting boost pressure bounce around in the symposer, thus the logic to block it at the charge pipe rather than up high as I did - makes perfect sense. But the symposer is merely a noisemaker, not an on/off valve. Is there a valve somewhere between the symposer that actually closes the system?

I'll check my boost pressure in the next few days, normally I max around 26.5 so we'll see if plugging things up on top of the symposer has caused an issue....still it was much easier than getting to that charge pipe which in my case was not easy at all due to the positioning of the lower clamp.

It's a closed system w.r.t. airflow, the car could not possibly operate proprely otherwise. The symposer "box" does not flow air. It traps moving air and causes a membrane to vibrate/create sound.

Evidence thanks to [MENTION=62]Sekred[/MENTION] (image source post):

One side of the box traps the air, airtight membrane vibrates, other side of the box carries the vibration/sound into the cabin (only the sound, not the air).

 

[jeff]

It's a closed system w.r.t. airflow, the car could not possibly operate proprely otherwise. The symposer "box" does not flow air. It traps moving air and causes a membrane to vibrate/create sound.

Evidence thanks to [MENTION=62]Sekred[/MENTION] (image source post):

One side of the box traps the air, airtight membrane vibrates, other side of the box carries the vibration/sound into the cabin (only the sound, not the air).

Thanks, that makes sense and answers both my questions. Since the box itself traps airflow, putting the plug on top of the box is only about 2" further from where air was being trapped/stopped without the plug, which as I see it makes it pretty near impossible for plugging it where I did (symposer exit toward cabin) to have an effect on boost pressure as opposed to plugging it lower at the charge pipe. Air was already bouncing around in there anyway; plugging it above does not change that in any way. Of course in a modded car with higher boost pressure that could become a problem as the sound symposer was probably not designed to handle higher pressure, but I bet there is a decent enough tolerance/threshold.

I'll keep an eye on it with my AP.

 

[RBatty]

I put a standard wine bottle cork in the symposer tube exit, under the dash where the sound comes into the cabin (located above the gas pedal, under the front dash). Super simple change and I still get a slight hint of growl but not the boy racer honk that is normal. Easy, free, and easily undone if wanted. And you have a bottle of wine to drink! The cork fit perfectly.

 

[Intuit]

I've decided to leave mine alone. The engine + clutch is super-smooth, quiet, and easy to over-rev if not paying close attention. I always roll with the windows down if it isn't cold or raining.

 

[cbizz]

I put a standard wine bottle cork in the symposer tube exit, under the dash where the sound comes into the cabin (located above the gas pedal, under the front dash). Super simple change and I still get a slight hint of growl but not the boy racer honk that is normal. Easy, free, and easily undone if wanted. And you have a bottle of wine to drink! The cork fit perfectly.

Time for a bottle of red, thanks Rbatty!

cheers

 

[McSwine]

I put a standard wine bottle cork in the symposer tube exit, under the dash where the sound comes into the cabin (located above the gas pedal, under the front dash). Super simple change and I still get a slight hint of growl but not the boy racer honk that is normal. Easy, free, and easily undone if wanted. And you have a bottle of wine to drink! The cork fit perfectly.

Winnar.

Gonna try this tonight, thanks.

 

[McSwine]

I put a standard wine bottle cork in the symposer tube exit, under the dash where the sound comes into the cabin (located above the gas pedal, under the front dash). Super simple change and I still get a slight hint of growl but not the boy racer honk that is normal. Easy, free, and easily undone if wanted. And you have a bottle of wine to drink! The cork fit perfectly.

Hey there, I got a bottle of my favorite red wine but I'm having trouble finding the hole I'm supposed to plug. I crawled in the floorboard with a flashlight, but it's not jumping out at me. Got any tips?

 

[Sam4]

Hey there, I got a bottle of my favorite red wine but I'm having trouble finding the hole I'm supposed to plug. I crawled in the floorboard with a flashlight, but it's not jumping out at me. Got any tips?

You must have drunk too much wine!

 

[McSwine]

You must have drunk too much wine!

Stone cold sober. Just another case of me having trouble sticking something in a hole.

 

[Zissou]

I like many others have quickly grown tired over the past few weeks of hearing those annoying whirling hollow sounds and faux exhaust noises coming into my cabin caused by the sound symposer which Ford chose to install in the FiST... I finally decided to eliminate this feature without appearing as if anything was modified or removed...

The solution as already mentioned previously by a few others is very easy....I chose to just simply plug the source on the charge pipe that feeds the symposer box....And as a result of doing so I no longer hear those hollow swirling sounds which often occur during low-mid throttle accelerations...And quite frankly now I can really enjoy hearing my Cobb exhaust system which now sounds far better even in the cabin while cruising after that sound symposer function was effectively removed from the system...

Now if your only interested in not channeling the sound into the cabin you can just simply remove the symposer tube after the box which leads to the cabin...

But more importantly (IMO)....Considering that I've now raised max boost levels higher (with my current tune), along with some future projects planned, I simply wasn't comfortable having that much boost pressure channeled to a sound symposer box diaphragm which could get damaged over time and cause some problematic leaks to occur since the symposer source is taken directly off the charge pipe...As a side note: Eventually I'd like to have a pipe fabricated to replace the current stock pipe that connects from IC hardpipe (cold side) to the throttle body which would eliminate the port leading to the symposer...

Outlined and shown below is a "how to" ...(which btw was not original on my part as I have read through a few other examples posted on other forums)....

1) Spread the hose clamp open and remove the lower hose (see #2 in Pic below) from the Symposer box to charge pipe port..

View attachment 2357

2) Insert Dorman rubber (1" - 1.125") expansion plug (#02600) which you can purchase at any Autozone store for $2.99...

View attachment 2358

View attachment 2359

3) Once the rubber expansion plug was inserted and secured in place re-install the symposer hose back over the plug and then reinstalled the symposer box such that you'd never know anything was modified...

View attachment 2360

The entire project took less than 20 min and cost $3.00....

My buddy and I did this, using [MENTION=1333]BoostBumps[/MENTION] instructions and made a video of it on his youtube channel.

Here it is!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arguvN0Lp8s

 

[BRGT350]

for the life of me, I will never understand the complete and utter hatred towards the sound symposer nor the great deal of misinformation about what the system is. There is no fake exhaust sound. The only exhaust sound is the exhaust. There is no connection between the symposer and the exhaust. The system runs off of the intake. It isn't fake sound at all, this is not like the recorded engine sounds that other automakers use that is played through the speakers.

 

[BoostBumps]

Fiesta ST Sound Symposer Explained by Ford Engineer

Here ya go...

Video (below) originally posted Sep 30, 2013 by BRGT350

Want to know how the Fiesta ST sounds the way it does when driving? Brandon Redeker sits down with SVT Engineer Tom Teknos. In the video Tom explains how the Sound Symposer works on the Fiesta ST.

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"The Symposer generates a fluttering / synthesized engine noise derived through the induction system which we think "enhances" the driving experience "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CquuP5ofrYw

[video=youtube;CquuP5ofrYw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CquuP5ofrYw[/video]

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And I personally don't "hate" the symposer... I just thought the synthesized sound it added to be somewhat annoying and really didn't have a lot of confidence the design would be robust enough to handle increased boost pressures...