Gearbox Whine

[Parnelli Bone]

Sorry if this topic has already been bla bla bla. I searched bla bla bla.

A couple things. First, how many of you detest all the gearbox noise? You know...you put a close, super-close, or full-racing transmission in your car, and now you can hear the gears whine. Personally, I try as much as possible to use stock gearing because I'd rather just hear the sound of my car's engine & exhaust. Sometimes (of course) I have to use one of the 3 other trannies, but mostly I try not to.

Second...and this is for anybody who's worked or driven real-life race cars. Okay, I was watching the GT race yesterday at Mosport on ESPN. Occasionally, there's an in-car camera. The gears in these cars have obviously been modified. So yesterday it dawned on me: how come I never hear any gear-noise when it switches to the cockpit camera???

If there's anyone out there who's worked on or driven real-life race cars (like KAMKA-Z) can you tell if there's ever any gearing noise?? Does it exist but it's just not as loud as in the game? Is Polyphony Digital taking extreme liberties here?

 

[the Interceptor]

I think it's just the relations that are off in GT4. I've seen in car-cams in races (such as the Carrera Cup) where you can clearly hear the gearbox whine at slow speeds. However, during the race, you didn't hear much of it anymore, cause the engine was so loud.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I didn't really care either way too much about the noise.

But here's a car with a racing gearbox


I think it has to do with the way the gears are cut.

 

[Greycap]

I think it has to do with the way the gears are cut.

Correct. Road gearboxes have diagonally cut teeth on the gears while race gearboxes often have straight teeth and that's what causes the whine.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I didn't really care either way too much about the noise.

But here's a car with a racing gearbox


I think it has to do with the way the gears are cut.

Wow! That gearbox actually sounds cool!! Especially when the driver is reaching 6th...it sounds like the entire car will explode.

Maybe it's just that all the gearboxes in GT3 & 4 sound exactly the same...and I get kinda sick of it.

 

[KiwiBoy]

Wow! That gearbox actually sounds cool!! Especially when the driver is reaching 6th...it sounds like the entire car will explode.

Maybe it's just that all the gearboxes in GT3 & 4 sound exactly the same...and i get kinda sick of it.

If gt4 gearboxes actually sounded like that, I'm sure then lots of people will complain about the whining and stuff, cause lots of people can't take that kind of noise while driving.

 

[Venari]

Probably a straight-cut sequential dog-box (no synchromesh) there... but that sounds more like final drive whine (from straight-cut gears) as it increased in pitch with speed fairly consistently.

But then, that was a seriously sorted car, and he wasn't hanging about! Maybe that level of tune was killing every helical-cut gearset he was fitting, and he decided to go for straight cuts for the strength all around.

Whinywhiny.

 

[Blackbird.]

I kind of like the gearbox noise as long as it doesn't completely drown out the sound of the engine.

 

[Drift_Kid35]

i never noticed it i will have to listen for it

 

[Parnelli Bone]

If gt4 gearboxes actually sounded like that, I'm sure then lots of people will complain about the whining and stuff, cause lots of people can't take that kind of noise while driving.

You got a point there, however, I think what actually gets to me is how monotonous GT3 & 4 gears are...how they always have the same pitch, when in real-life, some race cars have very loud gears...and others (like that car I heard on TV at Mosport) you can't even hear them.

Let me put it this way: remember GT2? If you don't or have never tried it, all the Ai cars basically sound the same. Now, what if all the cars in GT sounded the same? What if they all sounded like Miatas? Wouldn't it get extremely monotonous? That's where I'm coming from. That's why when I first played GT3, and heard those gears for the first time, I thought it was cool....a touch of realism. Now, they annoy me since when you equip aftermarket gearboxes, you always get the whine that comes with them, and it's always the same.

 

[sukerkin]

The salient real-world technical points have already been covered so I wont go on about them - as to the gearbox whine, I actually like it.

It doesn't bother me half as much as the fact that the engine note in any RR car is almost undetectable - as I tend to drive on rev-pitch (for gear shifts) that makes such cars very hard to handle for me (and unpleasantly blights the driving experience ).

 

[heavyhalf79]

yeah I hate that noise it is so ****ing annoying. I keep it stock as possible.

 

[crimson_menace]

Hmm. I've always wondered what that sound was. The more you know. 👍

 

[Tornado]

I've always been annoyed by how, instead of changing pitch, the gearbox whine in GT4 just gets louder as you rev higher. When this is coupled with the fact that the engine sounds don't get louder as the car revs, it actually makes it rather difficult to shift by sound. Furthermore, it is annoying enough regardless that I usually forgo buying a racing tranny until the last possible minute.
I'm also quite annoyed that you can hear it from the roof cam, but that's just me I bet.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I've always been annoyed by how, instead of changing pitch, the gearbox whine in GT4 just gets louder as you rev higher. When this is coupled with the fact that the engine sounds don't get louder as the car revs, it actually makes it rather difficult to shift by sound. Furthermore, it is annoying enough regardless that I usually forgo buying a racing tranny until the last possible minute.
I'm also quite annoyed that you can hear it from the roof cam, but that's just me I bet.

Yeah, exactly..you switch to roof cam and there's no diminishing of the whine.

Skipping back to that youtube video, I wonder if the drivers ever get sick of the whining? For one thing, it's extremely loud in the car?

..but I'm just being silly. Those drivers are after money just like the rest of us, a bit of noise aint gonna stop them from racing to attain it.

 

[NOSBLAST]

I say, whine is good but not like that car's on the video. I would hate it so much! I'd feel like hitting the hood a few times (like when you hit your tv) to try to stop it lol.
As the amount of noise, I'd like 30% to be some whine and the other 70 to be the engine's sound.

 

[TheCracker]

We use a straight cut cogs in the Cortina and you can definately hear plenty of whine. If you're watching in-car TV footage of racing i would guess that it is as much about the positioning of the microphone and the location of the gearbox in the car as to whether and to what extent you can here the gearbox noise. I quite like the sound that a racing transmission can make.

 

[DustDriver]

Simple: Implement gear whining in GT5 and an option to turn it off and on.

 

[wfooshee]

If the pitch changes with gear, you're hearing the tranny. If it just gets louder with speed, you're hearing final drive.
From in-car videos and from actually driving a couple of cars, the sound is fairly realistic, and the noise is not a factor for the drivers, who wear earplugs at least, probably radio sets. Helical gears coming apart WOULD be a factor, I assure you.
The sound is a result of straight-cut gears as opposed to helical. Straight-cut gears are MUCH stronger.
Many street cars have straight-cut gears for reverse, which is why the car whines backing up.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

If the pitch changes with gear, you're hearing the tranny. If it just gets louder with speed, you're hearing final drive.
From in-car videos and from actually driving a couple of cars, the sound is fairly realistic, and the noise is not a factor for the drivers, who wear earplugs at least, probably radio sets. Helical gears coming apart WOULD be a factor, I assure you.
The sound is a result of straight-cut gears as opposed to helical. Straight-cut gears are MUCH stronger.
Many street cars have straight-cut gears for reverse, which is why the car whines backing up.

Yeah, reverse is usually always straight-cut. I drove an old Chevy Blazer from the 70s once where I work, and it had an unsynchronized first-gear. It didn't sound like the final-drive whine in racing cars, but it did have its own sound.

 

[Driving Park]

I actually kinda like the racing whine. Please don't kill me.

:-)

 

[fordgt150]

I think ya'll been playing the game for so long that ya'll a getting bored and trying to find things to complain about, I don't worry about the sounds much, I concentrate more on my lines and my times...and smooth elegant passes, espically in one of my GTs

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I think ya'll been playing the game for so long that ya'll a getting bored and trying to find things to complain about, I don't worry about the sounds much, I concentrate more on my lines and my times...and smooth elegant passes, espically in one of my GTs

I'm not bored at all. I love GT4! Can't speak for others who have complained, tho. I don't even really complain that much...it's just if I have the option of using a stock gearbox, I'll go ahead and use that. 👍

 

[No Sweat]

Yeah, it is definetly annoying in my opinion too. I remember it from GT3 when I finally saved enough to buy the Panoz Esperante, and the car sounds just awesome, but then you go and race it and you barely hear it because the whine drowns out the engine noise.

 

[HDRacing]

We use a straight cut cogs in the Cortina and you can definately hear plenty of whine. If you're watching in-car TV footage of racing i would guess that it is as much about the positioning of the microphone and the location of the gearbox in the car as to whether and to what extent you can here the gearbox noise. I quite like the sound that a racing transmission can make.

This answer is dead on. Street cars use Helical gears which are shaped in a triangle type fashion. They're much easier to engage but not very suitable for the rigors of racing. The whine is caused by straight cut, close ratio gears which are shaped in more of a square or rectangular fashion. The box used in that video is also what's called a "dog engagement box" which means no or very little clutch is used other than starting out, i.e., faster lap times). Most of the whine you year is from the type of gearing used but could also be to to the rear differential in that particular type of car.

Also, most in car microphones are set forward the gearbox as to not pick up the noise from the gearbox. As far as being annoying to the driver...Any smart driver will wear ear protection to begin with. Not only does it save you from repetetive hearing loss but it deadens out the high pitch noises. All the important stuff going on with the motor is of a lower decibal frequency which is easier to hear with ear protection because it deadens all the high pitch noises.

"The Cracker" tried to send you a pm but your storage is full...very popular. Who you racing the Cortina with?

 

[AOS-]

the whineing sound in GT4, that sound it makes when your in front view, but when you hold L1 to get a reverse view ,you dont hear it, correct? i actually like that sound, it doesn't sound as bad at that vid above, holy moly, i wouldn't sit in that thing. It always sounds like something is going to explode.

yeah but in GT3 and 4, I thought that was the sound of something else. I really like that with the mix of rushing air.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Hmm... 2000 Cobra R+Racing gearbox=whineathon.

And I love it, but run the stock 'box so I hear the cams come on. 5500-6k and WHEEEEEEEEEEE!

 

[Parnelli Bone]

This answer is dead on. Street cars use Helical gears which are shaped in a triangle type fashion. They're much easier to engage but not very suitable for the rigors of racing. The whine is caused by straight cut, close ratio gears which are shaped in more of a square or rectangular fashion. The box used in that video is also what's called a "dog engagement box" which means no or very little clutch is used other than starting out, i.e., faster lap times). Most of the whine you year is from the type of gearing used but could also be to to the rear differential in that particular type of car.

Very true. This guy I work with has an FC-era RX-7 and he took it racing this past weekend. Quarter-miles, basically. Anyways, the light went green and he totally stripped 1st gear! while the Integra he was racing against beat him. After installing a new tranny (I work in a garage) we got to take the old gears out of the housing....that helical 1st gear was almost worn smooth...the blades of the gear completely gone.

 

[DQuaN]

Quite often when playing GT4, I use the cockpit cam and look behind. When in rear view, you can hear the engine clearly without the tranny noise.

It's harder to drive that way though!

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Quite often when playing GT4, I use the cockpit cam and look behind. When in rear view, you can hear the engine clearly without the tranny noise.

It's harder to drive that way though!

Yeah me too. I actually set my sound to "mono" sometimes, if I don't get enough engine sound. that doesn't always work, tho.