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The subject of loud race cars came up again, in another thread, and I thought I'd share my recent thoughts on the subject.
Last year, I was working with my camera, driver's right, along the front straight at Barber Motorsports Park. At this time, I had forgotten to wear ear plugs. I'm so used to wearing a headset when at a corner station that I forget, sometimes, elsewhere.
One particular car came by, and the sound from that car, alone, caused a considerable amount of pain in my right ear. That one exposure caused pain that took at least a day or two to go away.
My hearing test, this month, shows a 15-db greater hearing loss in my right ear, now, compared to last year. I'm guessing that the loss came from this one incident, because this is the only time I've experienced pain from noise in a very long time. The car in question was the only car in the group that seemed loud, and dominated its class that weekend, IIRC.
With a clockwise track, it's relatively easy to pass the letter of the noise limits by having the exhaust exit to the right, as this car did. That doesn't mean you're playing within the spirit of the rules, however.
Considering how quiet many pro race cars are, these days, I really think all grassroots motorsport participants should develop their exhaust systems as thoroughly as they do the rest of their cars. Very few, if any, drivers in Club events are in such tight competition that a reasonably quiet car can't achieve the same points total as the same car without a muffler.
If you get tossed because of sound (or fear it might happen,) or if you're trying to get around the rules with angled exhaust tips or other tricks, maybe you should rethink your priorities. You're probably causing incremental, but permanent, damage to your own hearing, and risk injuring the volunteers and others trackside in the process.
Last year, I was working with my camera, driver's right, along the front straight at Barber Motorsports Park. At this time, I had forgotten to wear ear plugs. I'm so used to wearing a headset when at a corner station that I forget, sometimes, elsewhere.
One particular car came by, and the sound from that car, alone, caused a considerable amount of pain in my right ear. That one exposure caused pain that took at least a day or two to go away.
My hearing test, this month, shows a 15-db greater hearing loss in my right ear, now, compared to last year. I'm guessing that the loss came from this one incident, because this is the only time I've experienced pain from noise in a very long time. The car in question was the only car in the group that seemed loud, and dominated its class that weekend, IIRC.
With a clockwise track, it's relatively easy to pass the letter of the noise limits by having the exhaust exit to the right, as this car did. That doesn't mean you're playing within the spirit of the rules, however.
Considering how quiet many pro race cars are, these days, I really think all grassroots motorsport participants should develop their exhaust systems as thoroughly as they do the rest of their cars. Very few, if any, drivers in Club events are in such tight competition that a reasonably quiet car can't achieve the same points total as the same car without a muffler.
If you get tossed because of sound (or fear it might happen,) or if you're trying to get around the rules with angled exhaust tips or other tricks, maybe you should rethink your priorities. You're probably causing incremental, but permanent, damage to your own hearing, and risk injuring the volunteers and others trackside in the process.
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