Ever since BMW dropped the S85 V10 5-liter engine on the E60 M5 and E63/64 M6 models the ‘purists’ of the internet went off like mad monkeys, claiming that the Germans are dead, stupid or evil monsters looking to ruin their lives.
Apart from the fact that probably 90% of these people never actually drove the aforementioned engine and only know how it sounds like from poorly recorded videos on Youtube should be enough not to take them too seriously.
However, for those of us that actually know what we’re talking about, the issue is still concerning. That’s because, no matter what you say, the difference is notable.
The current S63Tu unit used on the F10 M5 is nowhere near as loud or as aggressive as the naturally aspirated unit and you can actually feel it. Furthermore, to compensate, BMW is now using something call Active Sound Design.
According to BMW, the system “takes its cues from the driving situation at any one time to deliver an accurate reproduction of the engine’s sound through the car’s audio system.” To put it in a different way, engine sound is played inside the car for a better acoustic.
That official statement was enough to make thousands of people claim that BMW is officially dead. However, we’re pretty sure that if the Bavarians would’ve kept their mouth shut, nobody would’ve known what they did and here’s why.
You can actually disable the Active Sound Design feature at a cost. That’s because even if the radio is turned off, some artificial engine noise will still be projected inside the cabin. Therefore, if you really want to turn off ASD you’ll have to pull the fuse for the entire system.
The fuse in question is the #200 one, rated at 40 amps. You can check its location in the photo above. Pull that fuse and your radio will be off permanently but the seatbelt sensors as well, as they seem to share it.
After removing it, drive your car for a little while to notice the difference. In case you don’t want to, check out the video below, recorded by someone who actually did all this stuff to see exactly what difference the ASD does.
As you can hear, the only noticeable added noise the system brings just gives the sound a deeper, meaner growl that simply slightly enhances the feeling. That’s it! It’s hardly noticeable and hardly worth all the arguing that’s going around on the internet. Now, hopefully, we can put this whole thing at rest!
Google News