Blaring exhausts make hooligans of all.
By Freddie Heaney
Images by Moore Good Ink
In all likelihood every U.S. road race track has received reams of complaints about excessive noise. Two years ago in England, Mallory Park’s very existence was threatened by the blight. It is the most malignant force currently facing our racetracks and the new spirit of our age, Track Days, has exacerbated it.
When we were young, acquiring a noisy muffler was a priority. We were 19 and needed to be noticed urgently—what was wrong with that? The smart ones among us, though, knew that the way to speed was via stealth.
Of course racers don’t have a monopoly on noise. Just attend any rock concert and the middle-aged will be standing there with ear plugs forced firmly in place. Even a half-wit observing this strange custom would sense the absurdity of it all. And more significantly still, most complainants, like those residents of every village surrounding Mallory Park, have no desire to see their local circuits closed. They just ask the enthusiasts to enjoy themselves while showing a little more consideration for others.
V&B’s new systems comply with noise regulations and ease concerns.
The amiable answer
To this end V&B provides a solution. They understand noise requirements and they know how to meet them with lightweight, finely crafted mufflers. These new silencing systems feature inner bulkheads and other devices that can be quickly adapted to suppress noise to the levels required.
For more information contact:
Virkler & Bartlett
Chatham, Virginia
(434) 432-4409
rgbartlett@vbengines.com
Frankly, although I can agree with the premise, and think that mufflers are marginally OK on some racing cars (such as World of Outlaw Sprints in some instances), the whole purpose of the Trans-Am, F-5000 and Historic GP classes is to recreate the ambiance of days gone by. Not too many folks complained about the noise then! This from the owner of an unmuffled 1952 400 HP 331 Hemi Chrysler powered Kurtis 500A Indy car.
Silence all the history at a vintage event and you might as well stand by a freeway and watch in bored silence. The tracks were there first. Those who move in later have no right to complain. Peter Brock
Peter, Joseph,
I resonate with your sentiments and share your love for the un-muffled sound of a fine historic car. Still, we sometimes need to suppress noise, at least for testing, with minimum added weight and loss of performance. The Goodwood Revival, probably the worlds premier historic event, is conducted without noise restrictions, but the preceding test days have rigorous and highly unusual test requirements, at least from the standpoint of uninitiated American competitors. Every year we see competitors caught out by these requirements and losing valuable test time. If you are going to the Revival for the first time, talk to us, we can help.
Virkler & Bartlett