In my quest to find a R56 S model, I went on a test drive yesterday. Everything felt good, but I have one question.

At low RPM's and only in gear, there is a quiet whine/rumbling when just barely cracking the throttle open and closed. If I find just the right spot (which I believe is throttle cracked barely open) I can get the noise to sustain. It sounds like gear whine (like when you drive a race car with no insulation whatsoever.) I don't believe it's gear whine, I suspect it is blowoff or bypass valve related as it only makes the sound when the throttle is barely opening or closing, or being held barely open....but I've been wrong before.

So, if you guys have any input on this sound, I would appreciate it. Maybe it's normal, maybe not?

thanks

 

I always think it's either the turbo-charger or the direct fuel injection, but these are just guesses.

 

Have you ever driven a turbocharged car?

 

It's the turbo. I love that sound!

 

I'd suspect its the turbo trying to spool up..
Did u have the A/C turned on during the test drive..? On more than one occasion, I've heard a sort of a spin-down whine when I turn the AC from on to off..

 

It is a beautiful sound .

 

what are some mods to increase the whine/spool??? like a normal CAI or something?

 

I hear it on my car, I always assumed it was the turbo, guess I was right!

 

Could it be that "other person" in the car, the one that owns that infamous shoe?

 

Yeah, that "other person" is whining about the lost shoe...

 

Once you put a new intake on, especially if it's a "hot air intake" you will amplify that sound 10 fold. I like the sound, my wife giggles at it... but the neat thing is you only hear it when you really hit the throttle. Normal driving it's not even noticeable.

 

Yes, it is the Turbo. I have no hot air muffler and with my new exhaust you really hear it if you have it full wide open. Huge air vortex. I'm a pushover for such sounds

 

For some more background, this car has stock airbox, filter, turbo plumbing. I am not a stranger to turbocharged engines, but I am not an experienced wrench, just a weekend warrior mechanic.

The car ended up being quite a good deal, so I did pick it up, knowing there is an issue that probably needs to be fixed. I'm cool with that.

The whine isn't a the whistle of the forced induction or blow off, it is only with the throttle barely open, up to like 5% throttle or so. It will happen in every gear, at the same point in the throttle, but at different rev's depending on the gear.

My bud who has worked on a lot of bmw's, etc, came for a ride. He seems to think it is a countershaft bearing that's going bad. It is only making noise when being barely loaded or unloaded, but under more than just a little throttle, it is loaded too hard to shake, whine, etc. Under zero throttle (or with the clutch pedal pushed in, or with the car in neutral) there is no load on the tranny, and no whine. For example, in 4th gear it is right around 2100 rpm to 2300 rpm, if I push the clutch in, it goes away. While rolling, if I put it in neutral and rev to 2100-2300, there is no such whine.

If it is tranny/transaxle related, what is powertrain coverage on a '07 (miles/months?)

thanks again

 

I think I have heard this sound on my MC. It started after I had the fuel pump replaced and is a barely noticable "hum" or "whine" almost like what you would hear on a radio that doesn't have a good ground. It is virtually silent but if the radio is off and you slowly accelerate from a stop I can hear it slighly (I'm **** and I've had passengers that don't hear it).