[Pupilbone]

Had the sound tube on my 2017 2SS, removed it when I installed the RotoFab CAI w/sound tube delete. It didn’t bother me so much, but did get my engine bay looking much cleaner.

As LT4Greg mentioned earlier the ZL1’s don’t have this, so it wasn’t a problem on the new Camaro. Must be a supercharger thing... I do love the way that sounds when you get after it though!

[3Putt]

This thread made me go check mine, no sound tube on my 2020 2SS.

[Zaqwert6]

I will tell you from a manufacture standpoint that if your retail numbers are $189, then cost in volume is in the neighborhood of $18.

Originally Posted by Petrol Head

I might have been a little optimistic on my pricing but not like you insinuate..... it is certainly more than "a couple bucks":

Part# 12687311 PVC Valve Hose - $8.08
23340377 Engine Air Intake Resonator - $41.75
23340376 Air Tube - $85.07
23340375 Air Tube - $55.00

Total for complete sound tube and air motor (not including clips, brackets, and bolts) = $189.90

That's wholesale discount pricing which might be 10% over cost.

Add in the clips, brackets, bolts, time to install, and really, time and money for this guy to sit and analyze the sound at his computer...... Ok, I'll give you $200 cost/Camaro. Word of note: he used washing machine components in that IVER. Yes, he could do that because it wasn't going into production. If you look closely he literally cut a hole in the intake tube to install the makeshift washing machine tube. For production, they had to redesign the intake tube with a cast hole in the top which requires making an all new cast, then formulate the rubber and plastic to make it durable and reliable for high engine temps on a +130 degree day in the Sahara desert, as well as -40 over night in Alaska, for long periods of time. So that's why the sound tube parts on the production cars cost more than "a couple bucks" and are not washing machine drain hoses.

How many SS Camaros were built from inception at the beginning of Model Year 2016 until they quit installing it at the beginning of this year? X $200?

BTW that's an EXCELLENT video, I love it...... and I also understand why GM would have made sure it was taken off yt. You see a lot of the inside of GM's design and engineering facilities that they probably don't want the public to see. Even if the video itself didn't give away any secrets if it came out after the car came out, GM (and really all car manufacturers) is pretty strict about who sees anything inside their offices and that probably made someone mad that this video was made.

[Petrol Head]

Originally Posted by Zaqwert6

I will tell you from a manufacture standpoint that if your retail numbers are $189, then cost in volume is in the neighborhood of $18.

List on one of the tubes alone was $140.00. I posted the wholesale prices. I can get you list if you want, figure on almost double.

[Zapote21]

Originally Posted by 2SS Capt

As of the mid-2020 model year the sound tube no longer comes from the factory... My 2020 2SS ordered in November and delivered in late January did not have a sound tube...

Same on mine. Bought in Feb 2020. Noticed right away when I installed a CAI right after purchase.

[cgdelena]

I plugged mine the first week I owned it.

[DC5]

Removing the sound tube makes the engine, as perceived from the interior, sound more refined. And, as the OP noted, it makes the exhaust note more perceivable from the interior. Like many others, I believe the engineering dollars for this part could and should have been spent elsewhere (e.g., standard leather-wrapped knee pads on all trims).

[6spdhyperblue]

Ironically I need to get rid of mine because the LT2 intake is too high. What are you using as a plug until my 3D printed one comes

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by Petrol Head

Yeah you can hear the difference, especially with the windows rolled up.



Just to be clear I wasn't against the rumble itself, I'm against frivolous parts being made and installed to amplify it (and somewhat fake generate it with an air motor). Either build the car to where you get the rumble in the interior naturally or don't. Engineering a great chassis that eliminates engine sound, then feeding it back in with additional parts is absolutely useless and wasteful engineering.

I'd imagine sound engineering is all about what some people may regard as unnecessary. Car doors are sound-engineered to sound more solid than they actually are. BMW goes as far as playing sound of the door shutting in the speakers to accomplish that. Or what about the NPP exhaust? It doesn't make more power(on the Camaro; on the Corvette it's barely worth talking about), just sounds better and I see no issues with people paying for it. One can argue that the normal exhaust does the job(again, little to no power difference) and the NPP exhaust is unnecessary sound engineering.

As for the chassis, you have to consider that the other cars that share the Alpha Chassis are Cadillacs. As luxury cars, they may want to isolate the engine noise more than these American ponies. Even when we are talking about the Camaro, I don't think a lot of the 2.0T/3.6 buyers want to hear the engine noise as much as SS owners do.

I personally don't hate the way Camaro handles it. Way better than the speaker engine noise trick.


Sent from toaster or something

[bkfit]

Originally Posted by Petrol Head

I removed my sound tube today. The existence of such nonsense tells me either 5 year olds come to the committee meetings during the design and engineering process or the engineers felt the Alpha chassis is too refined so they wanted to let some intake manifold air into the cabin. And send it through a fake air motor to give it some extra ooph.

Oy vay.

If they wanted more engine noise in the cabin why not decrease the amount of sound insulation in the fire wall and A-pillars? I get they wanted to bring all the feels of the old muscle cars and 1st and 2nd gen big block Camaros back but all that stuff should be done naturally. They even went so far as to cast the engine block cover with the bolt holes to receive the bolts for the air motor.

The parts, labor time on the assembly line to install, and special casting form all combined to probably cost GM $500/Camaro for a frivolous part that really serves no purpose. They could have either passed the savings on to us or saved it themselves. Multiply that by the number of Camaros built and that’s a sizable cost savings for the company.

After driving it with the windows up, radio off, and HVAC blower on low, you get a real sense of how well engineered the Alpha chassis really is. And you can still hear the exhaust when you hammer it in all driving modes, even in stealth mode. In fact, Id say you even hear the exhaust better when you hammer it now. You just don’t have the rumble of the intake manifold air now, which is fine. When cruising the cabin is perfectly quiet with zero rattles.

The motor is assembled at 5640 Pierson Hwy, Lansing, MI 48917 Woodbridge. they do the front, rear suspension and assemble the powertrain to the front suspension. Woodbrodge ships to LGR Lansing Grand River and is assembled into the Alpha platform both Cadillac and Camaro depending on powertrain ofcourse.

[Silent_H_]

Originally Posted by UnknownJinX

I personally don't hate the way Camaro handles it. Way better than the speaker engine noise trick.

Amen to this! At least the sound tube is real noise from your engine. But I definitely don't think it is necessary. Glad it's easy to remove.

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by Silent_H_

Amen to this! At least the sound tube is real noise from your engine. But I definitely don't think it is necessary. Glad it's easy to remove.

Fair enough, as long as it's easy to remove, why not? At least they are giving you a choice, kinda like the skip shift on the M6 V8 models.

As some of the members are guessing here, I doubt the sound tubes cost much in a manufacturing setting. In a retail setting(where you are buying these parts at a dealer), things will be different.

[ilovemusclecar]

Originally Posted by nancygrl

The whole thing, from intake elbow to firewall, is sitting on a shelf in the garage. 1st thing I did when I got my ride home was delete the sound tube.

Can I ask why you deleted it, it's missing on my LT1 and I wish I had one. I dont drive the car often and I would quite like some more noise from the intake.

[Ventmaster]

Originally Posted by ilovemusclecar

Can I ask why you deleted it, it's missing on my LT1 and I wish I had one. I dont drive the car often and I would quite like some more noise from the intake.

I offered mine on the "pay it forward - free give aways" in the member's classifieds at the bottom of this forum (couple there now but they're a bit old- never hurts to ask!). No one was interested then and finally threw the whole thing away. Also someone may be selling theirs in the members "bolt on" classifieds.