[430409M2]

I'm sure we're all well aware of the lengths BMW went to, in order to make the outside world basically nonexistent in the cabin of the 2 series. Does anyone know of any place one might remove sound insulation to hear more mechanical noise? I find myself feeling very disconnected from the driving of the car.

[harma24]

You could start with those two large glass panels on the doors; I get a lot more noise in the cabin when I retract those!


What mechanical noise are you looking for? Is ASD not active in your car? I found ASD objectionably loud when I test drove a 235...

[overcoil]

insulation is also to reduce heat
Could introduce drone and rattles if you start pulling out sound absorption padding and much of it might be spray on.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

insulation is also to reduce heat
Could introduce drone and rattles if you start pulling out sound absorption padding and much of it might be spray on.

Door panels at least are covered in sticky tar crap. I wouldn't try removing that would be a huge mess.

Just get MPE and an intake.

[430409M2]

I was hoping to find a magic answer to hear more drivetrain gear noise. But if there is a negative impact on heat distribution and finish then windows down will continue to be my answer.

[wntrsnowg]

intake + exhaust

[crabu2]

Is this what you're trying to do?

If so, get the M4 sound coded.

[p912guy]

I also did the ASD bypass for a more quiet interior. That said, I have MP Exhaust which does sound good on acceleration, especially with the top down and revs approaching 6K. I guess I am just old, but I have never understood the recent trend of trying to get more sound from an exhaust, particularly when it wasn't a performance driven modification. My car came with the MP Exhaust, otherwise I wouldn't have ordered it that way.

[AlpsRider]

You could remove the insulation on the underside of the hood. Apparently the M2 omitted the insulation to save weight and make it more noisy...I mean sporty :-)

[430409M2]

Originally Posted by AlpsRider

You could remove the insulation on the underside of the hood. Apparently the M2 omitted the insulation to save weight and make it more noisy...I mean sporty :-)

Haha, so you're telling me that rather than retrofitting the m2 hood I could just remove the matting and save money?

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Vethen

I'm sure we're all well aware of the lengths BMW went to, in order to make the outside world basically nonexistent in the cabin of the 2 series. Does anyone know of any place one might remove sound insulation to hear more mechanical noise? I find myself feeling very disconnected from the driving of the car.

Actually, the opposite appears to be the case, at least for the coupe models.

See this thread for an example of this. These weatherstrips, inserted between the fender and door bulkheads, are primarily meant to deaden sound, both from road noise and from the engine compartment. That would completely explain the reasoning that BMW has for including them as OEM on convertible models but not on most coupe models.

There are threads that actually complain about the lack of sound deadening on this forum, particularly in the Infotainment/Nav/Audio/iDrive subforum. The lack of deadening is actually an acute problem for those of us who have upgraded the audio system.

More evidence: If you ever get a chance, take a peek behind the dashboard. There's a plastic cover where the dash meets the door on the driver's side that's easy to remove, or you can peer under the dash where the pedals are. There is basically no insulation between the subframe structure and the firewall, save for a couple of layers of thin recycled sheeting. Also, to wit: the roof panel is very, very thin. Really the only place I've seen a substantial amount of deadening material is in the carpeting.

What insulation there is is surely meant to keep sound regulations in check (read: engine noise) and to make the cabin relatively quiet decibels-wise -- particularly with active 'countermeasures' such as ASD and the exhaust flap involved.

[Heitzer]

There is a lot of insulation in the M235i that was removed in the M2. This thread has lots of details (post #75 by swagon shows diagrams of insulation). Removing insulation seems a giant pain though.

http://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...1228618&page=4

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by Vethen

I'm sure we're all well aware of the lengths BMW went to, in order to make the outside world basically nonexistent in the cabin of the 2 series. Does anyone know of any place one might remove sound insulation to hear more mechanical noise? I find myself feeling very disconnected from the driving of the car.

Perhaps some external microphones piped into your sound system?