FF exhaust drone in stop/start traffic

[21ATS]

Today was my first longish trip in my recently acquired 2014 FF. Unfortunately it took 3.5 hrs to do a 2hr journey due to heavy traffic.

The car is a joy to drive on the move, but by the time I reached my destination I just couldn't wait to get out of it.

When sat in traffic the car idles at a level which is tolerable. I have a non HELE car. However at between 1200 & 1500 rpm just as you're creeping forward there is a frequency drone that goes right through me to the core. I had a splitting headache and was absolutely drained from it once I reached my destination.

Unfortunately in heavy traffic you hit this spot almost constantly. The moment you're through 1500rpm and driving/accelerating, it's gone.

It was the same in both comfort and sport.

Anyone else experienced this?

The car is standard.

I've ordered some Dynamat and will line the boot floor to see if that helps.

It's not loud as such, it's just a specific frequency drone at low revs.

[Drl22]

Yeah that’s the FF and was the major complaint from Ferrari customers and was rectified in the Lusso. Only solution really is an upgrade

Edit to note than in your garage you also have a Taycan. I always find getting back in my ICE cars to be quite brutal in comparison too but I love that.

[burpface]

In honesty I have never noticed this in my FF. Mine is virtually silent at low revs and slow motion. I was gonna ask if your exhaust is standard, but can see by the post above that it is apparently a known finding. I am surprised I haven't noticed though if it is that bad.

[MDL111]

Have not noticed that either, will pay attention to it next time I drive the car.
Do you have a manual override on your exhaust flaps and they are open at all times? Closing them usually helps (but they should be at those revs if standard). Or maybe it is better if they are open….

[21ATS]

Drl22 said:

Yeah that’s the FF and was the major complaint from Ferrari customers and was rectified in the Lusso. Only solution really is an upgrade

Edit to note than in your garage you also have a Taycan. I always find getting back in my ICE cars to be quite brutal in comparison too but I love that.

The Taycan has gone, no matter how many times I try to update that in my profile it still shows I own it!

My understanding is the Lusso has the same exhaust system but much more soundproofing. So I'm going to embark on a soundproofing journey.

I love this car bar this one issue and the head unit, which is also on the upgrade list.

[21ATS]

burpface said:

In honesty I have never noticed this in my FF. Mine is virtually silent at low revs and slow motion. I was gonna ask if your exhaust is standard, but can see by the post above that it is apparently a known finding. I am surprised I haven't noticed though if it is that bad.

I have a feeling it was the sheer length of time I was exposed to it. Stationary the car is fine, driving the car is fine.

There's this transition though when creeping at 5mph-10mph that creates a resonance just before the valves open that I feel in my bones.

I was exposed to that yesterday for an hour and a half. So maybe it was just a baptism of fire!

Honestly I was absolutely drained when I reached my destination and wondering what on earth I'd bought!

[21ATS]

MDL111 said:

Have not noticed that either, will pay attention to it next time I drive the car.
Do you have a manual override on your exhaust flaps and they are open at all times? Closing them usually helps (but they should be at those revs if standard). Or maybe it is better if they are open….

As far as I'm aware everything is absolutely standard, however I'm going to have a good look.

Understand also I'm not saying the car is noisy, hell yeah it's noisy, it's a V12. This is a dull resonance in a very specific rev range that peaks at 1500rpm when creeping in traffic. It is very uncomfortable.

The moment you squeeze the throttle to start moving faster the resonance stops.

[burpface]

Shame to hear, but hopefully a but of dynamat will make quite a difference.

These days I finding any kind of sitting in traffic really frustrating/draining and exhausting, and can totally appreciate how little constant drone at a specific frequency would grate.

[21ATS]

burpface said:

Shame to hear, but hopefully a but of dynamat will make quite a difference.

These days I finding any kind of sitting in traffic really frustrating/draining and exhausting, and can totally appreciate how little constant drone at a specific frequency would grate.

I'm going to try and get some Db readings before and after matting.

I'll update this thread with results, if a bit of matting makes a difference it may be something other owners are interested in.

As I pretty much daily this car rather than it being just a weekend toy it needs to be comfortable in traffic situations.

[21ATS]

Drove around 50 miles today, mostly B roads around Norfolk which were a bit bumpy.

I've been playing around with the manettino settings still getting used to the car.

Rolling along in comfort low 40 mph the gearbox made it way to 7th and immediately the frequency drone started, a really low drone that was creating vibration in the shell. If the car was switched to sport/bumpy road mode the note changed instantly.

So, I'm making a habit of driving in sport more. But the problem for me on my car is specifically at 1500 rpm and I think it's with the exhaust valves shut. The moment the exhaust breathes freely the drone instantly dissapears.

Does this make sense to other owners?

[Monkeybiz101]

I have to say I have done stop / start motorway crawl in mine on a number of longer road trips and had no issues with any droning. Windows up it is civilised in ‘carrying around the family’ mode at all speeds.

[21ATS]

I'm starting to wonder if a previous owner may have tinkered with the exhaust so I'll have a good look when I get the chance.

I've found keeping it out of comfort has helped a great deal. Just keeping it off 1500rpm has almost eliminated the drone.

So I've covered 1000 miles in the couple of weeks I've owned it and exhaust aside there is clearly an awful lot of road noise and tyre roar, particularly on concrete motorway surfaces.

I now understand why the Lusso had so much more soundproofing.

So as I address the stereo system I'll dynamat any exposed body panels and see how much difference it makes.

Edited by 21ATS on Monday 5th September 08:42

[MDL111]

I never drive the car in comfort and never in automatic mode, so that may be the reason I have never encountered that issue

[21ATS]

So, we have found a solution to this "problem".

We fitted dynamat to any exposed parts of the bodyshell in the boot, on the fuel tank and under the rear seats.

Taking the car apart it was clear it had been apart before and just hadn't been put back together very well. So no doubt that was adding to the issue.

Pictures and more details on a thread on FChat:-

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/ff-exhau...

If for any reason you happen to have the back of your car stripped out (stereo install etc) I highly recommend doing this for the sake of the cost of a couple of sheets of Dynamat.

It's not sound insulation in itself rather it deadens vibration and reduces quite substantially the resonance of the cars bodyshell on a long drive. It just makes Motorway cruising that bit more comfortable.

Also having got completely comfortable with the car I spend all the time now driving it in Manual/Comfort which has also helped.