Have you ever gone to a Blue Angels airshow, and watched and listened as they screamed by you at nearly the speed of sound? Now imagine for a moment that sound was reduced by half. How about if they went by you like high speed gliders? You get my point? We hear the cars coming, and then as they get closer, and then pass by us. We are hit with the sound, and airwaves that give us the perception of higher speed as an IndyCar goes by!

(Please scroll to the bottom of the page and read this article before signing the petition IndyCar Series changes its (exhaust) tune) -

Thank you-Paul

My feeling is this. Hence this petition-Once IndyCar decided to make engines, and put in place the sound deadening we currently have in our series. We're stuck. As fans we currently have no say. Nor can we add currently add to our engines to bring back that sweet sound of days gone by. So my proposal to IndyCar, and engine manufacturers is this.

IndyCar you can give us fans what we want, and let us make our own decision on whether we want to wear hearing protection. We as fans can always wear foam earbuds, ear muffs, noise cancelling headphones, or stick our fingers in our ears. In other words. We can always take away the higher decibels through other means. But what you have done, is not given us fans any option to do so, and so we're stuck with the current somber droan of the less than idea engine note-Look I'm not stupid-Of course IndyCars can cause permanent hearing loss to fans, drivers, and crews. But give us the choice to decide on how to best protect ourselves. 

February 15, 2009 Orlando Sentinel-Dr. L. Dawn Flinn-Technology has changed so much over the years that drivers can use devices to protect their ears while they're in the cockpit. L. Dawn Flinn, an audiologist who works with the Indy Racing League, helps conduct hearing tests for IRL drivers at their annual physical. Stock cars have a more thunderous, core-shaking sound than IndyCars do. But the shrill sound of IndyCars can still damage hearing. Flinn is often astounded at how little attention drivers pay to their ears despite the options available.

So do fans plan to cover their ears? Some will, but many say they won't.

USA Today article 5/21/2012-The good news: this year, the noise levels at the track might be just a bit lower. The race cars are using new, slightly quieter, turbocharged engines made by Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus. The suppliers aren't saying how much quieter the engines are, but some observers say they have noticed a difference.

March 2012- Fan notices: Some fans argue that one of the main reasons they attend races is to get hyped up from all of the noise and claim their hearing hasn't been affected.

Steve McFadden: “We bought tickets early, wanting to see the new cars race,” said Steve McFadden, who noted he preferred to walk the circuit over a grandstand seat. “And when we got here for the morning (warm up session) I was pleased that the engines were quieter. You can carry on a conversation in almost a normal voice while the cars are on the track.” "The 2.2-liter, turbocharged V-6 engines are the reason. They produce a less throaty sound and the decibel level is noticeably lower"

Wayne Lowhorn, 53, on Brownsburg, Ind., said he has been coming to races ever since his dad used to carry him to the track, and has never worn ear protection. He said it would muffle the very noise he wants to hear. "I like the sound of race cars," he said. "I love the power and the vibration."

Another race fan, Jim Burkhart, 53, of Noblesville, Ind., said he has been coming to the races for more than 30 years and looks forward to hearing the roar of engines. Yet he acknowledged that he has probably suffered the consequences. Sometimes at night, as he is drifting off to sleep, he hears a ringing in his ears. "I've been to a lot of races, and I've also been to over 200 concerts," Burkart said, as he relaxed in a lounge chair by Turn 3 last week, watching race practice. "That adds up to a lot of ringing in my ears."

Tim and Emily Deugan of Plainfield, Ind., had a blanket spread out on the infield for their two young children, Zane, 3, and Lexi, 1. Neither parent was wearing ear protection, but both children had foam plugs stuck in their ears.

Tim Deugan: "They're a little bit scared of the noise," Tim Deugan said, as two race cars roared around the track. "But I don't think it's that loud." Other times, fans will wear large earphones so they can hear the radio scanners, and listen in on the chatter between the drivers and the crew. That way, they cover their ears from the loud outside noise.

Many of us have complained about the muted sound of our new cars since the onset of the 2007 through 2011 IndyCar seasons. Personally, I would take the Busy Beezzzz sound of prior 2011 IndyCars, than what we currently have-Please read below about the very noticeable decibel dumb down of IndyCar's since the DW12 came onto the tracks in 2011-

IndyCar Series changes its (exhaust) tune
Mar 11, 2007
John Oreovicz Autos, Open-Wheel

When casual observers of American open-wheel racing ask me what the biggest obvious difference is in covering the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car World Series, my usual answer is:

There will have to be major changes to IndyCar construction -- the side pods and engine cover being most likely -- if the exhaust note is going to be altered significantly. Ron McQueeney/IndyCar Series
"You can have a conversation at a Champ Car race."

Conversely, you couldn't at an IndyCar race. Most of the time, you couldn't even hear yourself think. But that's about to change, thanks to the integration of silencers to the ethanol-fueled 3.5-liter Honda engines, which power the field.

At the Daytona open test for the IndyCar Series in January, I thought the wind or my mind were playing tricks on me because the cars sounded quieter and more pleasant than I remembered. Then Honda Performance Development President Robert Clarke confirmed that some of the cars were running prototype silencers.

"Together with the IRL and Howerton Racing Products, we developed a silencer that has been tested a number of times including Daytona," Clarke said. "It is a silencer design that uses reversing cones, as opposed to packing material.

"Because of the packaging challenges with the limited space available in the IRL chassis the silencer is small and its silencing characteristics are, therefore, limited," he added. "But it does work and one can easily tell the difference between those cars that use the silencers and those that don't."

I'll say. I've often wondered if the sheer noise of an IndyCar Series race was a factor in driving fans away. InyCar Series cars on a high-speed oval have always been a visual spectacle, but they were also an aural nightmare. Or headache.

At places like Michigan and Kansas, you could literally feel the noise climb right up your spine and a couple of years ago, I finally learned to attach my earplugs to my media pass, because they were just as mandatory.

Late last month, IRL leaders released news that was music to my ears: The silencers will be utilized in 2007, and race fans and race teams will have a quieter, gentler IndyCar Series to look forward to in 2007.

"We've reduced the decibel level by about 4 percent (5 dbA) and taken the harshness and shrillness out of the exhaust notes along with the tone, which makes it gentler on the ears," said Les McTaggart, IndyCar's senior technical director. "We've achieved our objective within the existing architecture of the car."

"We could obviously have a much more efficient system, but that would require changing the underbody, the sidepods and probably the engine cover to make space for a much bigger component."
-- Les McTaggart

It's almost as if they've put a subtle noise filter on the shrill Honda Indy engine. You'll never mistake the rev-limited V-8 for the mechanical shriek of a pack of Formula 1 motors spinning at 19,000 rpm or the pleasant, turbo-muted wail of a Champ Car Cosworth, but the sound of the 2007 IndyCar Series field promises to be much kinder on the ears.

Clarke said that a large number of factors determine how a racing engine ultimately sounds. The 3.4-liter V-8 engine being used for Acura's American Le Mans Series sports cars has a much sharper bark than the Honda Indy engine even though it was developed from the same architecture.

"It's the total configuration," Clarke stated. "Bore and stroke, V-angle, crank layout, general operating RPM and the exhaust system design are the biggest contributors."

Along with the switch to 100-percent ethanol fuel this year, the Indy Racing League's desire for a quieter product was Honda's biggest challenge in developing the new 3.5-liter engine.

"Typically mufflers or silencers cause back pressure in the exhaust system and back pressure causes the engine to run less efficiently -- power and fuel economy go down," Clarke said. "Generally, the more silencing effect the higher the back pressure and, therefore, more power and fuel-mileage loss."

It's therefore a tribute to Honda engineers that the 2007-model IndyCars are not only just as fast as their predecessors, they're a whole lot nicer to listen to. And given the opportunity to factor in noise level as a design objective from the start, the exhaust note of the next generation of IndyCars could be tuned to perfection.

"We could obviously have a much more efficient system, but that would require changing the underbody, the sidepods and probably the engine cover to make space for a much bigger component," McTaggart said. "We've tried to come up with the most cost-effective compromise for the life of these [Dallara] cars.

"When we do the new car, I think that will become a much greater consideration about getting a 'silent system' into the car."

John Oreovicz covers open-wheel racing for National Speed Sport News and ESPN.com.

In closing-I can not find the article. But I had read a few years back that IndyCar, and others had agreed to a lower decibel rule in autosports. So this is another reason the screaming engines of IndyCar has gotten the grease. 

In closing. Did it ever occur to people that are making all these studies, and changes fail to see this point.  People involved in these activities re doing so voluntarily for the enjoyment and profitability that outweighs the risks involved. If you are a product of being born prior to the 1980's. Just remember when we road bicycles, and skateboards without helmets. Drove cars without seat belts. And generally took everyday as a new adventure. I guess this just doesn’t work in the 21st century. So sign the petition, and we might just get something back from the past.

Thank you, 

Paul Palmieri of IndyCar Serious