Dodge Might Put Vibrators Into Electric Cars To Make Them Rumble Like V8s. Here’s How It Would Work

Much of what fuels the EV debate is the trade-offs inherent in any emerging technology. Issues like range, charging speed, and infrastructure problems are the topics brought up over and over in this occasionally exhausting conversation. These have been the main focus for automakers in their arms race to make EVs as convenient to own as gas-powered cars. While companies work tirelessly to close the gap on these shortcomings, many are missing a key facet of car ownership that will leave gearheads in the cold if it isn’t addressed: the driving experience.

I can attest to this, having driven a variety of EV’s. Most models deliver brutal acceleration that few gas cars can match, but after you floor it a couple times (and give your stomach a chance to settle down), everyday driving feels pretty anonymous. If I ignore the interior and just focus on the driving sensations there isn’t a huge difference between a Mach-E, an EV6, or a Model 3. It’s a bit like riding in a high speed train. The speed that scenery flies by your window is thrilling at first, but after that wears off it’s just quiet, efficient transportation. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it won’t warm the cockles of a gearhead’s heart.

A lot of this is because most EV’s offer a detached driving experience. There’s no engine, flooding the cabin with the sounds and vibrations we all love. Steering and pedal inputs are by wire or electronically assisted removing another source of tactile feedback. The lack of transmissions eliminate the feel of the engine going through the gears. With regenerative braking you don’t even need to use the brake pedal most of the time. If you are a luxury car buyer, this type of experience is desirable, but not everyone wants to commute in an isolated pod. There is a huge opportunity for automakers to differentiate themselves. Thankfully one automaker is doing just that.

Recently uncovered by MoparInsiders.com,  Stellantis (well, FCA U.S. LLC — the patent filing is a few years old)filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Organization for a system called the Active Vehicle Enhancement System (AVE), which uses force generators to fill the vehicle’s cabin with the vibrations typically generated by a gas engine. This would work in tandem with an Active Sound Enhancement (ASE) system playing engine noise through the speakers, and the Exhaust Sound Enhancement (ESE) system. The goal, besides inventing a bunch of new TLAs the industry loves so much (Three Letter Acronyms), is to mimic the visceral feeling you get wheeling a gas car. This is a big deal, and something currently absent in the current crop of EVs. Let’s see what they have to say in the patent:

Battery electric vehicles (BEV’s) may provide a greener alternative to vehicles with combustion engines. However, BEV’s can emit very low noise levels… Known solutions include creating electronic noises through external speakers on a vehicle. However, these systems do not produce an authentic engine sound nor are they as loud as a high-performance vehicle. Additionally, vehicles that have traditionally been considered “muscle cars” or “high performance” may no longer have a characteristic sound emitted through their exhaust systems. Further still, in vehicles with the known systems, the sound can feel unnatural due to lack of tactile feedback experienced with vehicles having internal combustion engines. Thus, while current systems work well for their intended purpose, it is desirable to provide continuous improvement in the relevant art.

The patent goes into detail on how the ASE system will work concurrently with the Engine Sound Enhancement system and Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust  to mimic the full sensory experience an ICE vehicle provides. The control scheme telling everything what to do is similar to the active sound enhancement systems that pipe artificial engine noise through the speakers. Data from pedal position, wheel speed, and electric motor torque sensors are fed into a controller that works with the CAN system to play continuously changing, sample based .wav files to match the vibro-acoustic output of a gas motor in your current driving situation. The patent mentions playing startup and shutdown sounds along with the ability to choose different vehicle profiles, which is pretty cool. You can get the experience of driving some futuristic Jetsons-mobile one day, a 69 Charger the next, and if we are lucky, an 80’s Omni GLH or a 76 Aspen! Imagine going to work in a Hellcat then driving home to the sounds of a roided out Neon SRT4, sounds pretty fun right?

The drawing below shows the mounting scheme of the actuators to the frame of the car. The patent describes these as a rare earth magnet surrounded by an electromagnetic field generator (copper winding), which is basically a speaker without the cone. These transmit vibrations directly to the chassis. The vibration output would be tuned to the vehicle to amplify certain resonance frequencies and reduce others. The controller splits the engine sound signal into different frequency ranges that make sense for the shakers, the speaker system and the exhaust. With this setup you’ll be able to feel the vibrations through the seats, pedals, steering wheel, and armrest. Combined with the engine noise playing through the interior speakers and out the exhaust, it should be an immersive setup.

Figure 3 below shows the exhaust system, which uses woofers and mid range speakers played into tuned chambers to blast noise out of the exhaust tips. This is a similar concept to Borla’s Active Performance Sound system they released for EV’s last year.

If anyone would develop this technology, it would be Stellantis. The company has been working on its next generation Dodge Charger, which will have at least one version that is fully electric. For a company that’s made its bread and butter stuffing larger and larger Hemi V8s into their cars, they’ll need to do something to retain that enthusiast customer base. With this sound and vibration package, their eRupt electro-mechanical multi-speed transmission, and the blistering acceleration we’ve come to expect from electric vehicles, they’ll have a compelling vehicle that will hopefully retain many of their gearhead fans, while standing out from other EV’s on the market.

Of course there will be a segment of gearheads that will poo-poo any type of artificial enhancements to the driving experience. The type of folks who only listen to their classic rock on vinyl through a tube amp and some Cerwin Vegas because that’s how it’s “meant to be listened to.” And I get it. I was a little skeptical of active sound enhancement systems at first, thinking they were corny. But my current vehicle has this feature and I’ve grown to like it. It’s better than hearing no engine noise, or having the car’s sound package so compromised you get tons of road and wind noise along with the notes from the engine. Odds are, many of these people have no problem with cars with questionably functional aero or decorative air vents because, hey it looks cool. I bet a lot of those people will get on board after some seat time and tire smoking hoonage.

I haven’t experienced this exact type of system, but I’m well acquainted with something similar, NVH simulators. These are very expensive, highly tuned driving simulators that automakers use for things such as jury evaluations (think focus groups), virtual part swaps, and NVH testing. They aren’t built for having fun, they’re designed to replicate the sound and vibration sensory experience as accurately as possible in multiple driving scenarios.

The setup is similar, with actuators attached to the frame, pedals, and steering column, sending vibrations through all the touch points, as well as an array of speakers and the curved screen. These shakers simulate the vibrations from the powertrain, different road surfaces, even speed bumps. The sensations paired with the sounds felt so real it was eerie. If Dodge can get this system a fraction as accurate as what I’ve experienced, with the option to switch sound and vibration profiles on the fly, this car will be a hoot to drive. In the end, that’s all gearheads are looking for and should be worth celebrating.