Last year, the FIA announced that GT3 cars in the World Endurance Championship would have their exhaust systems restricted for the 2025 season, capping their noise to just 100 decibels. While it wasn’t a huge change, it was enough to dampen their ferocity. The FIA put out a video of every GT3 car’s exhaust and they still sound good, of course, but there’s a noticeable difference and many fans aren’t happy.
According to SportsCar365, the Corvette Z06 GT3s are only about 12-14 decibels quieter than they used to be. It’s like going from the inside of a nightclub to a motorcycle exhaust, or a gunshot to a jackhammer, or a rock concert to the internal screams of my self-loathing. However, it isn’t just a decibel drop that matters. Since the cars now need restrictive mufflers, they aren’t just quieter, they sound different—slightly less aggro.
Naturally, fans aren’t happy. So they took to Reddit to voice their displeasure with the new regulations and some speculate that this is just an attempt to draw more focus to the Hypercars and LMP2 cars since those are the cars that compete for the overall win. However, some fans actually appreciate the mandatory decibel drop because it makes watching the cars in person less deafening. But isn’t it the point of going to a race to actually see and hear the cars as closely as you can? Otherwise, watch it from home.
The cars most affected by the new noise limits seem to be the McLaren GT3 Evo, Mustang GT3, Corvette Z06 GT3, and Porsche 911 GT3 R. The latter of which was already pretty quiet this year, so this isn’t a huge blow. However, hearing the Corvette V8 lose most of its signature thunder hurts my soul. The McLaren sounds especially muted, too, with not much more than a muffled burble.
Hearing the contrast between the GT3 cars and the Hypercars also proves how much damage the seemingly slight 12-14-decibel dropoff does. While GT3 cars are limited to 100 decibels, the Hypercar class is limited to 110. That 10-decibel increase clearly makes a world of a difference. The Hypercars aren’t just louder, they sound sharper, crisper, and more aggressive. The GT3 class mufflers affect more than just volume. It’s unclear why the FIA restricted exhaust noise even further for 2025 but, after hearing the new cars, it’s hard to forgive them for what they took from us.
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