Loud noise can be a nauseating experience. Lots of us live with it and may have no choice but to work with it. Those gallant knights whose steel nerves drive them to co-exist with extreme noise levels in what some describe as the 'gloriously noisy' environment of motor racing are one example.
Noise levels can reach an extreme 140 decibels (db) - possibly from the likes of the gargantuan 8-litre, V16 Bugatti Veyron.
Selling at around €750,000, I don't think we need reach for those earplugs yet. However, the electrifying drone from a V10 or V8 engine is arguably the real star of the show - no offence intended lads. We still think you're all awe-inspiring.
A reported 7 per cent of employees in Europe suffer from hearing difficulties. The word noise comes from the Greek word nausea. It is more obviously an issue in industries such as manufacturing, construction, orchestra pits and transport.
Truck drivers can be exposed to 89 db, while staff in nightclubs can endure up to a reported 100 db. An industrial journal reports that the noise made by the truck itself is about 83 db. The maximum safe noise exposure level over an eight-hour period is 85 db. Driving a rig with a radio on increases the sound level by 2.8db and opening the window adds another 1.3 db.
Spokesman for the IRHA, Jimmy Quinn says, "Thanks to regulation, modern vehicles are now so quiet. A lawnmower makes more noise than a fully laden truck. It takes 20 modern vehicles to reach the same decibels as a 1989 model."
An EU directive, which comes into force next month, sets a new daily exposure limit value of 87 db. Coincidentally, the FAI have ordered the downgrading of Formula 1 motor racing from the V10 engines to the V8. This initiative has less to do with the environment and everything to do with cost cutting efforts to conserve an industry that could be faced with extinction.
John Morris, managing director of the Republic's only motor racing facility at Mondello Park in Co Kildare says "The levels set down by RACMSA range from 108 db for saloon and sports cars, to three classes that run at 118 db in British Formula 3. Manufacturers are constantly trying to bring down noise levels, but the BOSS series are exempt."
He says, "I've heard it said that the engine noise could be heard from as far away as 30 miles from Silverstone. At a Formula 1 racetrack, you must protect your ears. Different engines have different noise characteristics, so it's always a struggle to bring them down under the levels allowed. Basically, the more noise, the more unrestricted power the car has.
"Noise creates an illusion. You can have two identical cars racing at the same speed with one fully silenced. Every time, it's the one creating the noise that appears to be going the fastest," he says. The experience of motor racing can be an almost hypnotic one for the spectator, whether at the racetrack, roadside, or indeed on the couch in front of the box. The perpetual wasp-like drone of a Formula 1 racing event appears to trigger an amphetamine-like response in the viewer - even in non-drivers.
International champion Damian Faulkner has raced one level below Formula 1, and has won more championships at a higher level in Ireland in 20 years than any driver previously. He is currently racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup in Great Britain. This event entails 40 days of driving.
Winner of four major championships including the European Formula Palmer Audi championships, the Donegal man says, "The noise definitely characterises the sport and is very intriguing. I race a six-gear saloon car, which has a 3.8-litre engine with 6 cylinders and produces 390 bhp. There's no soundproofing or carpet. It's a complete shell and the engine is behind you. It's noisy, but I think I'd suffer more in a nightclub."
He says, "Earplugs are optional but I choose not to. It's crucial to hear the engine for the gear change, to extract the maximum in terms of torque and power. It's often easier to hear the engine of your opponent which is useful because it tells you what gear he might be in."
If the real star of the racetrack is the noise, then, the designers of a silent environment-hugging electric motor featured in the June 2005 issue of The Engineer may have to return to the drawing board. Hoping their design will outrace a Ferrari; they would be well advised to reconsider the noise factor.
Imagine a fleet of V8s tearing eerily past the stand at Brand's Hatch.
The only detectable sound being the chatter of the glamorous crowd, and the clatter from an unlucky car colliding with the crash barrier. Nah! It wouldn't, couldn't ever work.