With a 460 horsepower 5.0-liter V8 under the hood, the 2018 Ford Mustang GT is one loud car.
Ford doesn’t want its customers to disturb their neighbors with their muscle car’s loud start-up noise, so it’s developed an industry-first quiet start it has dubbed ‘Good Neighbour Mode’. Using active valves in the exhaust, the mode allows Mustang GT or GT350 owners to start their car up and leave their neighborhood quietly without disturbing their neighbors. Once they are out on the open road, they can deactivate the system and let the V8 breathe.
“Active valve performance exhaust gives Mustang owners the best of both worlds – that classic Mustang sound, and the ability to not wake up your neighbors when you leave the house early in the morning or arrive home late at night,” said Ford exhaust development engineer, Matt Flis.
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The system was thought up by former head of vehicle engineering at Ford Steve von Foerster after a run-in with the police. He started his GT350 up early one morning and a neighbor, disturbed by the noise, put their morning cup of coffee down and called 911 on him. He managed to avoid getting a ticket, but the experience gave him an idea. After a brief conversation with his fellow engineers, they came up with the concept for the quiet exhaust mode.
“Active valve performance exhaust gives Mustang owners the best of both worlds – that classic Mustang sound, and the ability to not wake up your neighbors when you leave the house early in the morning or arrive home late at night,” Flis added.
Of course owners will have still have to exercise courteousness and actually use the mode, which if we know Mustang owners, they probably won’t do. At least now if you see a new Mustang disturbing the peace late at night or early in the morning, you know Ford’s done all they can to get their pony car to pipe down.
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