Friends, countrymen, lend me your ‘ears’.

[Bwk2000]

Hi Guys (& Gals). Quick question for those with more exposure to these engines than me:
Is this a ‘normal’ amount of engine noise for a R16 engine? It is running great but there are no 311 owners around these parts for me to chat with and compare notes. I have worked on many four-bangers (incl. a SPL311) in the past, but that past was decades ago and my auditory baseline for these appears to also be … old

Tune-up, valve adjustment, tightening of whatever needed tightening has been done, no exhaust leaks, etc. I’ve intentionally set the SUs a bit rich to address a lean pop-back condition on very hot days at cruising speed (which has worked fine). That’s the reason for the bit of loping at idle which sits at about 750 RPM. Temp, oil pressure and charge are all good across the operating range - It just seems a bit … louder than I remember.

[Gregs672000]

Hard to tell. See my post under the other R16 noise posts about valve lash adjustment.

[nismou20]

Doesn’t sound that bad to me and if the clearance is at .017 thou it should be good.

[cbez]

sounds nice to me. was interesting how it revved out some after you let off the throttle.

[Bwk2000]

sounds nice to me. was interesting how it revved out some after you let off the throttle.

Yup. Every now and then when I rev it from the corner of the bar it jams a bit. Never happens when driving or if I rev it by hand from the center of the bar … always seem to forget that

Also, I have checked out a few of the vids from various members to try and get a feel for how my car is running (noise wise). Usually they are trying to troubleshoot an issue and it may not be an appropriate baseline for comparison. Trying to find vids of ‘There is nothing wrong with it!’ is proving more elusive … - I would welcome those if anyone has them!

[cbez]

both of those sound pretty good to me

[Bwk2000]

Thanks Cole, that is helpful.
I guess mine is more or less within the ballpark. Didn’t need to adjust valve clearances last time I had it apart … I’ve been second guessing myself over it.

[todd lorber]

You should try to get hold of Garm. He makes it up your way and would be a good resource for this.

[Bwk2000]

You should try to get hold of Garm. He makes it up your way and would be a good resource for this.

Really? That would be great. I see he hasn’t been active here since 2017, but I’ll keep an eye out for him.

Thanks!

[Bwk2000]

Update: Looks like all I needed was a little Hy-per Lube ZDDP supplement to quiet things down to what I remembered. Changed the oil back in July and didn’t add any - Lesson learned.

[RBMann]

I remember going out and starting the roadster one day and thinking OMG what happened overnight. Lots of extra small noises and it just sounded horrible. I started freaking out and was ready to dive in to check the valves. At this point I realized it was the first time I had my hearing aids in while the roadster was running. Popped my ears out and everything was wonderful again.

[Bwk2000]

I remember going out and starting the roadster one day and thinking OMG what happened overnight. Lots of extra small noises and it just sounded horrible. I started freaking out and was ready to dive in to check the valves. At this point I realized it was the first time I had my hearing aids in while the roadster was running. Popped my ears out and everything was wonderful again.

- Brilliant!