Though Ford engineers actually figured out a way to get V8 power out of the EcoBoost V6 engine in the 2015 F-150, what they weren’t able to figure out was how to make a V6 produce sound like a V8.
Knowing that certain customers might miss that rumble and roar, Ford engineers came up with a solution that involves the truck’s speakers. The guys at Road & Track first reported on the workaround, with their sources telling them that whenever the truck was placed “under hard acceleration,” Ford was simply piping in a recording of a V8 engine over the sound of the actual engine.
However, this morning, Ford spokesman Mike Levine reached out to us and explained what’s actually going on. And while some might think it’s a bit lame to amplify the sound of the engine at all, the trick itself is still pretty cool.
Essentially, Ford is enhancing the sound of the truck’s V6 while it works and then amplifying that enhanced sound through the truck’s speakers. It’s almost like a real-time voice effect for the engine that makes it sound a bit more menacing.
“This isn’t fake noise or a soundtrack,” Levine wrote in an email. “This is real engine noise digitally refined in real-time to further enhance our EcoBoost engine sound using the truck’s speakers.”
He added that the feature only comes in the Ford models equipped with the optional Sony sound system.
