Ever wondered how video game makers get such realistic sounds into their systems? Well, wonder no longer, as Tesla has revealed how Microsoft Game Studios went about capturing some pure tire squeal sound from their otherwise-silent electric Roadster, and we've got the samples for you to listen to.
The process was simple enough, if you're a sound engineer. Using mobile mounts, high-quality, directional, wind-buffered microphones were affixed to the car, recordings made, and the samples will be used to develop screeches for the wide range of cars in the video games Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing.
Quietness of the drivetrain and a lack of other obfuscating sounds attendant to a combustion-engine vehicle were the obvious upsides to using the Roadster. To get all the screeching sounds, Tesla Roadster owner #203, Tom Burt, an avid SCCA road racer, hit the skidpad to slide the Roadster around.
His main observations about the car's handling? "As expected, given the stock suspension settings and tire sizes, the car moderately understeers or 'pushes'," Burt said. Even after fiddling with tire pressures to change the balance of the car, the car still understeered. The problem was eventually fixed with some techniques borrowed from rally (or drift, depending on your viewpoint). "I used the e-brake to initiate “oversteer”spins and give the team the more aggressive tire squeals they were looking for. Like most mid-weight cars, once you get the car to over-rotate, it spins quickly. What a ton of fun," he said.
To hear a sample of the audio captured, clink these links (clip 1, clip 2, .wav format), or head over to Tesla's blog page for the full run down from Burt himself.
[Tesla]
