is fweem being overused?
s...@takeoutcheerful.com
hi all,
i hate to be the picky bastard but i thought "fweem" was coined to
describe the sound of an aircooled bug's muffler.
Lately on this newsgroup i have seen people attribute the fweem sound to
vehicles that dont make such a sound, for example a 71 or older bus
with a stock bus muffler, A type 4 engined bus, or any beetle with
aftermarket exhaust (glasspacks, stingers etc.)
so, is fweem to describe the very peculiar sound that beetle tailpipes
make, or has it become a general warm fuzzy description of the experience
of driving an aircooled VW? If it is the general sound of an aircolled VW
my 71 bus has more audible valve noise than exhaust noise with the stock
muffler on the 1600 type1 engine.
just looking for some clarification as to the group concensus..
peas,
Steve
--
***************************************************************************
sometimes we live no particular way but our own
***************************************************************************
s...@cheerful.com http://dont have one right now
Highlander7
How is sputter sputter =) You may be being picky, but true. I think some of
us use it as an expression of loving our old VW's. Just has become part of
being a owner of an aircooled, I guess. So do we nit pick about the each
others expressions used, or do we just worry more about just keepin our VW's
alive. Long Live the Aircooled VW
Highlander7
Here check this out, Some Fweem others Virtual Fweem. Check it out.
Welcome to the
FWEEMATORIUM
The Official Worldwide Website of Fweem
A Website Dedicated to the Sights and
Sounds of Aircooled VWs
"Uuuhhhh, what exactly is 'Fweem??
Short Answer:
Fweem is that unique sound that a Beetle engine makes
from it's exhaust.
Contributed Discussion:
[Note: All text hereunder is contributed from participants of the newsgroup
rec.autos.makers.vw.aircooled]
The Origins of Fweem (where did that word come from)
In search of...
John Spohn
I had an exchange on the subject with John Henry at this time last year, when
he mentioned the
Canadian usage of which he was aware. That's as early as I can be certain of
any net usage.
I have personally used the word since around 1975. We (my geeky friends and I)
were in the habit
of creating words and that was one of them. "Skug" was another and I'll only
say it had to do with
teenage vandalism of which I am not particularly proud. (But it was the
perfectly descriptive
word..hehe :)
I posted about a month ago <34eba3be....@news.supernews.com> soliciting
other
references to its origin and got only three replies. A MAJOR flame, and one
each from you and
John H. El Flamo got very torqued up over the appearance of taking credit for
Fweem so I could
impress my high school (girl)friends. I wish. ;o) The only HS friends I have
now are teachers.
Pretty soon I'll have more when my son's class gets there.
I would suspect that like many good inventions, Fweem could have more than one
origin, and
therefore no-one can claim the be "the" originator onl,y the first, so it
comes down to a
chronological issue. It's unlikely all origins were simultaneous, and until we
get hooked up with
these Canucks (Canadians, eh?) it'll be hard to say anything has been truly
determined. Perhaps
John Henry can help with that.
Sure, it would be cool to know that you were the first, but not at the expense
of pissing people off.
That's the VW way. What would I do, anyhow, copyright it and try to charge
everyone a royalty
for bumper stickers? Oooo.. look out Bill Gates, I'm gonna be rich!!
Fweem
John Spohn
'70 Type 265 LHD
Crew Cab Pickup
The Fweem Concept
Jan Andersson
I think the FWEEM is somehow describing he spirit and the
nostalgia
related to the original beetle, and even if you have a 2"
exhaust with a
stinger, it would be a kind of a tribute to the history and
the whole lifestyle, a
statement that you respect the origins of your car and the
people who care
for them. A way to show everyone in the know that despite the
fact that you
have a killer engine (a big no-no for vintage restorers) you
DO respect the
car and it's roots, and the whole crowd of other enthusiasts
around the
world.
I always found it kind of disturbing that some VW freaks do
not respect
some others, because thay don't share the same taste of cars
and styles.
Some like Cal Looks, some like 100% pure originals. Some like
Baja's. In
my book, they are all acceptable, because the bottom line in
each case is
keeping the VW we all love alive, in one form or another. The
FWEEM is
always there, sometimes you just can't hear it.
Just my opinions. Sorry if this sounds confusing, I'm having
a bad day. I'm
not feeling too good, I should have stayed in bed. Maybe I
have fever. Can't
really concentrate on anything.
What actually makes Fweem (a "scientific" explanation of
Fweem Production)
When a muffler is not a muffler- Rob Boardman
A suggestion for the 'Scientific explanation of
Fweem".
The Fweem is a complicated sound, but consists (in my
opinion) of
two main sounds. The chirrup or whistle/chirp sound,
and the beat.
The chirrup component comes from the design of the
exhaust
system, and especially from the two 'peashooter'
exhausts.
The muffler is not a muffler at all, but an expansion
box. The
muffling is done by the fibreglass stuffing and
perforated inner pipe
inside the peashooters. These are rather small in
diameter, and so
the 'airspeed' of the exhaust gases through the
peashooters is high.
This combination results in the whistling/chirruping
sound. When
the stuffing and perforated inside tubes collapse (as
they inevitably
do) the chirrup sound almost diappears, leaving just
the Dakka
Dakka Dak sound of the beat. A similar chirrup effect
can be
heard when you blow through a small diameter flexible
pipe which
has circular ribbing down it's length, like some
flexible cable
ducting, or the 'tube' part of a flexible 'wrap round'
torch.
The beat comes from the flat engine design and the
internals of the
muffler (expansion chamber).
The two front cylinders vent into the muffler through
the cabin heat
exchangers (J tubes) and short internal perforated
'cones', Which
point roughly at the respective peashooter for each
side.
The two rear cylinders mate to internal pipes which
cross over
inside the muffler, with perforated ends to release
the exhaust
gases near the 'opposite' peashooter. This gives all
cylinders equal
length exhaust stacks, but if you follow the firing
order and the
layout of the pipework, the result is exhaust pulses
at the
peashooters of left/left, right/right, rather than the
expected
left/right/left/right.
It's not quite as simple as that though; the muffler
is open inside, so
some of the gases from the left side exhaust stacks
will escape (a
moment later) from the right peashooter, and
visa-versa. So it's
more like LEFT/right,LEFT/right,RIGHT/left,RIGHT/left.
This arrangement causes the characteristic beat of the
fweem. And
it explains why the fweem disappears when using most
extractor
setups - the pulses become too even, and the plain
tail pipe design
spoils the chirrup sound.
Rob
(1970 1500 beetle, one owner, 240,000 miles on it's
original
engine, going Dakka Dakka Dak because the stuffing has
collapsed in the peashooters!)
The Spohn "Time-Fweem" domain
John Spohn
Something else I 've been pondering - how a person can actually make the
sound. It's a
combination of traditional percussive tongue engine sound done while
whistling, with some
coverage of the mouth with a hand to get the air/fan effect. Not for the
uncoordinated.
The following is a fixed-pitch, unscientific chart of the rpm vs. Mph of a
beetle in the
time-fweem domain:
_| m
3k | m m e
_| e e e e e e e e e ....
2k | e e e e
_| w w w w
1k |F F F F
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | | |
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Sorry to the metrics, I didn't have time to make this dual scale.
The Nemrac "4 speed" fweem
Charles Nemrac
Okay, okay, okay... I know my exhaust fweems (nothing does it better than a
brand new stock
exhaust and original tailpipes). BUT--
Is each beat of the engine a fweem (f respresent a fweem):
(1st) f f f f f f f f f f f
(2d) f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
(3d) f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
(4th) f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f
OR does the fweem start with each gear:
Meeeeeewf
fweeem
fweeeeeeeeeem
fweeeeeeeeeeeeem
fweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeem Just curious!!
C. Nemrac
The Side effects of Fweem (All of those "feel good" things,
"virtual" fweem from cars that don't actually make the sound)
"Fahrverfweem"
Jan "May the Fweem Be With You"
Andersson
I'm not the right person to tell
you what it
is, as i did not invent it, but
basically it's
the "whistling" sound that the
original
beetle "peashooter" exhaust pipes
make
when accelerating. Some say it
sounds
like a lawnmower...
Anyway, that's what the word Fweem
describes. Keeping this background
information in mind, FWEEM is
generally
referring (in my opinion) to the
"fahrvergnuegen" of aircooled
volkswagens, if you don't know what
that means.. It's german, and means
something like "joy of driving"
(loosely
translated).
Fweem is the sound, the history,
the
nostalgia, the enthusiasm, the
lifestyle of
Aircooled Volkswagens. Only the
original exhaust pipe makes the
"fweeming" sound, but anyone
driving an
aircooled VW, modified or not, is
(again
in my opinion) entitled to use the
word
when talking about his/her or
anyone
elses aircooled VW.
Whistle Fweem
Chuck Van Pelt
I noticed quite a few posts lately about the distinctive noise made by the
exhaust of some VW's
and had to put in my $0.02 worth...
Unfortunately, I have a '77 bug where the exhaust is routed out through one
rather ordinary exhaust
pipe. No FWEEM for me. The other day, my freind and I were working in the
garage talking abou
this very matter and we decided to try a little experiment.
For those unfamiliar with the exhaust system of the '77, there is a small pipe
which splits off from
the main exhaust pipe (before the muffler) and heads up to the EGR valve.
Well, my EGR pipe had
long since rusted away leaving a stub of pipe which I had crimped off.
I hacksawed off the crimp and attached an aluminum train whistle to the stub.
(This whistle has
several pipes of varying lengths which sounds like a train when you blow into
it or hook it up to
some kind of air pressure source.) I drove the car around the block and you
should have seen the
neighbors lookin'! Scared the hell out of the cat. Sounded like a freight
train was coming through.
I have since removed the whistle, but can happily say that I had the only VW
that goes
WHOOOOOOOOOO instead of FWEEM.
After reading about FWEEM, I listened carefully to my car to identify some of
the other distinctive
sounds that it makes:
WHACK! = The sound made as the steering wheel hits my forehead during
removal.
TWEET-TWEET! = The sound the little birds make after I hear "WHACK!".
CLICK...CLICK...KERCHUNK! = The sound of a VW jacking point collapsing as
the
car is lifted by a $20 K-Mart floor jack.
TSST TSST TSST = The sound of the spark grounding out to the engine
before it can reach
the plug. Look for accompanying cool light show and ozone smell.
POP! = The sound of a Craftsman open end wrench falling across the
battery terminals
SNAP!...Oh S***! = The sound made by a VW and it's owner upon realization
that the
cable which opens the hood has just broken.
"He's drivin' a VW bug...search the car! Damn hippies!" = Words uttered
by a U.S.
customs agent as I pull up to the US/Canadian border to re-enter the U.S.
Chuck Van Pelt
Fun with Fweem (Aerosmith's "Fweem On", a degree in
Fweeminology, "Islands in the Fweem", etc.)
The Sign of Fweem
Jason Black
The possibilities are endless...
"Yo quiero fweem", with the Taco
Bell
chihuahua and Beetle...
The picture link posted several
days ago
about the snow-covered beetle
would,
of course, be "ice fweem".
a pick-up line... "Excuse me, but
do you
fweem?"
"No, it's a fweemer, not a
beemer(beamer?)."
On a non-fweemer... "I'd rather be
fweeming"
"Fweem on Board"
"I (heart) my Fweem"
"Kiss me, I Fweem"
"Pro-Fweem"
"University of Fweem"
"Fweem Inspection passed 1998"
"Pardon me, but would you have any
(grey?) fweem?"
"Let me tell you about my fweem."
"Beam me up Scotty; there's no
intelligent fweem down here."
"Visualize World Fweem"
"It's a Fweem thing... you
wouldn't
understand."
"Fweem, the international
language."
"Sour Fweem"
"Fweemed Corn"
"Se habla fweem."
Restaraunt Speak
Bill Berckman
How about this:
Sign in a German fast food restaurant:
1.We will serve no Fweem before its time
2.No Shirt No Shoes No Fweem
3.Would you like your Fweem medium or well done?
Converstaion in a nice German Restaurant
Watier: Would this fweem be acceptable?
Patron: What kind is it?
Waiter: Its a fine '56 "Oval"
Patron: Hmmmm, I think I'd prefer a '51 split. Do you
have any in your fweem cellar?
The Union
athomik
Do we have any Fweemasons on this NG?
California Fweemin'
Kathy Myers
Sung to the tune of "California
Dreamin'" by the Mamas and
the Papas
All the geeks are gone the snow's
too soft to ski I need to take a ride
in Her Majesty!
I'd be safe and warm in her tapestry
CALIFORNIA FWEEMIN' in Her
Majesty
I went down to the place the roads
are safe today took a shovel and an
axe and it took all day got down to
the dirt and had to scream Hoooray!
CALIFORNIA FWEEMIN' on
such a winter's day
I opened up the door she fired right
away backed into the sun and
simply drove away people started
wavin' drivin' to LA CALIFORNIA
FWEEMIN' on such a winter's
day!!!
When all was said and done I put
her back away gotta keep her safe
that's where she's gonna stay but,
soon it will be summer oh what a
happy day CALIFORNIA
FWEEMIN' every single day!!!
-- Kathy Myers and Her Majesty
Other Fweemisms (Other things that make a Fweem-like
sound)
Related Sounds and Smells
Bill Berckman
Just about everyone (myself included) loves Fweem. Fweem by
now is well
on its way to becoming part of the VW Culture thanks to
inventer and
Rec.Aircooled club member Jan Andersson. Besides Fweem there
are
several other things about the Beetle that I like and are
unique.
I like the sound (dont know what to call it) that the brake
pedal makes when
you slip your foot off it. Every beetle I have owned makes
this sound.
I like the hollow sound that you get when you lightly tap on
the hood of your
beetle near the winshield. Every beetle I have been around
regardless of
year makes this sound. Can't be found anywhere else.
I like the fact that you have to open the vent window to
close your door.
The seal that can only be found on VW keeps it fresh.
Maybe this is strange but I like the smell you get when you
are driving and
turn the heat on.
I love opening up the hood to put gas in and watching peoples
reactions.
And of course the Fweem sound of the engine always puts a
smile on my
face.
I guess if I were a cowboy, I would love the high roofline so
you could wear
your hat while riding, I mean driving your Vw.
These things may be off the wall, but I have to confess, they
contribute to
my love of the Beetle. I believe it is called Farvignugen
(sp). There may have
been a simialr thread but does anyone else have something
that contributes
to their love of VW.
Fweem Your Senses
"Wood"
The Smell! My mom had a Beetle when I was 5
years old, and the same smell is in every Beetle
I've owned. I've had friends puke in my '66, and
I just hosed off the rubber floor mat, and
afterwards all you could smell was Beetle. What
a happy smell.
I also like the long shifter...lean forward for first
and third, sit back for second and fourth.
And in the summertime with the windows down,
if you drive next to a median you can hear what
the rest of the world hears as you drive by. I
love that sound.
Fweemshift
Dan
I've got one: the feel of the shifter and notching
into gears--better
than any new 'plastic' car!
Sound Effects
John Spohn
>How about "flunk" or
"thlunk"?
>(I'm sure Don Martin would
come up with one easily!)
Close. There are three elements: Foot
coming off pedal, pedal hits top of travel,
return spring vibrates. So whatever it is
should end in "-nggg". Such as:
Thu-lungg, Pa-tungg, etc. Still groping for
the right one.
I'm a sound effects junkie. One of the
things I like about them is when the name
assigned to the sound is perfectly
descriptive. That's what led to Fweem,
and what should also be applied to this.
Thunk is too simple, and may be more
bus-related as that's my daily ride. Plus
it's the combo of foot-off / pedal hits top
of travel, isn't it. I'll get to work on it.
Troubleshooting Fweem (when your VW stops fweemin')
John Connolly
that was NOT designed to be on the car is installed (most of the time). Busses
don't either for the same reasons. T-3s don't, and T-4s don't.
Ghias do, and T-1s do (stock mufflers).
John
s...@TAKEOUTcheerful.com wrote:
> hi all,
>
> i hate to be the picky bastard but i thought "fweem" was coined to
> describe the sound of an aircooled bug's muffler.
>
> Lately on this newsgroup i have seen people attribute the fweem sound to
> vehicles that dont make such a sound, for example a 71 or older bus
> with a stock bus muffler, A type 4 engined bus, or any beetle with
> aftermarket exhaust (glasspacks, stingers etc.)
>
> so, is fweem to describe the very peculiar sound that beetle tailpipes
> make, or has it become a general warm fuzzy description of the experience
> of driving an aircooled VW? If it is the general sound of an aircolled VW
> my 71 bus has more audible valve noise than exhaust noise with the stock
> muffler on the 1600 type1 engine.
>
> just looking for some clarification as to the group concensus..
>
> peas,
>
> Steve
>
> --
> ***************************************************************************
> sometimes we live no particular way but our own
> ***************************************************************************
> s...@cheerful.com http://dont have one right now
--
While you capitalists are purging my email and spamming me, don't
forget to include these people:
Fraud Watch: frau...@psinet.com Federal Trade Commission:
consum...@ftc.gov ACCC: swee...@accc.gov.au
Oh, and while you're at it, here's a taste of your own medicine!
admin@loopback $LOGIN@localhost $LOGNAME@localhost $USER@localhost
$USER@$HOST -h1024@localhost ro...@mailloop.com
keep@nospam
fweem) but as a saultation to other aircooled enthusiasts.
John Spohn