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spitfirebill
spitfirebill PowerDork
7/9/15 3:19 p.m.

Sterling Marlin's engines used to run the 180° headers and made the car sound awesome.

Feedyurhed
Feedyurhed SuperDork
7/9/15 3:23 p.m.

I like the Porsche flat 6, Subaru flat 4, Ferrari V12, Audi Turbo 5, Rotary............I guess I like most of them.

bearmtnmartin
bearmtnmartin GRM+ Memberand Dork
7/9/15 3:56 p.m.

BRM 1.5 liter V16. Hard to leave that out. Sounds like silk ripping.

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/9/15 3:56 p.m.
JG Pasterjak wrote: and why they produce the emotional reactions in gear heads the ay they do.

For me: I have brand preferences. But the emotional reaction I have comes from the direct tie a well tuned engine/intake/exhaust combo has to my giggle button. I say it's the "application" that really gets our butterflies fluttering.

See, I argue that any engine is going to sound like crap with a boy-racer bouncing it off its redline while cruising a parking lot (yes, even a Ferrari). Its not until we think this driver has attempted to extract every available horse from his stable and is now using them ALL in an attempt to accelerate to the next corner faster than any other driver/car combination out there that we start to get interested.

It's the quick shifts, the blip shifts, the double clutches, over run burbles and pops. It's the long pulls through the gears. It's when you catch that same driver holding his (or her) car at the top of the RPM range, lifting just slightly, while they wait for those back tires to grab again so they can snatch the next gear and get back to gettin. THEN we say "damn that sounded amazing!"

An average F150 doesn't sound good at all just putting down the street with a ladder in its bed and construction equipment hanging off of it. It sounds worse when you slap on a loud exhaust and... what? wake up the neighbors?

But if you take the same engine and stuff it in a GT40 kit car aaaaaaaaaand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zoDR_siT_Q (skip to about 0:45)

welah! it sounds good again

HappyAndy
HappyAndy UberDork
7/9/15 4:24 p.m.

Alfa Busso V6.

Ducati desmo 90* V twin.

500cc moto GP 2 cycles.

Norton comando with megaphones.

Not really an engine noise, but I love straight cut gear whine.

Gunslinger
Gunslinger New Reader
7/9/15 4:37 p.m.
Cooper_Tired wrote: I may be biased, but I think the 5.0 OHV Ford V8 sounds amazing when opened up.

Short stroke V8s like the Ford 5.0 have a nice grumble.

Flat crank short stroke V8s And V12s are music.

I really like the sound of Fiat's sohc 1.3 to bad it sings but doesn't dance.

kanaric
kanaric Dork
7/9/15 4:46 p.m.
HappyAndy wrote: Not really an engine noise, but I love straight cut gear whine.

When I had a WRX the transmission in that made a similar whine. Never owned any other car that sounded like that.

singleslammer
singleslammer UltraDork
7/9/15 4:54 p.m.
bearmtnmartin wrote: BRM 1.5 liter V16. Hard to leave that out. Sounds like silk ripping.

Holy balls I think we have a winner!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJA7Vxrfkng

Drew122
Drew122 New Reader
7/9/15 5:00 p.m.

I'd like to see a straight-five in the article. Several years ago there was an Audi racing in an SCCA IT class which just sounded so much more interesting than the fours running with it.

HappyAndy
HappyAndy UberDork
7/9/15 5:06 p.m.

I know what the most comical engine sound ever is: a SAAB 2 stroke 3 cyl with straight pipes. 20 mph sounds like 120 mph.

JtspellS
JtspellS SuperDork
7/9/15 5:25 p.m.

So on the rotary side will have to suggest these,

13brew stock

13b streetported

20b bridgeported

Piston engines well I would like to know,

Why does the e46 m3 sound tinny compared to a standard I6

How does firing order effect sound

Why are company's putting microphones in the intake and pumping it through the stereo

And finally how can I get more SSSTTTTUUUIIITUUUUIIUUUU OUT of my DD na 4cyl with out a turbo

kazoospec
kazoospec Dork
7/9/15 5:37 p.m.

You might also want to ask (since you've got the ear of some experts) why some engines sound so much better under load than "free revs". My Miata's 1.8 sounds like a total rice rocket when rev'd with the clutch in. Under load, however, I think it's one of the better small displacement 4's out there.

Nick_Comstock
Nick_Comstock PowerDork
7/9/15 5:48 p.m.

There are so many different engines that have great sounds. It's hard to argue against a small block Ford, they do sound better than most SBC's that aren't built to the nines. A BBC is hard to beat as well, you can feel those in your chest when they go by. As mentioned earlier the ubiquitous 60 degree GM V6's have to rank in the top five of the worst sounds an engine has ever made. A screaming inline 6 is music.

I will say that to me the induction sound may be just as, if not more, important than the exhaust on a NA engine, at least when actually behind the wheel. Somewhere there is a harmony that happens between that wonderful induction sound blending with the deep bass of the exhaust that speaks directly to something hidden deep inside in my cerebral cortex.

Nick_Comstock
Nick_Comstock PowerDork
7/9/15 5:49 p.m.
kazoospec wrote: You might also want to ask (since you've got the ear of some experts) why some engines sound so much better under load than "free revs". My Miata's 1.8 sounds like a total rice rocket when rev'd with the clutch in. Under load, however, I think it's one of the better small displacement 4's out there.

The little BMW M10 engine sounds terrific under load.

oldeskewltoy
oldeskewltoy UltraDork
7/9/15 6:08 p.m.

https://youtu.be/M7Q44W6uEpA -

http://vid79.photobucket.com/albums/j143/oldeskewltoy/ae71/M4V00077.mp4 - not as nasty... more melodic - 4th gear pull

Driven5
Driven5 Dork
7/9/15 6:26 p.m.

You could do it as comparisons:

  1. V12 vs I6
  2. Cross plane vs flat plane DOHC V8
  3. Econobox vs sport bike DOHC I4
  4. Pushrod vs DOHC 60* V6
  5. Watercooled vs aircooled H6
  6. 90 degree vs 45 degree V-twin
  7. Subaru H4 vs Subaru H4 w/ equal length primaries vs DOHC I4 vs DOHC I4 w/ custom unequal length (Subaru equivalent) primaries

Regardless, the V12 is a must when looking at the 'best sounding' engines.

.

ProDarwin wrote: On that note, anyone have a visual explanation of how the 90 deg odd-fire V6 is converted to even fire by offsetting the crank arms?

http://www.autozine.org/technical_school/engine/smooth3.htm

19TO6MOTORSPORT
19TO6MOTORSPORT New Reader
7/9/15 6:41 p.m.

a b series honda or bp series mazda reving above 8000rpm is a fun sound... but id say a 1jz swaped to a single turbo and properly tuned, and tacked out has the most wicked sound, for a production japeneese setup atleast

kevlarcorolla
kevlarcorolla HalfDork
7/9/15 6:43 p.m.
rcutclif wrote: maybe a twin with something other than a 180 crank separation? Like a harley?

Worst sounding engines off ALLTIME,I mean if you like the sound of two poorly running singles running out of time with each other than ok maybe they are great

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
7/9/15 6:48 p.m.

Great stuff guys. The links to videos are particularly helpful as it saves me a ton of time looking for them. Please continue doing my job for me. I'll go out to lunch to thank all of you.

Also, I was starting to become of the mind that most V6s sounded pretty lame, then I remembered Alfa V6s. Wow.

racerdave600
racerdave600 SuperDork
7/9/15 7:03 p.m.

Alfa V6 is number one for me. I used to cruise through tunnels in the GTV6 just to hear it.

JtspellS
JtspellS SuperDork
7/9/15 7:13 p.m.
SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
7/9/15 7:21 p.m.

I realize it's quite mundane, but a Ford 5.0 with Flowmasters on it is hard to beat.

HappyAndy
HappyAndy UberDork
7/9/15 7:21 p.m.

On the subject of V6 engine sounds, the Alfa is a no brainer as the best sounding, not just among V6s, but a front runner for all production engine sounds. Nissan VQs sound nice, and surprisingly Hyundai 2.7 V6s with the right aftermarket exhaust sound downright Italian.

I completely agree that GM V6s have the worst sounds an engine can make.

Mike
Mike GRM+ Memberand Dork
7/9/15 8:20 p.m.

The Harley Davidson museum in Milwaukee has an entire display dedicated to the sound of their engines. Visitors can change the cylinder angles on a display, and listen to the change in the sound.

DaveEstey
DaveEstey PowerDork
7/9/15 8:33 p.m.

I'm biased, since it's my car, but a bridgie 13B breathing through a carb is one of my favorite sounds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_DGw5jtUnM

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