Well prepped straight pipe Honda S800 on the straight at Bridgehampton. The car in photo.
Photograph Courtesy RM Sotheby's
Picture the sleepy hamlet of Amelia Island, Florida, early on a Sunday morning. Spanish moss drapes the trees. A cool blanket of dew covers the ground.
And here I am, driving to the judges’ breakfast for the day’s concours. I’m trailing a Ferrari F40–wing, scoops, the whole nine yards.
While I’ve never really been an F40 guy, I have to admit that as the Ferrari ran through its gears, the symphony produced under that morning light was pretty damned intoxicating. I couldn’t think of a much better way to wake up.
Of course, that moment got me thinking of other engines whose notes we hold in such reverence. Take our newest project car, a 2001 Porsche Boxster S. While perhaps no Ferrari F40, that Boxster makes some pretty righteous noises in its own right–although I swear that, for some reason, a normal 986 Boxster sounds even better at full chat.
When driving the Boxster, I get to hear the entire symphony–the exhaust note, yes, but also the mechanical whirring of the timing chains, gears and other rotating parts. Those who have pooh-pooed the Boxster need to spend some time with one. Its aural sensations must be experienced first-hand.
A favorite from further back? I can’t discuss car noises without talking about my beloved Ford V8s. Just firing up my Sunbeam Tiger gets the ground shaking–credit the 331-cubic-inch, small-block Ford exhaling through its big Magnaflow mufflers.
Once underway, it really screams–and, I admit, we have done some bad things together. The Tiger just sings when pressing through Montana for hours on end or carving up the next mountain pass. This one holds up well in any engine sound competition.
My Shelby Mustang rally car, this one also powered by a trusted small-block Ford, emits its own song–this one more guttural, more like a caged animal. And when unleashed, it’s quite a treat.
The best Fords ever heard, though, have been inside Cobras. Several years ago, at Goodwood, I was lucky enough to witness an all-Cobra race. Take one great-sounding Ford and multiply it by a bunch and, well, you get the idea.
But great exhaust notes aren’t only emitted by big-dollar cars. I don’t think I’m the only one who’d argue that a Triumph TR6, or even a Spitfire, has a lovely engine note that’s in its own class–a bit more mechanical, maybe, but once uncorked still a joy to hear.
Those angry, snarling Miatas that we assembled for this month’s cover story sounded great, too, with the blow-off valves contributing to the music. How about a BMW M3? Pick a generation, as they all sound great. And can we get some love for a NASCAR stocker turning some 9000 rpm? Or the Formula 1 engines that were allowed to spin to 20,000 rpm?
Know what drew a big crowd during the Amelia Island celebrations later that day? Firing up the dragsters on display. No burnouts, no full-pulls. Just the sound of those crackling monsters coming to life commanded a crowd.
I guess we need to discuss rotaries, too, an engine breed with both fans and detractors. Our rotary-powered Spitfire delivered an ear-splitting scream–music to some, punishment to others. While I wish that ours sounded more like a Porsche, Ferrari or Cobra, that note did remind me how such a small-capacity engine could punch above its weight.
And some engines sound heavenly simply because they’re running at all. Hearing a long-dormant project come back to life is a memorable experience no matter who made the engine. It doesn’t matter if it’s a little four-cylinder or a mighty V8, that sound of success at last overshadows all else.
Everyone has their favorites, and I’d love to hear yours. Hayabusa-powered special? High-winding Honda S2000? Air-cooled Porsche 911? Something from my list? Drop me a note at tim@grassrootsmotorsports.com. There is no wrong answer here–well, maybe aside from one of those two-stroke-powered Formula 500 race cars. Okay, fine, convince me otherwise.
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Well prepped straight pipe Honda S800 on the straight at Bridgehampton. The car in photo.
There's so many fantastic sounding engines.
I was starter at a Porsche Club autocross yesterday. They sure sound good when they get revved.
I love the sound of a small block Ford. A hot straight six sounds fantastic. V12 engines, of course.
I don't think anyone finds the sound of a Miata to be wonderful, but I love to drop into first and roll into the throttle coming through the tunnel at Daytona Speedway. The best time was when I had a Ferrari behind me do the same thing!
And then there's the time that my mostly deaf 90-year-old father shot out of his chair and went racing out the front door of my house before I even heard the radial engines coming over the house at treetop level. Four T-6 engines flying below 100 ft make quite a sound.
All of them
Back in the 1980s we were camped out at Riverside between turn 6 & 7. It was dead quiet until we were awoken by the sound of a Jaguar IMSA Prototype (IIRC a V-12) making its way up the front section of the track. It was out on track alone for a couple laps. The sound was very close to perfection.
The only other notable engine was a P-51 simulating a strafing and very very low off the deck at a small airshow. The engine sound as it grew in volume was very distinct and amazing.
BRM V16 of course.
In reply to Tim Suddard :
My Black Jack with Dual megaphones out the back has this really big deep bark on the overrun. Totally unmuffled.
The howl of a 911 GT3. My Cayman does a reasonble impersonation though.
I can't decide between the F2004 and the 787B.
Anything with a big whiny blower. Terminator cobra, lsa caddy....
In reply to Tim Suddard :
Chris Craft Cobra with a KBL engine. ( not Cadillac or Chrysler Hemi. )
Really anything with a V10: Carrera GT, LFA, E60 M5, but the best were the F1 cars. Those Sauber BMW V10s were just incredible...
A whole fleet of Can Am cars coming up the front straight under the bridge. Hemi, then Ferrari, Jaguar, SBF, BBC, What ever they were running, they were flat out and looked like they may take flight.
Second is engines that are about to make their innards become their outards. Not sure why I like this, maybe its the prospect of seeing what went wrong.
BMW S14...
...especially with carbon airbox!
Any of the v10 F1 engines... 20k rpms is unreal.
Liked all the answers but mine is when I go to start one of mine they start.
As someone who likes all car but is at heart an old hot rodder there is nothing like the sound of a old Hemi with a with a supercharger. When it's reved up you can hear the whine of the blower belt and deep throaty exhaust as well as feel it in your chest.
ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:The howl of a 911 GT3. My Cayman does a reasonble impersonation though.
Just got longtubes and muffler deletes put on my 3.6L GT3 and it SCREAMS. SCREAMS.
I'm a big fan of the maserati exhaust note. I don't think i'd ever actually buy one of them given how many (arguably better) alternatives there are but something about their high-rev exhaust hits me good.
Any of them running after a rebuild or swap
It has to be a 4AGE with ITBs (though I think most engines sound better with ITBs):
Couple of points...
Alfa v6 is the best sounding engine ever.
4age, I list as one of the worst sounding engines on track. They just drone and have this weird constructive and destructive interference with almost all other engines that makes a painful wah wah sound.
From my point of view, the best sounding engine is one that has an expensive sounding rattle, that is in a car valuable enough for the owner to pay me to fix it.
Or the supercharged 350 in my Camaro.
Hard to beat a cammed-up V8 with Borlas or Flowmasters.
Also hard to beat a Ferrari V12
But my hands-down, campy, fun favorite is this:
Honestly my 4.6 three valve Ford with long tubes, x pipe, 3” axle back and straight through “mufflers”, If anything a bit rural pickup at low rpm but absolutely screamed from 4500-6500. I have since added mufflers but it was awesome while it lasted.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
For air cooled I like the BSA 441 Victor sound. Followed by a knuckle head Harley.
This. This thing shows up at CMP fairly regularly. It is lovely to listen to. Not to mention fast as stink.
As someone who played DOOM way too much as a youf, and especially the chainsaw (doesn't suck), I got enamored of two-stroke sounding engines that skipped a lot at idle.
And then I saw this video about two decades ago.
Streetwiseguy said:From my point of view, the best sounding engine is one that has an expensive sounding rattle, that is in a car valuable enough for the owner to pay me to fix it.
On that note, the noise that a triple-K K24-7400 turbo makes when it starts to spool up, and then seizes because the engine has no oil pressure, is the most heartbreaking sound ever.
I loved the sound of my Buick Nailhead 401 with the 36 inch glasspak mufflers.
Anything I'm strapped into as I roll out on the track.
A field of 24 dirt late models coming to the green flag.
Small block chevy at full song on side pipes.
Anything not a rotary. Hate that sound.
I'm not a ford guy, but man do their V8s sound good when they are uncorked. They seem to have a much mellower/deeper sound than other domestic V8s.
I'm a sucker for anything that revs, and I'm a sucker for inline sixes, but the best sounding engine I have ever owned is the LC8 in my KTM 950 Adventure. I know it isn't a car, but that 75 degree V twin just sounds incredible. It never gets old, and it's one of those engines that is happy all the way up to the 9800ish rpm limiter, all day long.
If it doesn't do it automatically, go to 7:45 when I'm riding across the lake bed to hear it wide open (and to ignore my monotonous voiceover voice...). Even through the crappy gopro mic it sounds good.
Straight 6s with ITBs or side draft carbs.
Think stroked Datsun 240z or BMW "M" siexes
I didn't think to mention that there's nothing like the sound of a top fuel engine. I won't say it's a favorite, it's just so berkeleying intense.
I was at the Gatornationals and saw the air visibly distort when someone blipped the throttle in a fuel dragster a half mile away. 1200 horsepower per cylinder.
Edit: in case it's not clear from the description, I could see the sound wave affect the air overhead before it arrived. That's loud.
Two come to mind, a Honda VFR750 at w.f.o., and the old Mazda GTP down the back straight at Mid Ohio, eeriest sound ever, made my brother and me exclaim “what the hell was that?”.
This made me tingle the first time I heard one in person.
can we have planes? if so, a-10 warthog. if not, 12v Cummins at idle, than the smell of a good ford v8 /Cummins i6 diesel.
Wringing out the s85 bmw v10.
The fun starts around 40 seconds.... that 8k+ rpm pull from the 54 second mark...whew!
euro_fam said:I'm a big fan of the maserati exhaust note. I don't think i'd ever actually buy one of them given how many (arguably better) alternatives there are but something about their high-rev exhaust hits me good.
For about $15k you can find you one of these
Megaphone exhausts on 500 cc single cylinder motorcycles. Goldstars, Manx Nortons, Velocettes and the like!
My Alfetta 2 litre.
The video doesnt do it justice, that atv will hurt your ears if you are close to it, it hits you harder than a v8 with zoomie headers
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:
And then there's the time that my mostly deaf 90-year-old father shot out of his chair and went racing out the front door of my house before I even heard the radial engines coming over the house at treetop level. Four T-6 engines flying below 100 ft make quite a sound.
I'm only 63 but I have done that! Wife saying WTF?
This is old but it never ever gets old:
you can hear them progressing up through the years. It gives me goosebumps and I’m not even a big Ferrari fan.
3-rotor RX8s battling 997 RSRs and C6Rs and BMW M6s on the high banks of Daytona while I'm lying in a tent in the infield is the best white noise I can imagine. You wake up when the noise stops.
This is pretty good.
So are these:
The Montreal isn't very fast, but the small-bore v-8 is heavenly.
Used to work next to Van Nuys Airport. Occasionally the P-51 Mustang club would do a low-level pass or two. five of those suckers at full song is a religious experience.
In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :
In the late 80's we were in Memphis for the Memphis Belle rededication thingy. There were 11 B-17's and 2 B24's there flying and at midday they all took off and formed up for several flyovers. Hearing 40+ R1820's at song was defintely a religious experience.
In reply to dean1484 :
There's a guy in the pacific northwest who KLZE swapped a 944. I feel that'll be in your wheelhouse.
Alfa V6 or LFA get my vote.
Any group B rally car. Check please! 
If it's automotive I'd go Aston V12.
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:A hot straight six sounds fantastic.
This.
All the various BMW M straight sixes.
Jag 3.8
Big Healey 6
Those Jeep sixes that the Argentinians build to the edge of their life
2JZ
RB
Straight 6 is where it's at.
anything equal length header
I like American small blocks with non-crossed-over dual exhaust. My old 289 Comet with Flowmaster 40s, the smog era 350 swapped M715 brush truck with cherry bomb glasspacks, my friend's 4.6 4v Mach 1 with Spintechs. Those are my three favorite sounding vehicles ever. The 350 might just be the best though(outside the nostalgia). The cam is so mild that it will happily idle down to 400rpm. You can actually notice individual exhaust pulses.
In reply to AxeHealey :
The only time I've heard my S52 at full chat from the outside was on a dyno so I also heard the echo out of the bay. Hearing the Vanos switchover at the top end was so deep and throaty and angry.
No comparison to the BMW CSL going up the Nufenen Pass. All made possible by the carbon fiber airbox and euro spec headers unique to this model.
The vtech engine note from a Honda B series gets my vote. The K series is a better engine, and there are plenty of engines with far better exhaust sounds, but there's something about that B series pure intake sound that is unparalleled.
I always loved the IMSA GTP cars from the early 80s, seeing them going into a corner all nose to tail, Porsche 962s, Jaguar XJR10s, etc. with the flames coming out the exhausts under downshifting and braking and the snap-crackle-bam-bam-KaPow! sound they made.
Then there was the Alfa 8C I was following on the highway on the way to a track day at Laguna Seca, that sounded fabulous. Aat the track there was a guy in an F430 spider who by the last session of the day finally figured out what the car was capable of and I had to give him a point by on the main straight. The sound of a Ferrari V8 going by you at full acceleration just a few feet away is heavenly.
Naturally there is a seat-of-the-pants feeling associated with it for me, but I find the supercharger whine of a Terminator Cobra absolutely addictive. MAN it's a motivating sound. I still get a rush, despite those cars being eclipsed in performance now.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AGqN5xLnYgc
The other day a GTP with a huge blower went by so I discovered that the whine has to be paired with a good exhaust note or it just sounds like your alternator is going bad.
Hard to beat any small block Ford V8 with a cam in it:
Nothing better, IMO.
P3PPY said:Naturally there is a seat-of-the-pants feeling associated with it for me, but I find the supercharger whine of a Terminator Cobra absolutely addictive. MAN it's a motivating sound. I still get a rush, despite those cars being eclipsed in performance now.
A college friend of mine drives a 700whp Termi. I'm almost positive it's louder from the front end. It's fun standing at the 1/8th and listening to the suck/whine as it comes at you then the exhaust note as it passes.
Another vote for the Alpha V6.
Although I really want to go to the Bomber Command Museum in Nanton Alberta for the Lancaster run up. 4 Merlins should sound pretty amazing.
Moto Guzzi 850 LeMans with Dellorto pumpers and LaFranconi mufflers, I'm biased because I own one:
Aprilia RSV4 because:
This will forever be my favorite sound. Especially in cold weather, and when it's a big chevrolet with a 4-7 swap cam. *Tim allen grunt noises*
My favorite engine sound?
When you fire up an engine for the first time after major work and it starts and runs as intended.
Brotus7 said:This made me tingle the first time I heard one in person.
Well since You went there, how about the funky growl an A10 makes.
I often wonder how much is motor and how much is exhaust/intake? For instance, the Alfa Busso V6s are generally considered among the best sounding 6 cylinders ever, while it's popular to rag on the Nissan VQs. What's the real difference between them?
High revving small five cylinders with giant turbos that surge most angry.
Has got to be RX-8 at 9000 rpm
2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona Mazda RX-8 Rotary Sound #1 - YouTube
sounds like F1 before turbos
Zombie thread
but it makes me think of another.
VQ35 in a Z. They made some sweet sounds from the factory. In fact, I've yet to hear an aftermarket exhaust that sounded better than the stock one.
And then there's the time that my mostly deaf 90-year-old father shot out of his chair and went racing out the front door of my house before I even heard the radial engines coming over the house at treetop level. Four T-6 engines flying below 100 ft make quite a sound.
I can so relate to this and I'm in my '60's. Occasionally the WW2 Warbirds fly over my house in Houston. I'm out the door before my wife even hears those radial engines.
In reply to f1carguy :
Then why not just pick an F1 car? 18K RPM > 9K RPM.
Can't believe didn't comment originally.
5 cylinder Honda 125 GP bike.
Continental GTSIO 520 , horizontally opposed turbocharged 6 cyliders, on a Cessna 404 or 421 at climb power settings. General Electric CJ-610 turbojets while pacticing stall recovery in a Lear 24.
yupididit said:euro_fam said:I'm a big fan of the maserati exhaust note. I don't think i'd ever actually buy one of them given how many (arguably better) alternatives there are but something about their high-rev exhaust hits me good.
For about $15k you can find you one of these
I just said "oh god" out loud to myself. Can one of those fit in an mg midget engine bay?
Also, CBX 1000
yupididit said:
Wringing out the s85 bmw v10.
The fun starts around 40 seconds.... that 8k+ rpm pull from the 54 second mark...whew!
Ahh I love when I see an old post of me sharing this vid. Mmmm
I still want one of these. I need to check my finances and see how long it'll take me to recover from owning one.
Teh E36 M3 said:yupididit said:euro_fam said:I'm a big fan of the maserati exhaust note. I don't think i'd ever actually buy one of them given how many (arguably better) alternatives there are but something about their high-rev exhaust hits me good.
For about $15k you can find you one of these
I just said "oh god" out loud to myself. Can one of those fit in an mg midget engine bay?
... if you want to do the one thing on the planet that could make MG reliability worse.
I kid
Sort of.
In reply to yupididit :
Is it enabling...if you convince yourself?
The real sound answer is always Merlin. Always.
I like the sound engines make. So the worst motor is an EV.
I love a V12 or V10. But all I can Afford is a Wankel; RX8 and a Bridgeported RX7.
Old thread but a fun one. The two best sounding engines I have ever owned are these:
Relatively long stroke straight 6 at 8000 rpm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3uEWCflgAk
Short stroke V12 (sadly I had the same engine but not in the same car!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnMjwmD_Qts
Best 4 cylinder is, for me, probably an Alfa.
In reply to 350z247 :
I can afford an RX-8 even with a three rotor!
In reply to RichardSIA :
Any Fiat is cool. Fiat 500 was my first car in 1975!
Teh E36 M3 said:yupididit said:euro_fam said:I'm a big fan of the maserati exhaust note. I don't think i'd ever actually buy one of them given how many (arguably better) alternatives there are but something about their high-rev exhaust hits me good.
For about $15k you can find you one of these
I just said "oh god" out loud to myself. Can one of those fit in an mg midget engine bay?
Doesn't sound any different from any American small block V8 to me. Kind of uneven and growly, like a more refined aircooled VW.
In reply to Tim Suddard :
I'll just leave this here for Tim. Oh, the sound -
In reply to kb58 :
Much better, thank you 
The recalcitrant trans and the engine's refusal to run well at anything but pedal-crushing-firewall adds to the video experience. I half expect Ferrari did that deliberately to make the driving ambience feel more rewarding - EFI could tame many wild engines, even in the late 80s.
Modern things where they get in and it's like they're driving a Camry are just so unexciting.
Straight-6 motorcycles - the cheapest way to get that F1 sound. Honda CBX 1050
In reply to bruceman :
I have 3 X RX-8 and a MGB with streetported 13B. Little known fact: during the Rolex series they didn't have a single engine failure with the 20Bs in the tube RX-8s!
The drag races as a kid. Stock, fuelies, jets, all sounded awesome.
4 Merlins mounted in a tractor at the pulls in the Everglades while drinking beer.
IMSA Mazda rotaries, complete with flames and backfires on decel .
Kawasaki two stroke triple with open expansion chambers at full tilt.
Anything that has enough exhaust shock wave to replace normal heart beat with that of the engine rhythm. 
Mentioned by others, I’ll still run outside and look up when I hear a round engine ( I grew up about a mile from the end of one of the runways at a now closed Naval Air Station, lots of P2V Neptune’s went over my head low enough to see the numbers with a pair of big radials at takeoff power in the late ‘60’s. Not to mention the occasional military version of the DC-6.)
In the car world, someone local has a newer GT 350 with the flat plane Voodoo engine and it sounds soooo nasty. 
Ain't nothing in the world sounds as good as a pissed off Big Block Chevy.
I Hear your V12, and up it 12 more cylinders.
I love the sound of an uncorked small block ford. Big block Chevy pissed off? YES. Nothing sends chills down my spine, and makes me weak in the knees like the sound of that aircraft.
Totally bummed when his son crashed it, glad to know it's still flying under the red bull teams care.
I grew up on Air Force bases, the sound of military aircraft is like a lullaby to me. No other ONE thing makes me feel like a kid again more than closing my eyes and just listening to a busy military airspace. Even today living less than a mile from a rural runway, when we get the occasional military traffic it just makes me smile. The local Otter that runs constantly for the drop zone, and the GA traffic don't make me look up that often. But the sound of a military jet engine or round motor will snap my head up in a heartbeat to scan the sky. The Flight of A10's that rolled over a few a months ago made me so giddy I thought I might need a moment. (we were stationed at a base with 3 wings of them at one point)
In reply to Mr. Lee :
Enzo Ferrari understood racing. Accordingly he made the pipes on his V12's slightly smaller than optimum for hp because that increases torque. Torque out of corners usually beats peak horsepower.
A side effect is that produces a higher exhaust note. That sound has been frequently called a scream but in actuality it's very melodious. Listen to any of his 3 liter V12's from the 50's through the early 60's. There is a reason Opera's are sung in Italian.
Mr. Lee said:I grew up on Air Force bases, the sound of military aircraft is like a lullaby to me. No other ONE thing makes me feel like a kid again more than closing my eyes and just listening to a busy military airspace. Even today living less than a mile from a rural runway, when we get the occasional military traffic it just makes me smile. The local Otter that runs constantly for the drop zone, and the GA traffic don't make me look up that often. But the sound of a military jet engine or round motor will snap my head up in a heartbeat to scan the sky. The Flight of A10's that rolled over a few a months ago made me so giddy I thought I might need a moment. (we were stationed at a base with 3 wings of them at one point)
The Navy uses round engines because they take up less hanger space. So early on in flight training you start using round motors. Back in the 60's everything was pistons and propeller.
I have slightly over a 1000 flight hours with a pair of unmuffled Wright radials in either ear. I'd return from a 7 hour flight with my ears ringing. When you add the 14 tons of a plane slamming into the flight deck at 130 mph and taking off right over my bed plus all the engine run ups on the flight deck and hanger bays a miracle I can still hear at all.
Now add several decades of racing not only unmuffled but a pair of megaphones, it's no wonder I have tinnitus.
But yeh! I still get excited when I hear those military engines overhead.
Lexus LFA, all day, every day.
Runner up to the BMW and Lambo V10s. The shrill wail of them is just awesome.
gearheadE30 said:I'm a sucker for anything that revs, and I'm a sucker for inline sixes, but the best sounding engine I have ever owned is the LC8 in my KTM 950 Adventure. I know it isn't a car, but that 75 degree V twin just sounds incredible. It never gets old, and it's one of those engines that is happy all the way up to the 9800ish rpm limiter, all day long.
I used to have a Honda CX500 with an 80 degree V-twin that liked to spin past 10,000 RPM. I'm with you that high winding, oddball V-twins have some great music.
In reply to MadScientistMatt :
10k in a V-twin just seems like a bad idea, but if you done did it, it can't have been that bad.
Mmm, the sound of a Chrysler starter. What a sound!
Nothing beats the sound of a pissed off big block Chevy.
Keeping it automotive related, best car sound I've ever heard in person, LMP1 Panoz. Granted it was the roadster and not the GT1 car, at the Grand Prix of DC in 02'.
In reply to JesseWolfe :
A big yes to those Panoz race cars.
A memorable one for me: About 20 years ago, a C Prepared early Mustang at Solo Nats. It screamed like a Trans-Am car (which, I guess, it kinda was). But there was something memorable about it.
1 - Leon Mandel (C&D) wrote that listening to a 4 cylinder Porsche was like hearing ducks farting in tall grass (so they are out) The flat 6 sounds a lot better.
2 - I have a vinyl LP of engine sounds. It includes the BRM V16 F1 car - sounds like a demented chainsaw. Raced by Fangio, 72 psi boost, 1.5 l, 585 bhp @11,500 rpm in 1953
I just listened to several of these, and I'm in a way better mood now. Thanks everyone.
MadScientistMatt said:gearheadE30 said:I'm a sucker for anything that revs, and I'm a sucker for inline sixes, but the best sounding engine I have ever owned is the LC8 in my KTM 950 Adventure. I know it isn't a car, but that 75 degree V twin just sounds incredible. It never gets old, and it's one of those engines that is happy all the way up to the 9800ish rpm limiter, all day long.
I used to have a Honda CX500 with an 80 degree V-twin that liked to spin past 10,000 RPM. I'm with you that high winding, oddball V-twins have some great music.
Oddly enough, I have one of those too! It is crazy to me that a pushrod 2 valve V twin with zero performance pedigree should be so happy revving like that, but it is, and will do it all day long. The way they are geared is something like 7000 rpm at 75 mph going down the highway, too.
Mine, with the only WOT redline pull right at the end:
Attainable: Volkswagen VR6
Less attainable: Mazda 20B
Exotic: Lexus LFA
Motorcycle: Yamaha YZF-R1 (crossplane crankshaft)
While i like a lot of things, to me not much is better than a rowdy SBC that a little over cammed.
I note that Subaru is nowhere on the list.
This makes little sense to me since it sounds like a caricature of a crossplane V8's lopsided blop-blop-blop, so one would think that there must be some vocal minority that approves of it.
Given that my new project is very much Subaru powered, I've been watching a lot of Group A rally footage trying to steel myself to the sound of a low revving uneven sounding engine, but it all comes back to this:
Fits the bill, I bought a perfectly good* WRX for its drivetrain and suspension to set into a perfectly good** Mini Cooper S so that we could roost*** at rallycrosses.
* Not.
** Also not.
*** Between the two of us we have a heavily overpowered RX-7 and a heavily overpowered Miata, roosting is already represented in the field of activities
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Subarus used to sound great. And I'm sure they still can. But it's what people do to them now, probably trying to accentuate or magnify that sound that makes them sound so horrible. When I was rallycrossing 20 years ago there was a competitor who's daily driver Legacy sounded incredible. It wasn't loud, but it was deep, you knew it was there and it reminded me of half a V8.
In reply to frenchyd :
The big reason the Navy used radials was reliability. No coolant system = increased combat reliability.
Best v8: Ford 302
Best i6: toyota or nissan in the 80s/90s
Best 6: air-cooled Mezger
Best dorito: 787B
Best 10: Anything from the v10 f1 era...so much drool
I once met a Testarossa with my Cayman just south of the mexican border. The flat 12 sang a high rev duet with the flat 6 to over 7k rpm (for me). It was amazing to hear.
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to frenchyd :
The big reason the Navy used radials was reliability. No coolant system = increased combat reliability.
As a downside, they needed higher octane fuels when turbocharged or supercharged compared to a liquid cooled engine. Probably not as much a problem with naval aircraft, but ground based pilots had issues with refueling at unfamiliar airstrip because there was no real standard yet for quantifying a fuel's antiknock properties, so they might insist on 145 octane when all that was available was 130, even if it was the same fuel just labeled differently. Almost all aircraft were knock limited for power, so it was rather important to then to have good fuel!
(Pure triptane, IIRC, had a knock index of 270 octane during the war, using the "rating" system in place)
In reply to Tim Suddard : Well yeah - Pretty much any Ferrari. But almost any Ford engine and particularly Mustang GT's and Ford Shelby Mustangs with OEM mufflers. Ford has muffler tone down. Also, any unmuffled or barely muffled A sedan coming down the straight. Old school GM big blocks.
You haven't heard anything until you've heard a cacklefest. The sound of nitro burning Mopar Hemi's and Ford SOHC's idling & reving is incredible.
Masarati MC12 at full throttle up the hill from 5 to 6 at Road America is a pretty sweet sound, but I still love the sound of my R32 VR6
In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :
I have recenty experienced this one. Good choice!
Lots of great comments on this one. Glad I was able to get people thinking and reminiscing on the topic.
13b, definitely not the most reliable but best sounding in my opinion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-tuGOb0p0s
Hans setting a record lap on the Nordschliefe in a ///M3 GTR.
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