Why does a V8 sound like a V8?
Why does a V8 sound like a V8?
You can have any other configuration of cylinders, V6, Straight 6, V10 etc.
But they just don't sound the same?
What is it about them that makes them sound so different?
sprinter2012
13-09-2018, 05:20 AM #1Just wondering why a V8 sounds so distinctive?
You can have any other configuration of cylinders, V6, Straight 6, V10 etc.
But they just don't sound the same?
What is it about them that makes them sound so different?
Its all down to the firing order of the cylinders. Normal V8 have that sound because of the order, but the likes of ferrari run different orders. This is know as a flat plane crank, and orders the cylinders more like 2 four pots side by side, so they scream rather than roar
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Dan_Turism0
13-09-2018, 06:40 AM #3you could say the same about any engine really 4pots sound nothing like straight 6's, it's the straight 6 sound that I fell in love with hence the supra.......however there are variants within the same engine layout e.g. a 1UZ sounds nothing like a LS7 but both are v8's, same as a 2JZ-GTE straight 6 sounds nothing like a RB26DETT.
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Sure I read that somewhere.
speedfreek
13-09-2018, 06:44 AM #4Isn't it also to do with the stroke of the piston? Short stroke = more throaty note?
Sure I read that somewhere.
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What Pete said. What you hear is the exhaust pulses exiting the exhausts, and you hear them in the order the cylinders fired. That traditional V8 noise comes from the exhaust pulses having a little gap between them. Have a read of http://craig.backfire.ca/pages/autos/v8-engines#sound
Lee, i think it may be the other way round, short stroke means higher piston velocity is acheivable, giving a higher note.
Even things like a simple balance tube between the banks of the exhaust can have a huge difference to the sound of the engine
Well of course the exhaust will make a huge difference in the noise as well. The 1 UZ will be silenced to death, but most ls7 will have a louder exhaust. If they both had comparable exhausts they would sound very similar.
Lee, i think it may be the other way round, short stroke means higher piston velocity is acheivable, giving a higher note.
Even things like a simple balance tube between the banks of the exhaust can have a huge difference to the sound of the engine
So to make it sound like that you would need an engine with separate manifolds for each oppositely firing pair. So the exhaust pulses went Bank 1, Bank 2, Bank 1 Bank 2 etc. And to achieve that you would also need to have a number of cylinders which was divisible by 4 so you got the same number of pairs on each side. And the V8 is the smallest engine which offers that configuration. So I'm assuming you could also make a V12 sound like that, but not a V10, because you'd have an odd pair in the firing sequence.
EDIT: Thinking about it, it might not be possible with a V12 because with the extra 2 pairs of cylinders it might make the pulses too close together and you'd lose the 'burble'.
sprinter2012
13-09-2018, 08:16 AM #7From the link Toxo posted, that says its the uneven exhaust pressures when opposite pairs fire into each manifold that make it sound throaty and slower revving than it really is.
So to make it sound like that you would need an engine with separate manifolds for each oppositely firing pair. So the exhaust pulses went Bank 1, Bank 2, Bank 1 Bank 2 etc. And to achieve that you would also need to have a number of cylinders which was divisible by 4 so you got the same number of pairs on each side. And the V8 is the smallest engine which offers that configuration. So I'm assuming you could also make a V12 sound like that, but not a V10, because you'd have an odd pair in the firing sequence.
EDIT: Thinking about it, it might not be possible with a V12 because with the extra 2 pairs of cylinders it might make the pulses too close together and you'd lose the 'burble'.
toxo Who's Phil?
You're right, there's a guy here with a V12 and it sounds like a V8 but much smoother. Hasn't got the same rawness to it.
haha, sorry I have no idea why I wrote that :confused1:
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sprinter2012
13-09-2018, 08:29 AM #9toxo Who's Phil?
You're right, there's a guy here with a V12 and it sounds like a V8 but much smoother. Hasn't got the same rawness to it.
haha, sorry I have no idea why I wrote that :confused1:
Knowing the answer to this question finally is like finding out the meaning of life
Going back to the original post though, is a V8 any more distinctive than anything else? If anything I'd say a V10 is probably the most distinctive (although that's partly because I'm basing that on F1 cars, the M5 and LFA :biggrin
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This is a really interesting thread, something I've often wondered about but never bothered to ask or look up (particularly in terms of how a Ferrari V8 sounds so highly strung but an AMG V8 is so low and growly)
Going back to the original post though, is a V8 any more distinctive than anything else? If anything I'd say a V10 is probably the most distinctive (although that's partly because I'm basing that on F1 cars, the M5 and LFA :biggrin
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