The Engine Sound Thread

FormerHangie

FormerHangie

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FormerHangie
On this chilly winter evening, I thought it would be fun to post some of our favorite engine sounds.

I'll start with the 12 cylinder Matra:

Current Porsche 911 GT LeMans car"

Honda V12 Formula 1 car:
 
Precisely why Formula E is such an incredible yawn.

I remember going to my first Long Beach Grand Prix decades ago, and I'll never forget hearing the sounds of those screaming engines echoing off the buildings before I got close enough to see the cars. Chills, I tell ya...
 
My favorite sound in aviation is the sound of a Supercub starting. Not running, but the engagement of the starter and the transition to running. Love it.
 
Anybody here who may have been to the 24 Heures du Mans during the Corvette C6R days will remember their extraordinary, unique sound. There was absolutely no other car on the track that sounded anything like the C6's thundering American V-8. The Ferraris sounded like soprano toned sewing machines in comparison. The best vantage was at night at Arnage listening to them accelerate out of the hard right corner. The C7s just aren't the same.

I couldn't find a good audio track at Circuit de la Sarthe, but this one gives a bit of a taste of the sounds from that fabulous beast of a racing car:

 
Pratt & Miller has built some badass Corvettes over the years. Their facility is second to none in the US.
 
I've got an RV with a Detroit 8V92TA, it's hard to beat the sound of a big two stroke Detroit diesel.
 
Stickman said:
I've got an RV with a Detroit 8V92TA, it's hard to beat the sound of a big two stroke Detroit diesel.
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Back in my youth there was a lot of time spent riding on the New York City busses (GM RTS IIs) which I believe were 6V71 powered. Those early impressions of those engines weren't very good, but I suspect it was a combination of the 75 lbs per day of soot that I had to breathe and the rest being the poor maintenance of the NYC transit system. Floor it and about 3 seconds later the thing actually starts to (very slowly) accelerate. Of course it was only something like 240 HP, filled with probably 75 people.

I've come to like the sound of big 2-stroke Detroits more with my semi interest. A "Buzzin Dozen" is appealing.
 
The best engine sound is the one ensuring that I'm not making an unplanned off-airport landing.
 
GRG55 said:
Anybody here who may have been to the 24 Heures du Mans during the Corvette C6R days will remember their extraordinary, unique sound. There was absolutely no other car on the track that sounded anything like the C6's thundering American V-8. The Ferraris sounded like soprano toned sewing machines in comparison. The best vantage was at night at Arnage listening to them accelerate out of the hard right corner. The C7s just aren't the same.

I couldn't find a good audio track at Circuit de la Sarthe, but this one gives a bit of a taste of the sounds from that fabulous beast of a racing car:
Click to expand...

I love the the American growl of the C5R/C6R series. The Lamborghini Huracan is an engine I love the sound of as well, since the V10 sort of blends the low growl of the American V8 with scream of an Italian V12. The Huracan is a pretty stout car all-around.

 
A flat-crank Ford GT-350 sounds quite wonderful to me. Amazing it's legal, it's soooooo loud (actually, Ford says that there are no federal sound level regs for autos, though your local government may have limits.)
 
Kenny Phillips said:
A flat-crank Ford GT-350 sounds quite wonderful to me. Amazing it's legal, it's soooooo loud (actually, Ford says that there are no federal sound level regs for autos, though your local government may have limits.)
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You can’t just throw that out there with no proof. C’mon man, give us a video.
 
Blatham489 said:
You can’t just throw that out there with no proof. C’mon man, give us a video.
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Ain't my car, unfortunately. My blown alcohol-burning Honda drag bike from the seventies was plenty wonderful sounding, as well.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
A flat-crank Ford GT-350 sounds quite wonderful to me. Amazing it's legal, it's soooooo loud (actually, Ford says that there are no federal sound level regs for autos, though your local government may have limits.)
Click to expand...

As a teenager growing up, Texas had (and still has) a yearly vehicle inspection. The motor vehicle codes for vehicles operated on public roads says a muffler is required. HOWEVER....... there was no limit on noise. So what we hot rodders did was take stock mufflers and cut them lengthwise and remove the insides, then weld it back together so we met the muffler rules.... Then some guy got ****ed off because we street raced on his road and got a local noise limit law.. Only there was not a limit set and there was no way to measure the sound of our hot rods....

My group of friends and I were on a first name basis with the local police....
 
Omalley1537 said:
Debating about getting one. Always wanted one but was talked into a 954 instead. Got out of road bikes after I sold it.
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In my earlier days of riding I was mentored by someone who was very pro Jap bike, anti-Harley, and indoctrinated me to the idea that inline 4-cyl bikes were always better, period. Looking solely at the engine there's an argument to be made for that since they're smoother, more powerful, can rev higher, etc.

As I rode more bikes and started to develop more of my own opinions on the matter, I more and more got to the point where I didn't like I4s for a few reasons. First, they're wide and thus require a wider motorcycle, specifically low around the frame meaning there are fewer options for where to put your legs. Second, they tend to be inherently revvier engines, which is fine on the track but on the street torque is king.

So, I got to the point where I really liked V-twins, and I tend to think that looking at the application as a whole, the V-twin is the best engine choice for a motorcycle, with the V4 being the second best. Narrow (unless you go the Moto Guzzi route), torquey, and also I prefer to have some vibration rather than the sewing machine smoothness that most I4s have.

I bought my RC51 because I wanted another liter class sport bike, and wanted the benefits of the V-twin. I'd previously had a Bandit 1200S, V-Max, and had most recently sold a VFR800i. Also throw in there a Suzuki TL1000S. The RC51 was my favorite out of the liter class sport bikes I owned. The engine was very torquey, great visceral characteristics. Just shifted and sounded great. When I bought mine it came with some aftermarket exhaust that was more or less straight pipe. We called it the "Mad Max" bike for several reasons, the pictures will explain it best. I ended up putting a stock exhaust back on it and was very happy with that. I also had put a cheap JC Whitney tour pack on the back, which made it quite practical. Had a lot of fun riding that thing around the back roads in PA.

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Visceral qualities, it excelled. However the particular bike had more issues than I felt like fixing, and I eventually sold it. I've been getting the itch for another sport bike, though, which is ridiculous seeing as I don't even ride the two motorcycles we have at all.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Ha, can't fool me. That soundtrack was from a four, but that airplane's a twin ...
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And here is what a six sounds like! The buzzing or growling noise you hear is because the B-36 is a pusher, and the prop blades cut through the airflow over the wing, creating the distinctive growl.

-Skip

 
I have a couple. The Panigale V4 is definitely one


As hated as they are in the car world, the 4.6 2V on the 90s and early 2000s Mustang GT’s sounded amazing with SLP pipes on it.


The big block (I believe 427 Ford) in the Four Winns Liberator


And for when it’s nap time there are antique Fairbanks Morse diesels.

 
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