Quote:
Originally Posted by MTron
the sound has a LOT to do with the firing order of they cylinders as well as the separation of the respective firings. for example, is the 3.8 3800 V6, we can take the 360 deg of the crank, and divide it by the number of cylinders, which gives us 60 deg, but the block is a 90 deg v, this difference in the degrees of the pistons results in a very specific sound, and as anyone with a 3800 v6 with a custom exhaust can tell you, we get massive drone at about 1500-2500 RPM, because there is a lot of resonance in the sound at that level
60 deg V6's like the new 3.6l dont have this issue as much, as the firing separation (60 deg) is the same as the angle separation of the pistons (60 deg) however from a sound point of view, 60 deg v6's have too much separation in the firing to have a good note
a V8 on the other has has a firing separation of 45 deg, which allows for very little resonance which would get annoying, and enough overlap of the sound to give a good note
really any multiple of 4 will give a decent exhaust note, w16 engines sound monstrous
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I think you are mistaken in several ways:
The 90 degree V6s only sound weird if they have straight rod journals, a split journal allows an even firing order.
4 is a multiple of 4 but I've never heard any non-ricer complement the exhaust note of a 4 banger.
10 is not a multiple of 4, but I think the Viper sounds pretty good.
Here are a couple thoughts I just had on the issue:
Cylinder size: You rarely see a 4 or 6 that displaces more than 0.5 liter per cylinder, but V8s tend to start around .6 and work up towards 1 liter per cylinder. The bigger V8s tend to be the ones that have the better sound.
Cam timing: Most muscle cars with V6s get the same cam that the engine gets when it is installed in a family sedan or station wagon whereas the V8 car would generally get a slightly more aggressive cam from the factory. I know that a cam will sure change a V8’s exhaust note.