Not a specific engine, per se, but what engine configuration has the most thrilling note?
Thundering V8? Burbling flat-four? Or something else?
Not a specific engine, per se, but what engine configuration has the most thrilling note?
Thundering V8? Burbling flat-four? Or something else?
Wait...I actually have to pick just one? Are you going to ask me to pick my favorite child next????
I honestly think a lot of it also can depend on the exhaust set up too. When I had a Viper GTS, the stock exhaust kept the sound from being anything resembling what you'd expect from a monstrous V10....
V12. Full stop.
Evidence:
Any engine throwing parts through the block makes pretty exciting noises
Anything with a big ol' positive displacement blower perched atop it.
Where to begin....
Inline 6.
Round.
I dunno but can we all agree that a straight piped inline 4 is the worst sounding engine?
Inline 5 diesel up against the governor
KyAllroad said:I dunno but can we all agree that a straight piped inline 4 is the worst sounding engine?
Sorry, I just can't. A straight piped VQ35 is the worst sounding
KyAllroad said:I dunno but can we all agree that a straight piped inline 4 is the worst sounding engine?
Nope. Harley V-twin.
V10, flat plane crank V8, or Audi 5-cylinder would be my top 3.
Rodan nailed it - a V12 is the hands down winner. And the runner up is a straight 6. After that it depends on your preferences - many like the V8, fewer the V6 and very few the I4. I have always raced a four cylinder but admit that they are sonically way down the chart with a few exceptions - a Lotus Ford sounds pretty good, as does a highly tuned/modded Alfa and also the rare MGA Twin Cam (which none of you have probably heard, but which I raced).
A V6 is...OK, but doesn't elicit the same delight as other options.
Wait, wut?
The question is: most exciting noises.
Answer. Rotary.
Best, or anything with a positive spin on the question would be almost any other engine.
Braps and revving the piss out of it and backfires is certainly exciting.
Or, that 20 liter beast or turin
4 rotor wankel, specifically the 26J that won LeMans in 1991. It's an utterly iconic banshee scream. The V12, I6, & V8 all fall short, with only the Mercedes V12 of the Pagani Zonda even coming close.
Honda VFR's (except for that 1200cc.... thing) always sounded so great to my ears when a good exhaust is added to the mix.
Lots of other good suggestions in this thread as well.
wspohn said:also the rare MGA Twin Cam (which none of you have probably heard, but which I raced).
I have. There was one in the local British car club.
Fiat has made several really good sounding inline 4s and some sportsbikes sound awesome.
I think there are versions of any configuration I like. Smaller inline 4s like sportbikes sound pretty sweet at 15,000 rpms. Some inline 6s sound great, others sound yucky.
But it's hard to make a V12 sound bad
V12's are my favorite, but really I'm not that picky. I like the sound of most high revving engines.
Lots of great sounding motorcycle engines too. Inline 3s sound great all through the rev range, and inline 4s sound great when they're wound out.
KyAllroad said:I dunno but can we all agree that a straight piped inline 4 is the worst sounding engine?
For my rebuttal, I would like to read from the Book of BDA and the Book of 4A-GE.
I will allow that any low compression, small cam engine sounds awful when uncorked. It is all blat, no pop. Bump the compression up to 12:1+, add cam lobes that look like the opposite end of an egg, and (this is crucial) run independent throttle bodies, and darn near anything will sound good.
The 2-stroke Saab prototype with twin 3 cylinder engines. A/V synch seems a bit odd on this clip, maybe it was dubbed.
Can’t argue with the RR Merlin V12 used in several allied WW2 aircraft. Interesting layout the cylinder banks are parallel due to forked con rod configuration. Any domestic v8 in late model circle track car with 180 degree headers. To bad that exhaust layout doesn’t package well in a street car.
In reply to 93EXCivic :
This guy gets it. =)
I *might* be a bit biased though, have had 7 Supras by this point over the past couple decades. =P
Rotary is SO hard for me. While I love driving them, I'm not real fond of the sound of a two rotor. Three sounds pretty good. Four however, hits an incredible sweet spot. Cammed big block idle sound, racy V12 style when the throttle is even looked at... I love a four rotor. Weirdly, I never found the 6+ rotor setups to sound any better, usually starts to get worse at that point.
I like listening to lots of different configurations, including tuned BDAs and 4A-GEs, sportbikes, V-4s, 180-header V-8s, and many straight sixes, but if the question is which one single engine configuration makes the most exciting noises, V-12!
V-12 all the way, no question, full stop, end of thread, and twice on Sunday!!
Flat plane crank V8?
You'll need to log in to post.
