What causes a Ferrari to sound the way it does??

[Darius]

What are the contributors to the sound pitch that they emit? Is it solely in the exhaust design or are there more factors to it?

[Checkered-Member]

many small sized combustion cambers, combined with high rpm operation, and a well tuned exhausts system

on the side note: Few, Large combustion cambers, low revving engine, low restriction exhausts system, like my KA, make the car sound like a Porsche, I didn’t believe it until my friend took it around the block

[BuudWeizErr]

short stroke, small displacement, high revving.

thing about italian v8's vs american v8's. they have like half the displacement of american v8's.

[Mr1der]

mmhmmm

it's where the high pitch comes from.

when they add cylinders, like 4 more, it gets sounding so crazy yet so good:drooling

any OHC V8 is gonna sound good with a nice exhaust though, they just sound so smooth and stable higher into the RPM's.

not rough and distressed like most OHV's. When mine hits about 3500, it starts sounding a little rough.

[Bubba1]

Fine Italian engineering. Lotsa factors. Exhaust is just one. But the Ferrari V-8's do not sound nearly as sweet as the old Ferrari V-12's with the multi weber carb set ups. Your talking just 3-4 liters of displacement and 12 small cylinders with a 8000 rpm redline. Small hi hp engines with 3 or 6 DOUBLE barrel carbs (depending on the model and each barrel with its own individual adjustment. Put it all together without catalytic converters and you get the greatest automotive sound there is. From the intricate complex mechanical noises and exhaust rumble at low rpm to the amazing shriek when you get your foot into it above 5000rpm. There are no engine sounds that come close to it. Sorry I get nostalgic.

[93RPS13]

you can replicate the sound, you have to measure the freqency of the sound and then you have to use certain pipe diamiter(spelling?) and length to resonate the same sound.... i learned something in physics...yeah!!

[AZhitman]

Keep in mind Ferrari (and many other automobile manufacturers) have ENTIRE DEPARTMENTS of engineers, designers, and testers, dedicated to getting JUST the right exhaust sound.

Some companies ignore this aspect completely...

I read an article about the Chevy SSR (snicker) and how much time, energy and money they put into the exhaust note.

Pipe diameter, resonator length and diameter, muffler construction play an important role, no doubt. HOWEVER, the engine itself is so much more critical than the exhaust system.

You could spend $20K designing a system to make a KA24DE sound like an F40, and you'd fail miserably.

[Hijacker]

Pontiac did the same type of research in matching the new GTO's exhaust note to the old one.

[AZhitman]

Bart - See my thread in 240 Gen chat...

[SHIFT_Z]

4-rotor Rotary engine in the Mazda 787B sounds pretty crazy too.Saw a short video clip of one and it was pretty nuts

[MaineExport]

The vehicle below sounds like 3000 angry hornets trapped in a tin can.... at about 13,00 RPM's!!!!!!!

Much love for the two stroke!

[hannibal]

you ever heard a F1 or champ car??small displacement + many cylinders + high revs = heaven on earthFerraris sound so good cause we're not used to hearing a motor screaming at 8500+ rpm.Imagine the sound you'd get by putting two Yamaha R1 motors together to make a 2.0L V8.

[Mr1der]

Keep in mind Ferrari (and many other automobile manufacturers) have ENTIRE DEPARTMENTS of engineers, designers, and testers, dedicated to getting JUST the right exhaust sound.

Some companies ignore this aspect completely...

I read an article about the Chevy SSR (snicker) and how much time, energy and money they put into the exhaust note.

Pipe diameter, resonator length and diameter, muffler construction play an important role, no doubt. HOWEVER, the engine itself is so much more critical than the exhaust system.

You could spend $20K designing a system to make a KA24DE sound like an F40, and you'd fail miserably.

when you think about it, it's a lot like making a musical instrument, you don't make a les paul by just slapping some wood magnets and metal together.

[nametakennow]

Keep in mind Ferrari (and many other automobile manufacturers) have ENTIRE DEPARTMENTS of engineers, designers, and testers, dedicated to getting JUST the right exhaust sound.

Some companies ignore this aspect completely...

I read an article about the Chevy SSR (snicker) and how much time, energy and money they put into the exhaust note.

Pipe diameter, resonator length and diameter, muffler construction play an important role, no doubt. HOWEVER, the engine itself is so much more critical than the exhaust system.

You could spend $20K designing a system to make a KA24DE sound like an F40, and you'd fail miserably.

How much time do you spend making sure, say, my 2.0litres of 4 cylinder fury doesn't sound like a pack of bumblebees with a bad case of gas? Just wondering what goes into each and every BRM...

edit: I get paid in 25 minutes! AHHHYEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! That means I can order as soon as I have access to a credit card... which sadly isn't til this weekend, which, of course, you aren't open then, so Monday afternoon it is!