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V8 engine sound, american iron vs. ferrari

21K views 51 replies 18 participants last post by  blight 
#1 ·
why are the sounds of the typical american V8 engines so different from the sound of a ferrari california V8 engine?

the ferrari V8 is a 90 degree block, 266 cubes, DOHC, EFI, 3.70 bore 3.05 stroke, nothing like if it came out of this world to me.

but the sound it makes is like music, sounds like a ninja bike or something like that, on the other hand the american V8's though nice but they sound like an old F-600 dump truck with a busted muffler.

sure the ferrari revs past 8.000 but at lower r's in the usual american V8 range they still sound like a jap bike with a yoshimura exhaust, at idle they have a sligthty similar kinda rough sound like the american v8's, this leads me to think they have rather hot camshafts, but nothing an american engine couldn't have.

I would love making my beloved american cars sound like a ferrari, could this be possible?
 
#32 ·
the thing is if I had to choose between a Ferrari 458 and a Corvette, I will jump over the Ferrari, and I bet most people will, but the real thing is I can't afford a Ferrari, and I can't afford a vette also, so I have to live with my beloved SBC's

Actually I like the way american V8's sound, and I think Ford engines sound better than Chevy's, and I'm willing to try making my Chevy sound better.
 
#33 ·
too poor for anything but old school sbc's. happiness is getting what you want and liking what you get. dont set my sights high and ill be happy with the rumble of a chevy v8. the 327 stroke makes a differnet sound than the 350. the 305 and 350's are hard to distinguish the difference in sound i think. the rumble of the chevy is iconic to me. i cant get enough of the sound of a marine engine with a total of 30 inches of exhaust sticcking straight out the back 8" diameter pipes. just awsome!
 
#34 ·
I am going to step into this again.
The sound of a Ferrari V8 engine is unique to V-8 engines because it has a 180 degree crankshaft. A 180 degree crankshaft in 90 degree V-8 allows the engine to fire alternate banks of cylinders all the way through the firing order. You can also alternate banks with a 120 degree V-6, or a 60 degree V-12. A V-8 with a 90 degree crank fires right, left, right, right, left, right, left, left.

I know the exhaust system does affect the sound. But look at it this way. You can take a trumpet that Miles Davis has played, hand it to a 13 year old kid in Junior high band, and the kid is not going to sound like Miles Davis.
 
#39 ·
you would have to have pretty good ears to be able to hear any real difference in "smoothness" if both engines were uses a close as possible setup all around. BUT the firing order is slightly less stressful on the crank shaft in fords. they have a 4-7 swap compared to a chevy firing order.
 
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#49 ·
to be frank- or steve, or bob... you obviously don't know jack about motors- so it wouldn't surprise me if you didn't know how to take care of your motor pal. annnnnd i'm done following this. kinda pointless. just didn't want the world to be missinformed by you.
 
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