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Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

roadandtrack.com

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Re: Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

#71

Post by trgn »

tmh88j wrote: post #65
rob74 wrote: post #4

Good? I'm just imagining what life would be like if all cars sounded that way. And, as anyone who ever had to drive a car with a broken exhaust muffler can say, it's also nothing special...

> And, as anyone who ever had to drive a car with a broken exhaust muffler can say, it's also nothing special... Loud isn't the goal, the tone is. The Lexus LFA is a perfect example of this[1]. It's not extremely loud for a car of that caliber, but it's lauded as one of the best sounding cars ever made. Poorly designed exhaust (or no exhaust in the case of your broken muffler) on an otherwise great sounding engine al…

> Loud isn't the goal, the tone is.

I wish this was actually the case in practice. There s definitely something special and musical about some ice engines, a true sensual experience.

But then in practice, people who actually value that (as in, pay money), their cars just ends up being loud and obnoxious.

So where are they, all these quiet, beautifully aurally tuned cars (emphasis on quiet)? Not everybody is driving thos3 lexusses just judging from the racket.

Re: Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

#72

Post by tmh88j »

trgn wrote: post #71
tmh88j wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And, as anyone who ever had to drive a car with a broken exhaust muffler can say, it's also nothing special... Loud isn't the goal, the tone is. The Lexus LFA is a perfect example of this[1]. It's not extremely loud for a car of that caliber, but it's lauded as one of the best sounding cars ever made. Poorly designed exhaust (or no exhaust in the case of your broken muffler) on an otherwise great sounding engine al…

> Loud isn't the goal, the tone is. I wish this was actually the case in practice. There s definitely something special and musical about some ice engines, a true sensual experience. But then in practice, people who actually value that (as in, pay money), their cars just ends up being loud and obnoxious. So where are they, all these quiet, beautifully aurally tuned cars (emphasis on quiet)? Not everybody is driving t…

> So where are they, all these quiet, beautifully aurally tuned cars (emphasis on quiet)?

You won't notice them if you're not interested in cars, but there are tons of them and Lexus/Toyota are responsible for quite a few. The RC-F, IS500 and LC500 sound amazing, as did the GS-F and IS-F. Toyota also made some iconic engines such as the 2JZ-GTE in the MKIV Supra and the 2GR engine that Lotus used in the Evora.

Re: Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

#73

Post by wkjagt »

Faaak wrote: post #67
wkjagt wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last year, I was driving through the mountains, behind a motorcycle that sounded so good I had constant goosebumps from it. The sound of it echoing between the mountains, slowing down, accelerating for like 30 minutes was such a special experience. When I was behind it, I didn't know what it was, but I had to find out. When we came to a village, we both stopped at the same traffic light, next to each other, so I coul…

> The sound of it echoing between the mountains And sadly, annoying thousands of people during its trip

Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't thought of it that way.

Re: Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

#74

Post by mannykannot »

nimbius wrote: post #12

hi, im a professional diesel engine mechanic and can easily explain what youre hearing. Most italian/european sports cars (with the exception of Mercedes in the past 3 years because American customers) have machined their crankshafts as "flatplane" cranks. Flat-plane cranks, no matter what firing order they have, will always alternate from bank to bank. This yields optimum exhaust scavenging and thus doesn't require…

Thanks for summarizing the main points of the article so concisely.

The article also points out that GMs LT6 flat-plane V8 for the Corvette Z06 has a sound different from the F355, this apparently being deliberate design choice made by choosing which harmonics to emphasize in the exhaust system.

You say that flat-plane engines do not require the complex header primaries that have to cross over from one bank to the other, but AFAIK typical road car and truck V8s do not have such headers[1]. Would the purpose of such headers be to give a cross-plane V8 scavenging about as good as a flat-plane one, all else being equal? In that case, would the cross-plane engine lose most of its distinctive sound?

I would be interested in hearing the difference between otherwise comparable flat-plane and cross-plane V8s at the same RPM.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossplane#Sound

Re: Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

#75

Post by randlet »

wkjagt wrote: post #54
js2 wrote: post #2

For context, here's what it sounds like: https://youtu.be/MCCYMys6aDw?t=890 (14:50 in case the time link doesn't work.) And from the video embedded at the end of the article: https://youtu.be/zUU0aW3yyMc?t=32 (32 seconds in.) Meanwhile, here's the Ford GT40: https://youtu.be/KJJ0nIbn_Ts?t=120 This is a replica GT40 with a modern Ford 5.0 Coyote V8: https://youtu.be/6g3Ay83JLJE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Modul…

Last year, I was driving through the mountains, behind a motorcycle that sounded so good I had constant goosebumps from it. The sound of it echoing between the mountains, slowing down, accelerating for like 30 minutes was such a special experience. When I was behind it, I didn't know what it was, but I had to find out. When we came to a village, we both stopped at the same traffic light, next to each other, so I coul…

V4 motorcycles are my favorite sounding bikes! Also arguably the best engine configuration for bikes as well. 3 of the 4 manufacturers in MotoGP use v4s and they sound amazing.

Re: Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

#76

Post by ImprovedSilence »

randlet wrote: post #75
wkjagt wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last year, I was driving through the mountains, behind a motorcycle that sounded so good I had constant goosebumps from it. The sound of it echoing between the mountains, slowing down, accelerating for like 30 minutes was such a special experience. When I was behind it, I didn't know what it was, but I had to find out. When we came to a village, we both stopped at the same traffic light, next to each other, so I coul…

V4 motorcycles are my favorite sounding bikes! Also arguably the best engine configuration for bikes as well. 3 of the 4 manufacturers in MotoGP use v4s and they sound amazing.

I had a co worker with a 6 cylinder Honda Valkyrie. I don’t believe it’s possible for a bike (or maybe even a car) to have a better sound: https://youtu.be/eoo5f7FkuDU

Re: Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

#77

Post by lutorm »

mulmen wrote: post #44
lutorm wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My money is on the 360-degree crank Honda V4s as in the RC30/NC30 bikes: https://youtu.be/uTxe1_MPdiw

I love my 1991 VFR400. The Tyga exhaust takes it to a whole new level. Worth every penny. The extra 3500 RPM on top of the RC30 are nice too. Plus an NC30 can be had for about 1/5 the price of an RC30. https://youtu.be/f-1HwvLLNEI Does a good job capturing the exhaust along with the straight-cut gears in the valvetrain and the intake noise.

I have exactly the same bike as well! :)

Re: Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

#78

Post by HybridCurve »

js2 wrote: post #2

For context, here's what it sounds like: https://youtu.be/MCCYMys6aDw?t=890 (14:50 in case the time link doesn't work.) And from the video embedded at the end of the article: https://youtu.be/zUU0aW3yyMc?t=32 (32 seconds in.) Meanwhile, here's the Ford GT40: https://youtu.be/KJJ0nIbn_Ts?t=120 This is a replica GT40 with a modern Ford 5.0 Coyote V8: https://youtu.be/6g3Ay83JLJE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Modul…

I was always partial to the sound of the Alpha Romeo GTV6: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pJpN5pGCrCw

Re: Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

#79

Post by ChainOfFools »

js2 wrote: post #2

For context, here's what it sounds like: https://youtu.be/MCCYMys6aDw?t=890 (14:50 in case the time link doesn't work.) And from the video embedded at the end of the article: https://youtu.be/zUU0aW3yyMc?t=32 (32 seconds in.) Meanwhile, here's the Ford GT40: https://youtu.be/KJJ0nIbn_Ts?t=120 This is a replica GT40 with a modern Ford 5.0 Coyote V8: https://youtu.be/6g3Ay83JLJE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Modul…

> Now let's listen to the ugliest sounding motor ever:

Which happened to win LeMans the very first time they tried, humiliating all the Europeans and subsequently being banned

Re: Why the Ferrari F355 sounds so good

#80

Post by mauvehaus »

pornel wrote: post #55
dekhn wrote: post #49

oh, I thought that was the sound of gasoline being wasted. I never realized how much car noise bothered me until I got an EV; it's silent at speed and you hear the wind.

I have no doubt people actually love the sound of the engines, but I think it's an acquired taste through association with fast cars. But once you get used to fast cars without the noise, those ripping engines are just bothersome.

We have a 1947 Willys Jeep. It is the objectively worst vehicle I've ever driven, but it sounds magnificent. I've not had it into third gear yet, at least in high range. Second is quite fast enough, thank you very much[0]. I assure you it's not just speed.

[0] How fast is that? Who knows; the speedometer doesn't work, along with many other things.

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