That mean idle sound...

So I am one of those guys who appreciate the idle sound a lot. Thinking about how to get certain idle sounds. This is completely subjective so let my give a few examples.

Category 1
This Electra 1972 sounds wicked:


Or this Oldsmobile, just amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9BmrGiWKGlE

Here is a modern Dodge charger, sounds somewhat similar to the the Oldsmobile above:


Category 2
This is what my Electra sounds like more or less, but not as loud. It is also a nice sound, but different:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ftv84TZGIWo

Here is another Electra, towards the end of the video you hear an example of that idle:


Category 1 vs category 2
Category 1 has a very distinct sound, like you can almost hear individual cylinders firing. Category 2 is smoother. At first I thought it was because they had their idle RPM set very low. But they state 600 RPM, which is rather average. I don't have any numbers for category 2, but my Electra sound something like this in the 600 RPM range.

What can we influence?
They are different engines but I still wonder why they sound so different. Are there might be things we can "easily" influence that makes an engine idle more like category 2 or category 1? I guess the cam shaft plays a huge deal, but category 1 doesn't sound like it is cam chopping a lot, does it? Equal length headers? X-pipes? The amount of muffling should matter I guess, but none of the category 2 examples here had much muffling.

 

Sounds like a tractor to me

 

You have tone, timbre and texture. All of these qualities have many factors going into that equation.
From the beginning with aircleaner, then induction, intake, heads, exhaust manifolds/headers, pipe, mufflers and pistons/compression.
Then you have the camshaft profile of lift, duration and overlap. And RPM.
Changes of any of these vary the sound.
The greatest influence of music is the beat. The camshaft is the main component of that.
You either get some gentle easy listening "mild cam" or you get swing, jazz, rock with a backbeat and you wanna dance.

 

Here's a 482 Stroker motor with ported aluminum heads, stock intake and carb, stock iron exhaust manifolds and 2 1/2 inch mandrel bent exhaust with X pipe into Walker Super Turbo 20 inch mufflers.

Keep in mind that sound will be totally different depending upon what you playback with. On a cell phone sound will be higher pitched and very tinny. On a desk computer with a decent sound system it will sound much deeper and more like the actual in-person sound.

Either way, Buick big block sound is music to the ears.

 

I LOVE how mine sounds. At some point I need to get under the car and figure out what mufflers are under there. The cam is decent sized to huge. (455 Buick in case that needs to be defined)

 

I do like sound,but I’d rather have it haul the mail. I remember about 20 years ago,my friend got a 70 GSX clone that had a whole slew of aftermarket parts on it. Built 455 with a nasty sound to it. It was one of the best sounding engines. Loved that part of it,BUT it was a complete dud. 12:80 was the best it would do at the track. Embarassing.

 

I'm in same boat as far as performance. As for my car, I do not know how fast this dawg is yet. Built by the guy I bought it from. He built it to be a street racer and was lightening things up everywhere he could.

On the street, I still haven't dared hit full throttle. S**t happens pretty fast and there's too much going around you to be safe at all. I'm always respectful of rigs that back up their talk (or speak softly and spank people). I need to get this car to a track. Closest 1/4 mile track to Salt Lake is Boise (5 hours and similar elevation at 2700') and Las Vegas (1980' and 6 hours to Vegas). Bandimere in Denver is 8 hours. We lost our track in SLC a few years ago unfortunately. There's an 1/8 mile track in Evanston WY (only an hour away from my house). I'll run mine up there this year for sure.

 

Pick up a DRAGY 1/4 mile timer and put the App on your phone then you can use it on a carefully selected back road near home.

I tested my Dragy at the Nats last year and it matched two of my time slips within 5/100s and 0.5 mph.
https://www.dragymotorsports.com

 

Ask yourself what you think it will run after having 3beers,....then deduct 1 full sec,...that will be ballpark what it will run

 

I was out a couple weeks ago and was looking for just an app that used GPS but couldn't find anything simple. Could measure out 1/4 mile like the olden days.

 

Kindof does....

 

The Dragy performance meter is GPS based and extremely close to actual drag strip times.

"I tested my Dragy at the Nats last year and it matched two of my time slips within 5/100s and 0.5 mph." The GPS module is magnetic and sticks to the metal part of the GS dash. You download the free app to your phone which gives you all the data you would get on a time slip plus 0-60 MPH time. Even tells you the slope of the road just in case it would affect the times much. Size is about 3 inches and less than the thickness of a pack of smokes.

I think paid about $100 for it but the price has gone up.

 

They have a newer version of that for $160.

 

There's all sorts of factors that influence idle "sound".

Misfire is a major influence. Misfire at idle sounds "wicked" to many folks. It's the sound of "too much" camshaft duration; it's also the sound of a bonehead who can't tune the engine. Lotsa guys who want the "big cam" sound are trying to impress people they don't know, and who don't care. They'd be better-off to ground one plug wire before driving down to the local "cruise spot". The vehicle would be more fun to drive the rest of the time. Misfire is wasted fuel, reduced power, and excess exhaust emissions. There's nothing good about it. It's the unfortunate result of a high-rpm engine that's got more exhaust reversion than is appropriate for low-rpm usage. Tragically, that's become something that folks want to mimic with daily-drivers and "toy cars" for no good reason.

Compression ratio is another. Low compression ratio sounds different than higher compression ratio. Higher compression sounds "sharper" or "more energetic". Low compression can sound loud but lazy.

And of course the choice of exhaust systems--crossover pipe design (None, H-type, X-type, etc.) exhaust pipe material--aluminized mild steel vs. stainless steel, exhaust pipe diameter, and muffler design. Even the position of the tailpipe exit has an effect. I've known of people who think that just blocking the intake manifold exhaust crossover passage makes the engine sound "better". I have not experimented with that...but I believe it has an effect.

A big boat of a car that sounds like a rumpety-rump Top Fueler would not be appealing to me, and it would result in giving-up a heap of very-low-rpm torque, fuel economy, and driveability to get that "sound".

 

Use MT SS headers and it’s the perfect BBB sound!

 

The exhaust "sound" and the car go together. Cadillacs, Electra 225s, Olds 98s,etc, were built as luxury cars. A smooth barely audible exhaust fits them (if they are presented in "stock" version). "Hot" cars ...especially A body GMs ,sound "right" with a muscular rumble. At least to me.

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iEQFUiYQ7YuM2zR19

My 71