Prefer sound of V-8 or V-12?

348 competizione(sp?) I am not sure if it is the best sounding Ferrari but most likely the most amazing i have ever heard.

 

then you definitely haven't heard many

 

Hear is the why and how of why we love these wonderous sounds. Even pulses of exaust resonance happen when man creates combustion engines that have cylinders in multiples of three!, as in Suzuki's three cyl. racing bike, all six cyl. motors whether flat,V, or straight, all nine cyl. motors (I know they don't make them), and all 12 cyl engines.
Have you ever listened close to conventional V-10 motors in pick-ups and in Vipers? They just sound awful like they have a cylinder or two missing. The only time that V-10's sound good is when they have the advantage of extreamly high rpm's of a formula one motor where the sound pulses are so close together we simply don't hear that odd out of sync pulse.
American V-8's without the advantage of the flat crank in say a 355 Ferrari V-8 all sound rather choppy, and I must say that the 355 somehow transends the multiple of three resonance. I have seen the same effect in racing BMW V-8's with flat cranks.
Its all about the steady progression of resonating pulses that happen in multiple's of three that unexplainably appeal to our ears ability to discern these pulses. All bets are off however, when the rpm's excede the feeble human ears ability to gather or differenciate these pulses.
As far as the best sound I have ever heard was from a 246 Dino and a 250 GTO. Just heard bunches of 430's at the factory and they sounded like farts in a trumpet.

 

Nine cylinders...and they sound fantastic!

 

I've heard plenty of 360's, 355's, etc. but the day I heard an F50 go through the gears (to redline) on the freeway, it was then that I realized that my 360 sounds like a volkswagen.
If you're after the high pitched "shriek" of a Formula One car, then I believe that the V12's are going to be able to do the best job. Why? Well let Mr. Dummy give you his theory, and then others can either praise or bash the idea.
It's really not the high RPM's that give you the high pitched shriek, it's the explosions per second. All things being equal, the higher the RPM, the higher the explosions per second and the higher the shriek. But all things are NOT equal; namely, the number of cylinders. Since a 12 cylinder engine will explode at 12 times per revolution, you are going to get 50% more explosions per second than an 8 cylinder engine revving at the same RPM, and therefore the Hertz(?) will be 50% higher. Take the most simplest case: A 1 cylinder engine and a 100 cylinder engine, both running at 1 revolution per second. The 1 cylinder will sound like "thump, thump, thump", one second apart, but the 100 cylinder engine will be humming along at 100Hz.
Make sense?

 

I do love 8's and 12's, with the 365 GTC/4 sounding the best,
but the Pratt and Whitney R-2800 (2800 cid!) twin row 18 cylinder radial is the finest internal combustion engine ever made.

 

R-2800...she powered some of the best...Corsair, Hellcat, Thunderbolt, etc.

 

I forgot to mention that the cylinder size has an effect on the sound as well. Like how the pitch of a small firecracker going off is much higher than the "boom" of an M80. A 12 cylinder engine will have smaller cylinders than an 8 cylinder engine of the same displacement. So that probably helps the high pitch effect.

 

Actually its 6 times per revolution on a 4 stroke 12 cylinder engine but it sounds great anyway I may seem biased as well but before I got a 12 I wanted one because of the unique sound that only a 12 can offer. My 308 just doesnt cut it anymore from a sound perspective.

 

All other things being equal, I much prefer the sound of the 12s. But the newer ones tend to be over-muffled; I heard a stock Testarossa on the track at Moroso, and the sound was quite underwhelming. The Enzo that went by a bit later was more raucous and satisfying.

But I've heard some Tubi-equipped (or equivalent) 348s and 355s that sound fantastic, and the F430 sounds that good right from the factory.

The unmuffled 12-cylinder racing engines are the best. Years ago in Seattle I was standing nearby when David Livingston fired up the engine in his 1969 F1 car to do some laps. When he blipped the throttle, chills went up my spine! And the 512S's in "Le Mans" make the movie that much more worthwhile.

 

Wow! nine cylinder radials, how could I have missed that? I have also heard that the 365GTC4 has an ausome sound but I have not experianced it. I wonder what it is about this car that makes it unique? Does anybody know?

 

Hmmmm. P&W R-2800 radials and SNJ's? A connection perhaps???

The problem with a radial is they fire even and odd numbers of cylinders each revolution, unlike inline engines with even number cylinders.

Its cool how Gary48 picked up on the 3 pulse thing, I was thinking the same thing. I recall listening to a few Jag V-12's a few times and couldnt help thinking it strongly sounded like a six cylinder engine. Perhaps that is why Jag refered to thier 12 as a double six? Then after watching Victory by Design a few times and listening to the cars you pick up that same resonance.

Many years ago I seen Bob Tillius blast around BIR in his Jag XJS and my GOD that motor made a sound in the upper rpm ranges that made the car sound like a real live animal howling through the trees. He had the car out alone to run some practice laps so it was all you could hear. I would love to hear an older V-12 Ferrari run around a few times like that. Awesome! Sorry, no V-8 in the world will ever ever ever compare. If you havnt ever really heard a V-12, you really have no basis from which to compare.

 

I stand with my comments below. A lot of comments seem to be from those talking about the sound as the car goes by at the track rather the the experience of driving or riding in the car. This misses all of the valve train and intake sounds, truly unfortunate. As stated most any 250 V-12, and those of a high state of tune in particular have no peer.

This may be heresy, but here goes. I followed a Porsche CGT up a long freeway ramp with the window open and the sound was truly fantastic. Ripping silk shreak like nothing I've heard before, but I really liked it. It is a good thing I am not a huge fan of the styling or I might become envious! - George

 

You mean _almost_ the finest made:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%26_Whitney_Wasp_Major

28 cylinders, 71.4L, 4300hp, 3870lbs.

 

That's a tough one.

If we are speaking of modern, front-engine V12 GT cars like the 550 and 575 Maranello (I have yet to hear the 599 GTB Fiorano), versus the modern V8 road cars of the 355, 360 and 430...I would probably have to pick the V8's just because they sound so much more raspy, which I love. The V12's sound very good...but they are a bit quieter and more docile. But I will say an Enzo's V12 sounds like mere magic!

For me, the best sounding modern Ferrari is, without question, the 360 CS.

 

All these modern cars (including V-12's) with fuel injection, cat-converters, and other sound strangling equipement can not compare to the pure sounds of vintage Ferrari race cars as well as 250 road cars! If you have not been in one then you are missing a key Ferrari experience. - George

 

This shoudl have been a pole (if there even is an option here). My vote goes to the V8 in the F355 with tubi. Sweetest sound out of any car ever built.

 

Does anyone have any clips of a 250 GTO going through the gears? I dont think I've ever heard one before.

 

I do not understand the question. The V-12 has the best sound of any engine.



12 cylinders or walk

 

I have heard a lot but that left such an impression from the idle i don't know if i will ever forget it.