Like the hood scoop question from a while back, opinions on what exhaust “should” sound like is all over the map. There are those that lust after the sound of a Camaro with chambered exhaust (as shown below) or those that freaking love the mechanical tunes produced by a Cobra with side pipes, still more seem to go into a trance when a Hemi Road Runner rolls by. Old school Jaguar XKs have a scream all of their own and the world is pretty well divided over their thoughts on the Dodge Viper’s unique ten cylinder tones.
Factory cars today sound lots different than the stuff back in the day due to a lot of factors including catalytic converters, the roller cam profiles in their engines, factory superchargers, and any number of modern voodoo magic tricks now employed by the factories. Are they better or worse sounding? Tough to say. A modern Boss 302 still makes the hair stand up on our necks, that is for sure. Your turn now. Answer the question below!
BANGSHIFT QUESTION OF THE DAY: WHAT CAR, PAST OF PRESENT HAS THE BEST SOUNDING FACTORY EXHAUST?
Big block mopars. I worked at a little chopper shop in Tulsa a long time ago. The resident outlaw biker that turned wrenches there told me one day as I was leaving, and had just fired up my ’67 440 GTX, “I love the sound of those big Mopars. They sound like a whole heard of Harleys”. (I later put a 413 in his ’54 Ford truck.
I don’t know which car makes the ‘best’ sound, but the trophy for the worst sounding car(s) is the distinctive and annoying “underwater gurgle” that the engineers at Pontiac inflicted on the general public for decades!
Big block Mopars for sure but also 427 Cobras and side pipe Corvettes, pure auditory sex
I’ll chip in for the 4 cylinder crowd: our Fiat 500 Abarth has the best note around, literally comes from the factory without a muffler as the technical boffins deemed the turbo sufficient muffling.
My wife told me she was leaving yoga and heard an Abarth start up in the parking lot – but it turned out to be a McLaren. Oh well …
https://youtu.be/cujL_wFxY-M
2004 GTO
Sounds even better with the SLP exhaust! Yea I know it’s not factory but damn it sounds good!
Any of the pushrod 5.0L Mustangs in the Fox platform.
God damn right
God damn right man
The race version of the 65-66 Shelby mustangs with their practically non-existent side exit exhaust always sounded great. As well, those side exit pipes on the AAR Cudas with the 340’s at full scream.
63 Stude Lark. With a factory Paxton super charger .And factory straight through glass pack type mufflers.
Chevelles & Camaros with the chambered exhaust. Mopars with 383, 440 and hemis were great also.
I have a new Scat Pack Charger and it sounds pretty sweet for a new car. Better that my 2019 Grand Sport Corvette. The Corvette uses a x pipe and the Charger has no H or X pipe.
The new 5.2 voodoo engine in the 2016-Current Shelby mustangs sounds pretty gnarly, and that’s coming from someone who’s more faithful to a bowtie than an oval. But its hard to go wrong with a 8000 RPM flat plane crank V8.
old post but 427 cammer on dyno