The one thing my car will never have

[rslifkin]

I agree that most 4 cylinders just don't have that nice, heart-warming sound of a well-done exhaust on a V8. I have heard some, however (particularly the WRX), that do sound pretty good.

On my old Hyundai, I removed the lower intake resonator and taped over the hole. It didn't make the intake any louder, but it got rid of a little of the annoying resonance at 3k - 4k.

I tried removing the whole intake snorkel at one point, so the airbox would draw in hot air from the engine bay, but I didn't keep it like that long enough to get an idea of mpg (put it back after about 1/2 tank of gas). MPG seemed worse though, based on how fast the gas gauge was falling. Unless I was driving at sustained speeds above 40, the intake air got so hot that the ECU was maxed out on the timing retard (due to IAT sensor, no knock sensor). With 87 octane in there, I couldn't break 3000 - 3500 without pinging (air too hot, couldn't retard timing enough), so I had to put it back on before I could even try to get on the highway.

Personally, I think my Jeep has one of the best sounding stock exhausts I've heard. Mine is slightly louder than other identical Jeeps I've heard (but same sound) due to the cat starting to fail. I think some of the media has just blown out. It'll get a full new exhaust with new cat, etc. in the spring/summer. One of my friends took video clip of it last week:

 

[SteveSRT8]

No true car guy can resist a real V-8 and its sweet burble.

My racing buddy actually sold his Viper because it sounded like a UPS truck!

 

[IndyIan]

That is true, I almost bought a new 03 Dodge Ram 4x4 with the 4.7L V8. It did sound so very nice... It was $30K back then though, and my mortgage is so very much smaller today!

Didn't the Viper go to an X pipe setup so it didn't sound like 2 inline 5's with the old side pipe setup?

 

[Spyder7]

Have thought about replacing my factory exhaust with a magna flow and a new tip. Its inexpensive, the factory exhaust and tip are ancient and look it, and the magna flow (according to reviews) deepens the exhaust slightly but without producing the ricer sound many after-market exhausts produce on a 4 banger.

It won't be 'til next summer if I do. I'll want to do an inspection on all the emissions hardware after this winter just to replace any overly corroded, or worn, hangers while I'm underneath and have a look at the pipe too. If anything looks questionable I can either replace, or resurface and spot weld, as warranted, and do it all in one go.

-Spyder

 

[jmsjags]

plz don't turn into a ricer..

it's one thing to change out the whole exhaust (headers and midpipe), but swapping catbacks which doesn't add ANY horsepower, only makes the car sound obnoxious, is annoying as [censored]. whenever i hear a fartcan go by i get the urge to punch the driver in the throat. it's a freaking focus it's not supposed to be fast. it's supposed to be fuel efficient and get you where you need to go. maybe if you had an evo or wrx i could see throwing on an exhaust, but you have a focus. so don't be THAT guy...

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: hardcore302
The best sounding 4 bangers are those SRT4's. Burbly, cracking, spitting... sounds great for a 4 banger.


Our PT-GT makes the same sounds, just quieter. It has the same block, head, pistons, rods, crank, cams, turbo, etc....and an actual muffler.

It doesn't pound your ears into submission on a long trip.

 

[Nick R]

Don't worry, I won't turn into a ricer. I hate them, I would rather die before become one. Again, I don't want an overly loud, obnoxious exhaust. I just want exactly what spyder mentioned. A deeper exhaust sound, with maybe a little more volume. Nothing outrageous.

 

[garlicbreadman]

when is ford ever going to get rid of that ugly font for their displays?

Leave your car alone, in the end its still an automatic ford focus which is designed to get to a to b

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: garlicbreadman
when is ford ever going to get rid of that ugly font for their displays?

Leave your car alone, in the end its still an automatic ford focus which is designed to get to a to b


It's a million times nicer than my previous cavalier was. The only thing I liked better about the cavalier than this was the steering wheel, only because I prefer the 2 or 4 spoke steering wheel over the 3.

 

[Steve S]

4 cyl engines never sound good. only inline 6 cyl and American V8 sound good . I have owned many 4 cyl cars and trucks.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: cchase
I've never heard a domestic 4-cylinder I thought sounded good. Or an Asian car with aftermarket exhaust that sounded good.

JMO.


I've never heard an inline 4 I liked the sound of. I don't like the droney sound of the Ecotec four in our Solstice. For the money it cost, it should have had a small displacement, compact, pushrod V8. Flat four light aircraft engines sound Ok to me, though.

The only thing that sounds worse than an inline four is those dreadful 45 degree V twins on Harleys, and the dolts that take the mufflers off make it exponentially bad. They make me want to jam nails in my ears.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: Win
Originally Posted By: cchase
I've never heard a domestic 4-cylinder I thought sounded good. Or an Asian car with aftermarket exhaust that sounded good.

JMO.


I've never heard an inline 4 I liked the sound of. I don't like the droney sound of the Ecotec four in our Solstice. For the money it cost, it should have had a small displacement, compact, pushrod V8. Flat four light aircraft engines sound Ok to me, though.

The only thing that sounds worse than an inline four is those dreadful 45 degree V twins on Harleys, and the dolts that take the mufflers off make it exponentially bad. They make me want to jam nails in my ears.


What? That is a terrible idea. Same power, same torque.... Half the MPG, more weight....

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Steve S
4 cyl engines never sound good. only inline 6 cyl and American V8 sound good . I have owned many 4 cyl cars and trucks.


oooohhhh, disagree.

Not all inline 6'es are created equal. Not all V6'es sound bad.

I had a '71 Mustang with a 250 L6. I could not ask for anything more reliable but let's face it - it was never going to sound good. Nor was it ever going to see 60mph in less than 10 seconds without going downhill or being pushed by the Hand of the Almighty.
I can't really describe what it sounds like. I lack the proper adjectives. But though a glasspack (forgive the ignorance of my youth...glasspacks were quite fashionable then so I wasn't the only one) it sounded terrible.

I've heard lot's of Datsun L-series sixes just sound wretched. Ironically the VQ series V6es sound pretty good.

Then there's the symphony of sound that an E36/E46 M3 makes.

 

[rslifkin]

If it had the same displacement, it would get about the same mpg, even if it was a V8, not an I4.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
If it had the same displacement, it would get about the same mpg, even if it was a V8, not an I4.


A 2 liter V8 would not make nearly the same power as the Turbo I-4 in the solstice.

 

[silverrat]

It will if you rev that 2.0 V8 to 12,000 rpm +

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: rslifkin
If it had the same displacement, it would get about the same mpg, even if it was a V8, not an I4.


A 2 liter V8 would not make nearly the same power as the Turbo I-4 in the solstice.


His Solstice has the NA 2.4 liter Ecotec, NOT the boosted 2 liter version.

He meant a 5.3 liter LSx V-8 would be the ticket.
It WILL fit, since many tuners have dropped LS3s and even LS7s into that engine bay.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: Nick R


What? That is a terrible idea. Same power, same torque.... Half the MPG, more weight....



Right now my auto fleet is one V12, one V8, two V6's and two I-4's so I know a bit about what works under the hood of a car. And in a little sports type car like a Solstice, a small displacement pushrod V8 would be a lot better powerplant than a top heavy dohc four banger.

And, yes, I've had turbo fours before.

I'd leave the exhaust on your Focus alone, btw.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: rslifkin
If it had the same displacement, it would get about the same mpg, even if it was a V8, not an I4.


A 2 liter V8 would not make nearly the same power as the Turbo I-4 in the solstice.


His Solstice has the NA 2.4 liter Ecotec, NOT the boosted 2 liter version.

He meant a 5.3 liter LSx V-8 would be the ticket.
It WILL fit, since many tuners have dropped LS3s and even LS7s into that engine bay.

Mallett put LS2's in them, and I think there are still some conversion shops out there that will put anything you want in them for a price, but if I wanted something like that I would just go buy a Vette and be done with it.

A small V8 around 2.4 - 3.0 liters would be perfect for the car.

 

[Thermo1223]

I think I got it right with the Forester, not obnoxious loud for a family wagon...buuut it can mean business.

I am actually trying to get it sound like an STI in my own way.

All XT's share the same parts as STI's with the exception of pistons, ECU, exhaust, heads, turbo...afaik.

Isn't hard to get it up to STI power but it stands to reason they designed things different for a reason. So you may never make as much as power as a similar STI.