Most car engines just don't make any noise at all now - as the op says, it's tyre roar only.
The best sounding engines around at the moment in my opinion are the German V8s (Audi RS4 and Merc AMG C63). Proper NASCAR / big piston aircraft engine stuff. The road legal, plated C63 safety car at the DTM last weekend sounded better than most of the stuff out there racing. An epic noise.
The Honda VTECs are probably the most distinctive four pots with a very unusual and quite appealing offbeat growl at high revs.
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Yep, Volvo 144's used to whistle too.
Moggie 1000 awful jarring exhaust note on overrun.
MGB, lovely hollow exhaust note.
The gearbox whine of the mini.
Ear defenders needed for a Simca, what a kelly.
The throaty roar of most weber carbed engines.
3 litre Essex ford had their own pitch.
Rover 2000tc had a lovely note too, then came the V8's of course.
The 2 stroke Wartburg flyers.
Cummins 14 litre diesels when running right you only heard the turbo spooling.
Talking of 2 strokes, the lovely sound of Foden 2 stroke trucks and later Bedfords with the GM 2 stroke diesel, but paled into insignificance when the sound of a Deltic kissed the air.
You are right, nearly always new what was coming, don't modern diesels sound awful under power.
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>Most car engines just don't make any noise at all now<
Well they do where I live - all diesels except the Land Rover V6, some BMWs and the Honda sound ghastly when they are cold and most of 'em don't sound much better when they're warm.
My old Prelude sounds a treat, although maybe the 10-year-old exhaust system is now getting a bit tired, and you can play nice tunes on the SSS gearbox.
Meanwhile, gordonbennet, you have good ears! Those old Foden two-strokes sounded lovely, as did the Commer three-cylinder. I was lucky enough last year to hear the Ecurie Ecosse Commer transporter revved for my personal delectation! I still remember the nice noise my Wartburg Knight made, too. Mind you, there wasn't much else nice about it.
And yes, most modern diesels sound awful under power and they pump out horrible black cr*p as well; but apparently - according to another thread on here - that's a macho thing to do, not just give other people cancer but a coughing fit as well.
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.......................... the sound of a Deltic kissed the air.>>
Slightly off topic but a nice one for all us anoraks:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier_Deltic
Enjoy!
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Yesssss!
My favourite was 'The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry' - one of BR's longer nameplates...
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Thanks for the link Nick.
OK confession time, as a lad i lived fairly close to Welwyn North station, and spent many hours down there enjoying that unbelievable body shaking sensation as the Deltics would blast out of the tunnel and through the station at close on 90mph, i can still feel it.
The Deltic preservation society still run Deltic special trips, we went to Edinburgh a couple of years ago, could be a BR deltic special outing?
Its not really off topic, those engines have a heart and soul.
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I must confess that in general, I doubt if I could tell one engine from another.
However. . . We hired a Seat Altea while on holiday in France in the spring. It had a 1.9 Tdi engine. There's a family who live nearby who drive a VW Passat estate with the same engine, and after we got home (for a few months, at any rate) every time they drove past, the sound conjured up memories of sunny days in Provence.
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Actually, the PD engine at idle is quite distinctive from other diesels. It's a deeper note. I can tell when the in-laws pull up outside without even looking.
Cheers
DP
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TVR's have a wonderful sound, unique in my experience.
BTW. Does anyone else think automaticss make a different sound when they're starting up?
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Vauxhalls seem to have a distinctive "whistle" from the belts, especially when cold and at idle.
Subarus of course are always distinctive.
You can always tell an old Ford pushrod -- unmistakable mix of tappets and fanbelt scream.
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Oh yes, autos definately make a different noise at start up. A (long ago) girlfriend of mine has use of her mothers Golf Mk1 auto, and I could always tell when her car started in the college car park. It sounded v similar to its pedecessor, a Renault 5 Auto.
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What about that ridiculous Merc SLK McLaren - heard one of them (just before seeing it) in Betws y Coed N Wales a couple of years ago, reminds me of the M5 literally howling through the Conwy tunnel - A BMW 6 cylinder diesel can sound quite tasty in a way. Its the lack of distinction that makes a Golf GTi sound different....superb motor...
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The PD is about the only general engine I think I can identify now! I know the sound of my own cars but thats about it.
As the OP, I used to be able to tell what was coming - the MK1 Fiestas just made a booming sound, Metros/Minis sounded like they were about to break but never did, Sierras had a distictive sound as did any BMW that have a straight 6 under the bonnet
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I think Golf Mark 1 and Renault 5 autos must have had a special heavy-duty starter motor - it was certainly distinctive, but the starter to end them all was on the original FWD Triumph 1300. SWMBO had an elderly 1300 as a runaround many years ago, and the starter sounded as if it would throw cogs out all over the road - but it never failed, and it was also one of the most comfortable cars we've ever had.
And yes, the BMW straight-6 is indeed something special: I didn't appreciate this until I got my Z3. The diesel sounds good too - if the 320d had been a six I might have been swayed (I couldn't afford the 330d).
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Most cars these days don't make much noise at all, and that in my opinion is a good thing. The ones that make much noise quite often make good noises, but they can seem out of place. A Ferrari passed me recently crossing a thronged Portobello Road at an idle, sounded like a two-stroke pop-pop-popping away quietly. It went away like that out of sight a hundred yards or so and then yelled WHANG! WHANG! very loudly from round the corner.
Edited by Lud on 02/09/2008 at 01:17
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How's about the ole Triumph Vitesse - 6 cylinder + twin Strombergs ... luvly !
The thing is with todays cars is their reliability compared to cars of olde - you youngbloods don't know you're alive! what with not having to adjust ya tappets, points, timing, carbs, or having to clean the needle valve in the float chamber at 7.45am because the car has "flooded" at the traffic lights ... such memories !!!
Dog.
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As with the Vitesse, the 1200cc Heralds had their own sound. The 100e engines in old Ford Pops also.
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