What is that one thing that stays in your memory long after that awesome car you just saw go by that stays with you? The obvious answer is the exhaust note. Not only does it add an amazing soundtrack to the car's appearance, but it shows the hard work put into the owner or designer to create the perfect desired sound from the engine. The exhaust note is the ultimate telltale sign of the effort put into the car by the designer or owner and it shows what the car is really made of.
Different types of exhaust types are used for different types of cars. For example, if you drive a smaller city car, you are going to want an exhaust with very low sound, but still allows the car to get very good fuel mileage. The best style of exhaust for this car would be a simple single tip exhaust with a good muffler and not too many frills to affect the mileage of the car. If you drive a sportier car, and performance takes precedence over mileage, a less restrictive twin exit exhaust system is probably the best option for you. There are many different exhaust setups you can run from this, ranging from side pipes, to both exhaust tips exiting behind the car, to both on one side. Whichever you choose will provide a slightly different type of sound. Now, if you are somebody who drives something built to go off-road a lot, like a truck and you also enjoy watching un-burned diesel fuel spew from the back of your vehicles, this is the choice for you. A new trend among truck owners called rolling coal(which i will cover in another story soon) is best optimized through using massive exhaust systems. These can come in the form of larger exhaust pipes from the cat's back, or through massive semi-truck like smoke stacks. This is the ultimate form of a redneck truck. This is the guy that you can find deep in the backwoods tearing it up on a questionable blood alcohol level with his buddies.
Now, some of the greatest examples of a good exhaust note start far away from the exhaust themselves. It starts with the engine and intake systems. You will get a very different sound from a I-4 compared to a V-8 compared to a V-12. Now, most great exhaust notes begin in the rare cases of a powerful 6 cylinder. These cars include the Lotus Exige, BMW E46 M3, any Porsche, Formula 1 cars, any Nissan GT-R, and the Jaguar F-type V6 S. Many of these cars employ things like superchargers or turbochargers to greatly boost their power numbers, because there are simply not enough cylinders to make a boatload of power or sound from the block alone.
Now, as the number of cylinders increases to eight, the sound becomes much more deep, as there are more cylinders firing. in my opinion, a good sounding V-8 is the best sounding engine in the world. Some of the prime examples of this include, the Ford Mustang GT 350-R, or really, any proper mustang or muscle car for that matter, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, The Audi B8 RS4, The Audi R8 V8, Mersedes, SLS AMG, any Corvette, the old original Ford GT-40's, the Ferrari 458, the mercedes C63 AMG, any Koenugsegg, and many others. But my personal favorite V8 sound of all time would have to be this "slightly modified" ford mustang driven by drift king Ken Block. Trust me, i'm sure you will agree with me on this one.
Now, as we move on to the larger 10 and 12+ cylinder engines, a new sound emerges. It is some of a high uppity tone from a strong, quick V6, and it isnt that of the deep, brutish snarl that wants to rip your face off that you find in a V8. It is somewhat of a unique, exotic sound that is very hard to describe any other way. When you hear one of these cars, you know they mean business. The best examples include the following, The Audi S8 and R8 V10's, the BMW M6, the Lamborghini Gallardo Superlegerra, the Dodge Viper, the Lexus LFA, Porsche Carrera GT. For the V12's and up, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari F12, the Pagani Zonda R, Mclaren F1, Jaguar E-type V12, andthe legendary Mercedes CLK GTR.
As you might have seen, as the number of cylinders employed grows, the exoticness of these cars also increased. This is due in a small part to o with the fact that they wanted to be distinguished from the more ordinary sounding smaller engines. I guarantee you that you will be able to tell if a Ferrari or a Ford is going down the road just from the exhaust note.
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