The Fury of a V10 Engine Captured
12.25.06 // 12:00
First of all, a big Merry Christmas (or whichever holiday/denomination you celebrate) to everyone from Turn 10! Hope Santa Claus got you the Xbox 360 force feedback wheel, because you're gonna need it when Forza Motorsport 2 hits in 2007. Last week we posed an audio challenge to gearheads on the 'net at large. Based on our Dyno Spotlight of James Retych's 1999 Dodge Viper GTS, we threw together 4 different like-minded and equally as burley sports car engine sound bytes and asked you guys to not only pick out James' port and polished, naturally aspirated, V10 engine, but also identify the 3 other models too. As usual, we got some pretty good answers. Apparently, a lot of you do know your Vipers!
Here now to comment on each of the engine sounds is Turn 10's content coordinator and resident rally racer, Roger Jackman.
Turn 10 Dyno Spotlight Audio Challenge Answers
By: Roger Jackman
1999 Dodge Viper GTS (8.0L V10)
If you picked sample #1 as your answer, you were correct! What is it about the sound of a V10? A lot of people I know loved the sound of Formula One V12s, but when the V10 came along, it won them over. Even more people cannot resist looking when they here the thump of a lumpy V8, but they come running when they hear the sound of a Viper V10. It’s like an opera singer who walks on stage with a pair of steel-toed boots, or like a hit man who shows up in a tux; it can hang with the elite, but it does it in a style all it’s own. The Viper 8.0L V10 is the culmination of American Iron evolution. With technology taken from F1, and muscle car force, it produces 450hp and a brutal 490ft/lb of torque. Listen to the wheels slip on the dyno every time a new gear is selected, and the sharp exhaust note as the revs charge for the end of the tach. With qualities like this, it is no wonder it is as popular around the rest of the world as it is in the U.S.
1971 Chevy Camaro Z28 (5.7L V8)
Classic American Muscle! The heart of the 1971 Camaro is the tried and true Chev 350 (5.7L). This engine must be one of the most versatile engines in the history of the industrial world with roles stretching from fire-breathing race engines to moorage anchors for small boats. In the Camaro however, it was the perfect all-rounder for the street and strip. With 275hp and 300ft/lbs of torque, it could tick along on public roads with ease, but give plenty of grunt when tempted by an open strip of tarmac. The engine is certainly noisier than most modern engines, but in the words of Martha Stewart (Ivan “Ironman” Stewart’s cousin?), “it’s a good thing”. The rattle and tap of the lifters being thrown by the lumpy camshaft, the hollow snort of the carb as it sucks air through it’s 4 barrels, and of course the pre-emissions performance exhaust may never be compared to a symphony, but more likely an ear-bleeding rock spectacle such as a Led Zeppelin, the Who, or Rolling Stones concert.
2000 BMW Z8 (5.0L V8)
Whenever I hear someone mention a 5.0L V8, it conjures visions of a late-80’s Washington State Patrol pursuit car. Those things were a force to be reckoned with, having wicked suspension, a totally aero body kit, and of course a “5.0” under the hood. That lump of “American Iron” put out around 225 horsepower with a whopping 300 ft/lb of torque, and weighed in at around 450 pounds. All those cast bits, actuated by a hearty crank and push rods produced almost 48hp/liter, or just over a half horsepower per pound. Whoa Nellie!
Well, what you heard was NOT a Ford 5-Liter…Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson once said something along the lines of American Iron being pretty impressive, but give BMW the same displacement and look out! The engine you just heard was a BMW 5.0 V8 in a 2000 Z8 Roadster. This all alloy engine weighs in at a mere 350 pounds and produces 394hp and 368ft/lbs of torque. That is 80hp/liter and well over 1 horsepower per pound! Just listen to its 4 variably timed camshafts and 8 individual throttle bodies pass massive amounts of air at any RPM without hindrance, making the engine race until it goes *BANG*BANG* off the rev limiter. This engine has become desirable for engine swaps and the basis for race engines in some series.
2004 Volkswagen Golf R32 (3.2L V6) (straight-pipe)
We also used this sound in our last audio quiz for the Datsun 240Z dyno session. The raunchy howl of a straight-pipe V6 takes me back to videos of a Group B Metro 6R4 blatting through the British country side, a modern day Grendel if you will. The ripping canvas sound of an uncorked 6-cylinder engine have always been one of my favorite sounds in Motorsports and the VW R32’s V6 does not disappoint. This engine is already potent, giving 247hp and 236ft/lbs of torque, enough to require the addition of a Haldex AWD unit in the stable Golf platform, but with the removal of the standard exhaust and a few other mods, it sounds as if it is a beast unleashed and ready to wreak havoc on surrounding Bavarian villages and town-folk. With 24 valves and 3.2 liters of displacement, it has an appetite for speed that can only be satisfied by the Autobahn or the legendary Nurburgring.
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