themindfield

I have a 98 C5 A4 coupe. The only mod on it is ZO6 TI cat back. I would like my car to sound like a 69 camaro (old school muscle car) safely. basically a nice lope. I don't care about how much HP it puts to the ground and all that. I don't intend to race it at all. I just want it to sound GREAT, like an old school big block muscle car, or as close to that as possible. I want to try to keep drivability and reliability as intact as possible.

Now, my question is, what's the least expensive, safe way to do that?
Thanks alot in advance, and I hope I am not beating on the dead horse with this thread. Thanks

Ramy

WhiteKnightZ28

iTrader: (5)

To get a "lope" you'll need a cam, exhaust work will only really make your car louder.

'Trust'

iTrader: (24)

Like he said, to get the lope you'll need a cam, you something on a lower LSA, like 112ish, but that won't work too well with your A4 and the stock converter, I'd just do a full exhaust, LT's and exhaust of your choice and call it a day for sound.

themindfield

I REALLY want it to sound like an old school muscle car. so you're saying I HAVE to do the following: LT's, TQ converter, and the cam?

WhiteKnightZ28

iTrader: (5)

The cam will give you the sound even if your running the stock exhaust (belive me I know) But once you put a cam in you'll need headers/exhaust to take full effect of the cam, and you'll deffently need a TC if your running a good sized cam (this is something else I know from experience).

Hope that helps.

jaberwaki

Ahhh the old bigblock sound, there is nothing like it...
the main trouble with trying to get your car to sounds like this, is that your block is aluminum. It will never have that truely deep crackle that old school cool iron blocks had. That being said you can make them sound better then they do.
That Z06 exhast was the wronge route for that.
Start down this path, when you find the sound you are looking for, stop.

1. 3" true duel x-pipe exhast with buttet mufflers (this is a throaty set up)

not enough? then

2. long tube headers (combined with the TD's now you have a grumbling monster)

not enough?

3. now start looking at a cam, but as stated before there is more to it then just slapping in a cam and calling it a day, there are several vendors on this site that can help you pick a cam to suit your needs and give you advice on all the supporting work that goes into it. (yes there are a few cams that you can run with your stock converter)

as a referance, check out www.ls1sounds.com there you can listen to ALOT of differant setups and copy the one you like the most..

Best of luck to you.

blkZ28spt

Duals with free flowing mufflers, no cats, longtubes and a healthy cam is one helluva combo and will get you a decent amount of ground shake. Love mine. You do need a torque converter before putting that sized cam in. You may as well realize right now that you will be making the car a good bit faster while you work on that exhaust sound.

jaberwaki

funny.......
his car is going to be faster as a BI-PRODUCT of his true goal..... that makes me laugh...

themindfield

LOL...thanks for the input guys. I am thinking LG headers with the off road X, and the lowest stall verter that will allow me to run a good cam. Now two questions, 1) what's the lowest/streetable stall verter that i could run? 2) what is the smallest cam that is going to be the one to give that big block sound? thanks alot guys.

blkZ28spt

Stall speed of 3,000 and a GM Hotcam with a low idle speed perhaps?

WhiteKnightZ28

iTrader: (5)

Since all converters and cams cost about the same, I'd go for a settup that would get about 400rwhp, regardless of how it sounds. That way your making the power to back up the noise.

themindfield

wouldn't a set up like that ruin the drivability/reliability? and is a GM hotcam, something that from GM, like a stock GM part?

jaberwaki

They beauty of modern muscle is how strong yet streetable you can make these cars...

You can get a 3000+ stall and hardly ever know it is there until you hit the gas..

What you are looking for is a 3000 stall with a 2.0-2.5 STR with lock up.
What that lock up does for you, is after first gear the tq converter "locks up" and drives just like a stock converter, the only slip you will feel is minor and only in 1st gear, all the rest will feel just as tight as stock, however when you hit the gas you will feel a night and day differance, your rpms will jump strait into your TQ band and bury you in your seat like a 10 story roller coaster.

I am not a Fan of the "hotcam" there are many other cams out there that are just as tame but make better power...

If I were setting it up for you I would be looking for a cam around....

221/221 @.050 540/540 lift on a comp cams xe-r lobe and 112 LSA It will gurgle nicely, retain a very even idle, and make gobs of midrange power .

the coverter I posted above will compliment it nicely
the LG headers you have choosen will allow the cam to breath
and the offroad x combined with bullet mufflers will make sure every head turns as you drive by...

ACW

Yep.
LS1 'Hotcam' camshaft = 12480033
GM list price for the kit is $600, some dealers sell it cheaper.

FrozenMonkey

Jaberwaki hit it right on the nail head. I would definately follow his advice to the t.

The only way you can truely get that big block sound, is to have a big nasty iron block in there.

67pete

Do NOT use a cross over "H' or "X" pipe, as this will kill the sound you are looking for.

Z28LS1camaroguy

iTrader: (3)

dont care about Horsepower thats a shame, but if you want a lopey sound definantly go with a cam, i would say a 224/224 mild cam will do you good unless you want it really lopey then go with a MS3 or F13 cam. and converters really wake up A4s so if you want your car to pick up faster so you can get to places faster not race lol, then a 3000 stall will be good.

radkon

iTrader: (2)

Another way to get that sound is to have a tuner adjust your idle downward to 600'ish rpm. A good tuner should be able to get the tune stable enough to run at that low RPM and you'll notice the lope of your stock cam.

blkZ28spt

Incorrect. The converter slips in every gear, and will lock up in drive (3rd) and overdrive (4th) if you have adequate speed and are not accelerating, going up a steep hill, etc. What lockup does is lock the converter up once you are cruising at speed. My lockup occurs around 35 in drive and ~47 in overdrive.

*It will only lock up in third if the shifter is in drive, not OD.

blkZ28spt

Incorrect. The best sounding exhaust, by the opinions of the majority of tech members, is true duals with a crossover with the H sounding a slight bit better than the X.



https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-external-engine/489543-who-has-best-sounding-ls1.html