How to get exotic sound
Originally Posted by slik98z
you want an exotic exhaust sound? try some vietnamese food with their hot sauce and drink warm beer with it. that'll give you a really exotic exhaust sound. **** will make a taco fart seem like a warm breeze
a corsa exhaust is about as exotic as your sound will get...and that isn't saying much. American pushrod V8's have a sound you have to love.
You wouldn't want your Harley to sound like a Honda would you? Why would you want your LS1 to sound like something else?
Originally Posted by Jammer
The responses here are what I would have expected on LS1.com, not LS1 TECH. BTW this is a 700+ HP twin turbo and I'm designing the exhaust system and thought there was some good info out there. A few of you gave me some insight, so thanks.
As for an LS! not"supposed to sound exotic", well you can say an LS1 is not supposed to have twin turbos either. Its the unique sound I am after.
As for an LS! not"supposed to sound exotic", well you can say an LS1 is not supposed to have twin turbos either. Its the unique sound I am after.
. you expect us to read your mind 
Originally Posted by Jammer
The responses here are what I would have expected on LS1.com, not LS1 TECH. BTW this is a 700+ HP twin turbo and I'm designing the exhaust system and thought there was some good info out there. A few of you gave me some insight, so thanks.
As for an LS! not"supposed to sound exotic", well you can say an LS1 is not supposed to have twin turbos either. Its the unique sound I am after.
As for an LS! not"supposed to sound exotic", well you can say an LS1 is not supposed to have twin turbos either. Its the unique sound I am after.
If you really want a totally different kind of sound you would really need to go with ultra high revving (7500rpm+),high compression motor.Couple that with a super lightweight reciprocating aseembly and you'll be getting close to the small displacement Italian screamers.
I don't see much you can do exhaust wise (due to the turbo set-up partially) to drastically alter your exhaust note.
The Turbos in the exhaust will not help you get the sound you're looking for. If you were N/A you could couple your cylinders in different ways (think Tri-Y style) but that can cause a power loss.
I personally think turbocharged american V-8's sound pretty damn exotic. There haven't been many made from the factory and you certainly don't see or hear one everyday.
STF Veteran
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,486
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From: Greensboro, North Carolina
Originally Posted by slik98z
you want an exotic exhaust sound? try some vietnamese food with their hot sauce and drink warm beer with it. that'll give you a really exotic exhaust sound. **** will make a taco fart seem like a warm breeze
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...ght=pete+video
Heres a link to the video post I was talking about.
Heres a link to the video post I was talking about.
Thanks guys. I did get some good factual info from above in the end. I was hoiping someone would have an easy answer to the impossible. I learned engine design is the key to the sound. Thank you. Looks like I may go true duals w/ an X and some funky high flow muffler set up yo be decided.
Check out the pic of this set-up /frame (9D9LS). This will be a twin turbo as well. Notice the holes in the frame for the driveshaft...or more importantly...the 3" dual exhaust!!!
Check out the pic of this set-up /frame (9D9LS). This will be a twin turbo as well. Notice the holes in the frame for the driveshaft...or more importantly...the 3" dual exhaust!!!
Last edited by WILWAXU; Feb 5, 2004 at 08:02 PM.
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The guys down at TEA had a C5 with a X pipe off the headers and a couple feet back it had a H pipe. then into hi flow mufflers, They said it had an " Exotic" sound to it, but that was the first time i ever heard any one describe the sound of an LS1 as exotic, and honestly i didnt think i would ever hear anyone want to make it sound that way.....
Yeah the only true way to get the real exotic V-8 sound is to have a high revving flat plane crank V-8. Seeing how you can't have a huge dissplacement flat plane crank V-8 you can only try to mimic the sound with high pitched mufflers, X-pipe, etc like eveyone else has said. I'd say it will be even harder to get an exotic exhaust sound with a turbo car since it tends to quieten the exhaust a lot.
This site shows what a flat plane crank is compared to the crossplane crank an LS1 uses.
http://www.e31.net/engines_e.html
This site shows what a flat plane crank is compared to the crossplane crank an LS1 uses.
http://www.e31.net/engines_e.html
I just recently found out more about the Ferrari exhausts. They use a type of noise cancelling muffler made by Tubi that selectively cancels the certain frequencies that the engineers WANT to cancel and leaves the "good" frequencies. Tubi is used on all Ferrari's to provide their signature sound. Corsa uses this muffler design as well. Here is a breakdown of the technology.
http://www.corsaperf.com/arsctech.htm
http://www.corsaperf.com/audiomenu.htm
You might try and use the mufflers from Corsa's C5 Pace Car Edition or their Titanium Edition. They both sound similiar, but the Touring Edition doesn't quite sound as high pitched. Maybe you can squeeze those mufflers under whatever vehicle you have.
Now if you have about $1,200-$2,400 you can get some BMW mufflers from Tubi, Kellener, Eisenmann, Supersprint or Remus, if they will fit. There are vids here also. Check the first 5 links on the upper left side and look at the dual exhausts for the M5.
http://www.beastpower.com/Merchant2/...Store_Code=BMI
Here is a link to vids using the Tubi exhaust. Great stuff here.
http://www.scuderiasystems.com/M-Media.htm
I know a big part of the sound is determined by the cylinder size, that's why those 5L V12's sound so high pitched. They have much smaller cylinders, while our LS1's get 5.7L out of only 8 cylinders. The larger the cylinder the lower the pitch, roughly speaking. I have to admit the Corsa's do have that exotic sound in the upper rev range. I don't know how they did it, but I love it.
http://www.corsaperf.com/arsctech.htm
http://www.corsaperf.com/audiomenu.htm
You might try and use the mufflers from Corsa's C5 Pace Car Edition or their Titanium Edition. They both sound similiar, but the Touring Edition doesn't quite sound as high pitched. Maybe you can squeeze those mufflers under whatever vehicle you have.
Now if you have about $1,200-$2,400 you can get some BMW mufflers from Tubi, Kellener, Eisenmann, Supersprint or Remus, if they will fit. There are vids here also. Check the first 5 links on the upper left side and look at the dual exhausts for the M5.
http://www.beastpower.com/Merchant2/...Store_Code=BMI
Here is a link to vids using the Tubi exhaust. Great stuff here.
http://www.scuderiasystems.com/M-Media.htm
I know a big part of the sound is determined by the cylinder size, that's why those 5L V12's sound so high pitched. They have much smaller cylinders, while our LS1's get 5.7L out of only 8 cylinders. The larger the cylinder the lower the pitch, roughly speaking. I have to admit the Corsa's do have that exotic sound in the upper rev range. I don't know how they did it, but I love it.
Wow, bringing it back from the dead, huh?
Believe me, there's more to it than the materials they use. Since the last time I posted here I've found a more reasonably priced muffler than can make the LS1's sound more high pitched on the top end. Check out Spintech's GTO video's using their catback system. You can check out the end of this thread for several sound clips.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showpost....3&postcount=68
A few general note's, headers are always going to give you a higher pitched sound.
Things like cats don't seem to have much effect on the sound.
Resonators like on the GTO's will dull the sound down when combined with the Spintechs (axle back setup), but the catback setup deletes the resonators for that sweet sound high pitched sound.
I know the titanium construction can add to the high pitched sound, but what part of the exhaust does it effect the most? Muffler construction or the tubing? Tubing before the muffler or after the muffler? If I could narrow it down, I would consider making a small portion of the exhaust from titanium, but it's could be a big waste of money.
Believe me, there's more to it than the materials they use. Since the last time I posted here I've found a more reasonably priced muffler than can make the LS1's sound more high pitched on the top end. Check out Spintech's GTO video's using their catback system. You can check out the end of this thread for several sound clips.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showpost....3&postcount=68
A few general note's, headers are always going to give you a higher pitched sound.
Things like cats don't seem to have much effect on the sound.
Resonators like on the GTO's will dull the sound down when combined with the Spintechs (axle back setup), but the catback setup deletes the resonators for that sweet sound high pitched sound.
I know the titanium construction can add to the high pitched sound, but what part of the exhaust does it effect the most? Muffler construction or the tubing? Tubing before the muffler or after the muffler? If I could narrow it down, I would consider making a small portion of the exhaust from titanium, but it's could be a big waste of money.
Launching!
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 231
Likes: 111
Pardon the necro-bump, but my question is related to this thread...... i have a 360 modena gated.... which I was planning to install the race version of exhaust..... it is the challenge stradale exhaust which came in the race car version of the modena. it is quiet normally, but when the valves open it dumps past the muffs. It is a cat back exhaust.
I'm in the middle of installing an ls1 into an E36...... and after a few beers started to look at the challenge stradale (modena exhaust), and wonder how it would sound behind the ls in the E36?
Has anyone tested an italian catback behind an ls..... any links or sound clips? Or should I just put the beer down, and go to sleep awaiting santa clause
wake up the next day and just do the normal swap cat back... magna flow etc.. etc... ??
Cheers guys.
Jeff - San Antonio
I'm in the middle of installing an ls1 into an E36...... and after a few beers started to look at the challenge stradale (modena exhaust), and wonder how it would sound behind the ls in the E36?
Has anyone tested an italian catback behind an ls..... any links or sound clips? Or should I just put the beer down, and go to sleep awaiting santa clause
wake up the next day and just do the normal swap cat back... magna flow etc.. etc... ??Cheers guys.
Jeff - San Antonio
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 22,303
Likes: 3,619
From: Central Cal.
You can make a "normal" V8 sound like a flat crank engine by running the 2 center cylinder pipes from each side over to the opposite side, merging them with the pipes from the end cylinders of the side opposite where they originated. Look at a 2-plane intake manifold. Group the pipes of the upper plane together, and those of the lower plane likewise. The upper plane feeds the center cylinders of one bank with the end cylinders of the of the opposite bank. The lower plane does the same with the remaining cylinders.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,060
Likes: 198
The firing sequence of an LS engine makes it difficult to get equal-length primaries without going over the top of the engine, as G Atsma described. That fits best with mid-engine layouts, but it has been done in front-engine cars, without the over-the-top routing. It still sounds great to my ears. There are some examples in this thread from a few weeks ago:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/advanced-...e-headers.html
I suspect that the the main thing is just getting the exhaust pulses precisely equally spaced, which of course means precisely equal length headers. Most people who want that sound go a step further and get the primaries from opposite cylinders paired up at the merge collector, and I wonder how much different that makes as compared to just getting the lengths right. It would be interesting to hear both approaches back-to-back.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/advanced-...e-headers.html
I suspect that the the main thing is just getting the exhaust pulses precisely equally spaced, which of course means precisely equal length headers. Most people who want that sound go a step further and get the primaries from opposite cylinders paired up at the merge collector, and I wonder how much different that makes as compared to just getting the lengths right. It would be interesting to hear both approaches back-to-back.
TECH Addict
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 2,513
Likes: 480
From: PDX-OR-USA
Back in the day,, 180 degree equal length headers ran under the engine and behind the block depending on the car, a 67 Camaro with a 305, camel hump heads and a set of 180's developed quite the scream above 3000 RPM's, they were effective enough at bumping power they kinda got banned in most SCCA classes..
Launching!
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 231
Likes: 111
wow thanks guys for the quick quality resp for a guy with 1 post count on xmas to boot! I'm in the right place.
I surfed today and actually found a top 10 ls swap vid that featured an LS TT in a 599 car with stock ferrari cat back....... sounded like dog Shi$...... perhaps the Worst exhaust tractor like.
I've sobered up and realize it is the ex pulse timing and NOT the catback that make the magic.
So I'll just put a nice cam in the LS and enjoy pissing off transam and bimmer fans.... as the motor is from a transam 2002 formula... and the body is a 99 m3.
will post up a build thread when I get some more momentum. Thx guys. Merry Christmas.
I surfed today and actually found a top 10 ls swap vid that featured an LS TT in a 599 car with stock ferrari cat back....... sounded like dog Shi$...... perhaps the Worst exhaust tractor like.
I've sobered up and realize it is the ex pulse timing and NOT the catback that make the magic.
So I'll just put a nice cam in the LS and enjoy pissing off transam and bimmer fans.... as the motor is from a transam 2002 formula... and the body is a 99 m3.
will post up a build thread when I get some more momentum. Thx guys. Merry Christmas.
TECH Resident
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 967
Likes: 53
From: Winter Haven FL
You won't **** off anyone. It's a super common swap. Figure out what trans you're using and get the appropriate swap kit so you don't have to worry about mix and match parts. The conversions section should have a bunch of info to help you along.