New trucks don't sound like old cars - why?

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paulclark

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Not trying to start a fight, and all respect to you owners of awesome modern mopar trucks.

When I hear a modern Ram with a 360 take off at a traffic light, it doesn't have that awesome sound like even a mild 273 or 318 from back in the day. And the same goes for V8s by the other brands.

Why is that? Towing cams? Modern exhaust? Magnums are different? I can speculate, but anyone know the real reason? OR do they really sound the same and I'm biased?
 
Single exhaust? Just quieter?
Many of them are running duals, loud exhaust, etc. They're loud, but... ugly.

idk, I think im crazy and then i watch a video of a a vintage drag car, or just of a mopar lover idling int he driveway, and - yeah, thats how it should sound.
 
a lot of it is in the mufflers
see if this makes sense...same car, different exhaust

this one is with you're basic summit 2.5 kit




and this one is with an x pipe and pypes M80 mufflers





now, ill have to check my dates to know for sure, there may also be a slighty displacement discrepancy (you know, 360 to 408)
 
@paulclark you should look up @toolmanmike, he has a recording of his Dart with a very nice single exhaust and great sound. I believe he had a link to a friends dart with duels he showed me, if I remember correctly.
But as far as modern vs muscle engines go, I'm also biased to the raw horsepower they were going for and what can be done today is pretty fantastic.
 
as for v8s from other brands, the old generation (2010) toyota tundra 4.6 lexus v8 sounded GOOD. (With level 3 magnaflows and no crossover.) super smooth anywhere under 2000rpm, nice mellow idle, but when you romped on the thing, it sounded like a damn corvette. (i will try and find a video.)



This is not exactly the same, the exhaust shop did something different to make it less, grumbly and harsh, but basically the same.
 
Roller lifters and catback exhaust make modern mustangs sound like harleys. Flowmaster on long duration cams with ridiculous low idle speeds sound very strange to me too. Pop-tink-pop-tink-tink pop-tink...yuck! Sound like something is gonna fall off.
 
My favorite exhaust sound is the tuned single Commando exhaust!



Does not sound like a modern truck.
 
NHTSA, EPA, Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Al Gore and his Climate Change buddies. The list is long and distinguished. It’s all their fault! :BangHead:
 
My favorite exhaust sound is the tuned single Commando exhaust!
I don't mean this as an insult in anyway but, that's an almost identical sound to mcqueen's mustang in bullit. Sounds killer!


Does not sound like a modern truck.
 
Counterpoint ><

I think the 5.2 and 5.9 Magnum exhaust manifolds sound awesome.

They flow good, too.

Just a bit of tweaking like a performance cat and cat-back duals also really adds to the sound.

My wife likes the sound too, and it's a distinctive sound, so she has learned it and usually comments when she hears one.

I just wish it was easier to adapt those to our classic SB cars with PS.
 
No factory EFI sounds the same, IMO. The EFI along with all the electronics somehow "flatten" the sound. At least that's my opinion and I'm stickin to it. lol
 
Counterpoint ><

I think the 5.2 and 5.9 Magnum exhaust manifolds sound awesome.

They flow good, too.

Just a bit of tweaking like a performance cat and cat-back duals also really adds to the sound.

My wife likes the sound too, and it's a distinctive sound, so she has learned it and usually comments when she hears one.

I just wish it was easier to adapt those to our classic SB cars with PS.

Well I cannot tell a difference in sound compared to any other modern EFI vehicle, but they certainly do flow great. IMO even the small outlet manifolds flow "as good" as the "good" 340 manifolds. The large outlet Magnum manifolds easily surpass them.
 
Back in the day we put those lightweight glasspacks on everything. Purple Hornies, Orange Goose (or something) Thrush, Cherry Bombs, etc. The tailpipes were 1.875, and barely adequate for a slanty; but when you stomped yur 340, she was barking a mean tune. Noise laws? IDK I ran straight pipes. Got off with warnings.
1.875 straightpipes are not that loud until second or third gear when the engine starts to really work. Mine were off the collector and under the rear axle, I mean steer8.
IMO nothing sounds as good as a LONG 3-pass muffler, stuffed with fiberglass, and terminating in turn-downs at the back bumper,like a Walker/dynomax/type. Then just stomp yur Hi-compression 360 and wind her up to 7200, and keep her there , spinning the tires to oh say 65 mph,lol. Stop, turn around and go again, but you better beat it after the second time......
 
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Back in the day we put those lightweight glasspacks on everything. Purple Hornies, Orange Goose (or something) Thrush, Cherry Bombs, etc. The tailpipes were 1.875, and barely adequate for a slanty; but when you stomped yur 340, she was barking a mean tune. Noise laws? IDK I ran straight pipes. Got off with warnings.
1.875 straightpipes are not that loud until second or third gear when the engine starts to really work. Mine were off the collector and under the rear axle, I mean steer8.
IMO nothing sounds as good as a LONG 3-pass muffler, stuffed with fiberglass, and terminating in turn-downs at the back bumper,like a Walker/dynomax/type. Then just stomp yur Hi-compression 360 and wind her up to 7200, and keep her there , spinning the tires to oh say 65 mph,lol. Stop, turn around and go again, but you better beat it after the second time......
1.875 tailpipes ? that had to wrap and sound like a fart can when you got on it.
 
fart cans hadn't been invented yet. Sounded more like like a high-powered rifle at close range, really close. 1.875 straight and no bends does ok around town. Butum, hey, I was 23 years old. and just learning.
 
fart cans hadn't been invented yet. Sounded more like like a high-powered rifle at close range, really close. 1.875 straight and no bends does ok around town. Butum, hey, I was 23 years old. and just learning.
high-powered rifle ? I agree with that. Rapid fire
Had a set of 2" tailpipes on a 440 Charger, pop,paa,pop,paa,pop. lol it was a wrapping pop .lol
 
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