How people tune their cars, V8s in particular, to have that deep, “galloping” sound and that slow, almost stalling idle? And what’s the purpose of doing that, other than to “make it sound” like so?

Question

Not sure if the flair fits the question. Sorry if it’s the wrong one.

In: 0

Answer 1

It is a cam profile that only runs well at high RPM, but not very well at idle. It also makes more power at high revs at the expense of drivability. This is why variable valve timing was invented, which is a “best of both worlds” technology.

Answer 2

Camshaft/s open and close the inlet and exhaust valves on engines. Changing the profile of the camshaft, ie the separation angle between the inlet and exhaust valves (timing, not your conventional timing) and the extent to how far these valves open (lift) along with duration, the agressiveness of the lobe opening the valve, changes how the engine sounds. Combustion in the cylinder happening at different times, for different length of time.

Generally makes more power. But requires revs to do so.