Why do some Sports/Supercar engines “whine” while others “growl”?

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A Dodge Viper and a Lexus LFA both use a V10 engine, but a Dodge Viper has a very “deep” sound, but a Lexus LFA has a very high pitched whining sound?

What makes a car like a muscle car like a Mustang or Viper have such a different sound than a car like a Lamborghini or Ferrari when they use the same kinds of engines?

In: Engineering

20 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

They both have a v10 engine, but that doesn’t mean they’re the same. The displacement, firing order, cams, exhaust pipes, and aspiration are some things that make a difference in how it sounds.

The whine from the engine comes from a turbocharger or supercharger, which both work like compressors to pump more air into the engine to make more horsepower, which means the engine is not naturally aspirated.

A much deeper growling sound from an engine compared to a higher pitched, faster sounding idle at the same rpm would be a difference in engine displaced, firing order, camshafts and exhaust, but I’m not the best guy to explain how all that works.

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