[GA tC]

Well, I have managed to own everything from 8 cylinder Pontiac GTOs from the 70s to the Datsun MPG. Anyone remember that one? What was it, like 1.2 liters and no carpeting on the floor? I swear it took close to 15 seconds to get to 60.

AAR, there is nothing that sounds as fine as a smooth, purring 8-cylinder engine. Six cylinders can sound pretty good, as my departed 3.0l Z3 did

. But 4s are 4s. IMO, there is not much you can do with one. it's a sewing machine at best, whether normally aspirated, fuel injection, or turbo charged.

Today on the way back from work, I ran across an Acura RSX-r or something like that and an unbadged Maxima. Both with the ricer exhausts. There wasn't really any sort of racing going on due to the traffic, so I listened to them. Sorry, but they sounded like craaaap! All braapy and raspy. Unless I could get a decent gain in HP, say like over 10%, I would not put the money into any exhaust mod that made my tC louder.

How about you? Are you copascetic with the sound of a mod'ed tC exhaust or does it sound like craaap to you?

Regards!

 

[Plissken]

I did not buy the TRD for the horsepower gain that if there is minimal. I did, however, purchase because it DOES sound good and it doesn't sound ricey at all. The idle is nothing like you'd expect to hear from a 4 banger. Its pretty darn throaty when you are accelerating hard, too.

Edit: I didn't vot because exhaust mods can sound bad on a 4 cylinder, or any engince for that matter, but I think the TRD does sound good.

 

[zoltiz]

Sometimes they sound good, but in any case they are definitely not the source of power gain.

 

[mrbrace]

I guess it all depends if you have the magnaflow cat back or not....

but in turn I love my magnaflow sound and I am sure Zygote agrees with me on that one.

 

[jeep]

apples and oranges. just to say a 4cyl sounds bad when opened up is absurd. it would be better to say X exhaust on Y model engine sounds bad. certain engines have different harmonics than others. for example...

most honda motors sound like crap if you remove the resonator, but if you leave the res or replace with an aftermarket res, you can get a nice tuner sound out of it (providing you dont go cheap on the aftermarket exhaust.) subaru's have a great lope to them due to the H-4 when opened up and no raspiness, but can be insanely loud if you run a race exhaust like an apex N-1 or the hks cans. vw's sound great opened up but tend to have raspy popping off throttle unless you use a resonator or a twin muffler exhaust like techtonics.

most exhaust mods on 4 cyl are an 8hp or less gain even at peak rpm, but every little bit helps and the sound all depends on the equipment.


my .02

 

[Zygote55]

1) I've never heard a V8 that sounded better than a V12 Ferrari. Sorry.

2) The Creative COmpacts exhaust is about a 7.5% gain in HP....you MIGHT get 10% if you also replaced the S-Pipe and totally removed the catalytic converter, but that'll sound terrible.

 

[whosthatrussian]

I hate the way that a ricy 4cyl sounds. There was a "modded" rolla with spinning hubcaps and a 4" exhaust hole that sounded terrible on the road the other day. Same goes for maximas and even v6 pontiacs. People have no shame. I absolutely loved the way the cat back with magnaflow sounded on one of the tC clips that were posted here a while back by someone. You should probably take a look at that vid, but I'm too lazy to look up the link.

 

[Zygote55]

I think that might have been my vid? http://www.yoursciontc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3950

After listening to it again I realize I really need to get a new vid... The sound is different (in a good way) now than it was on that very first day after the install.

 

[Yablargo]

To say that 4cyls are no good, I think you need to place yourself in the present, somewhere past 1980 IMO.

Look the SRT-4, that thing has a great exhaust note, comes underrated(dynos like 240+whp) from the factory in a car with a bulletproof engine that can be had for under 20,000$.

the STI and Evo are easilly made into sub-12 second machines on street tires

Look at the s2000, look at scionspeed's tc, its rediculous to say things like that imo.

Hell, the 4cyl Beta II in the tiburon/elantra, theres so many 900hp ones running around on the other side of the pond. its a cast iron block that can take tons of boost on stock internals

 

[lo bux racer]

900 hp fours suck to drive for anything but drag racing. Take a peek at their dyno charts and you'll see them pick up 250 - 300 hp in about 500 rpm. That is undriveable on the street.

Even at 300 hp, they make a lot of power very quickly after the boost hits. Before boost hits, they suck rocks. While I don't believe there is no substitute for cubic inches, there are practical limits to what one can do with small displacement engines in street applications.

 

[GA tC]

Originally posted by Yablargo@May 22 2005, 10:28 PM
To say that 4cyls are no good, I think you need to place yourself in the present, somewhere past 1980 IMO.

Cool attempt to hijack the thread!

I am just talking about the sound. If you have ever heard it, and I am sure most people have, the sound of a 12 cyl. Allison on a P-51 is about as close as to nirvana as a sound could be!

A 4 is a 4 is a 4 when it comes to sound.

Just my $0.02!

 

[Feezee]

our Tc doesnt have an exhaust but my civic has a 5zigen exhaust and sounds great, not high pitched or tinny at all. lets not forget the rumble of an H-4 or v-twin in harleys. doesnt take large amounts of cylinders to sound sexxy to me. i prefer the sound of my civic in vtec over my old 302 with flowmasters

 

[eddiemoney]

I agree that some exhaust on the tC sounds good, often the size of an engine makes a big difference too. I mean of course a 1.whatever engine isn't going to sound as good as the 2.4 in the tC. It is just like why a small block doesn't sound near as good or deep as a big block

Just do what you can to be happy

 

[lo bux racer]

To be exact, it's the size of the bore. Bigger bore, deeper tone. It's really that simple.

 

[eddiemoney]

^^^Bingo

 

[ScionGTR]

As Lance and Money said, but i have noticed that everything that is less then 2.4 it sounds horrible. I love how the subaru's sound i just wish i could find exaust to sound like that. BTW the ZPI turboed black tC sounds so horrible i dont if it had the s pipe they desing or not, but that thing was worst then a civic. I think they had an exaust 2 or some one else and that sounded horrible 2. The only exausts that i like are the TRD and the HKS. I just wounder how the HKS would sound on tourbed tC. BTW i love how the 350Z and the G35 sound.

 

[phungy]

I agree on the 350Z and G35. I love that throaty sound.

 

[&The TC& @HTown]

Its funny I saw this posting cuz just yesterday I thought to myself when I heard a 4 cyl car with a nice exhaust, not tooo loud, nice tone, as long as you don't go overboard it can sound nice. Powerful but not menacing. BTW, Zoltis is right, you wont get a power gain from an upgraded exaust, because it is only allowing for a higher flow to be exhausted out of the engine, if your motor isn't upgraded then its still going to be working at the same efficiency, ie. no HP or TQ gains. Sounds nice though, and maybe slight increase in MPG.

 

[Zygote55]

Dyno sheets show otherwise.

 

[&The TC& @HTown]

Allow me to correct myself...No REAL HP or TQ gains. Real meaning noticeable or appreciable. Your exaust system just has less resistance, motor doesn't make more power. EG. you'd probably get a better gain with a nice CAI