V8 or straight-six

Revelation Joe

Which would you rather sit behind?
I always thought I'd go for a V8, just because of the sound but my Dad (ex-AA mechanic) says that a car with a six is much smoother to drive.

Your opinion?

mike65

A big six is smoother alright but a V8 does have that sound!

Mike.

V8Man

V8 only sound, size, look...power :cool:

Vinny Trans AM

V8 Go,s right into the soul man you cant beat that feel..:D

Max_Damage

How could anyone pick a Straight-6 over a V8?

The 8 cylinder I would have thogh would have been smoother due to the fact the engine is in a V and hence their is less vibration.

Eric318

The smoothness of the engine will also depend on how "square" it is. For straight 6s, for example the 3.4l Jag XK is a lot smoother than the 4.2l.

MercMad

Yes there are lots of things that contribute to an engines smoothness, such as Eric mentioned, also the actual firing order of the engine produces different sounds for exampley the Chevy 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2, is inherrantly different to Ford's 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8 or 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8.

Also the crank can be a flat plane, like the Ferrari and TVR which IMO dont sound so nice.

Straight sixes are smoother without a doubt but it depends to the intake and exhaust systems what they sound like, Modern BMW's and Lexus' are very silent but still emit a decent howl at high RPMs. My old Mercedes SL was a very early example and it featured tubular exhaust header pipes and a free flow twin pipe exhaust and it has a lovely burble and bark !

The Alfa Romeo V6, especially in Carb form sounds absolutely fantastic ! Its one of the best, certainly the best 6, but I'd still go for a V8 in the end !

alfarocks

MercMad wrote:

The Alfa Romeo V6, especially in Carb form sounds absolutely fantastic ! Its one of the best, certainly the best 6, but I'd still go for a V8 in the end !

Trust me the FI version also sounds fantastic, especially when going thru a tunnel for instance

Blue850

Max_Damage wrote:

How could anyone pick a Straight-6 over a V8?

How about all those Stag owners who got fed up throwing cash at the 3.0 V8and fitted the smooth 2.5 6 from the 2500 saloon;)

mike65

I thought most peeps stuck a Buick/Rover alloy V8 under the bonnet?

Mike.

MercMad

Trust me the FI version also sounds fantastic, especially when going thru a tunnel for instance

.............yes I know, but the carb version is even nicer. I never heard of anything but Rover V8 conversions for the Stag, certainly not the six cylinder conversion mentioned!

3ps

i'm goin out to drill a hole my 220D exhaust!

dubtom

3ps wrote:

i'm goin out to drill a hole my 220D exhaust!

Actually i often sit and listen to the merc diesels while waiting in the airport. They do sound nice, not a v8 gurgel but a nice thump thump.
The V8 is the only reason I bought a yank, tbh my 72 mustang is not the most comfortable car I have ever driven, infact on longish journeys my arse does kill me, just that noise gets me every time.If I have someone with me when I'm parking it back in the warehouse I often get them to drive around the estate,just so I can listen to it:o

ds20prefecture

Straight sixes are nice and all but somewhat samey. A v8 from one manufacturer will have a very different character from that of another. They're also typically shorter than a straight 6 (or even a straight 5) and so can be located better in the car.

Kevin_Herron

A straight six is the only engine that can be fully balanced.
The power strokes being very evenly placed.
Thats why Jaguar used either a straight 6 or V12, for their time they had very advanced counter balances.
V engines arent a smooth engine at all.
The worst being a Harley V twin. The power strokes being almost on top of each other hence the dee-dum, silence dee-dum sound.
It's something like 315 degrees without power!


Having said that, I like my Americans V8 and English straight 6!

67Cougar

Back to your origional question, there's nothing like the gurgle from a V8, its all about the feel and noise that gets the heart going, and the torque that gives the effortless power.

3ps

eh Dubtom.... my 220D is 35 years old so sounds slightly different to whatever you are listening to!!!