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  #1  
Old 07-24-2005, 12:54 PM
ajorda14 ajorda14 is offline
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do pontiac engines sound different than chevy/ford engines? Or is it the same tone.

I know you can tell small block and big block chevy tone a bit. But I was wondering, is Pontiac a unique sound as well?

If you were blindfolded could you tell the difference between a Chevy big block and pontiac 400??

I'm just curious

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Old 07-24-2005, 03:56 PM
Schurkey Schurkey is offline
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First Guess: The sound of the fuel burning in the cylinders isn't a bit different between Chevy Big Block, Pontiac, Olds, MG, Toyota, whatever--except for the displacement and the RPM involved.

Everything after that-valve timing, port shape, exhaust manifold/headers, exhaust tubes, muffler, tailpipes, etc., has it's own effect on the characteristics of the noise emitted.

Change the exhaust systems, and two Pontiac 400s will not sound the same.

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Old 07-24-2005, 04:27 PM
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I can tell a difference between a BBC and a Pontiac in the way they sound under hard acceleration...like the dragstrip.

I always thought that the engine with the most distinctive sound was the Olds V8...it had almost a burbling sound to the exhaust.

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Old 07-24-2005, 04:34 PM
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I know the high compression motors I have built(13.5/1) had more of a "crackle" sound than my pump gas 463(9.9/1). I really like the sound of my 3" Pypes exhaust and Xcellerator mufflers. When I added the X it seemed to mellow the tone somewhat. -Jim

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Old 07-24-2005, 04:50 PM
JohnnyC JohnnyC is offline
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I have always been able to tell the difference in the sound of a 427 vette between a 428 ford for example. I think chevy engines have a pretty distinct sound like the 427 with solid lifters and the ls6 454 both have distinctive idles,,,, so does a 426 hemi. i think its much harder to distinguish between small block and more mass produced engines, but some of the special ones always seem to stick out above the rest

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Old 07-24-2005, 04:52 PM
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by hot67bird:
do pontiac engines sound different than chevy/ford engines?
I'm just curious </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

They sound pretty good if you ask me!
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  #7  
Old 07-24-2005, 08:43 PM
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The old nail head Buick had a very unique sound.

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Old 07-24-2005, 08:57 PM
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i love how pontiacs sound

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Old 07-24-2005, 10:21 PM
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I know that back in the '70's and before that I could tell the difference between the different stock cars going down the road. Mopars always had a real distinctive sound to me. My buddys Roadrunner has a Mopar sound to it even with headers and a far from stock cam. I'm not sure but I think the X-pipe made my TA sound less "Pontiac" than it did. It sounds more like a built 5.0 Mustang to me now. Kind'a odd. It's all about resonance frequency I wouldn't doubt that if you change the cam, heads, and exhaust enough you can lose that "original" sound.

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Old 07-25-2005, 05:43 AM
Mr. P-Body Mr. P-Body is offline
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Chamber shapes can affect the sound. The biggest influence winth the Pontiac is the exhaust crossover in the heads/intake. If you "fill" the crossover, the sound changes dramatically, making it sound a lot like BBC.

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Old 07-25-2005, 06:26 AM
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mr. P-Body:
Chamber shapes can affect the sound. The biggest influence winth the Pontiac is the exhaust crossover in the heads/intake. If you "fill" the crossover, the sound changes dramatically, making it sound a lot like BBC. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I wouldn't doubt that your right on that. I forgot about that crossover.

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  #12  
Old 07-26-2005, 12:44 PM
nikivee1954 nikivee1954 is offline
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Pontiac engines definetly sound different. I can always tell a Pontiac engine from a Chevy engine. The pontiac tone is deeper than a chevy.

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Old 07-26-2005, 02:12 PM
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I asked this question when I was new to the board was well... check out the responses.

http://forums.performanceyears.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc...676070321#1676070321

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Old 07-26-2005, 03:46 PM
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mr. P-Body:
Chamber shapes can affect the sound. The biggest influence winth the Pontiac is the exhaust crossover in the heads/intake. If you "fill" the crossover, the sound changes dramatically, making it sound a lot like BBC. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


....maybe the BBC sounds a lot like a Pontiac...

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Old 07-26-2005, 04:05 PM
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All of the old V8s had their own sound,you can hear a Olds 455 comming from a mile away,Pontiacs have their own sound,it is one of their strong points.Great sounding engines,a Tri Power with the accelerator mashed to to floor is always a good thing.Fill the crossovers and they sound even better.Most BBCs sound like crap to me.454s sound worse than 427s.

  #16  
Old 07-26-2005, 05:35 PM
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dragncar:
All of the old V8s had their own sound,you can hear a Olds 455 comming from a mile away,Pontiacs have their own sound,it is one of their strong points.Great sounding engines,a Tri Power with the accelerator mashed to to floor is always a good thing.Fill the crossovers and they sound even better.Most BBCs sound like crap to me.454s sound worse than 427s. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don,t know about that some or most BBCHEVYS sound great.
Almost as good as a worked Pontiac Engine
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