Can anyone tell me why Porshes seem to have this gritty, grainy sound when they accelerate? Is it something in the design of the rear transaxle, like gear whine? They never sound very free revving for some reason, but rough and labored. I must be missing something.:dunno:

They sound atrocious, I was blocking a 911 the other day...man I wouldn's let'im pass me but once he got that turbo thing going my poor Taurus was defenseless, but the worst part was having to listen to that horrible sound!! They are the ugliest sounding sports car around!

I don't what type of owners you have come across but I personally do not think the soundtrack as horrible but the opposite. I have heard many soundtracks coming out of different 911 variants that provided different sensations. I think the Turbo is one of the best sounding production car I came across.

Outrageous! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

The bark/growl of a 911 is legendary... far better than the tinny sound of a Modena... The Turbo acts as a silencer so the NA versions sound best... and boy do they sound good

Originally posted by crayzayjay
Outrageous! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

The bark/growl of a 911 is legendary... far better than the tinny sound of a Modena... The Turbo acts as a silencer so the NA versions sound best... and boy do they sound good

Legendary, agreed. Even a Carrera 2S has an incredible sound to it. Since I live in the US and the GT3 has never been released in the United States until now and still has to be delivered, I have yet to hear to sound of this homologated road car.

Yes, the 911 sound is very unique and legendary. While my favourite sound is that of a moderately muffled, high-revving V-8 engine (like in the ZR-1 Corvette, BMW M5 and Audi RS-6), I've become very comfortable and accustomed to the sound of the air-cooled flat 6's.
I think the sound is due to the unique combination of: aircooled engine (no sound dampening effect of the water jacket), flat 6 firing order, whine of the cooling fan. Not to mention the entire exhaust system is a lot shorter than that of a front-engined car.

That's my theory. I think they sound good, especailly over 4000 RPM, and especailly from the inside of the car (which seems to dampen some of the higher-frequency sounds).

Outrageous! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

The bark/growl of a 911 is legendary... far better than the tinny sound of a Modena... The Turbo acts as a silencer so the NA versions sound best... and boy do they sound good


I agree completely, having driven the two back to back in the past week.

Which gen did you drive? 993, 996?

Er, I'm new to the Porshe world, so I don't yet know the difference ...

My brother-in-law owns a 1999 Modena and a 2002 911 Carera cabrio. I really hated the sound of the Modena at partial throttle and idle (although the screaming at WOT is quite satisfying, and it is a ferociously fast car), whereas the sound of the 911's stock exhaust was quite nice-the kind of throaty growl I typically hear from my american 346ci V8.

I was also very favorably impressed with the speed and acceleration of the 911 as compared to my TransAm. I would have expected much less grunt for a car with roughly 110ft-lb less torque, but I guess the weight difference and the faster spooling of the V6 makes the car feel just as fast. I'm hooked, although I may have to settel with an older model - you boys sure pay a premium for your cars!

911's dont have V6's :)

You drove a 996 gen. If you're hooked, go for a 993, they're very affordable now, better looking (imo), and the last air-cooled 911 so nto only better sounding, but in some peoples' eyes the last true 911. Trust me, you wouldn't be settling :)

Sorry, i forgot you were a Porsche virgin ;)

this is a 993:

http://www.paragon.gb.com/images/models/911-993-2.jpg

You know what the 996 looks like :)

They have a gritty sound because of the Flat-6 configuration of the engine.

Same deal with Subaru Impreza's. They have a unique sound as they have Boxer-4's which is similar.

360 sounds fab but so does the 911. Great noise and great engines. Love the 360 but I would have a 911 Turbo over one anytime.

Welcome to AF monkey :)

Cheers......

First post, just my 2p's worth ....

Porsches sound awesome! I'll never forget that day this summer I heard a 911 from the 70's...white with the red 'carrera' letters on the side...that growly sound as it went by...I wish I tape recorded it. I'm pretty sure it had some after market exhaust.

Sounds like a 2.7RS to me. Well and truly the daddy of all Porsche's.

Thanks, Jay. I actually knew about the flat 6 - just had a senior moment. Anyway, I'm sure I can find this on the web but am lazy-when was the 993 last made?

I think it was in the spring of 1998.

er I meant '97

er I meant '97

Does that mean the 1997 or 1998 model year(which came out in late 97?)

Fall of 1997 was when the 996 first arrived. The first model year of the 996 was 1998. That means the last 993's rolled off of the assembly lines in the spring of 1997, the end of the 1997 model year. This info is to the best of my knowledge. I'll try to verify this info in my Porsche bible.

The 993 lived on into '98 as the Turbo model (the 996 Turbo wasnt out yet) but i believe the last NA 993's stopped rolling off the line in late 97.

Porsche's are one of the best sounding sports cars around. The only thing that can beat that tune is a ferrari v12.

The Carrera GT's V10 will take care of any Ferrari engine :D

The Carrera GT can't beat the Enzo, and never will. Nothing sounds like a ferrari v12. Have you ever heard a 275 GTB, 250 GTO or 575 GTC? The best sounding Porsche is the new GT3, the Carrera gt is a close second.

The Carrera GT sounds like an F1 car. Nuff said :thumbsup:

They sound atrocious, I was blocking a 911 the other day...man I wouldn's let'im pass me but once he got that turbo thing going my poor Taurus was defenseless, but the worst part was having to listen to that horrible sound!! They are the ugliest sounding sports car around!


you fucking idiot what are you doing on a car forum?

Early ones are air cooled too which also adds to the distinctive sound. I love it.

But then I'm biased :)...
http://www.pbase.com/smarjoram/my_porsche

Early ones are air cooled too which also adds to the distinctive sound. I love it.

But then I'm biased ...
http://www.pbase.com/smarjoram/my_porsche

its the only sound thats better than a boxster. hehhehe

PS: i absolutely love your car, thats awesome :)

The Carrera GT can't beat the Enzo, and never will. Nothing sounds like a ferrari v12. Have you ever heard a 275 GTB, 250 GTO or 575 GTC? The best sounding Porsche is the new GT3, the Carrera gt is a close second.

OK, the 250 i'll give you, but that is one of the all time classic Ferrari's. But the 575, are you mad!

Am I the only pearson who finds the sound of modern Ferrari's quite annoying. They seem to scream. To me they sound to tense and up-tight.

I much prefer the baritone baseline of a Benz V12, or the raspyness of a Porsche flat 6. Think about it. When you stop at the lights, would you rather your supercar sound like a its a chid having a tantrum, or that its announcing a thunderous, tarmac shivering battle cry?

OK, the 250 i'll give you, but that is one of the all time classic Ferrari's. But the 575, are you mad!

Am I the only pearson who finds the sound of modern Ferrari's quite annoying. They seem to scream. To me they sound to tense and up-tight.

I much prefer the baritone baseline of a Benz V12, or the raspyness of a Porsche flat 6. Think about it. When you stop at the lights, would you rather your supercar sound like a its a chid having a tantrum, or that its announcing a thunderous, tarmac shivering battle cry?


i dont care if it sounds like a fartcan civic, if it performs like a ferrari

I realise that this is a matter of personal taste, but the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of Mercs, TVR's, Porsche's etc etc that can perform better than a Ferrari, Have a better driver image than Ferrari, are built to a better standard than a Ferrari, and that are a damn site cheeper than a Ferrari. I for one refuse to pay over £200'000 for a car with pannel gaps that I could walk through, and for a car thats not guarenteed to start on the sunday morning that I want to go out in it. The exhaust note is just one of the many reasons that I hate Ferrari's

I live in the uk and there aint no other better sounding engine than air cooled flat-6 hanging out the rear, and the GT3? need i say more.

you fucking idiot what are you doing on a car forum?

No need to get personal and start insulting people, Andera. That sort of thing can get you banned around here.

The 911 Flat Six is in my opinion the best sounding engine ever made, especially in it's RS guises.

As for the GT3, I'm not sure how many people have seen this, but Porsche has a few videos up on their USA website. Tetsuo, you should check it out if you want to hear it sing. :naughty:

It also has a nice interactive video player for the track, where you can watch little videos of the GT3 carving some of the corners at the test track.

http://www3.us.porsche.com/english/usa/911/gt3/experience/leipzig/default.htm

naughty?

I know a guy that had a '74 IROC Carrera RSR. I seem to remember him saying that it had an actual racing engine (320 HP natural), headers and redlined at 8000 rpm. He had no heater (because of the headers) and no A/C which I figure was due to the 8000 rpm.

It's sound was was stunning but very hard to describe. I sounded kinda like a 2 stroke Detroit Diesel V6 or V8 but with a higher pitched scream. When he drove off and let of the throttle, the exhaust made one hell of a crackle.
It also decreased in RPM's as quickly as it increased.

I never forgot the sound of that car.

Here's a good site for some mp3's of various Porsches (and other cars). I can recommend the 2.7 RS, 935 and Carrera GT.

..and the SC - if you want to hear what mine sounds like :)

http://www.albertweb.de/Sound-Spiele/Sound.htm

I must say that this one is the closest to that IROC 911 that I've ever heard. Close enough to take me back to that first time hearing in 1982.
http://www.albertweb.de/Sound-Spiele/gt3rs_anbremsen.mp3