how do you make your v6 sound like a v8?

okay well i have a 3 speed, 1958 ford fairlane 6 cylinder 223, and i have a glasspack exhaust on it, because i really want a low rumble and i want it to be loud when i go down the road, but it just doesnt compete to the sound of a v8.

so INSTEAD OF GETTING A V8 MOTOR... what other options do i have to make it sound like one? are there any company's that make headers to make it sound more v8-ish? thanks for the help in advance

 

what does all this have to do with a V6?

(no, you can't make a straight 6 sound like a V8, but that is a good thing)

 

not sure what u mean by 'what does all this have to do with a v6', i just really want it to sound like a v8.. i dont have the cash to get a new motor and the one i got in there is fine, but i want people to know when i'm coming down the road, know what i mean? the louder the better

 

Well first off you have a Strait Six, not a V. Secondly, the only way to make it sound like an 8 is to grow two more cylinders.

So either do the swap, or stop having V8 envy.

 

Well if all you want is people to know you are coming, just unbolt the exhaust from the manifold.

That will let them know you are coming alright.

 

sorry i shoulda said straight 6, not v6, so ya it is a straight 6, and unfortuantley i do have the v8 envy :-/ damn, its gonna be hard for me to save up the cash for a swap. oh well, i was just looking for an easy solution for a much louder sound other than taking off the headers, which isnt street legal anyway

 

Youre never going to get a straight 6 to sound like a v8 period. No matter what you do, it won't happen. Straights have a very distinctive sound to them, as do v8s, so you really can't compare them. You can make it have that low rumble by putting a flowmaster 40 series on it, but it still wont sound quite like it.

 

Squirrel is right. You don't have a V6, you have an I6. Totally different animal. The inline 6 has a pretty neat exhaust note of its own. Split the manifold and run a straight pipe from the split pipe and a 12" glaspac on the stock one. That will make a bitchen sound, believe me.

If you want people to know when you're coming down the road, get an air horn.

 

Play the drum intro for "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen REALLY LOUD as you go down the street. Might fool someone into thinking you have a nitro-swiggin' V8. LOL

 

Putting a flowmaster on a Strait 6 gives you that low rumble at idle, but as soon as you start to wind it up it will sound like a cross between a rice rocket and a pissed off bumble bee.

In other words, not good.

 

Yep !!! What he said !!!

 

alrighty, i guess i'll never have that v8 sound until i save up those pennies. but in the meanwhile i'll show you a video of my dad's 63 ranchero, we both have the inline 6, and a glasspack exhaust, but his is the sound i want, but i dont have:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYXO8m4E0Ww

that's the ranchero video, notice the low rumble when he drives away and such

this is a video of my 58 ford, *just revving it*, but u can tell the difference in the sound*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOPNcwsbd2U

idk why but i cant get mine to sound like my dad's ranchero

 

just cut off your existing muffler and attach a straight piece in its place. So for a few bucks you'll be running a straight pipe. If you want even a better sound replace you stock maifold with a set of split headers, then you'll sound better than a V8. Come on all the kids a doing it

 

haha not a bad idea, lol i might try it. thanks for the idea at least

 

Can you braze or do you need the phone# of a good muffler shop. Split it like I said and you'll make your pop jealous. There is a world of hop up options for that old six. It's a damn good engine.

 

nah we dont have a welder to braze but there is this one muffler shop right down the road from where my car is sitting right now at my grandma's, *fixing the gas tank at the moment*, so i could always take it there. but i like the ideas your all giving me, they didnt even cross my mind to be honest with ya

 

Bigger diameter exhaust will get you a lower deeper sound. Straight pipe will get you the louder sound. Personally I like a small diameter straight pipe on a six because it raps more.

 

True on that, there's a guy in my 'hood with a 6 mustang with a flowmaster and it fooled me at first, but then as soon as he got on it, youre right, it did sound kind of ricey.

 

definatley do not want the ricer sound, i hate those cars... one of the bigger annoyances i have actually. as for 53dodgekustom, my dad has a really small diameter on his ranchero's tail pipe with the glasspack and it makes that rap and rumble sound, maybe that's why my 58 doesnt sound like the ranchero..?

 

save your pennies and stuff in the largest motor you can find.

I reccomend your local Craigslist. Big ford stuff pops up all the time around here.

you never will say "Gee, I wish I had that straight six back. "

 

It's the truth....
I had a rambler w/ a 232 I6
Straight pipe!
Sounded just like your pops ride...
Nice rap too!!!
Do it.......

 

definatley gonna ask my dad about this and see if he'll let me do it. hopefully he will cuz my birthday was saturday and ive been mentioning i want my car to be way louder than it is, so this will be a late bday gift for me i hope

 

Thats exactly how my 48 poncho is done and does sound sweet. LTR Dave

 

I have a 223 in my 57 pickup with header, dual glasspacks, hollyy 4 bbl. At idel you can swear it sounds like a v8 at the exhaust. But once you get it going it has the unmistaken sound of a 6

 

REPLACE IT!

 

Here's a straight six... my 226 flathead six. I thought it sounded pretty cool. it had straight pipe, no muffler. Ignore the part when the brakes crap out at the end of the road..

Ford 6 video

 

Get a cheap, rusty-ass pickup (shouldn't be too hard to find, being a Ford) for a couple hundred bucks. Keep the motor and trans, and sell the rest for scrap. Probably break even.

 

If you're just trying to make some noise to impress the ladies maybe making some sping loaded exhaust dumps would suit the bill? Cable them up something like a parking brake so you have some way to open and close them from the drivers seat...

 

I picked up a running f150 with a 302/AOD for $350 for this exact reason. now I just need a 50 ford to put it in.