Ever since I first bought my Z, I've always wondered what it was about the VQ that gave it its signature "bubbly whop" sound.

I always thought it was the exhaust. But after I installed my custom magnaflow, it still retained its "bubbly whop-ness".

My friends actually refer to it as the 350z mating call.

I kept the stock tips for my exhaust. Is that what makes it's unique sound?
Is it the way the cams are designed? Intake?

I'm dying to find out.

I love how the engine has that tinny sound, kinda like an M3. But still has this great unqiue bubbly sound.

 

"bubbly whop"?

 

Its how I describe it. Probably not accurate at all, but I dont know how else to explain it. Its the distinct sound, that whenever you hear it, you just KNOW its a Z/G or FX35

 

Highly skilled and genuinely technical term not normally released to the general public from Nissan Corporate. Please only use this info with the utmost discretion.

 

magic exhaust

 

bubbly whop ? lol

try a cow mooing, that hits a lot closer to describing the sound

if you've ever heard a cow moo, then you'd know that the stock exhaust makes a very similar hollow noise


I actually had an STI owner describe the sound as a "retarded cow drowning in syrup and wannabe Ferrari"


I fired right back with "STI boxer engines sound like shlt... period"


needless to say, the argument ended there.... poor mans Ferrari sound beats boxer engine any day of the week



but to answer your question, it's a combination of all things.... the engine, and the exhaust..... the muffler has a bit more to do with it than most people realize, listen to this clip of a Ford Probe with a stock VQ exhaust on it.... sounds very much alike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjD77qsVqBA

 

that probe doesn't sound anything like a vq motor.

it's not the exhaust, it's the motor. It's just the way the motor is designed. Even running open headers it sounds like a vq.

 

The sound comes from an attacking ninja's katana amplified x350 times or Japanese Engineers. I can't remember which.
Here's an except from http://auto.howstuffworks.com/nissan-350z-design5.htm

This is a pretty good series of articles on the 350Z technical design, well worth the visit.

The Sound of Z Power From the very start, a core goal of engineers working on the 350Z engine was to deliver a powerful sound from the intake and exhaust, without high-pitched, "tinny" mechanical sounds or the low-frequency booming or rumbling that can grow tiresome on long trips. From driving Italian exotic cars, such as the Maserati 3200GT and the Ferrari 360 Modena, F355 and F40, Nissan studied the "emotional" aspects of intake and exhaust sounds. Benchmarks for the 350Z's induction sound were the BMW M Coupe, Porsche Boxster, and Nissan Skyline GT-R. The exhaust sound was maximized at low engine speed (1000-3500 rpm), but quiet at normal cruising. And intake sound maximized at high engine speed (3500-6000 rpm) -- especially at wide throttle openings -- but toned down during cruising. Nissan used straight intake ducts and removed the 0.5 harmonic to give a "clear" intake sound. A variable intake manifold was not used in the 350Z. The 350Z's exhaust had reduced back pressure and was freer flowing than in any other Nissan. Its equal-length exhaust-manifold branches fed a large-diameter single pipe, which fluted to dual outlets aft of the rear axle. A complete dual system was discarded due to cost, weight and aerodynamics.

It's kind of funny that people pointed out the M3 and Ferrari similarities, the engineers succeeded!

 

I didn't say anywhere it sounds like a VQ motor, I implied that there's hints of the VQ sound somewhere in that sound clip and that's thanks to the exhaust, so yes the exhaust does have something to do with it as well.

did you ever run open headers yourself, or you talkin just from hearsay ???

because I took off my rear muffler piece at one time and ran everything stock with the rear muffler piece missing for a few months, and it was a big difference, a lot louder but the VQ sound and gurgle was there, but it was to the point of being barely recognizable, I think only VQ motorists would have recognized the sound....
So yea the muffler doesn't make ALL the difference, but definitely a big one.
so if the muffler alone changes up the sound that much, I can't imagine what the car sounds like without cats and no resonator.

 

Isnt it obvious???

 

in bold

 

NismoZ was quoting something else, so I don't want to imply that those were his words but....

Does Nissan think that most of us "cruise" at above 3500 rpm?

 

Must suck being deaf

 

lol hahahahaha

 

lol a cow

 

Ford Probe sounds like ****, no matter what you put on it I'll give you that. Only reason I put the clip up is so the OP can see you can hear a hint of VQ with just the muffler piece.

but STI's DO sound like lawnmowers thanks to their boxer engines that's fact..... and G35/350/FX's definitely sound more on the exotic side of things compared to any other stock car I've ever heard....
from all the stock exhausts on normal cars I've heard in my life if I had to pick one that sounds anything like a high pitched exotic, I would go with the VQ as I'm sure a lot of people would....

everything stated above heavily on the factual side, not so much the opinion side

 

I built my old WRX and there's very few cars that sound as mean as a Scooby flat 4... My way of describing it is Japanese muscle. It's deep and throaty (TWSS) and I've yet to hear another Japanese motor like it. Show me a lawn mower that sounds like a WRX and I'll show you a man that's happy because he just found his next lawn mower

 

he was referring to stock vs stock. stock wrx is wayyyyy quieter than a stock z. (probably because there's no replica or replacement for cc)

now my roomate has a full cobb tuned stage 2 wrx built with 350whp and its the loudest car in our area. u can hear him coming from 2 miles away. haha

 

The strange thing is there is no gap for these ranges! Unless you should be cruising from 6000-7500 rpms

In practice, there is a noticeable quietier span though between 2500 and approaching 4000. I'm finding I'm over-revving my Maxima accidentally because it's much quieter and I've gotten used to the Z's audible clues and wider powerband.

 

It's made from the best stuff on earth!!! Lol