Raydar... (or anyone else) - Exhaust question

[Drewbdo]

Raydar,

In this thread, you mentioned a Fiero with an Ocelot, cam swap, and no cats.

I remember Dave's car. I believe he described it as a 3.4 (home-made from a bored and stroked 2.8, IIRC.)
It's the first time I ever heard a cammed 3.4 through, an Ocelot exhaust. Lust at first sight. Uhhh... sound.

This one predates my conversion by probably 5 years.
It was at least a partial inspiration.
It was also when I discovered how good a fat cam, no cat, and an Ocelot exhaust sounded. Have you heard it run, yet?

My 1988 Fiero has an "Italian stallion" inspired body, but, in my opinion, a "Detriot uninspired" exhaust sound. V6, auto. PO stated it has a 3.1 liter engine.



In your opinion, would the conversions you were discussing sound "right" / correct-ish for a Ferrari-replica? Or would that be more the rumble of a '60's era muscle car? NOthing wrong with the rumble, just not quite the sound I'm looking for.

Secondly, my county does not require emissions testing. Would it be ok for a 1988 Fiero to remove the cats? Would there be any benefits? My dad (retired ASE Master mechanic) always said all that "emissions crap" made cars run worse, harder to work on, lowered performance, etc. However, would cat deletion cause computer codes, problems, etc? We live in a rural-ish area, and the houses are not super close (~1 acre lots), so a little extra noise would not bother the neighbors.

[Fierofool]

Removing the cat won't do anything but make the exhaust smell a little more and increase the db level.  You're not going to be driving it just around your nighborhood, so that in itself shouldn't be a factor in your decision.  My 87 has no cat and it has a decent sound at idle and is reasonably quiet unless I really get into it.  It's never attracted the attention of law enforcement but I've had more than a few compliments on the way it sounds, even from some of my church deacons. 

I wouldn't tell you to remove the cat.  That's your decision, but it won't harm the car if you do.  If you want to meet me on Saturday to get the timing light, I'll drive the 87 so you can hear for yourself. 

[Raydar]

As Charlie said, removing the cat won't hurt the car. It will smell a bit, to the people who are following you.
It will be slightly louder.
I had a guy shout across to me, while sitting in traffic, and ask me if I had a V8. It did have a nice thump.
But Ferrari-ish? I wouldn't think so.

The only time it ever sounded like a Ferrari was when I installed the Trueleo intake, which is significantly taller than the stocker, and the top of it "juussssst touched" the underside of the decklid.
When I wound out the gears, the engine would torque up just enough to vibrate against the decklid. The decklid acted like a giant speaker cone. It made a shriek like an Indy car. I'm sure you could hear it for blocks.
The down side of this arrangement is that the Trueleo was slowly going to chew its way through the decklid.

[TopNotch]

It's going to be hard to make a V6 sound like a V8. And a Ferrari has a flat crank V8, which makes it sound unique. So just do the best you can.

[Drewbdo]

It's going to be hard to make a V6 sound like a V8. And a Ferrari has a flat crank V8, which makes it sound unique. So just do the best you can.

It doesn't have to sound like a flat V8, but rather a flat 12.

The Testarossa was the last 12 cylinder production car Ferrari made. Not sure if that makes a difference in the "audio quality" of the exhaust note produced.

Obviously, I can't match the 7,500 RPM (or 198 MPH) of the Testarossa engine, but I thought maybe I could make a minor change to get the exhaust sound in the ball park...

[Fierofool]

You don't need to search much further for the sound you're seeking.  I've found your solution.  Since you're a DJ, you probably have a pretty good sound system.  Attach several speakers under the decklid, maybe inside the trunk and pipe the recorded engine sound into them.   

[Drewbdo]

You don't need to search much further for the sound you're seeking.  I've found your solution.  Since you're a DJ, you probably have a pretty good sound system.  Attach several speakers under the decklid, maybe inside the trunk and pipe the recorded engine sound into them. 

Hmm... Now there's an idea! The only problems I see are:
1 - finding space in the trunk for a proper acoustic enclosure
2 - removing body panels to allow proper acoustic performance... maybe I'll remove the "fake air vents" on the rear hood, and make them real air vents.

The larger problem though...

3 - finding space for my turntables in the cabin 

What time are you going to Cumming, and where in Cumming will you be? As of yesterday, they said we are not working Saturday morning. If that doesn't change, I may be able to meet up with you before my event at Porsche HQ that evening.

[Fierofool]

I was just going to meet you at some point to bring the timing light to you.  Other than that, I had no need to be there.  There's an Ingles shopping center on Ga. 20, west of town.  It's on the right before you get into town.  I can meet you in the front of the lot near the entrance at around 11AM.

[Drewbdo]

Tomorrow, we should find out for sure if we have to work on Saturday or not. If not, I'll plan to head that direction.

I'll let you know tomorrow either way.

I just paid for a club membership, but I think I must have added an extra to the cart without realizing it because it said "You Paid $50".  Not sure if that can be fixed or not. In any case, I'm "official" now.

[Fierofool]

It can be fixed.  Contact the Administrator (TopNotch)

Welcome.  "Officially"

[TopNotch]

I just issued a $25 refund. Now you only have one membership.

[Drewbdo]

I just issued a $25 refund. Now you only have one membership.

Thank you for fixing that. I must have been overly zealous in clicking to join. 

[Drewbdo]

I was just going to meet you at some point to bring the timing light to you.  Other than that, I had no need to be there.  There's an Ingles shopping center on Ga. 20, west of town.  It's on the right before you get into town.  I can meet you in the front of the lot near the entrance at around 11AM.

I don't have to work tomorrow morning, so I'll plan to meet you there at 11 AM. Thank you.