Engine note, 5.0L Coyote vs 5.2L Voodoo [POLL]

[Spang550]

I have yet to drive a Shelby so maybe my opinion would change if I did, and from a specialness standpoint the GT350 will go down as one of the masterpiece mustangs. That being said even tho it has a lot less range of noise, I prefer the lower note of the coyote. I personally want a gruffer sound from my V8 and the coyote is better at that. I can’t deny the voodoo is the more special engine. Personally the Predators note is more my style by comparison. I know I am weird bordering on wrong for thinking that but my ears like what they like.

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[ice445]

350 wins easily. With that said, the Coyote does sound really damn good too. I'm not a fan of certain exhausts like the Corsa series (even though they have some of that 350 like charm high in the revs), but with my preferred exhausts (MBRP Street, Borla S Type, AWE Touring, and stock active exhaust with an h pipe swap), the chaotic nature of the engine is turned into music.

It's all just opinion though, much like music taste, engine taste differs depending on how you ask. It seems like the coyote is normally very polarizing in the car community, although I've always maintained its because there are so many idiots out there doing catless straight pipe nonsense. I've heard some that literally just assault your ears. Everyone I've asked has said my car sounds amazing, but maybe they're just lying, haha.

 

[Tinpot]

To my ears nothing sounds better than an American V8 with a cross plane crank. A big block with a lumpy cam is serendipity. I voted Coyote.

 

[Mikepol2]

Most people think I'm nuts but one of the reasons for buying a Mach 1 instead of a GT350 (there were several) was that I preferred the deeper exhaust note of the Mach.

 

[Angrey]

As a matter of taste and opinion:

The voodoo sounds glorious, especially when paired with long tubes that adjust the sound pulse more.

When Ford developed the coyote, they went from the previous SBF firing order to the "flathead" firing order. Slight differences in the cooling channels on each bank meant that they could reduce the temp delta between cylinders and get slightly more power out of the flathead order.

In my opinion, the previous gen "modular" (yes I know that technically a coyote is a modular motor) but the 302 motors were awesome. The 4V modular motor with a nice exhaust setup sounded magical. The coyote/flathead (to me) sounds awful.

It's unrefined and reminds me of a trailer park door slammer pickup truck. It can be improved (or made worse) depending on the header/exhaust setup.

You also have to remember, that part of the appeal of the exhaust note is affected by the compression. Because the coyote combines a lesser musical pulse order with high compression, it makes it sound even harsher. The older motors had lower compression (which gives a more pleasing note). The other thing that can make the exhaust note sound harsh is the A/F ratio. A wet or fat tune sounds more appealing than the rasp and harshness of a tune that's dancing on the edge of knock.

Ironically, the best sounding coyote I've ever heard was when it's paired with GT350 headers.

 

[Angrey]

Over the years I've collected youtube clips of some of the more glorious sounding motors/vehicles. Here's a few of the better ones. Many of them are flat plane, but a few of them are CPC.

Greatest sounding motorcycle ever produced:
HONDA 1000 CBX SOUND - YouTube

The glory of the Ford modular 4V:
Mustang Cobra Terminator w/ longtube headers and LOUD full exhaust - YouTube

Some GM glory:
Inside the car: Corvette - Ferrari Chase - YouTube
Outside the car: 2007 C6 Corvette Z06 Bassani Aft-Cat Exhaust - YouTube

Some Voodoo Glory:
Voodoo Falcon teaser clip - Powered by GT350r making insane sound! - YouTube
ARH Inside the Car: 2017 Shelby GT350 Late Night Cruisin' - YouTube
ARH Outside the car: SHELBY GT350 REVS, FLY-BYS, WITH ARH FULL EXHAUST & RESONATOR DELETE - YouTube
Kooks Violence: 2016 GT350 Kooks LT at WOT - YouTube

Coyote with GT350 Headers: GT350 ARH Exhaust - YouTube

 

[ice445]

As a matter of taste and opinion:

The voodoo sounds glorious, especially when paired with long tubes that adjust the sound pulse more.

When Ford developed the coyote, they went from the previous SBF firing order to the "flathead" firing order. Slight differences in the cooling channels on each bank meant that they could reduce the temp delta between cylinders and get slightly more power out of the flathead order.

In my opinion, the previous gen "modular" (yes I know that technically a coyote is a modular motor) but the 302 motors were awesome. The 4V modular motor with a nice exhaust setup sounded magical. The coyote/flathead (to me) sounds awful.

It's unrefined and reminds me of a trailer park door slammer pickup truck. It can be improved (or made worse) depending on the header/exhaust setup.

You also have to remember, that part of the appeal of the exhaust note is affected by the compression. Because the coyote combines a lesser musical pulse order with high compression, it makes it sound even harsher. The older motors had lower compression (which gives a more pleasing note). The other thing that can make the exhaust note sound harsh is the A/F ratio. A wet or fat tune sounds more appealing than the rasp and harshness of a tune that's dancing on the edge of knock.

Ironically, the best sounding coyote I've ever heard was when it's paired with GT350 headers.

It's okay to be wrong, I forgive you. I will agree the 4.6 motors have incredible sound though.

It is funny how divided people are on the coyote sound though. I think the reasons you list for the sound being "awful" are the same things that make it great to me and other people. I'm not saying it's quite at the same level as the Voodoo, but there is a musical quality mixed amongst the chaos. The firing order makes the engine sound so angry and chaotic. From idle to 5000 RPM, it sounds its best, which is where you spend most of your time. At least with an h pipe setup, it's a very strange blend of old school type muscle with small displacement rasp. It's exotic in a way, purely because there's nothing else quite like it out there. At high RPM and full load, it's less musical because the pulses are so close together and harsh, but it still sounds cool. The voodoo is somewhat of the inverse, it's not that it sounds bad on the low end, but it really shines at 4000RPM and up. It's like the conclusion of a concerto.

That's probably why I like the more "muscle" exhausts that play into increasing the sound chaos, and not something like corsa that just amplifies one single quality. It's the same reason catless straight pipes just end up being ear rape; there's nothing to break up the negative aspects of the pulses anymore.

I remember on a facebook post once, there were all three pony cars having a rev battle, and people voted with their likes or hearts or whatever. Quite a lot of people participated, and the Mustang won out by a little bit. But it also had the most negative actual comments from people who had disdain for it. It makes sense, the Camaro and Challenger both have normal pushrod V8's with traditional firing orders and they sound relatively similar. But the Coyote is special, for better or worse depending on how your ears are tuned.

 

[Angrey]

It's okay to be wrong, I forgive you. I will agree the 4.6 motors have incredible sound though.

It is funny how divided people are on the coyote sound though. I think the reasons you list for the sound being "awful" are the same things that make it great to me and other people. I'm not saying it's quite at the same level as the Voodoo, but there is a musical quality mixed amongst the chaos. The firing order makes the engine sound so angry and chaotic. From idle to 5000 RPM, it sounds its best, which is where you spend most of your time. At least with an h pipe setup, it's a very strange blend of old school type muscle with small displacement rasp. It's exotic in a way, purely because there's nothing else quite like it out there. At high RPM and full load, it's less musical because the pulses are so close together and harsh, but it still sounds cool. The voodoo is somewhat of the inverse, it's not that it sounds bad on the low end, but it really shines at 4000RPM and up. It's like the conclusion of a concerto.

That's probably why I like the more "muscle" exhausts that play into increasing the sound chaos, and not something like corsa that just amplifies one single quality. It's the same reason catless straight pipes just end up being ear rape; there's nothing to break up the negative aspects of the pulses anymore.

I remember on a facebook post once, there were all three pony cars having a rev battle, and people voted with their likes or hearts or whatever. Quite a lot of people participated, and the Mustang won out by a little bit. But it also had the most negative actual comments from people who had disdain for it. It makes sense, the Camaro and Challenger both have normal pushrod V8's with traditional firing orders and they sound relatively similar. But the Coyote is special, for better or worse depending on how your ears are tuned.

We haven't even delved into the issue of sound volume. Half the mustang community is full of iditos that think loud = good.

I could blast Justin Bieber at 150 decibels. Doesn't make it sound any better. I'd say half the coyote exhaust options on the market are in this category. They don't alter or improve the underlying sound of the motor and exhaust at all. It's just louder. A great example is a buddy of mine who has a pretty extreme coyote build. When he added turbos, to me personally it actually improved the sound because it took the top off the harshness of the exhaust.

What's interesting is there are people who actually study and work in the musical field(s) that could weigh in on which exhaust notes/tones are closest to musical notes, which is essentially mathematical arrangements/localized inflection points. The closer a collection of sounds and pulses is to a note, the better it's going to sound to most people. When it's a disorganized basket of sound, it's going to sound to MOST PEOPLE like noise.

Again, all personal taste/preference.

 

[Cory S]

Coyotes sound terrible TBH.

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