Rover v8 note?

[billoddie]

Hi guys.
Just a quick question out of interest.
I know my engine isnt running QUITE right...a little hard to start and a bit rough before it warms up...but i would like to know what the "normal" beat or idle note of the Rover v8 is.
Mine seems to have a distinct "offbeat" burble to it.
Thats the only way i can describe it...its "v8" in the usual way, but mixed into it's melody is an element of "offbeat".
Is this the usual case...or indicitive of a poor state of tune?
Brenten

[rockdemon]

Worth taking a video with a camera or phone and posting it on YouTube and putting a link here..

Rich.

[billoddie]

Worth taking a video

Yes, I did that, but on replay it sounds much like other (stock) Rover exhaust notes I have heard on Youtub.
Hence, I started to think maybe this is how these things sound.
But will post on Youtub anyways

[chrisyork]

The auto with a standard exhaust definitely has an "off beat". It's generated by the precise lengths of the manifold to Y piece pipes relative to each other. Lucky's new exhaust has a different arrangement that meets much further back and he has lost the off beat. He now sounds more like a straight eight. So the OE Rover set up is clearly someone's idea of joke to emphasise to the owner and admirers that they are listening to a V8!

Chris

[stina]

And in case you or your passenger should ever forget Chris , heaven forbid !!! You have a V8 badge on the speaker grill

[Tor]

Reading what you wrote Brenten, I'm thinking of my own recent tune-up experience. The exhaust note was off beat and I was used to it. With enough tinkering and tweaking of settings the extra r-r-r-r-r-r went away and the full concert replaced it. The one carb was compensating for the other and effectively only half the engine was fuelled right. That was the idling screws. Mixture levels made a big difference too. Finally, adjusting the linkage to make both carbs come off the idle screw and rise up to max throttle as evenly as I could make it also helped. Throttle linkage and pedal adjustment spot on. The sound is quite nice now, true V8 burble, but the S/S exhaust is too restrictive and I do want a fuller sound from it. More importantly, it goes quiet well after the above

[billoddie]

The one carb was compensating for the other and effectively only half the engine was fuelled right. That was the idling screws. Mixture levels made a big difference too. Finally, adjusting the linkage to make both carbs come off the idle screw and rise up to max throttle as evenly as I could make it also helped. Throttle linkage and pedal adjustment spot on.

Whilst I understand the essence of what you have done, I wouldn't have the faintest idea of where to start to achieve such an outcome.
It does give me impetus to get the car into someone who knows what they are doing to get things like that sorted.
I am in the process of painting the roof at the moment, and then replacing the bonnet...then hopefully I can get some fettling done.
Thanks for confirmation of that offbeat note...was beginning to think my ears were deceiving me.

[1396midget]

remove the rear silencer and replace with pipe. That makes it sound just fantastic. And it goes better. Made some people jump when I started it at Beamish

It's fairly easy to balance the carbs. There's some info on here, around somewhere is a thread where it's gone through step by step.

[billoddie]

remove the rear silencer and replace with pipe.

Does it make it "drone" at cruise?

[1396midget]

it's not a whole lot louder than it was before to be honest. You can hear the exhaust now, but only just over the roar of the engine and the sucking of the unshrouded filters. Proper music!

But it's quieter than I thought at speed. loudest noise at 70 is the wind noise still, until you put your foot down, then you know it's going. *I would guess that* it's rather deafening at 100

Mine's got twin pipes (split above the De-Dion)still running the original front silencer. that one's days are numbered, as soon as it rots away it'll be being swapped out for something more flowing. I'm a BIG fan of exhaust mods, more power, more torque and more fuel economy at the small expense of more noise. Mine felt noticeably faster without the rear silencer. However it might not be for everyone. If you take it off at the joint, then it ends up being at a level of noise somewhere between the two extremes.

[corazon]

Has anyone here removed the middle box?
I'm tempted to do it when I replace the backbox for a stainless cherry I have my eye on...
Too loud?
Jim

[1396midget]

my eventual plan is to get rid of the middle box and fit straight through silencers on each of my twin pipes, but I won't be doing that till the existing bits rot out. RC40 straight through silencers designed for minis and good for up to 150 hp, one on each side. They have the advantage of being very cheap (27 quid ish). I've got one on the MG and it sounds great.

Too loud? Only one way to find out!

[v8guy]

my eventual plan is to get rid of the middle box and fit straight through silencers on each of my twin pipes, but I won't be doing that till the existing bits rot out. RC40 straight through silencers designed for minis and good for up to 150 hp, one on each side. They have the advantage of being very cheap (27 quid ish). I've got one on the MG and it sounds great.

Too loud? Only one way to find out!

That sounds appealing

[thewedgeshop]

Hope these help.


Built 4.9 idle
http://youtu.be/4DbWalHepOA

Mild 3.5 auto idle
http://youtu.be/zN8m7k-6RtQ

Built 4.9 idle
http://youtu.be/w3IBStBEerE

Exhaust note mild 3.5
http://youtu.be/_BrTI3j8pu0

Thanks
Clint

[tonys]

my eventual plan is to get rid of the middle box and fit straight through silencers on each of my twin pipes, but I won't be doing that till the existing bits rot out. RC40 straight through silencers designed for minis and good for up to 150 hp, one on each side. They have the advantage of being very cheap (27 quid ish). I've got one on the MG and it sounds great.

Too loud? Only one way to find out!

If you haven't already done so, have a listen to some YouTube clips of TVRs (V8) with similar set ups. Many have removed the main and pre-cats, and then made the silencer straight through. It might give you a rough idea of what it might sound like.

I appreciate that the headers etc are different, but there are differing schools of thought in the TVR world. Some love the sound, others think that it sounds a bit 'tractorish', particularly at tickover. Some have gone down that route and then reverted to standard spec (which isn't exactly quiet) as they have found that it drones a lot on long journeys. Others have opted for the 'decatted' sound but left the original silencer. Others have removed some, but not all, of the wadding in the silencer as a half-way measure.

It's all down to personal tatste and preferences. There are some who have found a loss of power (tested before/after on dynos) after going to straight through, but that might not be a concern.