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3 hours ago, Islander said:

 If you leave your pedal on the floor, when the engine hits 4400 rpm, it really gets up and goes, which is great fun.  

That's probably when the butterfly in the intake manifold opens and goes from long intake runners to short intake runners.

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First couple of years the Viper was out... five years after I got a poster of a red one from Mopar. That V-10 could rattle you in a cushy truck right next to it at a stoplight, let alone when it was put into gear and drove off or took off!

And yea I've heard a newer domesticated one in the last decade @DizRotus and it did not sound like a big block with a wild cam at all!

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Watched a Ferrari tech in a suit "tune up" and F-1 once @ the Porsche dealership while I was waiting on something to get done to my old 928.  He took the hatch cover off, plugged in a puter, broke out his lil screwdriver set in the briefcase and tweeked this and that while watching the puter.  Thing smoothed right out and was done!  The owner's gardener and wife crawled back into it and drove back to Cleveland.  The tech closed his briefcase and drove back to Detroit.  Total cost?  $4k for the 15-minute tweek and an over night for the tech and a drive back to Detroit.  I offered to take it back to Cleveland for that gardener.  Was even gonna let them take my 928.  :)  Talk about a beautiful ride.  

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I'm like Steve when it comes to automotive stuff.

I was wondering how the engine lifespan is on these new, high tech, smaller motors

 

the 3.8 V-6 in my Olds is still running good. It doesn't have a lot of miles for its age... 250k  It's not a hot rod, by any measure

The rest of the car is kinda rotting away from the sun.

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Ever hear of a beaver moon, I had not, well now you did..............no pictures Dirtmudd

 

 

"(Gray News) – November’s full moon sneaks in before the end of the month, putting a wrap on the long Thanksgiving weekend.

The beaver moon rises early Monday, reaching its peak at 4:30 a.m. ET, NASA says.

The November full moon was traditionally called the beaver moon by both colonial and Native Americans.

“This is the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges, having laid up sufficient stores of food for the long winter ahead,” according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. “During the time of the fur trade in North America, it was also the season to trap beavers for their thick, winter-ready pelts.”

Viewing conditions for the full moon will depend on the weather and skies in your area. The moon will look full a day before and after its peak."

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14 hours ago, CECAA850 said:

That's probably when the butterfly in the intake manifold opens and goes from long intake runners to short intake runners.

 

I had a reply typed up, but it disappeared.  So this is Take 2.

 

So, I agree that switchable or variable intake manifold routing could be it, along with the variable valve timing, operated by actuators on the ends of the cams.  And then there’s the old-fashioned “coming on the cam”, when everything comes together and the volumetric efficiency of the engine reaches its peak.  The powerband on that engine reminds me of an old 2-stroke street bike, at lower revs, of course.  It has typical amounts of low-end and mid-range power, what you’d expect from a minivan, then it suddenly wakes up and takes off when it reaches 4400 rpm, and keeps pulling hard until it reaches the full throttle shift points, 6200-6400 rpm, depending on the gear it’s in.

 

One magazine tester described the engine as “over-eager”, which made me laugh.  “Willing accomplice” is more like how the engine feels to me.  The 103 hp increase in power over the earlier 3.8 engine makes the van a lot more fun to drive, and the peaky nature of it spices up the experience.  It also means that timid or conservative drivers may never find that power and be intimidated by it.

 

I realize that most new cars and bikes have quite a lot more power than older models have, so the Grand Caravan is no Mustang or Camaro beater, as I discovered in the first few months I drove it.  Those older Mustangs and Camaros might be very surprised to see my tail lights, though.

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On 11/25/2020 at 5:49 AM, DizRotus said:

 

I agree, that there is something lacking about the exhaust notes of most V-6s.  Straight sixes, think vintage Jaguars, and flat sixes, Porsches, sound OK, presumably due to their firing orders.  We have a surprising number of Ferraris and Lamborghinis prowling the streets of The Motor City.  The sound of their V-12s is intoxicating.  IMO, one of the biggest disappointments is the sound of the Viper V-10.  It sounds like a vacuum cleaner.

 

 

In Canada, the city to see late-model exotic cars is said to be Calgary, which has lots of oil money.  Calgary is one of the two big cities in Alberta, which is sometimes called the Texas of Canada, for more than one reason.

 

As for Vipers, the side pipes supposedly sound disappointing, because of something about the firing order of the five cylinders on each side.  Does that sound familiar to anyone?

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In the old days at Indy when the stock block rules existed, it was easy to tell when one of Dale Coyne’s stock block Chevy V-8s rumbled by.  There was no mistaking them for the high revving purpose built racing engines.  I read somewhere that Dale started with the blocks from retired school buses, as they were “well seasoned.”

 

It was fun to see the looks on people’s faces when I started the car in my avatar.  Instead of the sound of the expected four banger, there was the rumble of a 3.5 liter Buick V-8.

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Yes, that would amaze the onlookers!  That is a cool-looking car, with extra points for that engine.

 

Sometime over thirty years ago, I was walking along a street in Toronto, when I noticed a Triumph TR-4 that looked and sounded a bit unusual, with a hearty rumble coming out of it.  When I asked the driver what kind of engine was in it, he replied, “Chrysler 413!”  

 

Later, around Victoria about fifteen years ago, I used to see an early model Mazda RX-7 with a small-block Chevy in it.  It sounded pretty cool.

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46 minutes ago, Islander said:

As for Vipers, the side pipes supposedly sound disappointing, because of something about the firing order of the five cylinders on each side.  Does that sound familiar to anyone?

Read a lot about these back then and I don't think that's it. The first years that beast was described as unwieldy with bad drivability and zero creature comforts ie no ac and radio. It poured massive amounts of engine heat into the cabin. Driver had to be physically strong to drive, turn and maintain control of it.

The sales disappointed the suits. It was softened over the next few iterations.

That's when they started to sound like the hemi trucks or a tortured beautiful E-Type!

 

@DizRotus would expect a four cylinder?

Not down here, would expect a small block be pleased to hear a stroked 383 though.

 

Seen a few nice 40s coupes driving around the last couple months with the cooler autumn air in place.

 

Be Grateful for Something Today!

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