Was that a turbo whine or simply intake???

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spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
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First off, no rice crap/flames.

I was sitting next to a very modest civic yesterday and listened to the idle. Mind you the exterior was stock save for some wheels and a moderate exhaust (read TASTE!!!)

The idle had a low whine...what sounded to me like a turbo but exagerated. When he accelerated, even in the low end the whine was pronounced. This was not a fast start...just your regular grocery run.

My question is this:
Was that a turbo? Or some kind of intake? I'd like to know next time I pull up to one of these schmucks. Kinda like the old cameros (70s) you never know what is under the hood.

thanks in advance
spidey
 
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fastcobra

Senior member
Oct 12, 1999
683
0
0
???
When you here a turbo or supercharger, you will definitely know the next time.
Unmistakable,
also, they are just about silent when in "grocery getter" mode. Takes a little rpm to spool up and here that zing.
 
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spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
so can an intake make that sound? I've got loads of mods on my 99 'lude but the intake doesn't make that sound.

so you think it was simply air? The sound was distictively spinning but the exhaust was otherwise normal.

or does this guy need to take his car to the shop because of a bad cam? :)

<---freaked out driving a lotus esprit and hearing the pop-off valve.

pssssseeeeeeehu
 
M

mAdD INDIAN

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
7,804
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Intakes usually have a growl to them...turbos/superchargers have a whine.

Atleast on my Max, the intake has a growl on idle. Dunno about 4-cyl engines.

btw homemade intakes are the win!
 
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spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76


<< turbos don't do anything at idle >>



that's what I thought, just needed some more input. While turbos are active at idle the rotor is spinning so slowly you might as well call them inactive.



<< Intakes usually have a growl to them... >>


i'm with ya on that, at least mine has a sucking-growl to it.

 
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fastcobra

Senior member
Oct 12, 1999
683
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Dude,
about 8 years ago I got to drive a TOTALLY tricked out Porsche 930 DP slantnose, complete with big a$$ k27 turbo with cockpit &quot;dial adjust boost&quot;. HOLY SHNIKEYS.
Talk about fast and furious, I took it for a drive in Ft. Lauderdale right outside of baja Beach club, and some chump in a Ford Probe GT pulls right up next to me at a stoplight. My luck!
He was revving up his bee stinger muffler (haha), so we watched the light waiting for it to turn, I started throttling the motor, and when it turned green I let him get the jump, about 1/2 way through 1st, I gunned it, second was history, 3rd and I am still balls to the walls and he is about a block behind me.
Felt like a King, until I had to turn around and give the car back.
Then reality set in, and I got back in my truck and went home.
Had to laugh though, the guy in the probe really thought that bee stinger muffler would work.
 
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spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
fastcobra

no bull, that's called a sports car. not something a doctor gives you during your prostrate exam.
 
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spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
man I know there are some turbo experts hangin around.


uppiddy dupiddy hiddilee-hodidilee neighbor.
 
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Farbio

Diamond Member
Apr 9, 2000
3,855
0
0
everyone has said things correct here.

turbos are not audible at idle or anyspeeds close to idle for the most part. (there are exceptions to the rule of course - twin turbos usually have one for low rpm and one for high to make it seamless, but nothing you'd see on a rice mobile usually)

intakes can make a whine, although most everyone has pointed that usually they rumble just a bit.

personally, i think it was the exhaust - one of my friends stuck a can on his exhaust and about anything under 2500 it'd whine like a honda floored in reverse, so maybe that was it
 
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lowfatbaconboy

Golden Member
Oct 21, 2000
1,796
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<< so can an intake make that sound? I've got loads of mods on my 99 'lude but the intake doesn't make that sound.

so you think it was simply air? The sound was distictively spinning but the exhaust was otherwise normal.

or does this guy need to take his car to the shop because of a bad cam? :)

<---freaked out driving a lotus esprit and hearing the pop-off valve.

pssssseeeeeeehu >>




those things are MAAAADDDD lotus esprits have crazy assed handling for RWD....sh!t its even better than bmw RWD handling

it could possibly be an intercooler(edit:/intake) making that noise
or a bad fan belt =0
 
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Jamestl

Senior member
Sep 10, 2000
391
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0
I personally think it's a SC. The first time i heard a SC was weird too until i realized later what it was. Like everyone said before, turbo(s) don't really make a lot of noise at low revs AND turbo(s) serve as a muffler. If you think about it, the only logical conclusion would be a SC.


Edit: Come to think of it, Jackson Racing has SC's for almost all the Civics out there. Have you ever heard a SC before?
 
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Farbio

Diamond Member
Apr 9, 2000
3,855
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superchargers operate on mostly the same premise as turbochargers - i.e., not incredibly active at low revs, so not sure how that would work
 
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Jamestl

Senior member
Sep 10, 2000
391
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uh, no... If you're thinking about SC's such as Vortech and Paxton ones, then yes, they're very similar to turbos (the compressor is belt driven as opposed to exhaust driven). If case of JRSC's (Jackson Racing SC's), that's not the type they use. They use Root's type SC's and they produce a very audible and distinctive whine at any engine RPM. Roots type SC's provide &quot;instant on&quot; boost, which is particularly well suited for a small displacement engine such as the ones on Civics. These SC's can provide full boost at RPM's as low as 1500, so yes, they are &quot;incredibly active at low revs.&quot;




<< superchargers operate on mostly the same premise as turbochargers - i.e., not incredibly active at low revs, so not sure how that would work >>

 
ElFenix

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,393
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a friend's dad's supercharged LS-1 fbody makes a very distinctive whine, even at idle.

that car is one bad ride. 600 HP.
 
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perry

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2000
4,018
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I know on 4.6L Mustangs with a Vortech slapped under the hood you can hear the whine of the blower. VERY distinctive, sounds NOTHING like any intake. A high pitched whine. He could have had a Jackson Racing supercharger sitting on the back of his engine, never heard one of those, don't know how it would sound.
 
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Jamestl

Senior member
Sep 10, 2000
391
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It sounds just like a Lightning SC, except the sound is not quite as loud since it's a smaller SC.
 
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TuffGuy

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2000
6,478
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intakes have a high-pitched suction sound to them at idle. turbos should not be heard in idle, i don't think.

my intake is very loud/pronounced early in the morning before the car warms up, but kinda dissappears afterwards.
 
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Emulex

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2001
9,759
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whipple/lysholm/twin screw = sounds like a fire truck at idle

vortech = old models just about whistle at idle ,new ones are silent.

turbocharger = no sound at idle, the exhaust is quieter, because the turbo
itself muffles the exhaust sound.

 
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sohcrates

Diamond Member
Sep 19, 2000
7,949
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my friend supercharged his f-150. he added a high end fuel pump to it,and you can hear that sucker whine all the time. perhaps that's what you heard?
 
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