Originally posted by Driftster
And you can't forget that a True dual exhaust V8 sounds just like 2 4cyls, because that's what you're hearing.
Yes, a V-8 has two manifolds each going to four cylinders, and an I-4 has one manifold going to four cylinders, but that doesn't mean they sound the same. Are you deaf? Have you ever heard a car?
Does an NSX sound like two Geo Metros? Does a Viper sound like two Fiats? Does a Harley Davidson sound like two chainsaws? I am truly amazed at your ignorance.
Most V-8's have larger displacement, lower compression, run at a lower RPM, and have larger exhaust pipes. That changes the sound completely.
Firing order changes the sound, too. An I-4 always has the #1 and #4 cylinders moving the same direction, and #2 and #3 cylinders moving in the other direction. A 2.0L flat-4 Impreza sounds totally different than a 2.0L I-4 RSX. Even if all other things were equal, the firing order would make a V-8 sound different than an I-4.
Take a 426 Hemi or a 350 Chevy and split it in half.
1 - 2 - 4 - 3 = standard I-4
1 - 3 - 4 - 2 = American I-4
1 - - 2 - 3 4 = V-8 left side
4 2 - 3 - - 1 = V-8 right side
A 426 is 7.0L. Even if you had two 3.5L 4-cylinders, it would be a different sound. A 4-cylinder fires once every 180-degrees, which gives the exhaust a uniform sound. The left side of a V-8 fires, waits 270-degrees, fires, waits 180-degrees, fires, waits 90-degrees, fires, waits 180-degrees, then stars over. The stagger gives each pipe on a V-8 its own rumble.