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BMW V12 Engine Starter Sound


Octane Fueled

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What makes this starter sound so unique? I've also heard similar starters on Bentley W12s, and Ferarri V12s. I searched using google and found one similar question asked, but there was no solid answer. The starter sounds smooth, almost F1 like. Typical car starters sound pulsated. I'm wondering if there is a way to make/adapt a similar starter to work with an L6 (or other relatively common engine). Thanks!

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Gear reduction starters tend to sound smoother. Pay attention to how different a 280zx sounds compared to a 280z.

 

I think the 280zx runs a gear reduction unit. I swapped out a stock LT1 starter with a gear reduction unit from a corvette on my impala SS and it sounded a bit different.

 

There are a few factors in why this is. With more cylinders of a V12 there is less time between compression strokes for the starter to speed up, so the load is more consistent. Compression ratio also increases the load the starter has to overcome. A gear reduction unit trades off speed for torque, so typically they will spin the engine slightly slower, but they will not slow down as much under load so they sound more consistent.

 

Also changing the flywheel to one of different construction will give off a different sound.

 

Lastly, make sure you are running a battery that exceeds the CCA rating of what your starter will pull, and that the battery cables are a larger that stock diameter.

 

On my 240z I am running an aluminum flywheel (fidanza) stock starter, 2 gauge battery cables, an optima red top battery, and I upgraded the alternator to a GM CS144 200 amp unit. I noticed a difference in how the starter sounded with each component I changed out. The alternator even made a difference as the battery was charged to a slightly higher voltage.

 

Not that I did any of the above for the sound of how the car started, but I did notice it. I have a 280zx that I could swap the starter off of, I'm tempted now to make that swap, not that I really care of the sound, but because I am selling the 280zx in the next few weeks, I intend to run a 280zx starter anyway on my 240z. If I do I will report back, perhaps post up a sound clip.

Edited by rejracer
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What makes this starter sound so unique? I've also heard similar starters on Bentley W12s, and Ferarri V12s. I searched using google and found one similar question asked, but there was no solid answer. The starter sounds smooth, almost F1 like. Typical car starters sound pulsated. I'm wondering if there is a way to make/adapt a similar starter to work with an L6 (or other relatively common engine). Thanks!

 

You want to go through the effort to change out the starter of your car purely to make it sound different?

 

:huh:

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To change out components to change the sound of the vehicle starting never occurred to me. I was going to go with the ZX starter because it was newer and had less wear on it than my 260z starter I put on my 240z in 1995. I have 2 of them, so a spare is a good thing to boot.

 

I swapped out the starters on my 240z and installed the gear reduction starter from an 83 280zx, and well it still sounds like an L6. I'm not surprised considering the lack of 6-10 cylinders. I have a heightened sensed for the obvious, so pay attention :).

 

I was surprised to find that the engine cranks over much faster with the zx starter than with the 260z starter I had in it. I was planning on putting the zx starter in anyway, so this thread was the motivation I needed to get it done.

 

So I think the only thing I can get to make it sound more like a V12 is to run the turbo long block for lower compression and the heavier turbo flywheel. I have a 83zx turbo car, and it sounds a bit smoother, but not too much.

 

 

And the vid:

 

And a reference video for what a BMW V12 sounds like on startup.

 

 

Since I know nothing about BMW V12's perhaps someone will chime in as to why they sound the way they do. I've just tried to post up what I know changes the sound of a L6 cranking over with bolt on parts.

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That was clear Leon, no worries here. I alluded to why I was doing the swap in my original post. I just noticed your "Tremendous grasp of the obvious" quote below your avatar. I was writing my comment as you posted, weird. See you at the BBQ next weekend if you can make it.

 

-Robert

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I guess we all have our opinions. To some, it doesn't make sense to put a Toyota or Chevy engine in a Datsun. Others wonder why people put loud mufflers on an otherwise stock vehicle. I have an affinity for the exotic sound. I could go with a V12 BMW, but an L6 has a great sound to it as well.

 

I appreciate the constructive feedback!

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That was clear Leon, no worries here. I alluded to why I was doing the swap in my original post. I just noticed your "Tremendous grasp of the obvious" quote below your avatar. I was writing my comment as you posted, weird. See you at the BBQ next weekend if you can make it.

 

-Robert

 

:lol:

 

Gotcha! I will definitely make the BBQ, especially now that I have more confidence in the Z. I drove the 260 to Citrus Heights and back to the bay this weekend so I was up close to where you're at. It was great to finally have the Z out on the open road. See you Sunday!

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This got my vote for worst hybridZ thread

 

My only hope is that you caught the understated humor in "lacking 6-10 cylinders", and that I at no time attempted to make my car sound like a v12 on startup.

 

I am so ashamed, I shall now go stand in the corner for 10 minutes. :unsure:

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  • 3 weeks later...

I personally feel that understanding why a BMW sounds a particular way on startup is a worthy question and learning exercise. Now, going and spending a ton of money going after a starting sound might be a bit of a grasp for me and others, but I don't think that makes this a worthless thread.

 

And in the spirit of that initial question, let's maybe bring up this tidbit:

 

I can almost always tell the manufacture of a vehicle around me by the sound of their cranking.

 

 

Mitsubishis are the most distinct I find personally. Weather it's their I4 or V6 they have a similar quality to the way they turn over that screams "hey, I'm a mitsu and I'm starting now". Another easy one to pick out is toyota V8's, which sound nothing like other V8's at cranking. I was also noticing the other day that a huge diesel Ford F350 sounded exactly like all the F150 non-diesels I've heard.

 

Maybe companies just like to use the same starter across their model range, or maybe there's something else to the sound of an engine cranking over that's unique. I just find it interesting that you can take two very different engines from a manufacture and see that they sound the same when cranking.

 

So in light of that, I'd venture to guess that if you went out and bought that BMW starter and adapted it to a L6 with the gear and mounting distance it might not sound like a L6 cranking at all. Who knows?

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