bluebeastsrt

Anyone that recommends a 4.6 over a 5.0 is just being silly. The 11-14 are a much MUCH better car. As far as the sound it's just a matter of what after market exhaust is used on either.

wcgman

Im going to agree with you. Sound can be modified many different ways and the exhaust note is such an arbitrary subject its ridiculous. The 11 to 14 is the evolution of the model. Im not claiming its more aesthetically pleasing, but that there were definite advantages of the newer vs older. Aesthetics are arbitrary too.

cmlambert8

The 4.6 sounds has a good classic muscle car sound in my opinion and the new coyote (5.0) sounds more of a sports car v8 which is what it is. I agree as earlier stated that its hard to justify the sound of the 4.6 over the upgrades and performance of the new 5.0

PNYXPRESS

This.

Nothing beats the sound of the good ole fashioned pushrod 302/351 engines, and the 2v 4.6 sounds the closest to this. My only complaint with the new 5.0 engines is at higher RPMs the deep v8 grumble turns into this high pitched ear piercing scream.

cruisin5268d

I have a 4.6 with Saleen exhaust that sounds very sexy, refined, wild yet tame.

My 5.0 has the Roush and is an untamed BEAST when you get on it. The 4.6 does not have a beast mode.

Granted, these are totally different exhausts. I think they both have their pros and cons.

DanielGT

I'd disagree. The coyote is an excellent engine, but the "classic muscle car sound" just isn't there. Even with an aftermarket exhaust they tend to get "louder", but they just can't seem to get the growl that makes ya feel giddy when you start the car in the morning. As others have said, they are more of a "euro" sound, but at the end of the day what you prefer is what matters most.

jRaskell

And I have to disagree with that. I autocross regularly against a variety of "euro" cars and there's simply no way you'd mistake my car for an M3, 350/370Z, Porsche, or any of the slew of other "euro" or import cars you typically see at an autocross.

Show me a euro car that sounds like this (that was with only a couple thousand miles on the exhaust. After 8k miles, the slightly metallic/tinny note is completely gone):

tbear853

I have to say .... 4.6 GTs will turn my head faster than a 5.0 when I hear them (and for some reason, a 4.6 stick more so than an auto???). in fact ..... I'm not recalling hearing any 5.0s in later model Mustangs that were stock muffled? I'm sure they make sound, I'm sure I've heard them, but it's just not coming to mind. When I imagine a late model Mustang sound it's that of a 4.6. The 4.6 just has a better sound ..... and now I'm gonna have to make it a point to listen to see what sound a 5.0 makes?.

I know, 5.0s make more power.

What a person deems as a "better car" usually depends a lot on their own likes, dislikes, costs, their finances, color, how much of income they want to put to it, sounds, feel, peace of mind, attachments, looks, etc. Sometimes it as simple as just "looks" or "sounds" which a person most desires.

I know my wife won't even look at a '11-'14 from the rear .... she is still not a fan of their rears. Oddly, she loves the '15's rear. Both she and I have loved the looks of the '05-'09s since seeing our first, and I like the Foxes .... but she just sort of likes the last '01-'04s.

Any late model Mustang GT made in the last 10 years is likely a better car, even a "MUCH better" car than my old buddy's '68 GT500KR was when he bought it in 1971. Better brakes, better suspension, better handling, better driving (especially at high speeds), stiffer body structure, better safety options, more crash protection, better audio, far far better mileage, cleaner running, fewer plug changes, better paint, better tires, even as quick or some quicker through the 1/4 or on top end with their smaller engines hauling heavier cars using regular grade fuel.

I have another buddy who was my dad's best friend as I grew up, he's a few years older than I, still has his '68 GT fastback with 302 and 4 speed and manual fast steering and skinny 14x6 GT wheels and no AC, AM radio, red with white C stripe .... he bought it in 'early 1969. It's been restored mildly once in the '80s and more recently, cpompletely. He's spent more on it than he would have a new GT and a '68 Mustang GT 302 was not a "fast car" ..... but it was / is fun and just looks "so right". He has 3 sons so I've offered many times to be wiulling to let him will it to me so there is no squabble when the day comes .... if I'm still around.

What's best often has nothing to do with what's actually best.

wcgman

It doesnt purr quite like this either.

jz

Two of the three cars you quoted are not V8s; you don't specify what "Porsche", and only 2007+ M3s are V8s. While there are some Porsche's with V8s, most that I've seen autocrossing are the 6 cylinder varity (Boxster, Cayman, 911). Regardless, to me your exhaust does not have the typical "American V8" rumble, it has more of a "Euro V8" sound to it. Not that that is bad, it just comes down to personal taste. Doesn't the 5.0 engine also use an X-pipe, vs the H-pipe in the 4.6? That will also alter the sound of the exhaust.