How F1 Sound Is Made 

Best question ever. I think nobody really understood that concept until now. I think most still don't. Stepped headers are nothing new. I've read in Graham Bell's book "Four-stroke Performance Tuning" (page 288) about stepped headers almost 20 years ago - he described how big they should be and where to place them - for power. In Honda's "Technical Review 2009 - F1 Special" - they also mention the benefits of stepped headers: "At 17500 rpm, a gain of 4 - 8 kW was realized as compared to an exhaust without steps." They are not shy explaining the power benefits of stepped headers. But in no book or paper did I ever read : "Oh, by the way - stepped headers really change the sound." - engineers just don't care, and nobody else did seem to notice. Without understanding that - it's impossible to come up with a logical theory that could explain the sound of cars like the Zonda and the "all-into-1" headers at the same time. They seemingly have not much in common. On top of that, the "all-into-one" headers seemed to be a bit of a hit and a miss if they get to sound like that. It was also a bit of a stretch to come up with an explanation why F1 cars did sound the way they did. That the rpm is the "main reason" sounds logical at first, but when you hear that a V8 powered F1 car from before 1998 revving to 14,000rpm doesn't "scream" at all, while a later V8 powered F1 car at low rpm casually rolling by sounds way more savage - the rpm explanation becomes very questionable. "So would it be better to have a 12-to-6-to-3-to-1 or a 8-to-4-to-2-to-1 to create more pressure waves like the step?" - The next logical questions I have are: What happens when you combine these headers with the steps? How will more steps influence the sound? How big should the steps be? What role does the pipe length in between the steps/collectors play? (From my observation this seems to be critical - but not in the way I expected. It's more like: it works or not - without much nuance - like a on/off switch). But I can't answer them yet. That's what I need the support from "maisteers-exhaust-sound-resear.ch" for. So maybe next time I can...

I think you are a genius for coming up with that. I have no idea if it would improve the sound but it seems logical to me👍

@@maisteer I find it fascinating that this info is not as common as one would think, after all these decades and all the people that enjoy engine noise, I'm definitely getting the best sounding motorcycle exhaust one could make on a future bike

Wonder if you could sleeve the pipes to vary the internal diameter without changing the external diameter

@@nbtmx1 Unnecessarily difficult to do. Just cut the pipe, and weld in a section with a slightly larger diameter. ez.

Now that you have promised, you have to make a Video on it for youtube...

Right on .. imma try a idea of it on my turbo miata , so we shall hopefully share beautiful harmonious exhaust sounds with each other my miata brother .. peace and love fam , keep it rad , stay safe , and build on

@@fabiom7078 seconded lol

@@mastercricket7626 A turbo throws around the pressure waves and changes the sound completely. I'm guessing it won't work at all

It may work, but I would expect it to be limited in sound. Both Miata and Maisteer use a 4 cylinder engine, but the engine Maisteer uses is a motorcycle engine and the exhaust pipe is short compared to the standard length found in the Miata.

He is a god damned legend 🫡

it only took a few years but he didnt hesitate to try

@@CaptainRedBeardarrr Nah, you are a C# at most.

The code was always around if you're mechanically inclined.

My v12 single turbo miata is gonna sound sick now. I am joking, but this is cool to know❤

Exactly 😂😂

yeah a suzuki gsxr moto engine, crotch rockets bout to be even louder 😆

Yep but a miata dont rev at 15000 rpm blud💀

​@@Future-king-of-the-pirates engine swap blud

@@rozi5129Just in the research part of building a motorbike powered drag car/kart, Probably a CBR600rr and this video just sorted the exhaust part of the planning!

​@@Future-king-of-the-piratesmustang in vid never passes 8k.

@@Professor-Scientist so you are a shit proffesor :)))

Legit, what a champ

A true Renaissance man

Maisteer should've came to me 9 years ago. I would've told him the secret. My banshee with DMC 916 exhausts sounds the same as an F1 because of the shape 😂 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-40b79b6ltkY.htmlsi=u37eA7pWgh63KnUY

Same xD

Me three😅

Me🗣️Tuah💦

Haha, yes!

the boom tubes definitely have a part in it

@@tiagobelo4965 Ok, I was wrong, but STILL, they clearly aren't going to get anywhere near the same sound without the steps. That's how I always felt whenever I saw boom tube truck videos, It felt like it simply didn't sound right at all.

WHAT?

@@SoylentGamertrucks shouldn’t sound at all like an F1, it’s just not right.

@@Vanilla_Smoke_ But these guys are trying to get the authentic NASCAR sound, and the authentic NASCAR sound means stepped headers, because that's what they use.

How come the garage sasaki or ferrari f1 or 812 headers achieve the sound without the steps? Are you sure its not just a powerband thing?

Thank you. Your search for the music of exhaust notes and my quest to make my dad's lawnmower less abusive when I cut the grass have just crossed paths.

@maisteer You need to look into Brilliant Exhaust and Sasaki-san's fabrication of the Mercedes M120 V12's exhausts he does. You probably are aware of it but seems like someone who shares your passion

Never mind; I see you're well aware of it looking at your other videos. I'll watch your other videos... looking for the right setup for my V10 M6 6-speed

Bravo Maisteer! Such an interesting subject, glad you found the secret.

search for the pdf named F1-SP2e_all , a lot of stuff from that era of F1 is kinda open source now.

V16 Bugatti?

This sort of sound a V16 would be wiild

They already know... if a random guy can figure it out in his backyard the best engineers in the world at VW can figure it out too.

@@theairaccumulator7144 You have too much faith in corporate awareness.

That would be mad hearing the W16 with those...

sine waves bouncing everywhere

I'm so glad I got first comment lol

F1 engines just like diesel engines are very efficient - they send very little energy out of the exhaust. I don't see how splitting up weak pressure wave into even weaker pressure waves can result in a greater sound than what we know already. The engines I'm curious to hear with stepped headers are the rotaries. They send A LOT of energy out of the exhaust. They might set a new standard.

With enough sound detaining and speakers, yes.

@@maisteer replica 787B's incoming!

​@@mechpade Check defined autoworks 4 rotor rx7

​@@maisteer you should try and get in touch with Rob Dahm and see if you can convince him to make an NA build with this kind of stepped header.

it really isn't that simple they've used already in a 18k rpm engine. but the v6 is designed to have most power with pressure wave lowed to a point where even if they did use it on a v6 turbo it wouldn't change the sound

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@@maisteer appreciate that corection, now I know even more thanks to you!