It's definitely not as pronounced as the air cooled engines but I hear
it just enough to know I'm driving a flat-four VW.

Now I'm beginning to wish I had an air-cooled bug. My mom had one when
I was in my teens. I drove the heck out of it (even though my own car
was a big ol' '67 Galaxy 500). One of my favorite stunts was in the
winter after a fresh snow. In the high school parking lot I'd get
going fast, cut the wheel hard, yank the brake and see how many 360s I
could do (it was a big empty lot at night).

Sigh...Ummm...don't tell my mom  :o)

Mark K
1986 GL/2WD/4SPD

On Mar 13, 2009, at 8:26 PM, John Bange wrote:

>> It's a sound I've loved hearing ever since I was a kid (I'm 52
>> now). I
>> figured it was because they were air cooled but I hear it coming from
>> my WBX (which pleases me to no end). Even with aftermarket exhaust
>> you
>> can still hear the telltale chirp. It's seems obvious that it's a
>> flat-4 thing, although I'm guessing you won't hear it from a Subaru.
>
> Yeah, even with the waterboxer you can still hear that little
> "twip-twip-twip" noise a little. If I had to guess, I'd say it's the
> direct result of pushrods and rocker arms plus the H-4 configuration.
> It definitely isn't there in my brother's overhead cam Subaru...
>
>
> --
> John Bange
> '90 Vanagon - "Lastwagen"
> '90 Vanagon GL - "Wiesel"