V8 sound for electric cars

The V8 engine sound your EV is missing.

Small-block rumble, supercharger whine, big-block thunder. WattGrowl synthesizes the V8 live on your phone and plays it through your car speakers over Bluetooth, USB or a cable. No OBD dongle, no speaker kit, no wiring.

iPhone Coming soon

Small-block and big-block V8s
Supercharged V8
Flat-plane V8
Any EV, any car stereo

WattGrowl Garage with a search field reading Search, e.g. V8, turbo, rotary, an empty My engines list with a New button, and V8 cards in the library: Small-Block V8 5.7 Big Cam at 350 hp and 6,000 rpm, Supercharged V8 6.2 with a Roots supercharger at 650 hp and 6,400 rpm, and Four-Cam Muscle V8 5.0

Why it sounds that way

Where the V8 burble comes from.

Ask anyone to imitate a V8 and you get the same uneven, chesty rumble. That is mostly geometry: a typical American V8 has a cross-plane crankshaft, so the cylinders on each bank fire at uneven intervals. The exhaust pulses on each side bunch up, then pause, giving the off-beat burble that swells into a roar as the revs climb.

A flat-plane V8 alternates between banks, so the pulses arrive evenly and the note turns smoother, higher and sharper. Same eight cylinders, a different voice.

WattGrowl does not play a recording of either. Every engine is modeled from its parts: firing order, exhaust pipes, muffler, supercharger or turbo, and the shape of the rev limiter, then synthesized on your phone as you drive.

The V8 lineup

Pick your V8.

A few of the V8s in the Garage, all free to try in the simulator.

Small-Block V8 5.7 Big Cam

350 hp, 6,000 rpm: a 5.7-liter small-block with a big cam, the classic hot-rod formula.

Supercharged V8 6.2

650 hp, 6,400 rpm, Roots supercharger. Lean on it and the blower whine rises over the V8 as the boost gauge climbs.

Four-Cam Muscle V8 5.0

460 hp, 7,400 rpm. Smaller and higher-revving than the two above.

Big-block and flat-plane V8s

Big-block V8s for more displacement, and a flat-plane V8 for an even, high-pitched howl.

Twin-turbo straight-sixes and a rally boxer
V10s, V12s and a quad-turbo W16
Rotaries, diesels and superbikes: 37 engines in all

In your car

From standstill to the on-ramp.

Pair your phone with the car stereo, pick a V8 and start Live Drive. It follows how hard you accelerate, brake or coast through the phone's motion sensors and GPS, calibrated to your mount.

Parked or waiting, a passenger can rev it on the throttle pad; it goes back to the gears when you move off.
Pulling away, the burble builds through every gear and stays steady over rough pavement.
Lifting off, it crackles like a tuned V8 on overrun (see pops and bangs).
Where you hear it from: Cabin is warm and bassy through the firewall, Exterior rear puts you behind the tailpipes.

The V8 plays inside the car, for you and your passengers. It is not a pedestrian warning sound and does not replace your car's AVAS. Set it up before you drive; once started it runs hands-free with the screen off.

Sound Studio listening positions: Cabin (through the firewall: warm, bassy, a little muffled) selected, Exterior rear, Engine bay and Onboard race, above the sound stage set to Car surround

Make it yours

Gearbox, mix and workshop.

The gearbox and the mix matter as much as the engine.

The right gearbox

Every engine has a recommended gearbox. Try a 6-speed or 5-speed classic manual, or an automatic for relaxed shifts, and shift with your steering-wheel media buttons on the road (on-screen paddles when parked).

More low end

Push up the exhaust fader in the Sound Studio, add bass on the equalizer, or send exhaust bass to your subwoofer.

Your own V8

Open any V8 in the Engine Workshop, change its firing order, exhaust, cams or supercharger, and save it to My engines.

FAQ

Questions about the V8 sound

Can I make my electric car sound like a V8?

Inside the car, yes. WattGrowl synthesizes a V8 on your phone and plays it through your car speakers over Bluetooth, USB or a cable, in any EV with any car stereo.

Which V8 engines does WattGrowl have?

The Small-Block V8 5.7 Big Cam, the Supercharged V8 6.2, the Four-Cam Muscle V8 5.0, big-block V8s and a flat-plane V8, in a library of 37 engines.

Is the V8 sound a recording?

No. It is synthesized live from a model of each engine, so it follows your revs and load. Nothing is played from a loop.

Do I need an OBD-II adapter for the V8 sound?

No. WattGrowl uses the phone's own motion sensors and GPS, so there is no dongle to plug in. It does not need Android Auto either.

Is the V8 sound free?

Yes, to try: every V8 revs for free in Drive sim and Garage rev. To hear one follow your real driving, you need Live Drive, the premium mode, at $2.99 a year after a 3-day free trial on the yearly plan, or $14.99 once for life.

Explore

Put a V8 in your EV.

Try every V8 free in the simulator, then take one on the road.