Soundracer V8

[GoldenRivet]

My wife purchased a Soundracer V8 for my valentines gift.

seen here or on you tube

The first thing i noticed... the attractive packaging. not many products these days come with nice packaging - but this one did.

includes an Mp3 player plug and a checkered flag cloth for cleaning your sunglasses

The Soundracer V8 is a neat little gadget that plugs into your car cigarette lighter.

From there, it is able to "listen" to the vehicle's alternator noise and process that information to determine your vehicle's engine RPM.

the soundracer then amplifies the signal and sends that information to your car stereo on a preselected FM frequency making your average, garden variety family sedan sound like a V8 Hot Rod... or on my case... it makes

this...



Sound like this...





The setup was easy

1. find an unused FM channel on your stereo

2. Plug in the soundracer V8 and tune it to the same channel

3. Start your car

4. Rev the engine to about 3,000 RPM holding it there for a moment

5. Release the accelerator and let the car settle at idle and you will immediately hear one beep followed a moment later by 2 beeps

when you hear 2 beeps, the soundracer has identified the power range needed for the device to do its work.

Set the stereo volume to a comfortable level (not too loud though) and Immediately, the deep throaty V8 idle gallop gets your attention... and it IS convincing.

slip the car into drive and head down the road... you would SWEAR your driving a monster truck or a Shelby 427.

the first mistake almost every reviewer makes is to gun the engine to red line as he accelerates through 1st 2nd and 3rd gear.

this is NOT what the device is made for and can result in some annoyingly high revolution sounds coming out of the stereo, instead what you are supposed to do is drive normally - like you would any day of the week, and let the soundracer take care of the rest.

The sound the little thing puts out is incredibly convincing... i took a friend for a ride in the truck without telling him about the Soundracer V8 being installed, he swore i purchased a new exhaust system for my V6 Nissan Frontier.

I have used the device for 2 days now and it puts a smile on my face every time.

city driving from light to light puts a huge grin on my face and even the most leisurely highway overtake is VERY Satisfying

The Soundracer V8 even has a built in plug that you can attach your ipod, or Mp3 player to in order to listen to the tunes while your not listening to your 600 horespower hell on wheels - or you can plug in headphones so as to not bother passengers (sleeping kids etc) with the engine noises

the little gadget is literally the grown up version of putting a baseball card in the spokes of a bicycle

Pros:

• Easy setup
• Convincing sound
• Plug in point for iPod or MP3 player or headphones
• Small size makes it inconspicuous
• very nice design which appears at home in a vehicle
• Synchronization with the car alternator means instant, believable sound which coincides with every little motion of the accelerator
• You can transport it from car to car
• Unlike expensive muffler systems - you can turn the volume on the soundracer down to accommodate conversation, phone calls etc

Cons:

• The idle sound has a slightly obvious "loop" but you have to listen for it... once aware of it, you will be annoyed a bit if you idle for too long at a light or somewhere
• Because it interfaces with the car stereo, you cant listen to music while the device is in use.
• Some users seem to think that to get the proper "hot rod" engine noise you have to drive like Mario Andretti which is simply not the case... believable and convincing engine sounds can be achieved at even a leisurely driving pace

For anyone looking for a neat, put a smile on your face kind of toy... do yourself a favor, go to amazon.com and buy one of these soundracer V8s!!! it definitely makes my 60 mile per day commute FUN!

V10 version is also available for a more ferrari / lambo sound