I want my cake and eat it too [muffler question]

[im2bad4ya]

Maybe some guys here can help me with this. I have a magnaflow muffler [ http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/shop ... in&id=9596 ] and I've left the silencer on. Even with the silencer I think it's still too loud (yes, generally speaking it's too loud as far as mufflers go). I also have a 18" Vibrant resonator [ http://vibrantperformance.com/catalog/p ... cts_id=289 ]. I want to get a different setup but i don't know if just changing the muffler should do it or if I should also get another resonator.

I want something that puuuuuurs at idle, but when I give it gas, it's pretty decent sounding. Right now, when my car idles, I just feel like the muffler is too loud for what I want. Anyone have any recommendations? (I wish I could just go so a store and "try them out")

Here's a video of something that I'm looking for (not he car, the exhaust! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc-pOu9F ... AAAAAAAABA). Nice and quiet at idle but nice sounding when you give it gas. Low end is nice, high end a little too raspy, but again, just trying to gauge setups and get recommendations.

[SuperK]

I had a flowmaster 60 series muffler with a hushpower II resonator for a while. It had a great deep mellow tone. It was fairly inaudible at idle. No rasp

It had a low resonance at highway speeds, too, so it wasn't bad... but I prefer silence, I prefer OEM.

My final setup was the hushpower with the mazdaspeed muffler. It was rly rly nice like that

I can sell you my hushpower for super cheap if you wanna try it

[Ryan]

I don't know the solution, but there are three types of silencers.

Reflective.

Absorbant.

Restriction

May not be the common terms for them, but thats what they do. Maybe look into the properties of each method of silencing.

[Josh]

Put in a highflow cat. Not a straight through cat like some eBay ones, but a high flow cat. That will cut down the noise it idle but still be tolerable at high rpms.

[Nd4SpdSe]

I'm surprised it's that loud with a single-tip muffler. I had a Magnaflow 4" with no silencer, no resonator, and she sounded great....EXCEPT when I had a straight-pipe instead of a cat, OMG I regret that I never recorded that sound, my god, it sounded like hell was coming a dozen blocks away, it was insane, loved it and hated it at the same time. Put in a Magnaflow high-flow cat and all was good.

[SuperK]

the B series engines are a lot louder than the K series engines oddly enough...

[Josh]

the B series engines are a lot louder than the K series engines oddly enough...

They are!... I had mine straight piped with 2 1/4" exhaust just before I went Turbo and it was like OMG you cant hear you stereo loud. then put in the turbo and all was silenced

If you add another resonator or a cat it will cut down the sound. Even if you eliminated the resonator and added the cat in its place it will be quieter.

[im2bad4ya]

Yeah, the B engines are pretty loud. I have a stock cat, i opted not to go with the high flow because I still want my car to pass state inspection and was told high flow cats wouldn't pass emissions test. Unfortunately the cat is welded to the resonator, so it's not as easy as unbolting the high flow and throwing on the stock cat for inspections and then just going back.

Thanks for the offer SuperK, I'm gonna opt to change out the muffler only first. if I'm still not satisfied, I'll let you know about the resonator.

I was looking at this Skunk2 muffler:
http://store.skunk2.com/exhaust-tuning- ... r-237.html

Was also looking at the DC Sports ones but I've been told they're really ricey, lawnmowery sounding (in other words, opposite of what I want, unless someone can testify).

And aren't Flowmaster and Magnaflow under the same umbrella of companies??

In either case, I do know I want the look to be oval, stainless steel, like what I have now.

Did anyone have trouble passing emissions test with their high flow cat? I'm a little more fortunate that in NJ (the only state in the US as far as I know), car inspections are every other year as opposed to every year. (car inspected May '11, next inspection May '13).

[SuperK]

any type of straight through muffler is going to acheive the same result, I believe because of the resonance (insert technogobbledygook that I haven't researched yet) of the 4 cyl. One of the only ways to tone it down is going to be with a chambered muffler IMO, not a straight through.

But if you do go that route and find one that works, post up what it is! Cuzz I've never heard one.

Plus a straight through with a silencer is probably going to be more restrictive than a properly designed chambered muffler.

[Ryan]

I have a semi-straight through Magnaflow, and I find it perhaps a wee bit too loud, but its not raspy EVER.

Their claim is the small bend in the muffler (maybe 20º) is just enough to capture some of the offensive frequencies without the restriction of baffles.

[RobMinhas]

Yeah, the B engines are pretty loud. I have a stock cat, i opted not to go with the high flow because I still want my car to pass state inspection and was told high flow cats wouldn't pass emissions test. Unfortunately the cat is welded to the resonator, so it's not as easy as unbolting the high flow and throwing on the stock cat for inspections and then just going back.

Thanks for the offer SuperK, I'm gonna opt to change out the muffler only first. if I'm still not satisfied, I'll let you know about the resonator.

I was looking at this Skunk2 muffler:
http://store.skunk2.com/exhaust-tuning- ... r-237.html

Was also looking at the DC Sports ones but I've been told they're really ricey, lawnmowery sounding (in other words, opposite of what I want, unless someone can testify).

And aren't Flowmaster and Magnaflow under the same umbrella of companies??

In either case, I do know I want the look to be oval, stainless steel, like what I have now.

Did anyone have trouble passing emissions test with their high flow cat? I'm a little more fortunate that in NJ (the only state in the US as far as I know), car inspections are every other year as opposed to every year. (car inspected May '11, next inspection May '13).

I have a stock cat and a Skunk2 muffler running on my B6. It's fairly quiet at idle, picks up at about 2300RPM and gets fairly loud up till red line. It's not ridiculous loud and I've grown to like it. Up till about 2700RPM I'm pretty sure I can hear my pod filters sound over my exhaust sound. If you want I can take a video of how it sounds idling and then up to redline while in neutral?

[im2bad4ya]

If you want I can take a video of how it sounds idling and then up to redline while in neutral?

That'd be awesome!!

[RobMinhas]

If you want I can take a video of how it sounds idling and then up to redline while in neutral?

That'd be awesome!!

Is there any specific RPM you want to hear it at? My idle is a little weird so it might sound a little off. I can try to get a video of the sound while driving but it would have to be from the inside of the car which might not be that useful.

[Josh]

So the GS has a 2.5" all the way back with a Highflow cat, resonator, and magnaflow chambered (oval) muffler. Honestly it is PERFECT. nice and low and not overly loud in the high rpms. Just the slanted cut chrome tip is ghay, but it passes state emissions just fine.

A real Highflow cat is the same as a normal cat it just has a larger chamber to increase the flow. so in turn it should not affect the emissions much. There are high flow cats that do screw up your emissions like a metal cat, or some even sell so called "high flow" cats but are straight threw like a resonator. Those are what you want to stay away from.

On my RS when i had the 2.5" exhaust it was straight threw with a 18" resonator and a straight through Tsudo muffler before they started selling them on Egay, and were a reputable JDM brand. Although it was loud N/A it never had the raspy pop corn like sound that a lot of 4 bangers do. I eventually changed out the resonator for a chambered one. It had a 1.5" straight threw pipe in the center of it and had a corkscrew style chamber around that from the inlet to out. It really did wonders for the reduction of the sound.

Another option you could try is which I have on my 55' ford is JCWhitney sells a Turbo II muffler in the body of a cherry bomb style housing. That would quiet it down a fair amount.

[Cynic94rs]

My system was originally too loud for my tastes also. I have a 2.25" mandrel bent catback with Magnaflow resonator and dual tipped stainless muffler.

Rather than lose my investment I opted to put a Car Chemistry baffle in-line with the current piping. Yes it was a restriction but I already knew I'd lost some torque due to too little.

http://www.carchemistry.com/cc-inserts/

I didn't take measurements but subjectively the tone and drone mellowed somewhat. The insert I used came in a ceramic coated casing... looks like a glasspack but with no fibers inside.

- C.