Muffler Placement

[Bruceynz]

Hi Experts,

Ok my friend has a Z06 Corvette, he has had a brand new exhaust system fitted, its got twin 2.5" mufflers, I drove it the other day and it sounded nice, it wasn't loud but deep sound to it, he is not happy with it, he thinks its too quiet and is going to rip them out and put something else in, he said I can have the old new mufflers. So what I was wondering can I run them out of headers into a Y and then out the back?? If the mufflers are to close to headers will it reduce their life? Will it be noisy if they are to far forward? Will heat be a problem? I am not sure if this is a dumb question but can you run 2 mufflers in series?? I just loved the nice deep sound it had and the noise level was about where I like it.

Many Thanks
Bruce

 

[kkritsilas]

The sound you got from the Corvette is probably not going to be the same as the one you get from your Cordoba. Different engines, different engine sizes, different exhaust pipe set up. Can you run the Corvette muffler. Yes. Will it sound the same? Probably not. The volume may be close, the tone will probably be different.

Can you run two in series? Yes, but what would be the reason for it? You would be putting two flow restrictions in the exhaust pipe, with the second muffler not really contributing any to the sound. Noise will vary some depending on the position within the exhause system, but mufflers are usually placed where there is room for them, most of them being too big to move around significantly. Unless you are looking to turn them into collector mufflers, they wouldn't have any significant life reduction.

 

[Bruceynz]

Ok so as I thought for placement, his mufflers are right at the back just about under bumper, so he is running a dual system with 2 mufflers, are you saying I will have the same sort of sound level using one of his mufflers in a single system?

My car has quite a loud system on it now, although it may sound nice to a person on the street as I go past I can assure you its a right pain in the butt driving around with a loud exhaust system having it burble away at an annoying level!

BTW with full length headers they sit so low already I have plenty of space to mount the mufflers anyway I like! What the point in tucking them up nice and neat when the lowest point is the headers, my R body was the same, the headers hang low on Chrysler!

You don't want to be an over weight hedgehog if a J body is going over you with headers, you might get some burn marks on your back!

 

[Justwondering]

Novice question:
Whats a header in regards to a muffler?

 

[Bruceynz]

Header - It bolts to the head and is quite flowing for getting the gas out of engine.
Muffler - It silences the engine, if you didn't have a muffler you would go deaf.

Stock engine have cast iron exhaust manifolds, quite restrictive but long lasting and quiet. Headers are more flowing and made from tube, the engine has a tinging sound when you run headers.

Mufflers - the more quiet they are the more power they rob in general. Factory ones are for quietness but also rob power, after market are in general more flowing and louder.

 

[Justwondering]

So a header bolts to the engine to provide a path for the exhaust to get to the muffler or catalytic converter/muffler?

 

[Justwondering]

So when you say your headers hang low, is that a good thing or just a personal preference?

Also, does that mean they are lower than your oil pan or do they sit higher than that? I'm just wondering about clearance under the car.

I never really gave much thought to all the 'tubing' under the car. It just seems to be a necessary evil covered in dirt waiting to crumble into my hair or eyes when I'm trying to figure out issues under the car. lol

 

[Bruceynz]

Well I have fitted headers to 2 Chrysler now and the collectors (parts where all the hanging pipes weld into under the car before they go to the exhaust pipes) sit quite low, I think its just a Chrysler thing maybe someone will correct me but it has been in the past to do with the torsion bars and the steering box has an interesting pipe going around it, they are tight fitting!

 

[Justwondering]

Thanks for taking time to answer.
I've still got a lot to learn.

 

[High Speed Pursuit]

I'll take the sound of an LA block with a little compression and cam over these C4-C7 Vettes any day! I just passed a 2015 Vette on my way home and had to turn the radio off, the blower fan off, and let off my accelerator trying to hear what the hype is all about....still didnt hear anything! Make your Cordoba sound like what it is, not something new! Ha! In my opinion anyway...

 

[Bruceynz]

its got one small muffler in it, its to loud for cruising, the vette has after market exhasut not stock so its a bit more than factory but not as loud as mine is now!

 

[High Speed Pursuit]

Mufflers can be a mystery...about the only way to tell is to hook one or both up and see if u like the sound of them...like KK said above, the sound probably wont be the same...mostly because of the cam differences and length of the exhaust system...good luck though...you are an inspiration!

 

[Bruceynz]

These things gota be tried, my Cordoba has had a fair bit of work done to the suspension and the thing has fought me all the way! Its all been worth it though, the thing drives real nice! Its not like an old car anymore! The steering is as good as you can get factory recirculating ball, some other crowd makes a Steering gear for Chrysler that is VERY good!

http://www.streetmusclemag.com/proj...-82-mopar-steering-box-upgrade-with-borgeson/

I think this would be the way to go but its something I have just found out about and no doubt they are pretty pricey!

 

[BudW]

I thought about the Borgeson gear route but didn’t want to hack my steering column (sense then, but after I got my spare gear rebuilt by Firm Feel, someone else came out with a fix so you can keep your column with this add on coupler).

I don’t have plans on using headers, so stock steering gear is fine for me – but for road racing, the faster/tighter gear and less weight does have advantages.


On mufflers,
The new BMW’s (and others high end cars) have a dual or quad muffler system and a switchable gate on them (for performance and quietness).
Others have an exhaust cutout made into them so under power, part of exhaust doesn’t get “muffled” so you have performance and loud.

I prefer to have things like a library (nice and quiet) and have a system in my mind like this (but not sure if practical yet). Note: this is work in progress and yes, anyone can shoot holes into my idea).

I do know that a larger system than needed will cause a resonance that can be loud and irritating (which I’m trying to avoid). Some of our cars came with a resonator – which I hadn’t seen for sale for a long time now.

BudW

 

[Bruceynz]

Yeah I don't want to go to big, the exhasut I have on it now works, just hard to know what size to go, I don't want it to drone, resonators are set for frequency, my friend has an R/T 5.9 truck and he said the factory pipes on that are 2.5/2.5 into 3"