SkinnyG
SuperDork
4/12/17 1:03 a.m.
I need a muffler.
Nutshell:
2-1/4" glasspack 24" long on the Lethal Locost was ear-splittingly loud with the 4AGE. Like: "damn."
Dynomax Super Turbo from a FWD Chrysler Daytona was quiet, but looked like poo - not the sty;e for a "7". Case is failing, needs replacement.
Louvered 2" "Cherry Bomb" intrigues me. Is it going to be quiet enough? Will it flow adequately compared to the convoluted guts of a "turbo" muffler??
4AGEs are loud, raspy little guys. Maybe use a resonator before that Cherry Bomb? I don't think the muffler alone is going to be enough for you- maybe even just use one of Vibrant's "ultra quiet" resonators with no muffler instead?
Generally, 'Turbo' mufflers are straight through, with a perforated tube and packing. Reason being, the turbo also acts as a muffler, so turbo cars can deal with minimal muffling. Dunno about the Dynomax specifically.
A louvered cherry bomb would generally be worse as far as flow goes, as they screw with the wall flow dynamics and make the pipe act a lot smaller diameter than it actually is. At least in my experience, those things don't cut down a ton on volume; they just attenuate the high frequency noise on cars I've had them on.
In reply to gearheadE30:
I think you are confusing a muffler for a turbo car to an actual turbo muffler.
I don't know for sure but I would guess a louvered core will not be much if any quieter than a perforated core glasspack. It will lose a bunch of flow though. Whether or not it will flow better than a a turbo I'm not sure. Surely someone has done a dyno test comparing the three.
Some definition here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouS_LoZDS6Q
A louvered glasspack will hardly be any quieter than a perforated glasspack.
Mine has an 18" louvered glasspack as a resonator going into a Dynomax perforated glasspack. The tubing is 2.5" (although the downpipe exit is something like 2.38"). It's not at all uncomfortably loud from inside the car, a bit loud from outside though. Has a little ricey buzz but I get a lot of compliments on the sound at the track. Here's what it sounds like:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/g9hyBYcOJ0U
There are more specs in my rides entry.
SkinnyG
SuperDork
4/12/17 9:37 a.m.
This was the 2-1/4" perf. core glass pack. WAY too loud.
This is the Dynomax I had on it. MUCH easier on the ears, but I don't like the look of it.
I don't have a lot of room for a second muffler (resonator), though I could maybe change the 2 tubes out of the manifold and run two mufflers. Maybe welded together....
Maybe try one huge tubular muffler (or two smaller ones welded directly to each other) and cover it with the mesh stuff like in the first pic?
Also worth mentioning, a number of motorcycle mufflers should be about the right size and flow the right amount- I had a Termignoni on my old Celica that sounded awesome
For example, if we assume you only have 24" to work with, a resonator (Vibrant has them from 12" up for length) and a motorcycle muffler (easily found in 12" or shorter lengths) should fit in the same space and cut down on the high frequency stuff a lot.
https://www.borla.com/products/xr1.html
The Borla XR-1 is said to outflow a piece of straight pipe. I've had mine on the Turbo II for over ten years and it's as good as new. Slightly loud for a street-driven car, but I've motored past cops with it and they don't seem to mind. I do generally drive it gently unless I'm at the track.
DynoMax Ultra Flo stainless steel muffler worked well on my old 4-AG powered 7 replica.
I'm running a cherry bomb on the Civic. It actually sounds pretty good.
This was shot this weekend, looking straight at the outlet. Not too loud, all the way up to the rev limiter.
It may have been the best sounding car out there.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/mY5X5epXCFw
In reply to Toyman01:
Lol, when they dropped the clutch the sound it made was the sound of disappointment. I know that sound well.
Grizz
UltraDork
4/12/17 6:25 p.m.
Maybe look into the hotrod offerings?
I imagine a good 30" long glasspack would help quiet down the motor some.
In reply to Nick (Bo) Comstock:
Second gear start and not enough fuel. I have to give him a pass, it was only the 3rd time he had driven a stick.
In reply to Toyman01:
It did sound pretty good once it got wound up though!
SkinnyG wrote:
I need a muffler.
Looking at your pics the glasspack barely looks larger OD than the exhaust pipe. When it comes to mufflers, you fight noise with volume. You're right that the round mufflers look more 'proper' on a Locost. That's why so many end up with 6" or 7" diameter mufflers, even if they also look a little ungainly. With something that large it's often possible still go with a straight through perforated core glasspack style muffler. However, at least Magnaflow also has both 6" and 7" round 'turbo style' mufflers available in their XL series mufflers as well, which 'should' cut the nose even further while maintaining the circular cross section. Also note that exhaust tube cross sectional area vs muffler cross sectional area makes a difference, so don't go any bigger than necessary for your power level of your worried about noise. Unfortunately it's also so subjective, and there are so many variables involved, that it often ends up more of a trial and error process than anything else.
.
gearheadE30 wrote:
Generally, 'Turbo' mufflers are straight through, with a perforated tube and packing. Reason being, the turbo also acts as a muffler, so turbo cars can deal with minimal muffling.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ouS_LoZDS6Q
huh, I didn't realize the double offset turbo mufflers had that big S thing going on. I'm used to seeing this:
/thread jack
Vigo
UltimaDork
4/14/17 6:38 p.m.
I'll second the idea of Magnaflow's round-case chambered 'straight through' XL mufflers as something to try here.
There are a lot of round-case mufflers with larger case diameters and more packing material that you could try. Usually they are stainless case and stainless mesh packing and cost about 3-4X what a glasspack would.
How about just putting a turbo on there? Turn all that sound-limit-busting noise into extra horsepower. :)
SkinnyG
SuperDork
4/15/17 1:53 a.m.
Adding a turbo means I have to add weight and go to E/M.
I appreciate all the input you all have given.
I have decided two things:
1) Magnaflow large diameter round muffler will be the way I go.
But...
2) I'm not going to, because I plan on some fairly major changes to this car in the very near future (once the V8 Firefly is done), and since it will be going 2.0L Duratec at that time, something larger than 2" piping might be a better idea.
So, in the mean-time, I have welded the fatigued and torn and ugly Dynomax back together, and will keep running it for the time being.
Why not make your own?
I was digging around under a 1915 Crane-Simplex yesterday, it has a Powell muffler. It's a series of interlocking cans with perforated ends, held together by tie rods.
Details are here: http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/cars/Motor-Truck/The-Muffler-Part-2.html
You can buy Powell muffler sections from Restoration Supply but they are 6" around and each one is around $20.00. You'd need more than 10 of them.
Surely something smaller can be made at home for less money.