stock muffler

ok this may sound like a dumb question, but im low on $$ right now but i want my exhaust to have a little more rumble, how bad of an idea is it to just drill a small hole or 2 into the muffler? will it be VERY loud or just slightly? note i do plan on having the whole exhaust system replaced eventualy.

You want to kill yourself, don't you?!?

Not a smart idea. I've been the victim of carbon monoxide poisoning, and if someone hadn't have walked in on me at the right time, I wouldn't be here today writing this. This was in 1996, when a water heater shifted and pulled the flue loose. Drilling holes in your exhaust system may well cause invisible, odorless CO to make it into your car and if you drive with the windows up long enough, you won't even notice when you fall asleep and crash.

If you want to make it rumble a little, it will actually be safer to remove the tailpipe (the exhaust flow is backward rather than scattered). Still, if you do, drive with the windows down in such case.

so leaving the muffler in tact but still removing the little tailpipe from the back will give it some more rumble? i know what your saying about harmful gases, but if i dont put any holes in the muffler but still remove the back pipe wont the hole be just the same only without a pipe attached to the back of the muffler?

I'd imagine you can still get a Cherry Bomb or Thrush for almost nothing. Circa 1975 or so the Thrush went for like $8, still is probably under $20.

Bob

you still have to get it welded though right? i dont know anyone that does welding, i also dont know that much about exhausts either.

I've seen a few people get some very nice rumble out of a completely stock exhaust system by simply removing the tail pipe, but leaving the muffler alone. A girl by the name of Jenny owns a red Caprice around here and I always though she had some aftermarket muffler. I asked what she had and she said she didn't know, and that her boyfriend "did something to make it sound cool." I looked under the car and behold... the tailpipe was sawed off about 2 inches out of the muffler. It sounded like a nice tame rumble.

now that sounds something more like what i can do. i dont want it TOO loud. a reciprocating saw (spelling?) should get the job done right? and eye protection of course.

another option would be to blow out teh internals of the muffler

i drove an s10 that backfired real bad once.
it would backfire everytime i shifted gears or let off the gas
coming home one night, it backfired Really bad, and blew out the internals of the muffler.
after that, it was quite a bit louder.
get a piece of rebar and start banging around in there.
it might work

another option would be to blow out teh internals of the muffler

i drove an s10 that backfired real bad once.
it would backfire everytime i shifted gears or let off the gas
coming home one night, it backfired Really bad, and blew out the internals of the muffler.
after that, it was quite a bit louder.
get a piece of rebar and start banging around in there.
it might work

Yeah, and then you have the rattling to contend with once all of those pieces begin sloshing around in there. They are too big to exit.

Well, what I did with mine is I unbolted the exhaust from the cat. See, right after the cat, there is a u-shaped bracket with two bolts(13mm). Once you undo the two bolts, there will be two hanging pieces of pipe. The open end closest to the cat is the new end to your exhaust. You then just tye the two pieces to the frame with some coat hanger and some pliers. Your muffler will still be there, but there will be no exhaust going through it. This way you are still blowing out clean emissions, but its just loud. But, this is a temporary fix because you have the equivilant to an exhaust leak under your car. But if you have it there for two months or so you should be fine. I have been recieving completements on mine for the last two months, and I love the sound of the car.

I hope that helps some.

yeah ill think about what i should do, thanks for all your input

this is pretty close to what i want my exhaust to sound when i get it all done right, this guy does a nice little peelout at the end too, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEyDal8dsZY

That sound is a Flowmaster hallmark - that's about the only way you get that.

That sound is a Flowmaster hallmark - that's about the only way you get that.

Exactly right. My '94 sounds similar with FlowMaster 40-Series and the stock resonators still installed:

1994 Impala SS Flowmaster 40s.wav (http://72.19.213.157/files/94SS.wav)

does the cat affect sound too? i plan on leaving that in place

heres the setup he's got, note you can hear the exhaust in this video better too http://youtube.com/watch?v=0ftUqFq9fqU

There's a little 'belt whine' in there that's reminiscent of a Roots blower. If I didn't see the engine, but heard that, I might be thinking to myself that it has one of those older small B&M Roots blowers on it.

does the cat affect sound too? i plan on leaving that in place
I know from first hand experiene that yes, the cat does have a significant effect on how an exhaust sounds. With it, a flomaster muffler will sound almost stock, while without it (or with it hollowed like mine was) you will get a sound close to what you heard in the youtube video.

so basicly if i put a flowmaster on with the cat it wont really sound much different than the way it is stock right now?

Correct, unless you A) Hollow or remove the cat, or B) cut off the tailpipe (or if replacing the muffler, simply don't put the tail pipe back on) The reason the tailpipe affects the sound so much is because it's so long. What my girlfriends father did to make the flowmaster on his Regal sound no so stock is cut off the tailpipe and put a bigger pipe coming out behing the back wheel. The bigger pipe diameter helped to amplify the muffler's sound and shorter pipe length reduced the "muffle." Now it doesn't sound like a top fuel dragster, but it doesn't sound stock either.

The sound clip I have is my '94 with cats installed, "H" pipe, two Flomaster 942443s, and stock resonators installed. It really doesn't sound anything like stock. My '96 SS is dead quiet by comparison.

yes the cat does affect sound...it is also very restrictive. either keep it legal with a high flow cat or go the not so legal way and put straight pipe in place of it

the cat will make it louder also but you can get a cherry bomb muffler or two for about 20 bucks and no welding just get a hack saw cut off the old one or ones and get a clamp that they sell at auto zone with the cherry bombs (either muffler or glass pack) and clamp it on there. the glass pack is really loud and annoying the cherry bomb turbo II muffler which ran me about 20 bucks gave me a pretty crisp smooth sound on my 4.8 so id try that

ok, i'd like to try different things definetly, i diddnt know there was any way to do exhaust work without any welding needed. i could remove the cat since we dont have emmissions testing here in FL, but i dont want to have really strong fumes either. i think what ill try first is just taking the tailpipe off, and seeing first how it sounds with the stock everything still in place. ill probably get a tip to screw onto the cutoff part just so it points downward insead of blasting on the rear axle. then ill experiment around and go from there.

yes the cat does affect sound...it is also very restrictive. either keep it legal with a high flow cat or go the not so legal way and put straight pipe in place of it

The cat is not highly restrictive. I don't know what it is with a lot of people who think it is; they must be stuck in the 70s. True, the old beaded cats were highly restrictive. Also true that the last year of those was 1978, when the 'tri-cats' were government-mandated (CO, HC and NOx) - ALL of those are high-flow monolithic honeycomb designs.

The cat is worth perhaps a 2HP and 2-3 lb. ft. loss - very little and really nothing to worry about, unless you're trying to race in Nextel Cup. Besides, all of us have to breathe the air the cars use - KEEP THE CATS ON. I'm by no means a tree hugger, but I don't want to breathe stinky, eye-watering air because your car produces ungodly amounts of HC. KEEP THE CATS ON.

One more thing - KEEP THE CATS ON. It's a $25,000 fine if you're discovered removing them. That's twenty-five thousand dollars in the form of a fine handed down by the Federal Department of Justice. Even if you live in Florida. Even if you live on a 10,000 acre plot in Montana.

Say it with me - today's cats aren't restrictive. There, better eh? KEEP THE CATS ON. 2HP is not worth $25,000.

Oh, and Mike? The turbo mufflers that 2001jettavr6 spoke of will definitely give your car a rumble, without resorting to highly restrictive glass packs. Just say NO to glass packs!

It's a $25,000 fine if you're discovered removing them. That's twenty-five thousand dollars in the form of a fine handed down by the Federal Department of Justice.
We must have idiots up here in NY... every mechanic I've ever spoken with regarding vehicle emissions all use the 20 year "rule" that once a vehicle is 20 years old or older, you no longer need any of the emissions, including the catalytic converter. I've seen so many early to late 80's vehicles pass inspection with pipes in the place of the cats... I quote the mechanic who recently inspected my Caprice: "As long as the car is safe to drive and the exhaust doesn't end directly underneith the passener area the car'll pass just fine. With a car this old we're more worried about things like the frame, brakes and steering." They're probably all risking thier jobs this way.

... i diddnt know there was any way to do exhaust work without any welding needed.

FWIW, my Flowmasters are clamped in place.


I'm by no means a tree hugger...

I would think not. How far do you have to drive to actually SEE a tree (one without palm fronds or cactus needles on it) ??

...but im low on $$ right now but i want my exhaust to have a little more rumble

My advice would be to do exactly what you are doing - Research the possibilities, but don't spend any of what you don't have right now. Eventually, you'll either need to replace the exhaust anyway, or will hit the Lotto jackpot. In either case, if you know what you want when that occurs, you'll be that much more prepared.

My advice would be to do exactly what you are doing - Research the possibilities, but don't spend any of what you don't have right now. Eventually, you'll either need to replace the exhaust anyway, or will hit the Lotto jackpot. In either case, if you know what you want when that occurs, you'll be that much more prepared.

Agreed. But if you want immediate sound, completely legal and free, just chop the tailpipe. If you want put on a tip like you said to aim it downward, I've seen that before, just make sure the tip is a little oversized to keep and possibly amplify the rumble.

Agreed. But if you want immediate sound, completely legal and free, just chop the tailpipe. If you want put on a tip like you said to aim it downward, I've seen that before, just make sure the tip is a little oversized to keep and possibly amplify the rumble.

Just don't, please, for the love of God, put a fart can on it.

Just don't, please, for the love of God, put a fart can on it.
Based on what he expressed he likes it doesn't seem likely that Mike would do something that rediculous... but just for safe measure... NO FART MUFFLERS PLEASE! They're rediculous enough on compact cars, but I couldn't imagine one on a Caprice.

oh gosh no, that would be a pure SIN if i ever saw one on a caprice. i cant stand those ricers fart cannons

ok so the tailpipe is off, not that big off a difference though it does sound more bass-ish at idle which is cool.

The cat is not highly restrictive. I don't know what it is with a lot of people who think it is; they must be stuck in the 70s. True, the old beaded cats were highly restrictive. Also true that the last year of those was 1978, when the 'tri-cats' were government-mandated (CO, HC and NOx) - ALL of those are high-flow monolithic honeycomb designs.

The cat is worth perhaps a 2HP and 2-3 lb. ft. loss - very little and really nothing to worry about, unless you're trying to race in Nextel Cup. Besides, all of us have to breathe the air the cars use - KEEP THE CATS ON. I'm by no means a tree hugger, but I don't want to breathe stinky, eye-watering air because your car produces ungodly amounts of HC. KEEP THE CATS ON.

One more thing - KEEP THE CATS ON. It's a $25,000 fine if you're discovered removing them. That's twenty-five thousand dollars in the form of a fine handed down by the Federal Department of Justice. Even if you live in Florida. Even if you live on a 10,000 acre plot in Montana.

Say it with me - today's cats aren't restrictive. There, better eh? KEEP THE CATS ON. 2HP is not worth $25,000.

Oh, and Mike? The turbo mufflers that 2001jettavr6 spoke of will definitely give your car a rumble, without resorting to highly restrictive glass packs. Just say NO to glass packs!

i stand corrected

I apologize if I came off rather, erm, agitated on that post, it's just that I get passionate on that subject.

Oh, and Blue Bowtie - I've never hugged a cactus, although I have stepped on one once. That wasn't one of the more fun days in my history.

Hahaha, y'know I'd pay some good money to see you hug a nice tall cactus.

Hahaha, y'know I'd pay some good money to see you hug a nice tall cactus.

Tell you what, I'd do it if you can provide a real example of what's in my avatar. Deal? :evillol:

Give me the specifics: Make, model, year of what it is, and I'll see what I can do. (Seriously)

Give me the specifics: Make, model, year of what it is, and I'll see what I can do. (Seriously)

It's Airwolf.

you like my avatar?

Who is it?

Tony Montana from Scarface

Niiice, now the question is, how does that resemble you? Example: I have my Caprice as my avatar because it's my favorite car out of the many I've owned, Silicon has Airwolf because he can fly.

P.S. Silicon, I know you, as the rest of the human beings on this earth, cannot fly. I was just kidding.

P.S. Silicon, I know you, as the rest of the human beings on this earth, cannot fly. I was just kidding.

You sure about that? ;)

i loved his character and the movie of course. but im not into drugs though

You sure about that? :wink:
Well, now that you say something... yes, I'm sure about that.

Well, now that you say something... yes, I'm sure about that.

What makes you think I'm human? Perhaps I'm an over-analytical chat bot program based in an SR-71 Blackbird.

J/K!

Two reasons for the avatar - first, it was my favorite show on TV when I was a teenager (and now thanks to technology, I have Seasons 1-3 on DVD), and second - my car ...

Airwolf itself was based on a Bell 222 helicopter. So, if a garden variety Caprice is a Bell 222 analogy, then my car is an Airwolf (minus the chainguns, cannons and ADF pod). See?

Also, this ties into this thread, because Airwolf was a super-quiet helicopter (the whirring sound was the sound of air through the rotors, which made no noise themselves) - before super-quiet helicopters came into being (see the Apache).

Okay, so that was a stretch - we now return you to our regular abnormal non-topical conversation.

Okay, so that was a stretch - we now return you to our regular abnormal non-topical conversation.
Y'know you're ablsolutely right. This thread went from discissing techniques on how to make an exhaust sound meaner to talking about hugging cacti, then to our avatars, then to you're questionable humanity and ability to fly and now to your avatar. Strange how conversations can work like that, whether it's in person, on the phone, in a chat room, or even here in an automotive forum.

yeah i'd say we got waayyyyyy off topic

Hey Tony :)

Don't forget to turn your air cleaner top upside down for that "cop car" woosh sound at WOT...

Works for me!

Im guessing these are probably flowmasters also right? sounds pretty good: http://youtube.com/watch?v=LO3B8KLRovk

Yep, those are flowmasters alright.

thought so

Update: i took off the original muffler finally today, and rode around a bit with just the cat on, it sounded pretty good at idle and ok at acceleration, but you could tell there was no muffler, it actually wasnt as loud as i thought it would have been. i put on a glasspack for now til i get the $$ for a complete new exhaust, headers and all, i noticed i have more h/p WITH the glasspack rather when there was no muffler at all, was that due to backpressure or something??

Yeah without the exhaust system you will have little to no backpressure. I just went through the exact same thing you are right now. I even drove mine for a day with open cat... mine was nut less without a muffler. I ended up putting a Napa replacement exhaust on it; I figured I could always throw a glasspack or god forbid a flowmaster on it at another time. I liked flowmasters a few years ago but now it seems that everyone has them... After you posted the youtube videos, I went to youtube and did a search for "with glasspacks” found some pretty cool videos. Give it a try there are some nice sounding setups there

Good idea actually, ive been looking around youtube alot to get some ideas for when i eventually have the whole exhaust re-done. but yeah the open cat diddn't sound too bad, the engine had barely any power though.

ok serious question here, is it normal for the exhaust to smell like rotten fish or sulfer? it smells so bad and its pretty embarassing too lol

If I'm not mistaken, thats a sign of a clogged catalitic converter.

thought it had something to do with the cat. can you just "clean out" the cat or does it need to be replaced? it started doing this right after i put the glasspack on.

well it doesnt seem to be making the smell now after a few days, maybe it just burned away or something...

I learned from very reliable sources here at AutomotiveForums.com that a quick way to clean out a cat is go take the car out onto some open road and floor it, and hold it up to about 90 MPH, slow back down and repeat a couple of times.