stock muffler

[mike561]

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.

[silicon212]

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.

[mike561]

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?

[bobss396]

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

[mike561]

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.

[PeteA216]

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.

[mike561]

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.

[GreyGoose006]

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

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by GreyGoose006

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.

[xXxHawkxXx]

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.

[mike561]

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

[mike561]

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

[silicon212]

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

[Blue Bowtie]

Originally Posted by silicon212

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

[mike561]

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