I have been replacing rusted out crappy exhaust components since I got the car and finally hit the point where it's all after market but it's too damn loud for a daily driver.

It originally came with some cheapy eBay HKS knock-off mufflers and the rest was stock. Then winter hit and teh y-pipe split down the middle so I replaced it with a new Racing Beat y-pipe that turned out to be a pretty good deal.

After that it sounded pretty wicked and not ricey at all.

Well, that lasted only a month or so until the cat > pre-cat flanges rusted to the point where they were about to split and it sounded aweful and ran like **** from the massive exhuast leak so I bought a Racing Beat pre-silencer with a busted stud for cheap (my uncle fixed it at his machine shop later) and a new collected header.

It runs much better now and takes off pretty well for a S4 N/A so I'm pretty happy with it aside from the noise. So far I have gotten away with only spending a whole $400 on the system and that's been ok since I only paid $2k for the car, but I can't stand the loudness anymore so I'm thinking about ways to fix it.

I really don't want to drop another $400 for the Racing Beat cans even though they kick six kinds of *** so I'm looking into cheaper solutions.

I have thought of picking up some OEM mufflers but have heard that they will kill the performance, but I'm not sure how true this is with my current setup. Those eBay knock-offs are probably not flowing all that well either and the annoying buzz they have now is killing me.

I have also thought of stuffing some steel wool in the cans and tack welding a little chunk of mesh to keep it in there but again I don't know what kind of performance hit I'd take and if it would help much at all. I also don't know how much heat steel wool takes before lighting up or smoking.

If all else fails I guess I can always sell some more junk lying around the house (sorry honey, your jewlery will be used for a good cause) and maybe pick up some cheaper used Racing Beat components.

As always, I appreciate any advice the other rotor heads my have.

 

i got some free mufflers if you want them but you are going to have to take the rest of the exhaust too no rust. im in av if you want to come take a look

 

so you still got the hks knockoff mufflers if so if you get a set of racing beat mufflers it should quiet it down from what i heard it will make it sound nice or you could put in a borla xr1 muffler i think it is or something like that i heard someone do that and it quieted it down alot and gave it a good sound

 

How much did the racing beat presilencer quiet down the exhaust? At one point I put in an Edelbrock muffler with 2.5" center inlet/outlet, 12" body, 17" total length (+1/4"x2 for the flanges) in the stock cat location. Compared to a ~2-21/4" straight pipe or 3" magnaflow cat it was much quieter. You might want to consider that option.

As for the back mufflers, there are lots of performance mufflers out there that are pretty inexpensive but good (say ~$120 or less each). It doesn't have to be a brand that is intended for Japanese cars.

 

IMHO the chepest way is to put a Borla XR1 in as a presilencer. That is the same setup Ddub has and I think Karak. They have only had good things to say thus far.


Go evil eyes!

 

Yep I have a borla xr-1 in place of my main cat, it used to be straight pipe but was too loud. The borla helped quiet it down a fair amount, I was happy with it.

 

i thought it was ddub who did that didnt you do a write up with before and after sound clips with it

 

Yes I did, before and after clips, search my name and you shall find, clips are still uploaded I believe, let me know if they aren't and I'll fix it.

Also, mine is going to be louder than other n/a guys because I have a ported motor (intake and exhaust) with removed exhaust diffusers (loud!).

 

the XR-1 adds about the same noise dissipation as a high flow cat.

i like how mine sounds with 3" turboback, 1 smaller resonator, the 16" Borla XR1 and the SSautochrome muffler, the whole system cost me $380 all together. (brand new)

 

But the dual cat back SSAC and XR1 cost will total right at the cost of a RB cat back system. If that is the case I would sugest RB if he is tierd of the buzzing. Since he allready has good mufflers new and paid good $ for them, IMO I would just put a XR1 in with evrything.

 

SSAC makes a dual cat-back now?

 

I saw it once on ebay, but only once. I haven't even seen the single catback on ebay lately.

 

Ditto

 

If you still want the performance while minimizing noise, get one of those mufflers that has a "slant" perforated pipe in the center.
Walker Dynomax UltraFLO and Magnaflo come to mind...


-Ted

 

Ted, I've been looking into Dynomax, Borla, and Magnaflow 3" inlet/outlet oval mufflers to quiet down my SSAC single. My concern is that the SSAC piping won't line up with the offset muffler inlet/outlet...do the offset mufflers reduce noise that much more than a center inlet/outlet in your experience? If that is the case, I will find a way to make it work. Also, have you had any problems with the UltraFLO wearing out prematurely? I believe its only packed with fiberglass...I'm not sure what the Magnaflow is packed with.

 

Has anyone tried the Apexi ECV on a N/A?

Just curious to know if this will help with the decibel level from the exhaust.

 

Thanks for the advice so far guys. I have thought of replacing the pre-silencer with a different type, but I'd have to have an exhaust shop fit it and I'd also lose the aux. ports (I don't want to screw with wiring them or putting in an electric actuator solution).

Are the OEM cans really that crappy that they'll make a noticable difference in performance? I can get a set of those from a few of the local guys (like 86se7en ) and would definatly fit the affordable side of the equation.

If the OEMs aren't going to a viable option I might as well just wait and save up for the Racing Beat cans. The eBay ones that are on there now just can't handle the flow and sound like they're gonna blow apart when I'm just getting up to speed and they weren't hung straight either so they look kinda ghetto right now (not centered, left on hangs 1" lower then the right) so I would prefer to pull them off rather then the rest of the system that I just finished putting all new Racing Beat gaskets on (they're thicker then the OEM) and hanging perfectly.

 

Call or email SSAC. They will sell you just the cat-back seperately. Thats what I did and got the exhaust shipped to my door in 3 days for $150.

 

^do you have a link to this cat back

 

Yes!
Unless you're lucky with pulse tuning, it's a royal PITA to figure out where to place a muffler to cancel certain RPM droning.
The offset mufflers will significantly drop the noise - it will at least get rid of some of the higher frequency resonance.

All Walker Dynomax UltraFLO mufflers should have a lifetime guarantee.
You just fill out the warranty card when you get the new muffler.
If I remember correctly, they are packed with a thin layer of SS mesh and then fiberglass?


-Ted

 

I want to see what a Corsa muffler would be like.

http://www.corsaperformance.com/flashc5.htm

you can't tell me that doesn' sound mean.

 

Sounds like to me you are ready to ditch your cans allready. IMO I would just save up for RB cat back then.

 

i was just giving my impressions of my setup, it is the cleanest and most quiet non cat 3" single i have heard. my engine also has a large streetport, a hybrid turbo, intake and intake manifold mods.

 

Magnaflow has an aluminized muffler that is about the same size as the Racing Beat cans. The aluminized mufflers have the same internal design and material as the stainless mufflers. Part #12254. This is as close as I could find size wise to the RB cans and they are a good price. The bigger the can the more muffling capacity it has.

http://www.justmagnaflow.com/Univers...Aluminized.htm