Longer exhaust tip effective in quieting WSP+magnaflow exhaust
07-05-2009, 11:21 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 87
Longer exhaust tip effective in quieting WSP+magnaflow exhaust
Background info:
1989 Max GXE, VG motor
Full WSP (warpspeed performance) exhaust (in 2.5" mandrel bent configuration), with optional resonator, Magnaflow muffler, and Y-pipe modified for equal length.
The problem I've been trying to solve ever since going full 2.5" WSP exhaust, is that it has always been way to loud for it's own good. Really bad, loud done on the freeway, loud boominess going up hills in lower RPMs. Higher RPMs were quiet though. Just lower RPMs were really loud and boomy.
Loud and boomy only until just recently. I figured out how to solve my loud boominess problem... without any major changes (such as the muffler!) I've never read about this before but I'll be darned if it didn't make a heck of a big difference: lengthening the exhaust pipe that is after the muffler. That's right, by lengthening the EXHAUST TIP it made a huge change in how well the muffler seemed to work (in doing it's job of um, reducing loudness.)
My first exhaust tip stuck out a very short distance after the muffler - approx 2". I tested no tip and found it was louder (by quite a bit!) I also tested no muffler at all and it was a bit louder yet... but not as much louder as I thought it would be. The muffler just wasn't doing very much with no tip or a very short tip on there. Then I found some interesting data points... I had a 4" tip, I temporaried in there. Just 2" longer than the 2" one... but it made a definite, noticeable improvement in quieting the noise! Then I tried one that was 13.5" long. it was 2.25" diameter pipe I just had laying around, but I stuck it deep into the muffler where it sealed against a baffle. It sure looked dumb sticking out way out past the bumper, but it made another step in very noticeable exhaust quieting!
I did some testing by driving around the block, and also was able to replicate the exhaust boominess at idle (with the A/C and some accessories on to load the engine) and I found the volume levels changed instantly as the various tips were held up very close up to the muffler outlet.
Something else curious (but not really conclusive), is I found covering the exhaust outlet partially with my hand (like 1/2 way) also was effective in quieting the exhaust. I first noticed this effect when I parked my car against the grass hill landscape burm, when I backed the outlet partway into the grass hill. But I didn't like the idea of choking my high performance exhaust like that permanently. Lengthening the tip while maintaining 2.5" diameter didn't seem so "sacreligious".
So anyway, I'm not sure if it's necessarily the length of the pipe that's important, or simply the backpressure. But I can say that to get this muffler working properly, it seems highly dependant on not just the exhaust gasses being routed through the muffler, but to some degree on the configuration of the pipe after the muffler.
The muffler I have is a three chamber "magnaflow XL"
http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/universalsatinxl.asp
The muffler relies mostly on "resonator chambers" to reduce the noise. The thing is, the exhaust gas must travel through perforated holes to get into and out of the resonator chambers. So I'm thinking, maybe if there is no restriction or pipe length after the muffler, it's easiest for the sound pulse energy to just go out the wide open back outlet, rather than into the resonator chambers. (That's my best working theory explaining my observations, anyway!)
I've previously tried an Edelbrock RPM series muffler. Only with the old 2" long tip though. I found it was similar in noise to the Magnaflow. So the exhast tip length requirement might be generalizable to all resonator style performance mufflers.
The permanent modification I ended up making was cutting and welding the pipe ahead of the muffler to relocate the muffler forward by about 3.5" (limited by the muffler body running into the rear swaybar.) Then I was able to permanently install a longer exhaust tip after the muffler, which without looking dorky or sticking out past the bumper (in harm's way), was about 7.5" long. That is 5.5" longer than the previous tip I had on there. As was expected from the previous tests, this new configuration indeed helped in quiet down the loud drone/boom/noise!
Edit: I got some pics of my relocated muffler and new exhaust tip.
You can see two welds in the picture above, which is where I shortened the WSP exhaust pipe ahead of the Magnaflow muffler, in order to move the muffler forward.
You guys with full WSP exhausts that are too loud might want to consider throwing on some different length tips and see if you like the sound!
I always thought exhaust tips were just for aesthetics. I was shocked to find something as mundane as the length of pipe after the muffler can make a big difference in the performance of the muffler.
1989 Max GXE, VG motor
Full WSP (warpspeed performance) exhaust (in 2.5" mandrel bent configuration), with optional resonator, Magnaflow muffler, and Y-pipe modified for equal length.
The problem I've been trying to solve ever since going full 2.5" WSP exhaust, is that it has always been way to loud for it's own good. Really bad, loud done on the freeway, loud boominess going up hills in lower RPMs. Higher RPMs were quiet though. Just lower RPMs were really loud and boomy.
Loud and boomy only until just recently. I figured out how to solve my loud boominess problem... without any major changes (such as the muffler!) I've never read about this before but I'll be darned if it didn't make a heck of a big difference: lengthening the exhaust pipe that is after the muffler. That's right, by lengthening the EXHAUST TIP it made a huge change in how well the muffler seemed to work (in doing it's job of um, reducing loudness.)
My first exhaust tip stuck out a very short distance after the muffler - approx 2". I tested no tip and found it was louder (by quite a bit!) I also tested no muffler at all and it was a bit louder yet... but not as much louder as I thought it would be. The muffler just wasn't doing very much with no tip or a very short tip on there. Then I found some interesting data points... I had a 4" tip, I temporaried in there. Just 2" longer than the 2" one... but it made a definite, noticeable improvement in quieting the noise! Then I tried one that was 13.5" long. it was 2.25" diameter pipe I just had laying around, but I stuck it deep into the muffler where it sealed against a baffle. It sure looked dumb sticking out way out past the bumper, but it made another step in very noticeable exhaust quieting!
I did some testing by driving around the block, and also was able to replicate the exhaust boominess at idle (with the A/C and some accessories on to load the engine) and I found the volume levels changed instantly as the various tips were held up very close up to the muffler outlet.
Something else curious (but not really conclusive), is I found covering the exhaust outlet partially with my hand (like 1/2 way) also was effective in quieting the exhaust. I first noticed this effect when I parked my car against the grass hill landscape burm, when I backed the outlet partway into the grass hill. But I didn't like the idea of choking my high performance exhaust like that permanently. Lengthening the tip while maintaining 2.5" diameter didn't seem so "sacreligious".
So anyway, I'm not sure if it's necessarily the length of the pipe that's important, or simply the backpressure. But I can say that to get this muffler working properly, it seems highly dependant on not just the exhaust gasses being routed through the muffler, but to some degree on the configuration of the pipe after the muffler.
The muffler I have is a three chamber "magnaflow XL"
http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/universalsatinxl.asp
The muffler relies mostly on "resonator chambers" to reduce the noise. The thing is, the exhaust gas must travel through perforated holes to get into and out of the resonator chambers. So I'm thinking, maybe if there is no restriction or pipe length after the muffler, it's easiest for the sound pulse energy to just go out the wide open back outlet, rather than into the resonator chambers. (That's my best working theory explaining my observations, anyway!)
I've previously tried an Edelbrock RPM series muffler. Only with the old 2" long tip though. I found it was similar in noise to the Magnaflow. So the exhast tip length requirement might be generalizable to all resonator style performance mufflers.
The permanent modification I ended up making was cutting and welding the pipe ahead of the muffler to relocate the muffler forward by about 3.5" (limited by the muffler body running into the rear swaybar.) Then I was able to permanently install a longer exhaust tip after the muffler, which without looking dorky or sticking out past the bumper (in harm's way), was about 7.5" long. That is 5.5" longer than the previous tip I had on there. As was expected from the previous tests, this new configuration indeed helped in quiet down the loud drone/boom/noise!
Edit: I got some pics of my relocated muffler and new exhaust tip.
You can see two welds in the picture above, which is where I shortened the WSP exhaust pipe ahead of the Magnaflow muffler, in order to move the muffler forward.
You guys with full WSP exhausts that are too loud might want to consider throwing on some different length tips and see if you like the sound!
I always thought exhaust tips were just for aesthetics. I was shocked to find something as mundane as the length of pipe after the muffler can make a big difference in the performance of the muffler.
Last edited by jakeru; 07-05-2009 at 11:50 PM.
07-06-2009, 11:11 AM
#3
I've been curious about the 2.5" exhaust system on a VG and it's part throttle response from a standstill and in 40 mph street light to street traffic scenario. The reason I'm curious is that my 03 Maxima with a better flowing engine (VQ35) when installing an entire Cattman 2.5" exhaust system/ w ypipe + WSP Metallic Cat (at that time) seemed to loose a little lowend tractability especially in bumper to bumper traffic around 40-50 mph. So I reinstalled just the rear Oem muffler. It kept the exhaust velocity higher, making it more tractable than the Oem exhaust setup could ever dream of being. With the Cattamn ypipe, WSP Cat, Cattman Bpipe, + Oem rear muffler installed! So in regard to that I always felt that a 2.25" exhaust would be a better option for a Sohc VG motor since their flow is no where even close to any VQ motor period....3.0 or 3.5 liters! I'm almost there with my "90" Maxima but I'll try the Pacesetter Catback which is 2.25" tubing and that'll be more suited for the traffic and torque off the line and the tractability to increase the funtime! I'm sure the 2.5" will increase your power slightly at the track on the 1/4 mile. But I personally spend more time on the street than the track, using mine for actual real life transportation. Just thought I'd add my 2 cents...
Last edited by CMax03; 07-06-2009 at 11:13 AM.
07-06-2009, 11:26 PM
#4
Taking my Maxima to the Max!
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Alachua, FL 32615
Posts: 1,096
I wonder what this would do to a dual tip muffler.
Also, while researching mufflers I've seen Remus mufflers with really long tips and wondered what the use of that would be. I wonder if Remus sounds/works better than Magnaflow, et al.
Also, while researching mufflers I've seen Remus mufflers with really long tips and wondered what the use of that would be. I wonder if Remus sounds/works better than Magnaflow, et al.
07-07-2009, 07:21 AM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 162
I have 2.5 pipe with high flow cat, no resonator and a Magnaflow stainless muffler w/ 2.5 double flip up style stainless tip and it's loud but not obnoxious. If I get on it, it can be loud but if I cruise it's not too bad.
07-07-2009, 03:50 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Surrey, B.C
Posts: 1,355
Dont go over 2" piping on 3rd gen specially on VE u r gonna lose alot of lowend and gain very little high end unless u have force induction its useless and yes tips do effect sound plus i am very impressed with magnaflow mufflers u actually feel gain in lowend and highend compare to stock muffler and they r quiet wen cruising and loud wen u push the throttle to the max...very good design and very good flowing mufflers magnaflow makes...
Last edited by burhan92SE; 07-07-2009 at 03:56 PM.
07-07-2009, 04:07 PM
#8
I have the full 2.5" WSP + y-pipe back to a N1 style muffler with a 4" tip diameter and its pretty loud... when its idleing it sounds almost as deep as a small v8 or something... when i get on it its pretty loud through all rpm's but i can also ease up on the throttle while im driving and lower the noise by quite a bit, i would say on a n/a motor of any kind you shouldnt even go near 3" 2.5" is the max...
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post