Can removing baffles in the exhaust pipes of a motorcycle cause engine damage?
The baffles are designed to create the proper amount of back pressure to ensure escaping gases do not allow ignited gases or flames to leave the combustion chamber, period. When this happens you have massive heat burning through the exhaust for no reason, increased piston temperatures, increased cylinder head temperature, increased cylinder head valve/valve guides, and seal temperatures, and a whole plethora of problems that will quickly start destroying your engine from the inside out.Chrome plating is there to make the exhaust look good, not to start turning red then black for no reason other than stupidity. Many bikers that have well over 100K of mileage on their vehicles still have a shiny even chrome exhaust on their original rides. And this added heat quickly destroys the exhaust studs and nuts in record time.The flip side of this stupid behavior is that you’ll also attract police as well. The noise level of your ride is under DOT/MOT regulations. Ride without a baffle and quickly see how fast your ride safety certificate will be cancelled, your ride impounded for inspection, you’re served with several fines, and maybe even find your license under investigation.I know of a student that illegally modified his 49cc scooter years ago. He heavily modified the engine, removed the speed governor, the exhaust baffle, and then replaced the brake lights with LEDs, before they were legal. He found himself beside a state trooper on the interstate one day and then got pulled over. He lost his license for 30 days and his ride impounded, both on the spot. During inspection they found his ride engine had been modified to almost 80cc while only 49cc was allowed. The speed governor was removed and now he was able to drive about 55mph max. The LED brake lights were illegal at that time. The removed baffle resulted in excessive noise pollution as well as allowing the exhaust to become dangerously hot. The side mirrors were also removed.He found his drivers license being investigated and lost his license for 1 year. In total he found himself with over $5K in fines alone, not to mention his legal representation costs. A really bright guy, this one.
Is it advisable to replace a stock muffler with a new one with louder sounds? Does it affect the performance of the engine?
Replacing a muffler does abslolutely nothing to improve or degrade overall performance. However, you likely won’t want to due to DOT regulations. Modified exhausts are illegal if not installed OEM by the factory in many states.If you want to do such a modification, do a kit car. Just have the stock body, engine, and everything, but a custom exhaust, and Highway Patrol can’t cite you for a modified exhaust, because the exhaust is as manufactured for the car. Unfortunately, you can’t go modifying it after its been installed.
Should I get a Flowmaster cat back exhaust system (small outlet muffler) installed on my 99 Civic EX automatic?
Flowmaster and 4 cylinders are not a happy marriage. Your car will sound like crapola!!! Don't do it. Also, in order to really get the best performance out of your engine you need bigger pipes to let the air flow better. You're restraining the air flow with little straw tubes so your car isn't performing up to par. You need to let that little sucker breathe. Like the person above said I wouldn't get the aftermarket intake either. A drop in K&N filter will give you slight acceleration and more MPG's and cost a lot less then an intake. If you must put exhaust, get a new header and open up the pipes some. Instead of the stock OEM pipe see if you can get a little wider pipe. True, it'll sound horrible but at least you'll have more air flow. More air means more power. Good luck with that though
Exhaust Installation?
Hi, I want to install a set flowmaster exhausts on my Crown Vic. I know the passenger side uses the dimensions Offset Inlet / Center Outlet. And I guess the driver side uses Opposite Side Offset Inlet / Center Outlet, if thats what that measurement is called. Does anyone know if I can use Offset Inlet / Center Outlet for the driver's side if I overturn the muffler? Is it ok to install it overturned? I need to know because I don't want to purchase from the local shop. They are charging a fortune. On eBay they're cheap. Any suggestions would help. Thanks. George.
Can faulty catalytic converters cause massive muffler noise?
I've been having troubles with a small 96' toyota tacoma 2wd "baby truck". I had the original muffler replaced which was rather quiet removed, and these guys put a Bosal muffler on it and it howled and was very loud at certain speeds right out of their shop . 2nd try same thing ... They are trying to get me to beleive that somehoe the catalytic converter is probably bad even tho it sounded fine up until the instant they messed with the car. What are the odds of their story being true?,.... That it's not a loud muffler, but really a bad catalyitic converter. I have had friends run cars without converters and they sounded ok . You think this is a plausible excuse / reason? or do you think if i went with an OEM muffler it would fix this? Thanks
Will i loose gas mileage with a flowmaster 40 exhaust?
A good exhaust design does start at the engine and continues to the tailpipe. The use of appropriate size pipes, minimizing the number of bends and eliminating sharp corners should be part of your strategy. There's lots of free flow mufflers to choose from, and aside from longevity and sound, there's not a lot of difference between them, and generally it becomes a choice made on the buyer's preference as to how much rumble and roar they want. Improving the air flow of your exhaust system will provide a minor increase in engine horsepower, which should correspond to a minor increase in fuel efficiency. Depending on where you live, there are no regulations prohibiting you from changing your exhaust manifold or headers, as long as you stay close to the stock overall configuration (e.g., you cannot change a manifold or short headers to long headers). Likewise, in most states you can have your catalytic converter(s) replaced with one(s) that meets or exceeds the OEM converter specification, but might need this work to be done by a licensed shop. Most auto parts stores don't sell catalytic converters, forcing you to go back to the dealer to get the OEM spec. However, Magnaflow and some others do make high-flow catalytic converters that can be ordered through speed shops and equivalent web sites. Unless you're buying an expensive performance or luxury car, the cheap mufflers put on by most manufacturers, Jeep in particular (as I've owned several), do indeed restrict airflow. They do this by using sharp angles and failing to provide for smooth and unrestricted airflow through the muffler. But the gains are almost invisible, unless you had a really bad exhaust to start with. Unless your Wrangler is currently in need of a new muffler or exhaust system, I personally would not waste the money on putting in a Flowmaster. And since the Wrangler is already a noisy vehicle to drive, I would tend to choose a quieter muffler, like a Flowmaster 50. BTW, I own a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and 2010 Wrangler Unlimited. I put a Flowmaster 50 on the Cherokee when the exhaust needed work and it sounds fine. I put a Gibson muffler on the new Wrangler wanting more power, and am disappointed with the loudness of the exhaust. I will probably swap it out for a 50 in the near future.