Couple of Exhaust questions related to noise levels.

[luciusad2004]

I had a few questions about exhaust systems and particularly what will increase sound levels.

My car currently has what appears to be an ebay special cat back on it. It appears to be 2.5" with no resonators and a giant can muffler. I was shocked because it's actually not super loud or raspy. I do however want to replace it because it just looks cheap. But before that I need to take care of my failing cat and Exhaust Manifold.

1. My cat rattles a lot, to the point were it would seam the internal honeycomb is just floating around on the inside. Would this be the reason that my cheap exhaust has a surprisingly low tone? Could it just be lack of flow due to my cat? I already purchased a direct fit Magnaflow cat in OEM sizing. Should I expect a major sound increase and will my car get raspy once I have the cat replaced?

2. My down pipe (between exhaust manifold and cat) needs to be replaced and i was considering just getting a DC sports Header because it would probably be cheaper than an OEM manifold. Should I expect a major sound increase from this as well? What about rasp?

Im just curious because all of the Accords I find on youtube with exhausts are pretty raspy and I really want to avoid that sound. I also don't want to have a loud exhaust. I had a 2.5" exhaust on the civic and got VERY tired of it pretty quick.

 

[Frisky Arab]

Headers will almost definatly change the sound, as for the cat I couldn't tell you for sure.

 

[luciusad2004]

Thought I would revive this instead of making a second thread for more exhaust questions...
I ended up purchasing the DC sports header but didn't put it on yet.

I believe I have 2.5 inch piping. Would I notice any differences by dropping it down to 2.25? How would it effect the sound? I'm hoping for quieter. Would it affect my power band? I don't feel any pull until i hit around 4k RPM and was wondering if a smaller exhaust would give me a little more low end torque.

I have an Apexi N1 Muffler sitting around that I was thinking about putting on if I have an exhaust built. Has anyone seen/heard one of these on a 4 cylinder accord? I've tried to find it on youtube and looked in the reviews thread but no one seems to have run it on an accord. I'm just curious if it would be obnoxiously loud. Otherwise I'm thinking about buying an ES tuning Oval muffler or something a little more low key.

 

[RedRyder]

It would be quieter with 2.25" piping, but some of the output depends on the resonator and muffler. Still, 2.5" is not going to be that loud, and what you do hear will sound nice if you buy a decent muffler like Magnaflow, Apexi, etc.

As for power...wouldn't worry about that, lol.

 

[truWarier02]

I have an Apexi N1 Muffler sitting around that I was thinking about putting on if I have an exhaust built. Has anyone seen/heard one of these on a 4 cylinder accord? I've tried to find it on youtube and looked in the reviews thread but no one seems to have run it on an accord. I'm just curious if it would be obnoxiously loud. Otherwise I'm thinking about buying an ES tuning Oval muffler or something a little more low key.

Usually those N1 or N1-style mufflers are deep-sounding and kind of loud. But I've heard 6ga's with ES tuning mufflers and they sound nice but not as loud as N1.

Ask NASOHC about the ES tuning muffler. He was/is running one.

 

[luciusad2004]

It would be quieter with 2.25" piping, but some of the output depends on the resonator and muffler. Still, 2.5" is not going to be that loud, and what you do hear will sound nice if you buy a decent muffler like Magnaflow, Apexi, etc.

As for power...wouldn't worry about that, lol.

I'm not really worried about power lol. I got the car to have an easy to work on, reliable daily. I was just curious if the smaller piping would help at all with the "gutless" feeling it has between 2k and 3k RPM lol.

If it wont make much of a difference maybe I'll just purchase a resonator to have put on my current cat-back and get a nicer muffler welded on.

Usually those N1 or N1-style mufflers are deep-sounding and kind of loud. But I've heard 6ga's with ES tuning mufflers and they sound nice but not as loud as N1.

Ask NASOHC about the ES tuning muffler. He was/is running one.

Sound levels are my main concern. I would like it to sound nice but i don't want it to be really loud. I suppose I could try the Apexi and if I hate it I can get something else later. It can't be worse than what i already have. I've had no luck selling the Apexi so I might as well give it a try. I planned on having a decent Resonator put in line.

As far as resonators, Does a bigger resonator make it quieter or a smaller one; or are they all about the same anyway?

 

[truWarier02]

Sound levels are my main concern. I would like it to sound nice but i don't want it to be really loud. I suppose I could try the Apexi and if I hate it I can get something else later. It can't be worse than what i already have. I've had no luck selling the Apexi so I might as well give it a try. I planned on having a decent Resonator put in line.

As far as resonators, Does a bigger resonator make it quieter or a smaller one; or are they all about the same anyway?

Bigger/longer resonator = quieter.

People usually run Magnaflow or Dynomax. Either one will do.