Quiet Exhaust?

[mrmel2you]

Yesterday was so nice, I decided to rip off the entire exhaust system on "The Beast" and put the one on.  What I really wanted and what I ended up with is entirely different.  I had bought everything, except for the muffler.  Went to AutoZone and asked the associate what's the quietest muffler he had that I could put on a '90 Jeep Comanche with a 2.5 engine.  His reply; "Well, I could sell you this Magnaflow for about $140.00--------or I could sell you this Thrush muffler for about $24.00.  They both sound really quiet, but there is a big difference in price."  I went with the Thrush, should have remembered from back in the day----Thrush glass packs were really loud back then (but this was a new steel muffler, not a glass pack).  I put it all on, then came the big moment----what will it sound like?  Idling, it's got a nice low and mellow bit of a rumble to it.  Driving, right before changing gears----the rumble gets noticeably louder.  Cruising, the cab is filled with a bass sounding drone---not unbearable though.  Wife and I can talk to each other at least, without hollering at each other.  All in all, I think it's a sound that I can get used to.  *Side note* I went in with a homemade cat-delete pipe (didn't have one on it anyways) and bought a Walker tailpipe from AutoZone.  Everything went together smoothly, until I started it up.  Tailpipe was banging against the side of the rear spring shackle.  Cured that with an exhaust hanger clamped to it and bolted to the "hidden" tag mount behind the bumper.  Not too fond of the downward angle of the end of the tailpipe, but think I can figure something out to straighten it out.  Will try to get some photos taken tomorrow and post them here.  Have a great day everyone, Papa Mel and The Beast :)

[Minuit]

To me, "quiet" has the same problem as "good ride quality" - everybody thinks it means something different.

 

Most people I ask seem to think quiet is "I can hear myself think in the cab at 55". When I say quiet, I mean I don't want to hear the friggin' exhaust unless I stomp on the gas. I don't want to hear it on the highway. I'd rather listen to my stereo than that inline 6 2200 rpm bzzzzzzz sound. The factory exhaust in my Thunderbird is just right. At idle, you can't hear it at all unless you put your head under the bumper but it's got a nice rumble under acceleration. I can hear my truck idling 50 yards away.

 

When the most recent aftermarket muffler fell apart I told the exhaust shop the same thing you did. Ended up louder than it was before. I understand I'm working with a 30 year old engine here - but I'd think we could make them quieter with a new muffler, not louder.

[Pete M]

I bought a giant borla muffler for my 88 looking for a cool rumble and it ended up being almost silent at idle.    possibly too big of a muffler?  makes a cool tune under throttle though.   

[mrmel2you]

I thought with mine being a little 4 banger, getting it quiet would be a piece of cake----wrong.  It now sounds like my Honda generator that I take with us when we go camping, LOL :)  It's not an uncomfortable sound, just a bit louder than what I had in mind.  Still wanting to do either a GM V6 or an LS1 swap-----sometime, but having too much fun with this little sewing machine motor for now :)

 

[gogmorgo]

Most people seem to equate "good" with "loud". If I was looking for a quiet muffler I'd ask for the closest they had to the stock unit. 

 

When I was picking a muffler for my MJ I spent a couple weeks listening to exhaust notes on YouTube before I finalized something I wanted, but the problem with YouTube is you don't have much reference for volume. The noise levels in the cab with my flowmaster 40 aren't particularly loud to my ear, but idling from outside the truck it's got a bass rumble you can hear throbbing through the walls of a house, to the point where I almost feel bad for my neighbours if I leave it idling for too long, but it sounds great under load. 

 

My Lada with the smallest glasspack readily available (cheapest route to noise control) is pretty much the opposite. The valvetrain (and otherwise) rattle of the Soviet lump under the hood is louder at idle than the exhaust note but once you're moving down the highway at 4500 rpm we're talking hearing-protection levels of dBA. But it still sounds pretty good in a hilarious rice-rocket sort of way. Particularly because it's hella-butt-slow. I'm including video of it that you can barely hear (because GoPro) mostly because I don't believe the only footage of a Lada going flat out on the Tail of the Dragon should have collected less than 300 views after a year.

 

[DesertRat1991]

14 hours ago, mrmel2you said:

Yesterday was so nice, I decided to rip off the entire exhaust system on "The Beast" and put the one on.  What I really wanted and what I ended up with is entirely different.  I had bought everything, except for the muffler.  Went to AutoZone and asked the associate what's the quietest muffler he had that I could put on a '90 Jeep Comanche with a 2.5 engine.  His reply; "Well, I could sell you this Magnaflow for about $140.00--------or I could sell you this Thrush muffler for about $24.00.  They both sound really quiet, but there is a big difference in price."  I went with the Thrush, should have remembered from back in the day----Thrush glass packs were really loud back then (but this was a new steel muffler, not a glass pack).  I put it all on, then came the big moment----what will it sound like?  Idling, it's got a nice low and mellow bit of a rumble to it.  Driving, right before changing gears----the rumble gets noticeably louder.  Cruising, the cab is filled with a bass sounding drone---not unbearable though.  Wife and I can talk to each other at least, without hollering at each other.  All in all, I think it's a sound that I can get used to.  *Side note* I went in with a homemade cat-delete pipe (didn't have one on it anyways) and bought a Walker tailpipe from AutoZone.  Everything went together smoothly, until I started it up.  Tailpipe was banging against the side of the rear spring shackle.  Cured that with an exhaust hanger clamped to it and bolted to the "hidden" tag mount behind the bumper.  Not too fond of the downward angle of the end of the tailpipe, but think I can figure something out to straighten it out.  Will try to get some photos taken tomorrow and post them here.  Have a great day everyone, Papa Mel and The Beast :)

 

I like the downward tilt.  It's nice because it provides some additional clearance between the pipe and the plastic OEM rear bumper corners.  It also directs the sound downward instead of at your neighbor's bedroom wall.  You want quiet?  This is how you achieve quiet. 

 

The Flowmaster 50 is quiet, but not silent.  Very similar to stock just a bit deeper.  Very comfortable in the cab too.  The difference between FM40/FM50 is that the FM40 is a 2 chamber design and the FM50 has a third chamber to eliminate droning under partial throttle.  

 

 

[Eagle]

I got trapped on mufflers. A couple of years ago I needed a muffler for my '01 XJ. Autozone had a Walker "Sound FX" muffler for 10 bucks cheaper than the OEM replacement. The Sound FX was listed as "OEM replacement" so I foolishly thought that meant "OEM replacement." Not so. It meant "OEM fit," but not "OEM sound."

 

The Sound FX is a turbo-type muffler, and at highway speeds it's loud. Not ear-splitting but, as others have mentioned, it generates an annoying, low-pitch droning sound. Some people might like it -- I don't. If you want quiet, got the OEM replacement muffler.

[dasbulliwagen]

I put a Flowmaster 50 series on my 2.5. Gutted and sleeved cat. It is almost quiet at idle, with a nice growl under load. No drone at highway speeds. It was perfect for my needs and wants.

[ComancheKid45]

I really like the sound of the Thrush welded muffler paired with an 18" glasspack in place of the Cat.....this is of course on a 4.0.

[FrankTheDog]

Walker quiet flow is fairly quiet. Lasts longer and quieter than the walker sound fx muffler.