Exhaust sounds

[sugg578]

i have been reading some of the stuff on this site and it seams to me that a lot of people dont really like loud opels and i just wanted to know what should i do have it loud or not any help would help me

[StefanLee]

What can I say, there is no point in having a car being louder than it needs to be.

There is nothing worse than cars being outfitted with "performance" aftermarket mufflers that only really increase the loudness. I have a neighbor with a car like that and it aggravates the heck out of me.

Trust me, loud cars aren´t cool. Sporty is an entirely different thing. It doesn´t have to be quiet, but don´t make it a point having it loud.

Stefan

[anastosmotors]

On my cars i keep it nice and simple. 2" exhaust pipe, a 18" resenator
( round ) and a muffler. Performs nice, strong and quit.
Pete

[Mike Preble]

We used to have a saying when we were cruising the main strip through town, "If noise was power the car would be fast". Just our way of saying if a little was good then a whole lot was not necessarily better. You can do anything from bone stock to open headers. Do you want the right amount of scavenging and back pressure to get maximum power from your engine or do you just want the police to spend a lot of time writing you tickets? Pete gave you a great answer. No need to repeat what has already been said.

Mike

[coolchrisp]

I have 2 1/4 inch pipe with a Thrush glasspack on it, crusing around town about 700RPM to 2k rpm its not to bad and has a nice rumble, but when i hit it she opens up and gets pretty loud!! i personally like it. i have a YOUTUBE account i will post a video for you in a little bit with the exhaust, i hope the quality will be good!

[coolchrisp]

I bought it at advance auto parts, its only 20 bucks. but thrush it a fairly decent brand.

[jvandyke]

We used to debate this in the motorcycle world too. Ultimately it's your call of course. Don't worry too much about what other people think, of course, when I hear overly loud in-your-face bikes/cars I think of "show off"s, "attention grabbers" and a certain amount of "compensation" if you know what I mean.
I just got done driving around today and my GT (I've had for only 2 months) has Ansa exhaust and it sounds good, not overly obnoxious I don't think. I like the sound, adds to the enjoyment of driving the car and I could care less about what other people think other than I don't really want to annoy anyone.
I shot this a few days ago. Not edited and the mic on the video camera is pretty crappy, you can still get a feel for the sound though.
http://homepage.mac.com/jvandyke/Car...heater120.html

[coolchrisp]

well i put a whole new exhaust on with it, it has a header also.. so that adds to the noise.

Unfortunatly i left me cord to plug my cammera to teh computer down at school, so it wont be untill monday i can put it on... sorry!!

[RallyBob]

One thing to consider is that an overly loud exhaust may cause permanent hearing damage. I don't mean when you're 70 years old either...I have permanent hearing damage caused by air tools and loud exhaust systems (being around racecars mostly).

I started to notice a decline in my hearing by the age of 26...so because of this I'm pretty tame with my street car exhaust systems these days, and I always wear ear plugs when using air tools. I still have some hearing loss, and permanent tinitus (ringing in my ears), but overall it has actually improved somewhat compared to my late '20's and early 30's (I'm 40 now).

The federal standard for exhaust loudness is 95 db (decibals), but some states and counties *may* enforce a lower db standard, especially late at night.

Noise is also a very subjective issue. What may be loud to some people may be music to your ears, and vice-versa.

Bob

[namba209]

It only stays upright when it's in use. The ball socket base is designed to tilt when the car is being raised up. You have to practice with it to find out where to put the base before you jack the car to change a tire

[baronbors]

My Thrush muffler has a nice low rumble to it when it is idleing. People ask what cam I have in my V8. My response is the regular cam for a 1.9L 4 banger. I then have to open the hood to show them. Remarably, it doesn't seem to get much louder on the road. My stereo can cover the sound nicely with no hearing damage and no frowns from the local constabulary.

[opelbits]

People have this idea of what a good exhaust sound is. In my opinion, when people on the outside say a car (especially a V8) sounds good, it is usually too loud inside. Especially in that magical resonating rpm band around 3k. Highway speeds can give you some nasty headaches.

If someone says it sounds good inside, but they are listening to the sounds coming from outside, they don't realise just how loud it is. The people behind them know all too well. Aren't directional soundwaves and the Doppler Effect fun?

Currently the exhaust on the GT is falling apart. After 20 years, I need a new rear resonator. But I need 2" exhaust, too, so rather than spend money on something I'm going to take back off, I will make due until I rework the exhaust.

I have the 2.0E with stock GT 1 5/8" exhaust, minus the rear resonator.
It has this really odd sound to it. Not really loud, but deep. Like a small V8 rumble, not the braapp of an exhaust missing stuff. The best way I can describe is that it sounds quite a bit like the aircooled VWs that have had some motor work and a good exhaust. No tinniness, no Honda fart noises.
It is not altogether unpleasant. After taking the resonator off, I noticed a very big change in how the car felt. Less thrashy, a little more spritely, and even quieter inside the cabin. I think the resonator was strangling the motor even more than the small diameter exhaust and for some reason it was transmitting far more noise into the bodyshell than it should have been.

[West Coast GT]

I'd like to thank you all for your insights as well. They are informative and the timing is fortuitous.

My GT is missing the resonator and still has original 1 5/8" piping. I was going to just add a stock resonator for now, upgrading later when I rebuild the engine this summer. But based on what I hear (pun intended) I'm going to replace the entire exhaust now and go with the "RallyBob Recommended" system. Thanks -

[Phoenix]

One thing about motorcycles having loud exhausts is that you have visibility without being seen. People can tell that you are around them and anything that helps people consciously know that you are there is good. Bright colors on cars/bikes have a similar effect.

I had Flowmaster Stage 2s on my Thunderbird and thought that it sounded very good for just having a stock exhaust. I got a lot of compliments on it. But I had wished that it was louder. I had plans to get Flowmaster single-chamber mufflers but the car was totaled before I could do it. I went with Flowmasters because I knew that they were gauraunteed to have a good sound. I was worried at first that they would be too loud but I was all grins when I first heard it and always loved rolling down the windows just to here the exhaust.

[jvandyke]

Originally Posted by Phoenix One thing about motorcycles having loud exhausts is that you have visibility without being seen. People can tell that you are around them and anything that helps people consciously know that you are there is good. Bright colors on cars/bikes have a similar effect.

I think I actually read a study once that debunked the "loud pipes save lives' theory, most of the noise is behind you, where it doesn't do you any good from an accident prevention standpoint. Then there's the fact that if you're loud then you can't hear other stuff going on quite as well. Before I sold my bike I had lost a baffle and it was very loud. I was tooling down the highway and even though I've learned to be an extremely defensive driver over 16 years of motorcycling and scan every direction almost constantly, an ambulance surprised me as it passed, sirens blaring. My bike was so loud I didn't hear him. He might have heard me but then again, with his sirens he may not have, it was a contest of decibels.

[hrcollinsjr]

Originally Posted by StefanLee ...There is nothing worse than cars being outfitted with "performance" aftermarket mufflers that only really increase the loudness. Trust me, loud cars aren´t cool. Sporty is an entirely different thing. It doesn´t have to be quiet, but don´t make it a point having it loud. Stefan

I agree with Stefan. I like a nice "tone" to the exhaust. I teach high school kids and have had discussions with them about their exhausts. Their concerns seem to be more about loudness than improving performance. Even wanting to cut convertors off in the quest for sound while being told about the problems associated with hurting performance on computer controlled cars as well as what it could do to their wallets down the road when they have to replace it and their "rigged" exhaust systems. There are very few trends that "high school" kids do to vehicles that I would want to imitate.

Harold

[lewdawg]

O.K. alot of good information about exhaust noise. Does anyone have a good suggestion on a muffler that is small and quiet? Not Cadillac quiet but something that is not annoying. I'm looking for a good combination to put under my GT. I will be running 2 inch exhaust and a resonator in the back. It needs to be 2 inch in and a single 2 inch out set up. Any help would be great.

[opelbits]

lewdawg-

Build your exhaust and use the mini turbo from JCWhitney's. The number is on this site somewhere. It's cheap, less than $25 I think. The reason I say this is that you have to start somewhere. Build the exhaust, see how it sounds and go from there. It's a cheap enough muffler to toss if it isn't right. Just going to a larger pipe will increase the noise, so you won't really know until you hear it. Make sure you use good hangers that won't transmit NVH (noise vibration harshness) and confuse you as to what is noise and what is transmitted resonance.

[opelbits]

Harold-

"There are very few trends that "high school" kids do to vehicles that I would want to imitate."

There more things change,they more they stay the same! Remember the 70's? Big, fat 60's in the rear that slid all over the place? Air shocks? Metalflake? "Performance" exhaust that was nothing more than a few screwdriver holes in the muffler? Fender flares? Deep dish chrome Cragars with the tires sticking out of the rear wheelwells?
And decals...sorry, 'stickers'. Hijackers, Wynn's, Hooker, Holley, Thrush, STP, 76, etc.

And yellow vinyl has replaced white vinyl.

All this and more on a lowly one barrel 318. Or 250 6cyl...

Remember when your shiny new exhaust was under the rocker panel rather than out back?

Or how about the 80's, when EVERY car in the high school parking lot had a Porsche whaletail wing on it? Even the 5 year old v6 Pontiac Gran Prixs!

[namba209]

On Willit? I've got a pair of 2.5" Flowmasters. A nice deep rumble at idle, give a bit of gas and it gets a bit louder, step on it and it gets a higher pitch and is a bunch louder. Personally I'd like it quieter, but all my hot rod neighbors think it sounds great, but they're a lot younger than I am. RallyBob said in an earller post he's got hearing problems. I can't relate to that, yet, USAF training about sounds on the flight line prevented hearing loss. I will say this about loud noises and "boom boxes" in the current fashion. Eventually those folks will have to have thir radio "that" loud just to hear the music? Damage to the ear is cummulative, and unlike the rest of the body, it doesn't repair or heal itself. O.K. off the soapbox.

[hrcollinsjr]

Originally Posted by namba209 I will say this about loud noises and "boom boxes" in the current fashion. Eventually those folks will have to have thir radio "that" loud just to hear the music? Damage to the ear is cummulative, and unlike the rest of the body, it doesn't repair or heal itself. O.K. off the soapbox.

Preach on Brother Ron, Preach on! No one is listening but maybe they'll get it on closed caption someday.

Harold

[jeff denton]

I like a car with a nice quiet idle, well just quiet enough to hear the lifters clacking, cammed up enough that the idle is kind of high yet rough. Then as RPM increases so does the exhaust note until it is just a scream at about 7000 rpm. I use a Flowmaster and a resonator tip at the end where the exhaust dumps out the side of the car, our track rules require us to emit no more than 91 db and they check it every time as the cars take off (one at a time) out of the staging lane during qualifying.
Okay, story time. This is not a fairy tale since it doesn't start with "once upon a time" nor is it a Navy Sea Story because it doesn't begin with "this is a no-$hitter" but it really did happen, to me even.
When I was eighteen I was swathing hay and a thunderstorm came up, as I was roading the swather towards home the first big raindrops started hitting and then I was hit by lightning. Where the radio antenna cable was grommeted through the cab it was blown apart, I was momentarily blinded by a bright yellow flash, and the bang was so loud my ears are still ringing from it. I'm not kidding. I was so surprised and confused as to what had happened that I put the clutch in, I just wanted everything stopped till I figured out what was going on. Which totally freaked out a neighbor who just happened to see the whole thing. He ran over to see if I was alive, thought for sure I wouldn't be! The stereo was fried which pissed me off, I can't run a tractor all day without one. I'm glad I wasn't wearing the headphones as usual, but the static from the storm had caused me to remove them a minute before... I wonder if the jolt could have traveled through them? Oh, guess what? The antenna mast had been about three feet long, afterwards it was only about twelve inches.
Surely you all are calling BS on this one, but in Kinsey MT they still call me "Lightning Jeff". Stuff like this is remembered for warning others to respect thunderstorms... weird stuff can happen in them.
Protect your hearing. In a pinch even a cigarette butt stuffed into each ear is better than nothing. I do a lot of metal grinding, while it isn't awful loud it is damaging to the ears.
I think snowmobiles are the worst for hurting your ears. When somebody is revving one in the shop I have to leave. It causes actual pain!

[namba209]

O.K. Jeff, I can go with one too, but not as severe as yours. We were doing an engine run on the Blackbird, not an afterburner run, just below it. I had to check some stuff while it was running at the high power setting. I was 45 degrees and 25 feet from the exhaust and I could not get my eyes to focus, my whole body was vibrating from the sonic pressures. After I did the checks and went up front of the bird, I looked down the intake, again more than 25 feet away, those intakes are huge vacuum cleaners. The whole intake was lit up with thousands of electrical dishcarges caused by the massive ariflow down the intake. An interesting nite on the flightline that was.

[coolchrisp]

here is a video of the exhaust inside the car, ill get one of the exhaust outside shortly, like i said, it gets loud! but i like it...

YouTube - Opel GT short street run

[RallyBob]

Just curious, how does someone convert old VHS videotape to something that can be seen/heard on this site? I have a few old clips (not many though) of a few of my cars I'd like to be able to download.

Bob