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Yes I think you're right. Here in the Boston area there are pickup trucks and Harleys and Mustangs that are far louder than I am.
When I was in high school I had an Austin-Healey with headers and a straight pipe. Whenever I passed a cop I just let off the
gas and drifted on by. That worked for two weeks but then I got popped for improper equipment.
I dont think we have any improper equipment here. You run what you brung as long as the emissions are down....in the big cities. Where I live we dont even have emission inspections.
In seven cities, France now has roadside sensor microphones that will photograph and ticket you if too loud.
They say a modified scooter crossing Paris at night can wake as many as 10,000 people. The fine is $150.
That's understandable in a city but they will undoubtedly also put them all over the countryside to exert overt
control and compliance, because that's what governments do - their job is to grind the People down.
Got two exhaust tone recordings. First cold start, second warm idle and revs.
Sounds twice as loud in person. Were it not for torque and intake sound
losses, I might keep it as is.
Magnaflow 11386 2-in 2-out, dual 2.5 inch pipes, no 3rd cat, no resonators,
stock tips.
Got two exhaust tone recordings. First cold start, second warm idle and revs.
Sounds twice as loud in person. Were it not for torque and intake sound
losses, I might keep it as is.
You said, After hundreds of hours of exhaust videos over the past year, I am a certified exhaust tone aficionado and I don't particularly like the sound the 16917 cat-back
system. Or rather, I definitely like it but want to do better - I want the best sound of any SC in the world, for cheap. So my big idea was to go with the Magnaflow 11386 with 2.5 inch piping to get the power increase while also getting the sound of the 11386/11385 which has the best sound out there in my educated opinion. Listen to the link below.
then on YouTube you said you now want to purchase the Magnaflow I have…
I have not noticed a decrease in torque, but like I said, an actual dyno would be required vs the butt dyno.
Yes, I very much like the 16917 as it is an engineered and tuned system. I like
the sound and the torque gain, which I've read it has; 7%. I'd want to keep the stock
SC tips. I am questioning the torque gain because I do not want to make the
same mistake twice. It has 2.5 inch pipes, which I copied to get the torque gain
but turned into a real loss on the 11386. My move to 2.5 pipe - and with duals -
killed the torque, although I suspect the X-pipe inside the Magnaflow 11386
dual-in dual-out also affected it. I feel like I'm getting lots of noise for no go.
It was really stupid of me to increase the pipe size while also doubling the pipes,
that's like tripling pipe diameter. Simple exhaust calculations for dual pipes
indicate it would have been almost smarter to go down to a 2-inch pipe, but not
quite, in between 2 and 2.25 is ideal, so you have to go with 2.25.
I do like the deeper big block sound of my current 11386 better - but not the
torque loss, intake sound loss, and the excess loudness. I'd likely get a ticket,
as it becomes a cop magnet. I also don't want everyone staring at me every
time I move off from a stop light. It really is too loud when you touch the gas.
Kind of embarrassing; I'm no kid.
Actually, I much prefer the butt dyno as that's what counts. Sure would like to
mitigate my current exhaust drawbacks without spending a lot of money.
Am strategizing a way to not pay all that money for a 16917, but just rework
what I have, as I'd also need to buy the Y-pipe, which I did not keep. Looking
at another $300 for the Megan down pipe which has the Y in addition to $1000
for the 16916 cat-back system. I shoulda just gone with the 16917 as was my
original plan. Too late now that I'm in it.
While I'm at it here's my "Can your car do this?" video:
I'm not into investing time and money into making my SC430 sound louder at the risk of losing torque/HP, but, I love your video of the glass of water on the intake manifold while winding it up! Out of an abundance of caution, I'm afraid to rev my SC over 3K like this, while stationary and not under load.
Can your next video recreate the similar LS400 TV commercial with campaign glasses stacked in a pyramid?
Yes, torque is far more important than noise. I may have to go back to stock with just the resonators deleted.
Putting the glass directly on the intake manifold is more hardcore then putting it on the hood. In that video I
think I went up to 45 K. The LS400 video was a bit too cautious, which is typical of the Japanese. Of course the
champagne glasses alluded to Lexus luxury.
Here is the intake sound I completely lost in addition to a noticeable amount of torque. Stock exhaust here,
not even resonators removed. Top was down.
Update, I now think the sound is just fine, and maybe I've not actually lost torque but I believe I've just shifted it upwards.
I can't help myself but get up to one-hundred almost every single day. The acceleration from 80 to 100 is impressive, loud too.
In my area every 5th car is a Tesla and the rest are Audis and BMWs. They cruise along at 80 on the highway in a self-satisfied
way, until I blast by them 20 mph faster with the top down, making a far more resonant noise. I wonder if they realize I paid
$10,000 for mine, whereas they paid $60,000 for their dime-a-dozen car, which depreciates day-by-day.
Update, I now think the sound is just fine, and maybe I've not actually lost torque but I believe I've just shifted it upwards.
I can't help myself but get up to one-hundred almost every single day. The acceleration from 80 to 100 is impressive, loud too.
In my area every 5th car is a Tesla and the rest are Audis and BMWs. They cruise along at 80 on the highway in a self-satisfied
way, until I blast by them 20 mph faster with the top down, making a far more resonant noise. I wonder if they realize I paid
$10,000 for mine, whereas they paid $60,000 for their dime-a-dozen car, which depreciates day-by-day.
Too bad you don't have a sound clip. Who would want to drive an motor driven car when you can have a REAL engine!
The combination of dual exhaust, 2.5 in pipes, the MagnaFlow, and the 4.3 engine does sound very good, better than a loud Mustang, and not as loud except at 22,000 where it it has to be louder.
Have a plan to cut down the noise a bit and also shift the torque curve back down. Want to narrow the pipes to 2.25 in from the downpipes back a couple of feet to a Cherry Bomb Vortex 88115
2-in, 2-out, which is what the MagnaFlow is, except the Cherry Bomb has 2.25 in and 2.5 out. The MagnaFlow will be in line with the Cherry Bomb. Both mufflers have an x-pipe inside.
Have the Cherry Bomb Vortex, just have to slap it on. I have no idea what that set-up will sound like.
So, I did that, or tried to. The Cherry Bomb was way too big to fit.; muffler shop sent me home. Darn, have always wanted a Cherry Bomb since I was a kid. Always wanted a supercharger too.
I got a pair of Vibrant Ultra Quiet resonators, 4" diameter, 2.25 inch 1140 ($102 each). Slapped them on. Muffled the sound a bit and I miss the slight race car harshness with no resonators.
But am now okay with that, it's more appropriate to a Lexus. Cut the sound down for sure, which I sometimes miss. Can't have everything. Thought for two weeks I did not gain my low end
torque with the 2.25 inch resonators, but now after two weeks I seem to have much of it back. Guess the computer needed time to figure it out. So I'm good now. Nevertheless I am
contemplating the added value of cut-outs. Always wanted them too.
After two weeks of bombing around I am happy. Got the sound I wanted. Took two weeks to get the sound settled in.
Got almost all the low-end torque back and added HP and torque to the top-end.
I now now have the best sounding car on the planet - see what you think. All-in cost around $1100, including $660 welding labor, which includes the initial $200 sunk cost (a rip-off) when they replaced the stock resonators with straight pipes, later replaced with Vibrant Ultra Quiet resonators (only $80 for that).
Now dual 2.5 inch pipes (stock is a single 2.25 inch), no 3rd cat, stock resonators off, into a Magnaflow 2.5 inch 2-in 2-out with X-pipe inside muffler, and two inline 2.25 inch (to get some back-pressure back) Vibrant Ultra Quiet resonators.
02-26-22, 07:51 PM
Sweet looking ride