Just Louder and Louder...
 

My car is three years old soon and my side pipes are shot. It sounds like I am running stright headers without mufflers. I have been checking around for a good set of side pipes that will last just a bit longer than these.

I called my builder and he tells me that three years is about right and told me I had two options 1) buy complete new set of side pipes and 2) cut my mufflers off and weld on some new ones and then have then sent back out for plating.

Does anyone outthere have any experience with the SS sidepipes and mufflers? Cost is going to be about the same either way I go.

Clois

Stainless sidepipes are very loud. At least the ones I have heard. Chome plating makes sidepipes louder as well. Iwould just cut out the baffled section, weld in a new one, and paint them.

....huh?
...is it because the process kills the internals?

That's my guess, that the plating process somehow destroys any packing within the pipes so all absorbtion based dampening goes away. I have noticed this several times on customer cars after chroming. I should probubly ask the chemist here at work why, he worked in plating shops for years.

I just replaced my blown out glasspack mufflers with Lobak mufflers [all steel spiral style] This is what the roundy round racers up here are using to quiet their cars. The sound is quieter and I believe the performance is better. Feels it. That is what I would suggest. Cost about 50.00 per muffler. I used 24" ones Brian

Stainless specialties has a side pipe with different baffling that is the audio-equivalent to the pipes with fiberglass inserts.

for the first 10,000 miles i had painted headers and side-pipe exhausts on my SPF Windsor Stroker, then had the headers ceramic coated inside and out, and the side-pipes outside coated. I immediately noted a change in the character of the exhaust sound. Since my inner muffler packing, stainless steel wool, in my car was not affected, i could only attribute the change to the inner coating of the headers.

The sound became less "mellow" and more "hard", but not necessarily louder. My reasoning is that the inner hard ceramic coating of the headers reflects the sound wave impulses on down the exhaust pipes in a different way than when the headers were uncoated. My guess is that uncoated headers absorb a little of the sound wave impact, and reflect it back in a more attenuated wave pattern.

It is hard to explain the change in sound, but the firing impulses and exhaust sounds with the ceramic headers are a bit more "crisp", more of a crackle. The sound from the "soft" steel uncoated headers was noticably less "crisp".

As my mufflers now have over 45,000 miles on them, and the packing has become dense from all the exhaust impulses, my car is fairly loud, and sounds absolutely fantastic. I love to run along a liine of cars or pedestrians at about 2500 rpm in a low gear, causing all their carbonated drinks to fizz over.

I never heard a car sound as intimidating as mine does.

My SPF is no Latte car, no Sir!!

My problem comes from our security guard at our office complex. His complaint is that every time I drive the Cobra and pull into our garage I set off about 15 or 20 car alarms. Some that do not reset very quickly. After parking I can hear all these Beamers, Lexus', Mercedes, etc. sounding off long after I arrive at my office on the 11th floor. I think somewhere in the garage there are a couple classic car alarms (like the James Brown version and one keeps repeating "Step away from the vehicle...").

I think it is funny but not many of my peers agree with me. I find that tooling along about 8 mph through the garage works quite well and I always rev it up a little bit as I turn to go up another ramp and I definitely give it a little rev just before turning off the key. Our security guard told me he liked my car but I might consider parking it outside the garage until I get some new mufflers. He told me my car was socially unacceptable. Last week I drove it every day instead of just on Fridays. I really didn't appreciate his socially unacceptable comment. I like it loud but ....I may be pushing my luck.

Clois

Clois

I have the Stainless Specialties with the Perform Masters mufflers.....man are they loud :) But I picked up 40lb/ft of torque from them. They are very nice cruising around but on the BB when I get about 3grand they start to scream!!!

If I were to buy a set to stay quiet I would get their baffled pipes.

Matt

Clois,

YUP! Thats what they tell me around my place too! So, I sold my house (now in escrow) and I'm outta here! OK, well, I was going to sell anyway, lol. Went to the mall yesterday, set a new personal record, set off five alarms cruising through the parking garage. A little "blip" is all it takes. Away from home, I'm merciless on car alarms.

Ernie

I hate car alarms, nobody pays any attention to them anyway. Why do people get mad at us, our cars only make a little low frequency noise for a moment, those alarms make all kinds of racket for much longer. I would rather hear a nice motor putt by than an alarm screaming anyday. There's a car that drives down my street every evening on his way home, sets off half a dozen alarms everytime. I don't mind the mufflers, its those alarms that don't get shut off for several minutes that really disturb the peace. Who are they expecting to run to their car's rescue in the parking lot when the alarm sounds anyway?

I wish I could say my cobra was loud, but I am still collecting $ and parts. But my bike has caused many security and police to talk to me about noise ordinence violations. I always ask them to repeat what they said because I can't hear them jokingly and show them that the pipes are 50 state legal.

Clois,

("After parking I can hear all these Beamers, Lexus', Mercedes, etc. sounding off long after I arrive at my office on the 11th floor. I think somewhere in the garage there are a couple classic car alarms (like the James Brown version and one keeps repeating "Step away from the vehicle...").

Its a car Karma thing...they are simply sounding off in recognition of something they would have liked to be!

Clois,

You might also talk to Ron Butler (Butler Racing) about mufflers. I'm not sure if he does stainless, but the steel spiral type I got from him worked pretty well. (they were on the engine when dyno'd) They do not burn out, but do have a real bark of authority from the first day forward. I used them on my car (427s/o) and got accused of being a Harley more than once. They also do a really good job of setting off car alarms... Darned if I know how somebody could confuse a Cobra with a Harley though....

I am glad to see I am not the only social deviant in the group. Sometimes it just feels good to be a little bad. Especially when it is harmless.

Thanks for the tip on Ron Butler, I may have some info on hime at home.

Clois

"socially unacceptable"? That sounds like political correctness! I was getting concerned about my car's noise; I'm not anymore. If it's politically incorrect, I'm for it!

OK I asked the chemist

If there is any packing (fiberglass strands) in the pipes, it should be mechanically removed from them prior to chrome plating. If it is not removed mechanically. it could be done chemically, but that is unlikely. If any remains in the sidepipe during plating, it will turn into a mat, similar to a scotchbrite pad. That will make it very innefective at absorbing sound vibrations. Also, if any is in there, it may act like a sponge and hold some chromic acid which is really nasty stuff, until your exhaust spreads it all over the local atmospere. If you have stainless steel wool packing, it will mat up during chroming or ceramic coating, and thus get louder. At least this is what the chemist at work told me, I never got better than C+ in chemistry.

I have pipes from Stainless Specialties also.They said they had two different types.Loud & louder.Of course i chose louder.Never been hassled.(knock on wood)

My Cobra,Harley & Diesel Ram all make people roll up their windows at traffic lights.

It's a good feeeling.;)

There are several threads over in Classic Roadsters on muffler replacements for the POS CR factory sidepipe mufflers.

Page Mufflers, Arizona Mufflers, and (believe it or not, JC Whitney) have glasspacks that work on Cobras.