Good 4-banger exhaust for deep throaty sound?

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I am leaning towards the Dynomax Super Turbo. The one I put on the Aerostar 3.0 is not terribly loud but you know it's there, and it has lasted about 6 years so far without rusting out. My 4.9L Ford sounded GREAT with a Flowtech Raptor Turbo but those rot out in 2-3 years. Cheap, like $20. Dynomax is about $50.
 
Just checked pipe size and my 2.3 Ranger 4 banger has 2.5 inch OD pipe from the Cat back to the joint, then it goes 2 inch OD to a can that must be a resonator, then a huge muffler wrapped in heat shields. So the question is, how restrictive is that stock muffler? Typically they are plugs to make it quiet, and if I replace it with a turbo muffler that is free flowing, will I notice the increase in power?
 
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Just checked pipe size and my 2.3 Ranger 4 banger has 2.5 inch OD pipe from the Cat back to the joint, then it goes 2 inch OD to a can that must be a resonator, then a huge muffler wrapped in heat shields. So the question is, how restrictive is that stock muffler? Typically they are plugs to make it quiet, and if I replace it with a turbo muffler that is free flowing, will I notice the increase in power?

Probably not. In most cases with mildly-tuned factory motors, aftermarket exhausts only free up a few horsepower at the engine's peak. Usually not enough to notice, unless your butt-dyno is hypersensitive or prone to the placebo effect.
 
Originally Posted By: NateDN10
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Just checked pipe size and my 2.3 Ranger 4 banger has 2.5 inch OD pipe from the Cat back to the joint, then it goes 2 inch OD to a can that must be a resonator, then a huge muffler wrapped in heat shields. So the question is, how restrictive is that stock muffler? Typically they are plugs to make it quiet, and if I replace it with a turbo muffler that is free flowing, will I notice the increase in power?

Probably not. In most cases with mildly-tuned factory motors, aftermarket exhausts only free up a few horsepower at the engine's peak. Usually not enough to notice, unless your butt-dyno is hypersensitive or prone to the placebo effect.


Correct, and they often degrade low end torque. Witness the number of Civics with F can mufflers which bog on off the line even with lots of clutch slipping.
My favorite 4 cylinder sound is a SAAB 900 Turbo, pre 1994. Just a converter and a rear muffler, with good pipe size.
 
Dynomax makes a cat back system for my Ranger but it's 2.5" piping. I find that odd when the factory steps down from 2.5" to 2". Also my 4.9L F150 only had 2.25 inch (or was it 2.125). On the 4.9L I did feel a difference in going to a free flowing muffler, but that has gobs of low end torque from the big block effect.

The 2.3L 4-banger is very different. I do think better flowing exhaust would help but am inclined to remain with 2" piping after the cat. Exhaust gasses condense as they cool and so a smaller pipe makes sense else it may slow the flow and hurt performance.

The other side of the equation is does the exhaust or intake make the most restriction? If the intake is restricted, changing the exhaust won't do much.
 
I had the Dynomax kit on my old 2.5L. Totally different engine, but I was only working with 120 HP. The Dynomax kit did not hurt performance at all. It seemed to help out fuel economy a little and power was fine. There was actually one hill that I always used to have to shift into 3rd for, but after the Dynomax kit I could stay in 4th without it lugging and slowing down.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^and what really stinks is the Z has a beautiful musical exhaust note from the factory!

Somebody has to wave the "loud is not the same as fast" flag!
Yes it does. I'd like to look under one.
 
i remember seeing raceing chrysler 426 hemis, in the late 60s. that was highly modded to what was called a FLAT crank. which made the engine in to two, 4 cyl engines. it had a VERY odd sound.
 
Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
There is No such thing. 4 cyl and exaust sound like someone [censored] on the toilet
excluding motorcycles of course. I dunno, some of those twin-loop mufflers do a fine job on car 4-bangers.
 
Back in my turbo Miata days, the only muffler I would use was a stainless 3 inch Walker Dynomax "turbo muffler". The typical drone of a 4 cylinder was eliminated and the sound was deep, mellow and perfectly acceptable.

I despise the sound of glass packs on 4 cylinder cars at cruise speed. Mostly due to resonant drone.
 
Originally Posted By: Cujet
Back in my turbo Miata days, the only muffler I would use was a stainless 3 inch Walker Dynomax "turbo muffler". The typical drone of a 4 cylinder was eliminated and the sound was deep, mellow and perfectly acceptable.

I despise the sound of glass packs on 4 cylinder cars at cruise speed. Mostly due to resonant drone.
I'm sure the turbo helped some too though.
 
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
There is No such thing. 4 cyl and exaust sound like someone [censored] on the toilet
excluding motorcycles of course. I dunno, some of those twin-loop mufflers do a fine job on car 4-bangers.


Some of the better aftermarket (like SPT, and Prodrive) systems on the latest gen STIs sound pretty deep and 'burbly', but that may be more a function of their boxer engine configuration, than any actual exhaust system.
wink.gif
 
THIS VIDEO is of a 2003 2.3L Duratec Ranger with a Flowmaster 40 Series and a turnout pipe. I did the exact same earlier this week to my 2001 Ranger 2.3 Duratec and mine sounds exactly like the one in this video. It's pretty loud, but at least I can hear it over the radio and freeway noise. No rice sound here. I do not notice any power loss, but hesitate to say I gained any power until I drive it some more. Too easy to think it is more powerful just because of the sound.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
4 cylinders sound very raspy and noisy,like a BLAT.
6s,particularly inline 6s sound very agricultural.
Nothing sounds like an 8.
Wonder what a 3 cylinder GEO sounds like? Must be like a blender.


what's a blat?
 
Really, it sounds like half a Mustang, and the shop said that the muffler is what they put on the 2004 Cobra Mustang.
 
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