Removed: Resonator

[Danny5]

Since nobody seemed to be taking the plunge to mess with the exhaust I took it upon myself to have the resonator cut out of my car and a straight pipe welded in.

Here is the giant resonator waiting to be removed. I decided it was worth $30 to cut it out and find out if it makes any difference.

This is the final cat in the line before the sound suppression devices.

Looks almost empty in this spot now. Thats a 2" pipe he is welding in it's place. The factory exhaust is 1 3/4" piping.

Here it is done and properly mounted.

Here is the resonator sitting dejected in my hatch. I kept it just in case the sound increase was unbearable.

And the verdict? Almost zero change in sound levels. Going to have to remove the muffler to get any noise out of this car. But now you know the resonator is mostly for looks.

 

[Sonic]

Good, now I will just remove the muffler and not worry about that giant resonator. I must say that I am amazed it didn't really make a difference. The muffler on these things must be brutal!

 

[wingman]

There has so be a little less restriction by removing it. Did you notice any power gain?

 

[AxelRipper]

If its a resonator, it shouldn't have any restriction, and if it was tuned properly theres a chance it would have been adding some power to the engine (backpressure and waves and such).

 

[Danny5]

Car feels pretty much the same after as it did before. The only bonus this makes is probably dropping 10-15lbs out of the middle of the car.

 

[laborsmith]

Yes , it looked like the pipe went straight through. No muffling involved, just canceling the drone sound one picks up at steady speeds, which is why I was reluctant to take it out. Please let us know if there is drone now.

I know someone may remind me that I have decided to go with a Borla exhaust and they do not get rid of all the drone, but the welcome tradeoff, at least from my point of view, is the Borla exhaust sound. More than that, it is any exhaust sound that is loud enough to hear but not so tinny as to be annoying.

Laborsmith

 

[Danny5]

Yah, this whole thing has me looking at mufflers now, and I have used and enjoyed Borla in the past.

The problem is that Borla mufflers are a straight through design, and I desire a little more quiet, so I am looking at the 3 chambered Flowmaster 50 series. I might end up getting one, just because I'm crazy like that.

 

[wasteoffilm]

happen to start it up after cutting out the resonator?

 

[Danny5]

happen to start it up after cutting out the resonator?

You know, I TOTALLY wanted too, but it was 6 feet in the air and I had no way of getting in to start it!

 

[AndrewGS]

Can't wait to see what you do with the muffler and how it turns out.

 

[Machine]

resonators are totally different than mufflers. mufflers muffle the sound (hence the name), resonators are designed to remove a specific sound frequency (usually the high pitched) from the exhaust.

usually I suggest that people leave the resonator and get rid of the muffler. for example, SRT4 neons come like this from the factory; one big resonator and no mufflers. thats why they sound like a deisel.

 

[Sonic]

Next week or the week after I will be removing my muffler.

 

[Danny5]

I am going to go out on a limb here and say the 3/4 to full throttle sound at 2000-2500 rpm, most noticeable at 75 to 80mph, is marginally louder. This is a *low* frequency sound, probably below 100hz, and not even audible above standard stereo levels.

I keep my stereo at 16 for reference. I know, I am old.

Wind noise at these speeds really make it hard to notice, and I don't know if it's a new noise or not. It is not unpleasant, and only noticeable because I went looking for a change.

 

[ChevyST_12]

yeah you should def post up a video of this. haha for us thanks man... haha so anyone ever decide to just go get an custom exhaust from turbo back????

 

[Thaifight-R]

Anyone know if one would be able to put an electric exhaust cutout in that area after removing the resonator? Or are you supposed to have the cutout before the catalytic converter? I wonder if this'll affect the warranty at all... Sorry, I don't know too much about this stuff yet... haha

Thanks.

 

[laborsmith]

Once the resonator is removed, there will be plenty of room for an electronic cut out. It goes after the cats and before the muffler.

Laborsmith

Warranty: possibly the muffler but should not affect anything else; electronic cut out is one of the most fun mods you can do. L

 

[ChevyST_12]

Once the resonator is removed, there will be plenty of room for an electronic cut out. It goes after the cats and before the muffler.

Laborsmith

Warranty: possibly the muffler but should not affect anything else; electronic cut out is one of the most fun mods you can do. L

So i don't wanna sound like a newbie haha.. What exactly is an electronic
Cut out?? I think I should know what this means but I have no clue??

 

[Sonic]

It's a kit that puts a "hole" in your exhaust system that you can open and close remotely from the cabin with a switch. Open it for an aggressive sound, keep it closed when you want to sound stock.

Here's a quick google result:
http://www.quicktimeperformance.com/QTEC/index.php

 

[laborsmith]

Exhaust cut outs are used to increase HP by removing the muffler's restriction.

In the old days, you got under the car to open or close the cutout.

Electronically opening and closing while sitting behind the steering wheel is a definite enhancement to the cut out process. Costs more, but definitively worth it.

If you go that route, a quick Google search for exhaust cut outs or diverters will reveal several choices.

Laborsmith

 

[wingman]

Is there a limit to how much restriction can be removed without adversely affecting HP/torque? I am new to turbos, but read somewhere that they need a certain amount of back pressure. Please enlighten me.