Ractive muffler too loud.. help?

[0range_240]

I had my 90 SOHC taken to a shop last month to have a 2.5" cat-back made and put in, I got a ractive muffler put on the end, but I find that after a couple weeks I cant take the noise anymore, it is just overly loud... much louder than most cars with exhaust.. and when I plant my foot in the floor it doesnt sound very nice, more of a brappity sound... is there any possible way to remedy this? or is a different brand of muffler the only way to go?

[Axel Grungy]

save up some money and get a nice catback. its worth it in the long run trust me. BTW did you get a resonator with that custom catback?? could be the reason its so loud

[0range_240]

yeah it does have one resonator in it, its only a bit bigger than a 1L coke bottle though... for now im short of money so a new cat-back is out of the question... is there absolutely nothing I can do to reduce the sound?

[Axel Grungy]

i dont think ractive makes silencers, but id just hack it off and get an oem style replacement till i get some money together. ive had custom catbacks before and have never had any sound remotely nice. so i dunno you might be stuck with it. BTW i would have gone with 2.25" diameter, assuming your NA SOHC

[0range_240]

if i DO put an OEM muffler on it, will I lose any perf?

[Axel Grungy]

nah nothing noticeable. the piping diameter is more important to my knowledge. just because something is loud doesnt mean it has more performance.

[0range_240]

no I know I just wanted to make sure before I sunk money on a replacement just to find out it was restrictive or something. Any idea on how much I would be expecting to pay for the replacement muffler?

[allthrottlenobottle]

toucan does make silencers for their mufflers(sold seperatly of course).i run a ractive muffler right now too and ive had both my resonators removed and piping replaced from the cat with straighter pieces (not a true catback mind you) and my car is loud but not overwhelming.maybe a crack or leak in a weld joint on the exhaust piping?

[SHIEF]

No offense or anything, but if your putting a RACTIVE muffler on your car then your not looking for performance, just a loud racing machine :oface

[Axel Grungy]

:Werd

[0range_240]

im not some punk kid looking for a car that makes noise, when i bought the muffler i wasnt aware of all the different brands available so please lay off the flaming a bit..

now that thats out of the way, I have a chance to buy a Borla cat-back exhaust for relatively cheap, would this make a difference performance wise over the pipe i already have installed?

And is borla a good exhaust in general or should I keep looking?

[Axel Grungy]

yeah borlas a decent name. if the price is right id go for it. id check the piping diameter on it. you dont want it too big for NA

[EnzoRWD]

i have a borla, i think its 2.25 in. all stainless, resonated. with a test pipe it sounds soooo nice and loud enough at WOT. it isnt the loudest, straightest thing out there, but it came with the car and i like it well enough to not want to spend $$ on another catback. not yet.-Enzo

[180fan]

you can find silencers for popular sizes. I found one for my GP without much problem. Find the size of the opening for your exhaust, and call around. I know APEX'i sells silencers seperately for about 60-65 a pop.

[Nismo_Freak]

No offense or anything, but if your putting a RACTIVE muffler on your car then your not looking for performance, just a loud racing machine :oface

If it's straight through then whats the difference between it and any other muffler.

Exhaust gas doesn't know the brand of the muffler.

An OEM muffler will be a restriction... it's the largest restriction in the whole system.

I noticed a top end difference between the 2.5" and 2.75" systems I ran on my car... low end is fine with the header since it adds low end torque.

[0range_240]

thanks for all your input guys I really appreciate the help, the guy is asking $175 for the borla cat-back and an injen CAI... good price?

Im wondering if its worth paying to get another cat-back if mine isnt as restrictive or crappy as I was told at first..

btw, I know this is a newb question but since im on a quest for info.... what is a test pipe?

[180fan]

test pipe = replacement of your catalytic converter with an empty shell. Your cat has metals and various other parts in it that breaks down your exhaust gases into more environmentally friendly gases but a test pipe will eliminate that. Not really all that great for street use as they're generally very loud, and aren't good for the environment with minimal power gains if any.

[chmercer]

trying to not sound offensive, just offering advice. I would suggest that you read up a little more on your car and what options you have with modification before you just go buying parts (like how you said you didnt know about all the brands of muffler and stuff) if i had done that, i wouldve saved a lot of money and my car would be in better shape than it is now

[TurboKA37]

this guy wants $175 for borla exhaust and CAI together? im assuming they are used then because teh injen intake will run you about $200 new. if they are in good condition id say go for it

[Nismo_Freak]

trying to not sound offensive, just offering advice. I would suggest that you read up a little more on your car and what options you have with modification before you just go buying parts (like how you said you didnt know about all the brands of muffler and stuff) if i had done that, i wouldve saved a lot of money and my car would be in better shape than it is now

Agreed, the more you understand your vehicle the easier it will be to achieve your goals in the shortest path possible.

Knowledge = Power

[Nismo_Freak]

test pipe = replacement of your catalytic converter with an empty shell. Your cat has metals and various other parts in it that breaks down your exhaust gases into more environmentally friendly gases but a test pipe will eliminate that. Not really all that great for street use as they're generally very loud, and aren't good for the environment with minimal power gains if any.

On the KA a test pipe will actually make you lose a considerable amount of midrange torque. I'd highly suggest retaining the cat or switching it out for a high flow variant.

Obviously for a turbocharged engine however ... cat = evil thing the man puts on your car to keep you down!

[0range_240]

thanks for all the input guys..

mercer: i know what you mean, if I had known that having a custom pipe made would be this loud and badly built i would never have gone that route. but its for that reason that I wanted to know if borla exhausts were good because if I buy this cat-back I want to be happy with it

TurboKA: yeah he said they were used for a year and then he installed an sr20 into his car and no longer needs them.

And heres one thing I found out about two days ago.. I had my car over the pit in our garage and I was cleaning some snow and mud out of the undercarriage when I noticed that when I had my exhaust put in, they removed my cat aswell!! needless to say im pissed off and will be paying them a visit today or tomorrow

[Nismo_Freak]

Threaten them if you have to... tell them to put your cat back on for free else you will call the EPA to report the removal of a catalytic converter by their shop.

Putting the cat back on is alot cheaper than the EPA taking everyone out back for some "chat".