Urgh. . . Is this normal?. . . (exhaust sound topic)

[Jagstang]

Alright, so I have a 3" Circuit Sport Test pipe, and a 3" Single tip blitz Nur spec R cat back exhaust on my 95 zenki 240sx. I've had the catback exhaust on the car for 3 months now, and the sound has always been so loud, and powerful. After the test pipe installation (3 weeks ago), it was much louder, and way more aggressive sounding.

Well here's the issue, today when I started the car up, the exhaust's sound was so much more quiet. . . It was literally 50% lower in sound, and you couldn't hear it compared to before (sounds like it's muffled). . .

I do have a pretty minor exhaust leak on the flange of the downpipe that meets with the test pipe (but it's always been like that really), and that's about it for problems that may result to this issue. So I was just wondering what might have contributed to this frustrating issue?!?

I'm thinking of jacking up the car tomorrow, and trying to tighten up all the bolts on the exhaust, but besides that, I'm out of idea's. I did talk to my brother, and he said it's the weather that's causing the sound change. But I highly doubt it will change the sound that much. . .

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
Modified by Jagstang at 10:37 PM 9/24/2009

[i_need_an_s15]

i did the same thing with different pipe brands like 2 years ago on one of my other 240's. same thing happened to me. after a while the exhaust got quieter. it didnt affect my cars performance so i take it its normal

[Jagstang]

i did the same thing with different pipe brands like 2 years ago on one of my other 240's. same thing happened to me. after a while the exhaust got quieter. it didnt affect my cars performance so i take it its normal

But, yesterday when I drove it, it was loud, and awesome, and today it just sounds weak. . . Plus, if exhausts do get quieter, doesn't it happen gradually, and not in one day? A bit weird don't you think?

But thanks for the response, I hope you are dead wrong, cause I want my loud sexy sound back

[Razi]

My car used to be pretty loud.I went back and tightened all my exhaust related nuts and bolts and now it is much much quieter.

You probably have/had an exhaust leak.

[Jagstang]

My car used to be pretty loud.I went back and tightened all my exhaust related nuts and bolts and now it is much much quieter.

You probably have/had an exhaust leak.

As I've said in my first post, I've always had an exhaust leak since the first day I installed my cat back exhaust (3 months ago), so I don't know why it would become quieter just now?.

But thanks for your input.

[asoomal]

Check for squirrels living in your exhaust.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqlLfAtGD3s

PS: Where the eff are you?

[TJcars2]

I have an answer.

You're going deaf.

[YR240]

+1

I have an answer.

You're going deaf.

[ThuG LyFe]

it's probably in your mind...but usually when you start the car it's not that loud...if you really think your car got quiet then drive by a bunch of cops and see if they think the same...

geez can't imagine driving a stock ka w/ test pipe and a 3" exhaust must sound terrible

[Jagstang]

I have an answer.

You're going deaf.

Urgh, I wish, because if I were going deaf, and I found out, I wouldn't be so insecure about my exhaust sound problems. . .

+1

Read the above comment. . .

it's probably in your mind...but usually when you start the car it's not that loud...if you really think your car got quiet then drive by a bunch of cops and see if they think the same...

geez can't imagine driving a stock ka w/ test pipe and a 3" exhaust must sound terrible

Yeah, when I start the car, it sounds normal, but when I rev that bad boy up, that's when it's supposed to rock the world. And trust me friend, the KA with a test pipe and 3" exhaust sounds surprisingly sexy due to the S14 cams. . .

P.S. I woke up early today , and went for a 7:00 a.m. drive to see if my brother was right about the temperature playing a factor. . . And no, he was wrong (wish he were right), still sounds weak. URGH, this sucks.

[Dazzla]

maybe someone threw something into the exhaust?

[Jagstang]

maybe someone threw something into the exhaust?

Hmm sabotage? Could be a possibility, but even if that were true, while driving around, I should most likely hear rattles, or something clanking about in the exhaust. Plus, it would burn by now from the high temps of the exhaust. Never the less, I'll have to look into it.

Thanks for the tip.

[Dazzla]

lol maybe you pissed off some neighbours with the loud KA?

I'll be installing my catback in a week or two...so I can't imagine the response i'll get from my neighbours lol

[Jagstang]

lol maybe you pissed off some neighbours with the loud KA?

I'll be installing my catback in a week or two...so I can't imagine the response i'll get from my neighbours lol

Oh yea, you're a BC boy like me, you might receive some unexplained damages to your exhaust LOL. . .

Anyways, I figured out the problem, my test pipe was bolted on so tightly that all the condensation was trapped inside the exhaust, which muffled the sound. When I took the test pipe off, and idled the car, there was so much water coming out of the downpipe, it was basically spraying out (kept going and going for a few minutes until I got bored and shut the car off).... So what I did was loosen up the test pipe (so some of the water could leak out of the flanges) and that seemed to help bring back my loud sound.

But i'm still missing another 10 DB or so, and it's because of that downpipe water. . . Can you guys tell me why there's so much water spraying out of my downpipe? This wasn't happening before (cause if it was, I would have always had a low sounding muffled exhaust). So help would be greatly appreciated.

[TJcars2]

How much water?

Also, wouldn't water evaporate from the exhaust temps?

[Jagstang]

How much water?

Also, wouldn't water evaporate from the exhaust temps?

There was a crap load of water. It literally looked like a mini sparkling water fountain. And, yes, water does evaporate, but it doesn't when the car is idling because it's not hot enough.

By the way, I figured the problem out, and got the sound back. I use my car for going to university, and the drive to school is about 6 minutes, so I barely even heat up the exhaust long enough to evaporate any excess water. And when I park the car at my school it's still cold, and it sits for 3 hours, and when class is done, the car is still cold. So basically when I start the car more water gets trapped in the exhaust.

So I guess for the past month that I've been going to school, a crap load of water accumulated up in my exhaust, causing it to muffle the sound. So the other day, I took my car for a 25 minute drive, and as the temperature gauge started rising, the sound started coming back strong. By the time my temp gauge reached in the middle, I guess every single drop of water got evaporated.

But that's lame, does that mean I have to drive my car and heat it up every 3 days or so (to get rid of any excess water in the exhaust)?...

And another thing, why is so much water coming out from the downpipe? Is water getting into my engine or something?

Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Modified by Jagstang at 12:07 PM 9/27/2009

[Dazzla]

It still doesn't sound right...but it does kinda make sense lol

[Elbowblk]

the question is... why is there soo much water in your exhaust system.

[justclay]

How much rain do you have where you are, how far out does your exhaust tip sit, and do you garage it at home? Is there a parking garage at school?

Maybe you have a motor swap with one of those new hydrogen motors (their emissions is water).

[Jagstang]

How much rain do you have where you are, how far out does your exhaust tip sit, and do you garage it at home? Is there a parking garage at school?

Maybe you have a motor swap with one of those new hydrogen motors (their emissions is water).

Hey, thanks for your reply, now to answer your questions.

Where I live, it rains a lot during the winter, but during the month that I've been driving it lightly (September) it barely even rained much. The exhaust tip sits out by about 1" past the bumper. And no, I don't garage it, it sits out in the driveway at home (and the school in an open parking lot).

About your theory on the motor swap, no sorry, it's a bone stock KA24DE engine.