Would drilling a hole BEFORE the muffler and after the X-pipe add more tone/sound better?
Was also considering cut outs but that was a no go, friend at the muffler shop told me its to obnoxious and I would get way to much attention from the cops.
__________________
1998 3.8L, K&N air filter, Silencer removal, True dual exhaust flowmaster 40s. Two kicker 12s. Magnaflow X-pipe. Done with the v6, saving up for the LS1 this summer.
No, don't do that. if you want to be louder, look for louder exhaust. I'm sure you could get a little more sound with some SLP Loudmouth resonators.
And, you can do cut offs and make it to where you're not loud all the time. Flowtech makes some cutouts you can get from Summit that you weld on to you pipes, and they have a cover over the cutout opening that can be removed or put back on at any point.
No, don't do that. if you want to be louder, look for louder exhaust. I'm sure you could get a little more sound with some SLP Loudmouth resonators.
And, you can do cut offs and make it to where you're not loud all the time. Flowtech makes some cutouts you can get from Summit that you weld on to you pipes, and they have a cover over the cutout opening that can be removed or put back on at any point.
Is there a middle ground with the cut outs? Like wide open will draw way to much attention, any way I could leave them half on half off or somthing, I just want my car louder, its way to droney right now.
__________________
1998 3.8L, K&N air filter, Silencer removal, True dual exhaust flowmaster 40s. Two kicker 12s. Magnaflow X-pipe. Done with the v6, saving up for the LS1 this summer.
Is there a middle ground with the cut outs? Like wide open will draw way to much attention, any way I could leave them half on half off or somthing, I just want my car louder, its way to droney right now.
well if you don't want it that loud then you should just stick with an offroad mid-pipe and the catback you have. you could always hack off your tailpipes and dump the exhaust right when it exits the muffler.
around here though, to pass inspection you have to have tailpipes past the rear axle.
1998 3.8L, K&N air filter, Silencer removal, True dual exhaust flowmaster 40s. Two kicker 12s. Magnaflow X-pipe. Done with the v6, saving up for the LS1 this summer.
In TX, the exhaust just has to exit the body if it doesn't have to go past the rear axle.
That's why the side exit exhaust is legal.
Depending on the current location of your mufflers, you might want to move them forward (toward the engine), then have a custom fab side exit exhaust made.
To make it look cleaner, you may want to get sideskirts that were made for the side exit, or fab them yourself if you're good with fiberglass.
If you want a REALLY cheap way of making your Mustang louder, do what I did.
Open the yellow pages up in the phone book.
Look under Mufflers or Exhaust
Take a big black marker and cross out every chain-store you see
Look for the mom-n-pop garage, and give them a call
Ask them how much a glasspack would be
Schedule an appointment
I asked around and I got 50/50 reviews on glasspacks. They are loud, but not obnoxiously loud. They don't sound like Flowmaster 40's OH NO, but they do have a decent rumble and a nice low tone. To the undiscerning ear, they do sound a tad ricey, but that can be fixed easily. Very easily.
Do not drill any holes- the insides of those pipes are more susceptible to rot and decay than the outsides. However, if you REALLY MUST drill holes, spray high-temp cold-galvanization coating over the hole. Don't drive it for a day so that this stuff settles well. That'll prevent most rot, but it still happens.
If you drill holes, do it smart. One hole on the side will sound like crap. Keep everything symmetric. Do not. I repeat DO NOT go linear. Linear sounds ricey as all hell because pressures differ and you get that "Rummmm rum rum rum rum zing zing zing" sound when you slow down. Do a spider-web pattern found on machine-gun shrouds. Lol. That's sound nice.
But that's only if you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to drill- I still recommend against it.
Or, if you want to spend 0$ and 0 cents, loosen the clamp at the cat, push the system forward, and reclamp it. (if nothing was welded, this works) Depending on the header and cat style, you may have a gap between the bottoms of the pipes. This will sound REALLY low because of the high pressure and ovular gap. Except, you'll get nailed for a loud exhaust.
If you really really really don't care, rip everything off after the cats or header ends. Put everything in your garage and drive around like that. Emissions time? Throw it back on. Oh wait- we forgot about cops. Throw some rotted tubing in your trunk, so when you get pulled over you can say, "It just fell off, I'm scheduling an appointement tomorrow." It also helps to have that page from the yellow pages (remember the one you blacked out), torn out and laying on the seat next to you. That works well, I've heard. 90% you'll get a warning. Police aren't stupid- They have fun too. Just don't over rev and they won't pull you over.
The only times any of my friends have been pulled over for loud exhaust, they were pulled over for something else first. Like speeding. Or and out taillight.
I'm going to run outside and look at my cats, certain tool I need for that? I was thinking about just cutting them off and clamping a pipe back in but everyone says that soudns like crap on a v6.
Yea the (cats) are welded not clamped
__________________
1998 3.8L, K&N air filter, Silencer removal, True dual exhaust flowmaster 40s. Two kicker 12s. Magnaflow X-pipe. Done with the v6, saving up for the LS1 this summer.
OK so no drilling then lol.
I'm going to run outside and look at my cats, certain tool I need for that? I was thinking about just cutting them off and clamping a pipe back in but everyone says that soudns like crap on a v6.
Yea the (cats) are welded not clamped
I'm not saying NO DRILLING AND THAT'S FINAL. It's your car and your exhaust system. If you're careful, you can do a really great job and it's work fine and sound great. Most people rush in with a 1/2" drill bit and turn the thing into swiss cheese. You have to plan. And, you should have a spare patch kit laying around in your car if a police officer pulls you over. But like I said, unlikely unless you're speeding or something.
Clamps are supposed to make exhaust pieces simpler to install and reusuable, right? Well, they sorta do. But remember that a clamp egg-shapes the tubing. You'll only have a few chances before it's too late.
Do what YOU think sounds good. Before my exhaust system fell off on Halloween a couple months ago, the cat was leaking at the connection. It sounded AWESOME, but some people made faces because it did have a 'ricey' sound from a distance.
Keep the cats. Backflow is a touchy subject. Some engines need it and others don't. Ricers have those giant pipes that reduce backflow beyond the "advantage zone." Too little back flow is not good. However, vacuuming out exhaust is good in some apps. There's an advantage and disadvantage to every scenario. Racecars have next to 0 backflow. Technically, the only way to have no backflow is to remove the headers totally and vacuum out the exhaust.
I'm not saying NO DRILLING AND THAT'S FINAL. It's your car and your exhaust system. If you're careful, you can do a really great job and it's work fine and sound great. Most people rush in with a 1/2" drill bit and turn the thing into swiss cheese. You have to plan. And, you should have a spare patch kit laying around in your car if a police officer pulls you over. But like I said, unlikely unless you're speeding or something.
Clamps are supposed to make exhaust pieces simpler to install and reusuable, right? Well, they sorta do. But remember that a clamp egg-shapes the tubing. You'll only have a few chances before it's too late.
Do what YOU think sounds good. Before my exhaust system fell off on Halloween a couple months ago, the cat was leaking at the connection. It sounded AWESOME, but some people made faces because it did have a 'ricey' sound from a distance.
Keep the cats. Backflow is a touchy subject. Some engines need it and others don't. Ricers have those giant pipes that reduce backflow beyond the "advantage zone." Too little back flow is not good. However, vacuuming out exhaust is good in some apps. There's an advantage and disadvantage to every scenario. Racecars have next to 0 backflow. Technically, the only way to have no backflow is to remove the headers totally and vacuum out the exhaust.
But, I'd leave the Cats on. Thomasusmc is right.
Thanks for all the help man, but how would I go by the actaul drilling. I def. understand that if I miss it up it could end up costing me more money then what it would if I just bought new mufflers . Basically I'm asking is there like a "THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT" thing with drilling holes?
__________________
1998 3.8L, K&N air filter, Silencer removal, True dual exhaust flowmaster 40s. Two kicker 12s. Magnaflow X-pipe. Done with the v6, saving up for the LS1 this summer.
Basically I'm asking is there like a "THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT" thing with drilling holes?
Ummm. As much as I'd like to help with that, there's no definite answer. The sound a ported pipe makes depends on MANY things:
1) Pressure in the cylinders
2) RPMS
3) Cylinder size
4) Air intake
the list keeps going and going
I have a glasspack system on my Mustang. It is loud. Very loud. But I don't allow the sound to resonate and annoy people. That, and I live in a very rural community. We have 1 resident trooper and staties randomly about.
So, if you REALLY want to drill, you need to consider a few things.
1) What diameter is the pipe you are looking to drill?
Too small of a hole will make the exhaust sound very tinny and high frequency.
I'm actually working on a design for a piece that will eliminate drilling AND be totally reversible in 2 seconds or less. If the patent goes through, just buy it lol...
So, anyways... You have to remember that high-frequency sounds (the tinny ones) are going to be jumping around like hell in that exhaust pipe. Small holes will block the low frequencies more than the high frequencies.
A large hole will allow more of both to escape.
Too large a hole will defeat the purpose.
I recommend (kinda) if you're going to drill holes, make them ported. Start small, and work out getting larger. This will reduce the amount of high-frequency sound waves escaping.
Think of it like this: You have 100 ping pong balls and 1 bowling ball. You have a long hallway. There are doors on both sides. If you roll the bowling ball down the hall, he's not gonna go in any of the doors. You need to have the doors pull him in. If you chuck the ping-pong balls down the hallway, they're going to go in the doors at some time or another. Also, remember that everything is moving at mach1. Lol
To make the porting allow for the low frequency sounds, you'll need to think about how porting works in general. It's just a relief of pressure.
Make tear-drop shaped holes. And make sure to angle them in the direction of the flow. This may seem hard because the pipe material is thin. But you CAN do it and it WILL make a difference.
The thing is, when you FLOOR IT, your floor will shake. Sound waves press against the floor with a definite frequency. At some point or another, they will reinforce one another (like resonance), and the floor will shake.
That, and your exhaust will be directionless. Porting at an angle helps change that a bit. Limit the amount of holes and it will be unnoticable.
Wanna test that? I want you to listen to the song Pushit by Tool. Turn up your speakers REALLY high. Open an equalizer and put all leftmost frequencies to 0, basically turning off ALL bass. Now, stand up, and spin around slowly. Notice that you can HEAR where the sound is coming from. (duh). Ok. Now, do the opposite; turn the treble to 0 and the bass to 100%. NOW try to listen where it's coming from. You still can, but it's harder. This is because bass is more concussive- you feel it. Hence the tear-drop angled porting.
Why do I know this? I play paintball, and I studied fluid mechanics a little. In paintball, the barrels are ported to quiet them and to reduce the pressure from blowing the ball in a weird direction when it leaves the barrel. Angled, spiraled, tear-drop porting works THE BEST. All you hear is a "womp" sound. That's the low frequency. Proof. The teardrop shape absorbs the high-frequency sounds.
Except, if you spiral the porting too much, your Mustang will sound like the world's largest zipper. I'm not kidding. Instead of spiraling the porting, alternate heights. Just make it look like a zig-zag if you connect the dots..
I'm making a picture of this right now. It'll be done soon. The server is too busy to upload it right now.
Exhaust, cheap way to sound better... 
. Basically I'm asking is there like a "THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT" thing with drilling holes?
