NO MUFFLERS????

ROCKYTOP

Registered
Hey Gang!
O.K. Here's the question for all of you exhaust experts out there (gal's included, of course!):
At the car wash today a guy came in with a '98 Mustang with the 4.6 Liter Mill under the hood. It sounded real nice. Deep low, but not excessively loud rumble. Asked him to pump the throttle a couple of times so I could here how it sounded at different rev's. Had a sweet sound to it. Sort of reminded me of the old 351 Cleveland's with mellowtone muffler's (no I'm not getting old! just older!)
Anyhow, he had nice looking stainless steel tips welded to the end of the exhaust system. Funny thing! When I looked under the car there were'nt any mufflers in site! He said that all he had done was to have the mufflers removed but kept the catalytic converters on for enough back pressure for the engine! Claims that he had it done at a professional exhaust shop and that the shop claimed that the catalytic converters will last lots longer without the mufflers to restrict the rearward flow.
Also, the only thing added to this deal was replacing the mufflers with exhaust pipes conformed to the angles of the mufflers.
Anyone ever heard or seen this setup?? ....Jack....
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

I had straight pipes for a while. I really loved the sound.

I have read that you give up low end torque because of lack of back pressure. I ended up putting in Flowmaster 40 series. There are some great mufflers for sale from our Vendors. You need to check them out.
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

O.K. This may sound stupid (I get that way!), but when you guys put on the straight pipes, did you leave the catalytics on???? ..Jack..
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

Gads! My last post was idiotic! I'll rephrase it and ask if y'all had stright pipes from the exhaust manifolds all the way out to the rear bumper........ Hope this makes some sense!....... ..Jack..
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

Yes, I just had the mufflers taken out and straight pipe where they were. I did have the resonator taken out too.
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

Thanks! Wonder if it sounds anything like that Mustang 4.6 with no mufflers but with the catalytic's left on.
Do you hear much noise inside your Mark with the mufflers and resonator's removed? Does it have a deep/mellow tone with no Droning?
Just trying to get an idea of the end result. ..Tks! ..Jack.. :)
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

When I decided I wanted to add mufflers I went to a local shop and told them what I was looking for. He came out to my car and listened to what I had and said, people pay a lot of money to get that sound.

Was it to loud? Not for me. I think that you get a better sound when iddling with a good exhaust system than straight pipes.

I was unsure if I wanted to have straight pipes or not. I took my car to a muffler shop and had them cut the mufflers out. If I didn't like the sound I would have them install mufflers, if I did like the sound then I was ready to roll.

Try it without mufflers, it doesn't cost much to have them removed.

BTW, don't punch holes in the mufflers ;)
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

O.K. And thanks for the info.
I'm more worried about the back pressure without the mufflers and losing low end torque. Don't wanna do that, so I guess I'll have to decide on a pair of low restriction mufflers designed for this particular setup. ..Jack..
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

I just took the mufflers off my car yesterday. Now have a straight pipe with new SS tips that are oval, similar to the original. Awesome sound, and I didn't experience any loss of torque. If anything low end torque seems to have improved, haven't had a chance to run out to top end yet. Sounds louder on the road than it did on the rack at the muffler shop. I had replaced the OEM mufflers with SS Borla's. Even though you could look straight thru the muffler from one end to the other, it wasn't loud enough for me. Don't have that complaint now.

Lee
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

Lee,
Interesting! Would appreciate it if you would send some info on the tips (what brand, where to buy them, etc). Tks! ....Jack....
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

Hi Jack
Bought them at a local (San Antonio) muffler shop. I think they're made by Dynomax. He only stocks, Borla, Flowmaster, Dynomax, and had them displayed with his other products. Sorry I don't have more info.

Lee
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

Paul 95 & 98 VIII's 84 SVO 92 Vette,94 Bronco
The Black Cars
Lee,
Can you give me a phone number for the shop in S.A.? I like my stock tips, but want to run better exhaust and I think the factory tips might be a restriction.
Thanks
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

I apologize for taking so long to get back to you. I'll get their phone # later today, but unless you speak spanish it won't do you much good.
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

I just had to update this. Turns out that straight pipes are to loud for me on longer drives. Dynomax Magnum Race Bullets make it a lot nicer. Got them for about $32.oo at Summit Racing.
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

Hi All!
This is a follow-up to my original post above............
Went to my trusty muffler/exhaust shop and had both mufflers removed and straight pipes installed with "Anso" tips. After cranking her up and driving around town and on some highway's, I decided that this wasn't for me. Entirely too much howling (droning?) and the engine sounded more like a "Merlin" out of a P51 Mustang than a 4.8 liter V8. In fact it didn't sound at all like a V8 to me. The crew at the muffler shop were not surprised after they decyphered the way the exhaust system was engineered by Lincoln/Mercury.
Anyway I know some of you out there liked this sound, and I can appreciate the fact that we're all not the same, and I truly appreciated all of your replies.
The end result was actually experimental. My exhaust man, who's been in the business for over 40 years recommended installing an 18 inch glass pack that is designed and manufactured here in Arkansas.
After getting these glass packs and the tips installed, I had a hard time trying to get home after work. I just wanted to keep on driving my Mark. The sound is absolutely awesome. Not too loud, and a deep bellowing growl when you punch it. No tinny sounds either.
I don't have the capabilities with this computer to send a sound byte sample, but hope to do so in the future. By the way, the glass packs were only $18.00 each, and very well made.
Enough said! Thanks to all! Have a great day!
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

Hey Jack,

I am looking into doing something with my exhaust. Did you have the resonator removed when they did the glass packs? is there any drone?
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

John,
I had a 1991 Mazda Navajo (made by Ford, a 2dr Explorer in disguise) with the 4.0 V6. The catalytic converter stunk the exhaust up so bad that I had it removed. I gutted it out because I couldn't find anything that would connect or weld to the headers. I then had it remounted and welded to the exhaust and used the original coupling that goes to the headers.
I think that this droning sound everybody talks about must be what my exhaust sounded like after gutting out the catalytic. It's like a loud humming sound at different RPM's, and especially when the engine is under load. It gets so loud (did on the Mark also with the straight pipes) that you just about can hear somebody talking to you with the window's UP, even when pushing slightly on the throttl
I had a sound something like this when I went with removing the mufflers and replacing them with straight pipes on my Mark as described in the above thread.
The 18" glass packs made all of the difference in the world. It now has a deep sporty tone to it and doesn't blast you out of the car when you're cruising. There aren't any cracking sounds either. At idle it just has a low deep throaty tone, and a low growl when you lay a little on the throttle from a dead stop. As far as loudness goes, on a 1 to 10 scale, I'd rate it at about a 5. Not too loud, not too quiet, but makes heads turn.
Hope this helps. .... :)
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

Jack,

Thanks for the information. Did you just replace the factory mufflers or did you also have the resonator removed as well? What you described is the type of sound I am looking for. Something that just lets you know that there is a v8 in this car. I am doing a borla cat back system in the Escape in a few weeks and it should sound great. Low growl, but not overboard.
 
RE: NO MUFFLERS????

John,
If what you are referring to as the resonator, is it the piece that's mid-way in the exhaust (where double X pipes could be installed) and ahead of the mufflers? Actually I thought that this was the third catalytic convertor. If this is what you are referring to, I didn't have it removed. Just the mufflers which are at the extreme back end of the exhaust system. ....Jack....
 
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