Exhaust Question.. how to not be TOO loud with headers??

[nevrenuf]

I'm ready to order headers, etc. I'm told by numerous folks on this board that corsa tracks are the quietest pipes but that once you add high flow cats and headers, the noise is extreme..

My goal is least restrictive exhaust without too much noise.. I want headers, high flow cats, and nice exhaust.. with reduction of sill heat if possible.

Headers : I'm told B&B is the same as "billy boat".. i.e. 1-3/4" 5 into 1 headers.. best for road racing and general use. I'm also told the Belanger headers are better for drag racing.

Hi Flow Cats and Crossover elimination.. : adds noise .. is the power worth it?

Pipes.. Corsa seems to be the favorite..

SOOOO, the question is.. how to maximize power without being so noisy I wake every cop in the county?????

Thanks in advance..

T

 

[SilverSnake]

I would suggest you talk to Lou at belanger before you buy an exhaust system. I had the belanger system on my srt and loved it. But it's loud, They have a quiter system also available. The belanger's headers are stock equipment on all competion coupes and used buy most of the winning teams.

Robert

 

[Viper X]

I've been down this road too many times lately. Here's my opinion, for what it's worth.

1) Corsa Track = too loud for headers / high flow cats, but great with stock headers / cats.
2) Billy Boat (B & B) step headers 1 5/8 into 1 3/4 will produce more power / torque than the Belanger setup, but will drone without a crossover.
3) Belangers, less hp / tq, very loud, but no drone.
4) If you want quiet, keep the crossovers. B & B has a full 3 inch exhaust system with crossovers. After much time and research, I'll probably end with this set up as I have their headers and love the power.
5) Every time I reduced back pressure (Corsas, headers, h/f cats and mufflers) cabin / sill temp went down.
6) There are some very effective coatings available for headers / exhaust pipes than can reduce exhaust pipe temps 150 to 200 degrees. These coating can save things like your clutch fluid (headers) and your back (crossovers). I have coated both and found the coatings to be very effective at reducing temps.

Good luck,

Dan

 

[SilverSnake]

Belanger headers are a tri-y design, They will allways produce more torque than a open collecter design.
The B&B's primaries are not equal length either.

 

[corseviper]

I'm looking into the same setup.
But am wondering with the Corsa Track having 6 cylinders going to each pipe, does it ruin the sound. I know it's
louder but does it sound like a straight six?

 

[Viper X]

Six cylinders into each pipe????

 

[corseviper]

Oops, I meant 5 cylinders. I guess it was wishful thinking
when I hit the 6 key.

 

[Kai SRT10]

I would suggest you talk to Lou at belanger before you buy an exhaust system. I had the belanger system on my srt and loved it. But it's loud, They have a quiter system also available. The belanger's headers are stock equipment on all competion coupes and used buy most of the winning teams.

Robert

Used by most of the winning teams? Maybe so, but not Tommy Archer's Comp Coupe. The folks who prepare Archer's car are not big fans of Belanger headers. The only off the shelf headers they like are the Billy Boats. Talk to the guys at 3R or West Coast Viper and you'll find a strong preference for Billy Boat. Look at the custom race headers from RSI, Hen es ey, and other serious tuners. They are 5 into 1 stepped headers, like the Billy Boats.

If you go with headers and eliminate the crossover, it's going to be loud. I did that, and it was much louder than I wanted it to be. It was crazy loud. To tone it down, I put Vortex cones in the exhaust ahead of the cats. This quieted the car down a lot. It is still louder than stock, but it isn't obnoxious, and my wife and I can carry on a conversation in normal speaking tones during normal driving, even with the top up and windows down (the most noisy combination.) With the top down, the car quite quiet, with the exhaust sound barely noticeable under normal driving conditions.
However, at about 3300 rpm, it starts to get very loud again. By 5000 rpm, it's sounding like a F1 car. I need earplugs for track sessions, where I'm revving the car above 3000 constantly.
For me, it is perfect as it is. Pretty calm during normal driving, and really wild when I'm driving wild.
This car is not just a track toy. It's my preferred daily driver when the weather is good. I've got over 13,000 miles on the car in less than a year. I've driven it on long road trips. I'm still not tired of the exhaust note.

That said, you may not have the same taste in sound that I have. If you want to go with a quieter sound, I would take Viper X's advice and get Billy Boat's crossover set up. Either that, or just add the headers and keep the stock crossover. If they really have solved the cabin heat issue in the newer cars, then one of the main reasons for getting rid of the crossover is now moot.

If it were me, and I wanted the power, slightly more agressive sound, and not too much noise, I'd start with just the B&B headers and stock exhaust. You know you want the headers, so start with them, and then take it 1 step at a time.

 

[VENOMUS]

I am in the process of having my exhaust modified. I am having the Corsa track exhaust installed, removing the secondary cat, eliminating the cross over and keeping the stock headers. Can anyone comment how the end product of this setup would be. I don't want the car nasty loud during normal driving conditions but I would prefer it louder when I get into it.

Is there a better way to go? Thanks

 

[PhoenixGTS]

Thought I would make some comments. I have known Jerry and Lou Belanger for years (know Billy Boat too and boy howdy are those two very different operations) so when I got a Gen II Viper I had Lou do a total exhaust. I told Lou I wanted cats and I wanted it as quiet as possible, so he took stock cats and converted them to have 3" inlets and outlets, and built the system with four of the Magnaflow 18" mufflers (one in the sill and one in the back on each side) plus a crossover pipe out back. Lou's comment was that he was worried it would be too quiet and I would be coming back and asking him to take two of the mufflers out. Well the thing is crazy stupid loud as far as I am concerned. Workmanship and design are outstanding, but what I learned is that exhaust guy's description of quite and loud are very skewed and you need to listen to systems yourself. I honestly think that there are only two ways to keep the car quiet: 1) go with smaller piping; or 2) go with a muffler that actually changes the flow of the exhaust gasses. I believe Magnaflow makes a twin 3" in and twin 3" out muffler that might work out back and really help. Of course it would not be a true straight-through 3" system, but it would be nice to be able to hear the stereo. Thanks for listening to a Gen II guy's comments about loud exhausts. You just have to find real world examples and listen to them, or you are going to be surprised.

 

[AllBlack]

Mepop -

That is the exact setup I have right now. The corsa exhaust was just too quiet with all the cats and no headers, so I took out the secondary cats. It gave the note a much deeper, throatier, sound and its much louder. I'm kinda nuts so this still isnt loud enough for me. I plan to get headers as well, but I'm sure the corsa without cats will be sufficient for most. When I ask my friends to stand outside the car and tell me how it sounds when I rev it, they usually jump because they are so suprised and startled. I also set off some alarms when just crusing by, and if I'm in a parking lot with a roof, I've set off 5-10 alarms at once just drivin by. I love it.