Roller_Toaster

iTrader: (1)

Well, I wanted a little more "sound" from the toaster. Under hard acceleration, it already had a very pleasing growl from the intake/header combo, but I just wanted the tiniest agressive exhaust note.

I called up my local fabricator (dimartino fabrication), and talked to him for a bit, and he recommended a vibrant resonator, saying that he used them all the time. Quite a few of the cars around here run Dimartino custom exhausts, and they all sound amazing.


So, I ordered a vibrant ultra quiet resonator (not what he recommended, I accidentally clicked the wrong thing when ordering), and was suprised how small it was when it arrived.

Still, I hoped for the best, and took the car to him, as well as my camera, and my rode shotgun mic.

Immediately, he told me I had the wrong thing, and that it would be a little loud. (We did NOT take into account that the other xb2's he had worked with all had an OEM header, and how it would effect the sound).

After some great fab work from andrew, everything was ready to bolt back up.

He got it down off the lift started her up...and we both looked at each other....then burst out laughing.

It sounded HORRIBLE (NOTE: it did sound great from 1-3k rpm...as long as you stayed under 1/2 throttle, lol). It was ridiculously loud, and anything over 3k rpm (even simply revving in neutral) was insanely raspy. When I say insanely...I mean it.

I drove it the 22 miles back to my apartment, got inside, called andrew...and asked him when he was free to put the scuba back in.

He gracefully obliged, saying "maybe if you had gotten TWO of those resonators...the rasp would be gone...maybe". He was still doubtful that it would be gone, as bad as it was.

Ive ridden in a LOT of performance cars..but...the xb just resonated the already raspy tone that it was emitting outside, to the inside of the cabin!

On the highway, it was a nightmare. Anything over 1/2 throttle..and I could barely hear the stereo.

Anyway, on to some pictures and video!

EDIT: Waiting for photobucket to upload them, I will post them in here as soon as they are done!


I didn't rev the car over 3k, or over 1/3 throttle in the video...but let me put it to you this way. My fiancee (who was home when I brought the car in) came outside to tell me that some crappy civic with a huge fartcan must have just driven by, until I pulled around the back to the parking lot. She just started laughing, and all I could do was give her the "well..this was a mistake" face .

BiteXb

How much did all that work cost you?

Shadezz

iTrader: (1)

Somethings are just trial and error.....Hopefully you can find a happy solution for XB!!

VENisME

So true ^^^

FromTheOld

Basically, what you should have knew before even installation is that a muffler equal in size to the scuba-tank that is straight through (perforated core) will be a decent bit louder already.....but replacing it with a small straight through muffler? It's going to sound like garbage. Most people don't really understand this concept though, yet it's very simple.

pierre_tec

^^ so maybe you can solve my problem, what can be a good replacement for the scuba, equally in sound( stock)

FromTheOld

Look for something similar in size that uses good quality packing (Steel Wool + Fiberglass, Steel Wool, Advantex....just not a pure Fiberglass composition). Perhaps even bigger because chances are, the design you're going to be using is still going to be more free-flowing than the stock Scuba tank.

Roller_Toaster

iTrader: (1)

The point of this was to inform everyone who keeps asking about scuba replacements, what happens when you replace the scuba with a straight through resonator (and have an aftermarket header).

The thing is, the vibrant ultra quiet is KNOWN to work in applications like these, as it is specifically designed to provide a huge amount of "muffling" in a small package. It is also well known for killing rasp. Unfortunately, with only one, and the cat in the header gone...well..there is only so much it could do.

Trying to use a cheap glasspack, or something similar will probably produce even worse results.

After this, we came to the consensus that two of them probably would have done a decent job, but..honestly, I'm OK with the way it sounds with the scuba in.

http://vibrantperformance.com/catalo...products_id=45

^This is the resonator I used. I feel like if I had used 2, I could have achieved the sound I was looking for.

Anyway, on to the pictures/video!






Also, I was going on the basis that a moderate amount of the scuba itself was catalytic converter, not actual "muffler".

FromTheOld

Most encounters I've had with people using these mufflers is the same as yours....it doesn't do the job because it's too small. It uses good quality packing, but then again, so do some other mufflers. The real point I was trying to make is that there is no magical muffler, no matter how much the name/advertising tells you, that will muffle the sound equal to a much larger muffler (especially if it is a straight through design, where volume essentially determines how much muffling happens). Not to mention I don't like Vibrant because the mufflers they sell are pricey too....and for what? They don't muffle well cause they're too small.

If my tone sounds like I'm being offensive, I'm not trying to be.

Roller_Toaster

iTrader: (1)

Totally understand. They are small, but I have had the opposite experience. Minus my xb, there are at least 15 or more cars around (locally) using only vibrant resonators, that sound amazing (deep, throaty, clean), with zero rasp, and are not they typical "annoyingly loud" exhausts. They range from..mustangs, rx7's, sc300's, S4 etc.

I guess the point is, just realize that if you do take the scuba out, it will take a MASSIVE resonator to keep the sound tolerable.

I agree with fromtheold, make sure you understand the capacity of the resonator/muffler you plan on replacing the scuba with before you buy!

Didn't mean to start an argument with this thread, just wanted to let everyone learn from my mistake!

Here is a link to a build similar to mine (vibrant muffler at the back and ultra quiet resonator), but they used two ultra quiet resonators, like I wish I had. It seems to have worked perfectly!

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_artic...rformance.aspx

FromTheOld

I actually like Magnaflow Mufflers. They're relatively good composition (steel wool + fiberglass), availability of sizes (all types of lengths/diameters for round mufflers, and all types of lengths/heights/widths for oval mufflers), and overall cost efficiency (they're usually pretty cheap compared to other mufflers) is pretty awesome. But yeah, there's no argument here. Just pointing it out that a lot of people I see wonder why the car got louder when they replaced a MASSIVE baffled muffler with a small straight through muffler.

Roller_Toaster

iTrader: (1)

Soo, I've tried to embed the video every way I know how, with no luck.

Oh well. It was loud. And raspy.

flyingemu05

link to the video? and i think if you just use the url it embeds itself.

Roller_Toaster

iTrader: (1)

Edit: derp.

Roller_Toaster

iTrader: (1)

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Perhaps I'm being even more deaf than usual, but I didn't hear a problem with that clip. Perhaps the rasp is more apparent with rpm and load?

Roller_Toaster

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I know. I specifically DIDN'T rev over 2500 rpm, or use more than 1/3 throttle.

Doing either of those things produced the most horrible rasp....lord....it was awful. Unbearable.


I still feel that using two of them would have gotten the perfect sound that I wanted. Oh well, live and learn.

Let me put it this way...my fiancee heard me on the HIGHWAY when I was on the way back to our apartment, and I was just cruising.

xseveredveganx

Rear muffler delete has treated me well. I'll have to make a video of it when I get a minute.

vedlinyrim

how come you didnt just get a full catback system? isnt it bolt and go HP/Sound? Sounds good but did you lose HP? should try dyno it and see.

Roller_Toaster

iTrader: (1)

^ Andrew is renound for making amazing custom exhausts, and I have a weak spot for custom one off pieces.

He already made an axle back for me (which sounds amazing), and he just wanted to give it a try.