A performance muffler is a compromise between sound suppression and power. Standard mufflers cause back pressure, but performance mufflers provide multiple inlets for gases and sound. Car owners have different preferences, but performance mufflers can be expensive. Flowmaster has developed a performance muffler that reduces noise while providing more power and less back pressure.
In a sense, the term “performance muffler” is almost an oxymoron. “Silencer” or “silencer” in the UK, refers to sound suppression, but that’s a secondary consideration in a performance environment. The same things that a muffler does to reduce noise are also factors that can keep a car from being all it can be in terms of power. So a performance muffler is basically a compromise between the two extremes.
In a standard muffler, the exhaust gas stream and sound waves enter a central chamber containing a set of perforated tubes. These tubes delay and deflect sound waves into two competing vibrations that essentially cancel each other. The result, if all goes well, is a whisper instead of a roar.
The problem is that this single point of entry sometimes causes a back up of exhaust, much like the traffic delay just before a tunnel. That’s called “back pressure,” and it’s what a performance muffler is designed to eliminate. One way to do this is to provide multiple inlets for gases and sound, a “continuous flow” technology that allows freer passage for the former while dealing with the latter.
There are roughly three classifications of car owners when it comes to mufflers. Some want as little scandal as possible and are actually quite concerned about violating noise ordinances in their communities. Others like the healthy growl of a less-restricted performance muffler, while custom car owners don’t care how loud it is.
In fact, that macho growl is a selling point for many factory mufflers. Some advertisers compare it to music. Performance manufacturer MagnaFlow’s website, meanwhile, even has a feature where you can type in the make of car you own and hear in a sound file what it would sound like with a performance muffler underneath.
Then there’s Flowmaster, who have developed a performance muffler that is touted as the best of both worlds: more power and less back pressure, but greatly reduces noise. This is accomplished with electronic sensors that keep the muffler “in tune” and more tightly regulate the device that manipulates the sound waves inside the muffler. The result is generally slightly higher than a factory muffler, but still well below the range required by most municipal codes.
As might be expected, performance mufflers don’t come cheap. They are usually part of a complete performance exhaust system, which means the pipes and stock muffler have to be cut to make room. Furthermore, such systems, like most custom parts, have a wide range of prices, from $500 US Dollars (USD) to over $3,000 USD.
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