d16rice

My exhaust rattles like crazy between 2000 and 4500 rpm

Car:
1997 Civic hatchback (daily-driver)
Y7/Y8 mini-me engine
Exhaust:
4-2-1 headers (OBX-R)
Free flow Cat/resonator
2.25” mandrel bent mid section (Reactive)
CTR muffler

I had an OBX-R B-3 muffler w/silencer for the last 3 years
It had a deep and smooth tone, but as you can probably imagine, it was kind of loud.

This is my old exhaust.

I decided to go with something quieter, and since cops are giving tickets for aftermarket mufflers now, I went with CTR muffler.

After I took the OBX-R muffler off, I drove the car to a gas station. Aside from being obnoxiously loud, it had a horrible rattling sound between 2000 and 4500 rpm. I didn’t give it much though, because I figured it would go away once the muffler is on.

When I put the CTR muffler on, the car got a lot quieter, but the rattling (2K-4.5K rpm) remains.

The guy at the muffler shop said it might be the baffle inside the muffler, but (1) I shook the muffle pretty hard before putting it on to make sure there are no weird noises and it was fine, and (2) the same raspy noise at the same exact RPM was present when the muffle was off, too.

That's one of the resonators that I found.


I figure it might be the resonator, because the OBX-R muffler was nothing more than a big resonator with a silencer and it was fine.

Should I just get another resonator welded in or replace the whole mid-section?
Adding a resonator would cost $120-170 (50 for resonator + from 70 to 110 for labor).
New mid-section would cost 130-250 (aluminized vs stainless)
Even if I replace the mid section, how do I know if it won’t keep rattling?

MISFITofMAGIC

i would say if that is the problem then yes do weld it on and fix it. i hate rattles!

rdaggett

Get under the car and check to see if your gear shift linkage is hitting the piping ... also check to see if any of the welded/bolted braces that bolt to the car are rusted through and causing the piping to rattle on the frame or anything else under there ....

d16rice

The muffler itself is touching the car, causing a slight rattling noise at low rpm (500-800), but that's a separate issue, and although there's a lot of rust on the midsection, there doesn't seem to be a leek. Plus, if there was a leak, wouldn’t it get worse at higher rpm? Mine sounds beautiful at 4K-5K rpm.

What size/brand resonator should I look for?
And where should I put it? Should I weld it after the first resonator or right before the muffler?

Also, does any one know any good and inexpensive shops around 60148 area?

kX

cops are giving tickets now///
oh dear..

d16rice

This is getting of topic but it's not that they didn't before, but now even if the exhaust is relatively quiet, they still threaten people with tickets just because it’s not stock.

My question was what should I do?
What brand and what size resonator or even the whole mid section should I get?

kX

if i knew i would help but honestly i have no idea. if you really want it quiet you could always slap on the stock one again with a steel tip

d16rice

It's all good, and that’s pretty much what the CTR looks like.
The reason I didn’t go totally stock is because I do enjoy a deep growl more than a flat fizz.
Anyway, it’s not how loud it is, because the CTR exhaust does a wonderful job keeping it quiet. My intake is louder than my exhaust now, but as I said before, it’s the rattling noise that’s pissing me off.

built562

the rattling is resonance. its everything rattling in harmony at the same time. seriously...

so you need to either do a few things, get new rubber hangers, bend the metal hangers so the muffler does not touch anything else. basically tighten up the exhaust system. what i did was i put hose clamps around the rubber hangers to hold the exhaust piping tighter

blackbmagic

when i put my apexi n1 system on i had ratteling too from around 500-800 rpm i got under the car and figured out it was the rear heat shilds above the mid section...it started to rattle because i went to 2.25 inch piping..i would check that out there are heat sheilds in the front and the mid/rear of the car....thats most likely what its coming from...is so they come off real easy with a few bolts or just bedt the spots that are hitting

d16rice

My hangers seem kind of thick, but I'll try bending them anyway.
If my brother shows up with my digital camera, I'll take some pictures tomorrow.
Maybe you'll see something I'm not seeing.

kX

when i got mine on the guy at the muffler shop said i might have to trim some of my rear bumper off so the muffler wouldnt hit or rattle on the bumper. you could try that

EAT AT CULVERS

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MISFITofMAGIC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i would say if that is the problem then yes do weld it on and fix it. i hate rattles!</TD></TR></TABLE>

MiMiK

iTrader: (1)

when i had my exhaust done on my old hatch, there was this rattling sound that was coming from my exhaust a few months after i put it on.. to make a long story short, there was something inside my resonator that was bouncing around..it only happened between 2k-4k rpms... resonator was replaced(free because of warranty) and my problem was solved.