Dan Fearnley

I've just had a full custom exhaust put on my civic coupe. Its same diameter all the way through, with a de-cat pipe. Its a twin exit pipe and the full system is made from Stainless Steel. The problem i'm having with it, is that the exhaust seems 'raspy'? I don't mind it being loud, as its got a pretty nice sound to it apart from that, but any suggestions as to whether it will get less raspy or am I going to have to take it back, as its not what I wanted

Loco Honkey

The sound, for the most part, is determined by the muffler. Not having a cat or resonator doesn't help any.

ejprimo

cheapo= 'raspy'

its most likely your muffler.

Dan Fearnley

Its got 2 4.5" Mufflers (one either side). Also, its not a cheap exhaust, best part of $650. Is there any chance it will become less raspy, or should I get it changed?

BlackDeuceCoupe

^^^ Gotta agree with the above ^^^

Buy a GOOD muffler, aka 'axle back', and your 'noise' problem will go away.

This isn't to say that spending MORE MONEY will necessarily make a difference. Some very expensive mufflers have that 'angry bumble bee' sounds as well. I suggest you do a search. There are several threads, like this, asking what the quietest muffler is.

Too bad you've done all this work for not, but that's life...

Dan Fearnley

i wasn't sure if it was just mine. The people who make these custom exhausts are some of the best, if not the best in the country, so its unlikely to be down to their workmanship? Other than changing the mufflers, any other suggestions?

BlackDeuceCoupe

Yeah, and everyone goes to the 2nd/3rd/4th best school in the city/state/country - take your pick - doesn't mean ****...

You have one of those systems that sounds like you're driving around in a two-stroke, and it's probably embarrassing as hell, right? You need to change the muffler. I suppose you could have them install a resonator, but that's just a band-aid and will only serve to remove some of the 'sting.'

You have two choices; live with it or deal with it. If it was me, and I paid out that kind of money, I'd be back there telling them to make it right or give me my money back. Tell 'em you didn't pay $600+ for a custom exhaust system, just to have it sound like a $20 Cherry Bomb from Pep Boys...

JaeOne3345

i dunno. i have a full catback fireball very deep, low and moderately quiet, i have the stock cat. not raspy at all. ive been pulled over before and cops even mention how quiet it is for "one of those kinda exhaust".

i have friend with the same fireball MUFFLER, who got custom piping the same diameter, but didnt have any resonators put in like that of the catback and they are just annoyingly loud and raspy, i cant deal with that sound.

Loco Honkey

Mmmm.... I disagree. Resinators do help quite a bit, and it's not really a bandaid when every aftermarket exhaust manufacturer, not to mention Honda itself, incorporates resinators into their designs. A cat eill also go quite a ways towards muffling the sound, and I've yet to hear compelling evidence in support of removing a cat for performance.

BlackDeuceCoupe

Agreed! As a matter of fact, I was BS'ing with the parts department manager at my Honda dealer, and he told me that he ran his hatch around without a cat for a couple of years. He said he had recently put it back on and couldn't believe how much more power he had on the low-end; night 'n' day difference.

That's anecdotal evidence, I suppose, but I've never seen anyone offer substantiated proof that removing a cat actually increases horsepower. I suspect there is zero lose with a high-performance cat, or maybe even some measurable gain, but who knows?