I'm thinking of chopping off my resonator to achieve a little more air flow and a touch of growl. However a quick search shows a split opinion about wheither it's a nice throaty rumble or an annoying drone. Love to know what folks think who've tried it.

Thanks!

 

Make sure you get reports of how the noise is at different speeds.

I had an exhaust on another car that got a lot of complaints for its drone at 60-65 MPH, but since I usually only see those speeds for a short time while passing that range - I liked it!

 

It might be a lot to ask but I posted in the Sights and Sounds section to see if folks might actually take the time to record something and post it. Then we'll have emperical evidence to work with. Gotta love the internet....

 

I chopped the resonator off my last car and it was too much to deal with... I ended up just buying an aftermarket exhaust for it to smooth it out some. Borla makes a stainless exhaust that is supposed to be pretty nice. I can only imagine that twice as many cylinders might be twice as loud without a muffler...

If someone has done this, how did you route the exhaust after? Is it just dumping right there onto the floorboards? Seems like it would get rather hot.[:-]

 

I wouldn't bother doing this unless the "slight growl" is the only reason for it. If any part of your motivation is to achieve better exhaust flow (i.e., more power), it's not worth it. Freeing up horsepower via the exhaust is tough on these trucks. The manifolds are one of the most-restrictive parts of these systems so, short ofbolting on a set ofheaders,there's only so much you're going to get from post-manifold mods. That's not a suggestion to consider headers. Although they might increase HPin the higher RPM's,they'dprobably rob you of some low-end torque.....which the stock manifolds are prettygood at providing.

Keep in mind that the sound you get by removing the resonator will depend, in part, on the condition of your muffler. If it's an older unit, it could be rusted out on the inside and, therefore, a lot louder without the resonator.

If your flange bolts aren't too rusted, just unbolt the resonator pipe and see how you like the sound. If you decide that you'd like something in between, measure the resonator itself, find a round performance muffler similar in dimension (Gibson, etc.) and bring it to an exhaust shop. They can cut the stock resonator out of the tail piping and weld the aftermarket muffler in it's place.

 

I did mine 3 or 4 years ago cause it was in the way of my new rear bumper, and I am gla I did. No great improvement in power or anything but a nice mellow idle that stands out from others when we are all lined up and ready to run a trail.
Go for it,
Mike

 

All excellent points. I'll check the condition of bolts this weekend and see if I can do a test run, if not I'll go ahead and cut it off. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress. Thanks!