Harmonic pulsation / Vibration?????????
Sound IS vibration. While we think of sound as things we hear, sound waves go far above and below what we can hear.
When you are driving on the highway and you get that rhythmic vibe that seems to oscillate at different speeds as you are cruising depending on throttle position....I can't really explain it any better....
Shadango, if you really don't think it's your exhaust then what else is it? I've been through my entire drivetrain with a change to ss springs, spring seat relocation....no change...
Do you think oem manufacturers are just doing all this trick exhaust work for their health? They would not do it if it didn't work and it sure works on my Chrysler.
Yes, sound is created by way of vibration. Keep in mind that sound is the RESULT of vibration at a certain frequency. And not all vibration results in a sound, at least not one that is audible to humans.
Vibration can also be caused by numerous other mechanical issues.
Droning is a term used to describe a certain , steady and annoying vibration resulting in a soundwave that repeats over and over and over (resonates) to a point where , for human hearing, its annoying. The interior of a car tends to exacerbate this resonance, as it acts like a big speaker cabinet and gives the soundwaves somewhere to "gather" and makes the resultant resonance worse.
Soundwaves range from extremely high to extremely low.....an example of low would be a sub woofer....boom boom boom....a subwoofer needs an enclosure of some type to work the best, and the soundwaves are non-directional.
Hogher soundwaves (in the human range of hearing) are directional and need less of an enclosure to work.
The mufflers could very well be producing a "vibration"...in fact they are, since sound is vibration and the mufflers are acting like speaker cabinets to the exhaust pulses (small explosions), with the outlet of the muffler being kind of like a speaker.
But I still think we are talking about our cars having two different manifestations of vibration.
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From wikie:
Free vibration occurs when a mechanical system is set off with an initial input and then allowed to vibrate freely. Examples of this type of vibration are pulling a child back on a swing and then letting go or hitting a tuning fork and letting it ring. The mechanical system will then vibrate at one or more of its "natural
frequencies" and damp down to zero.
Forced vibration is when an alternating force or motion is applied to a mechanical system. Examples of this type of vibration include a shaking washing machine due to an imbalance, transportation vibration (caused by truck engine, springs, road, etc), or the vibration of a building during an
earthquake. In forced vibration the frequency of the vibration is the frequency of the force or motion applied, with order of magnitude being dependent on the actual mechanical system.
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I think exhaust induced vibration is the "free vibration" type whereas what I am talking about is more the "forced" type.
While I dont disagree that an exhaust can cause "vibration", I think the mainfestation of vibration it can induce is very different from the type of vibration I and the OP are experiencing.
Maybe your vibration IS caused by the exhaust. You should, then, swap the exhaust immediately to ANY other exhaust and your vibration should be gone or significantly changed. Let us know how that turns out. But suggesting that one particular brand is the cure for "vibration" is, I think, far too general of a statement. They may well have "droning" under control, but I siggest that droning is not the type of vibration we are talking about here.
Me, I have my doubts. Like I said, I have a major brand exhaust kit on my car....one that has been used by many people.....if this kit were to induce a chassis shaking vibration I am pretty sure that there are a lot of smarter people than you and I out there who would have called this to the attention of everyone by now and made a major fuss about it.
And that is just one brand (magnaflow).
what about the people who have other brands/configurations and still have vibration? So are ALL exhausts (besides spintech of course) faulty? LOL
In my 25 years or so of driving, I have never seen a vehicle have a vibration like I am talking about caused by an exhaust...and I have had a ton of different exhausts. It has always been caused by a mechanical issue.....out of balance wheel, bad tire, driveshaft out of balance, front end issues, engine, etc. I have checked for most of these issues and not found my issue....Like I said...would love to think mine was caused by muffler design.....I am frustrated...but I frankly feel that blaming my particular vibration on the mufflers or exhaust would be like blaming it on the type of seat belt I am running.
I am pretty sure that my vibration, and that of the OP , is a mechanical imbalance of some part(s)....just gotta figure out which.