Open headers vs any muffled system

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Kevin Jonker

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It seems no one can agree on which muffler design sounds best. Do most of us agree that open headers sound awesome? I have never had a open headered race car go idling by at a drag strip and heard people say, boy i wish they'ed get some mufflers on that thing... Or when a rod rumbles by with the roadster headers open at a car show that peoples heads turn away in digust, rather they turn toward the sound. Or when a top fuel car fires in the pits and raps the throttle that people run the other way, I generally see them run toward the sound. It seems we REALLY like a V8 with that sound. What say you?
 
You'll end up with a headache pretty quickly with just open headers. I put a set of glasspacks 2 1/2 rite off the headers then a turndown rite after the headers sort of purple hornie style. In the car it sounded like total crap untill you got it above 3,000 rpm then it started sounding real good in car. out side of the car it sounded great all the time. Everyone seemed to think I had some hot motor in the car meanwhile it was just a little 318. I could drive for about 30 minutes before the combination of exhaust fumes and noise gave me a nice headache.


I think a better alternative might be to run 3" pipe off the headers run it through a glasspack then angle it out rite behind the door. Fumes would be a lot better and i think interior sound wouldn't be as hard on the ears. but would still have that loud roar and sound open headers have.
 
mufflers? what are mufflers? LOL! I run through our town most all the time with open headers on the duster....never been pulled over for it either....thats one advantage of livin in a small country town. Most folks tell me they love to hear me rumble through the local burger joint. I have exhaust cut-outs, so if it does get to loud after a period of time, I just flip a switch and close them.
 
I was running just pipe off my headers and got sick of it after a couple trips down the freeway I put some crappy turbo mufflers on (they were cheap) but I will eventually throw some glass packs and have it dump down just in front of the axle
 
I like to be able to talk to a passenger lol so I put a set of magna flows on nice low thump during cruising but put your foot in it and have had many people ask if it had a big block.
 
Spoke to a guy that build headers, won't bother putting a link to his shop because every time I do the only thing people do is ***** about his prices. Anyhow, he told me that if you tell him what size diameter pipes and use mufflers that he suggests your exhaust will not cost you any power, provided of course you use his services......he uses a software of called pipes or something of that nature to figure out header tube diameters etc....I think this is the software....http://www.maxracesoftware.com/
 
I guess my question is, does anyone not like the sound of open headers? If you had the option of having both open and closed exhaust would you be for it? I know about the electric exhaust cutouts, but they still don't deliver a true open header sound. They sound better then mufflers, but still flow part way through the exhaust pipe and have a natural flow restriction when closed, (hitting the butterfly).
 
Can't say I don't like them lol also if you do put pipes on no need to go bigger than 2.5" unless your running around 400 up HP
 
When I first put the stroker into the non-carpet fish I hated the niose. Car ran 7.25 open header. ordered a generic 3" X-pipe and a set of flow 40's and had them put on. Car sounded a lot better but still had raspynedd. Ran 7.20 that way. Had a pair of 8" long 3" cherrybombs between the flows and the dumps and it took the raspyness away sounding a lot better. Car ran 7.18

You can add sound deadening and probably add power. We'll see how the drag Demon does as the exhaust behind the collectors will probably not fit. May put a 14" cherrybomb on after a bit of 3" pipe with side exits in front of the rear wheels.
 
I have cut outs on the gtx and NEVER bolt the caps on them, have had many cops tell me how nice it sounds. I worried about it when i first got it but not any more.
 
i have a 318 in my 4x4 and i have to run my exhaust down the passanger side to avoid the gas tank but mine is open right now as its at the shop for a crappy running issue i cant for the life of me figure out. there are tricks you can do tho, i had a ford truck with a 302 and a 5 spd and had the cats gone and 2.5 back a bit for back pressure into a 3 inch pipe, 3 inch cherry bomb extreme ( wing plate design youll never burn it out) and out a 3 inch exhaust and it sounded liek a race car with just one pipe everyone thought i had 500 horse in that truck even outdid most big block duals in exhaust note at idle, 2500 rpm ( my 65 cruising speed) and at wot. i had a 67 corny and i was gonna do headers 2.5 into the h pipe into the 3 inch cherrys and out in front of the back wheels for a 3 inch exit and painted tips to look powercoat. another great thing is with the cherry if you have a maual and you push the clutch in after blipping it itll crackle, or if you go above 2500 in an auto and let off quickly itll crackle. i love the sound :D howver open headers do get really loud and girls for some reason like to hear themeselves talk hahaha
 
personally i think open headers sound good for about 5 min,then they get old real fast.right now ive got a 3" xpipe with race bullets and full 3" tail pipes.the last 20" of the tail pipe is removable and interchanges with a set of stainless resonators i built.the resonators have a 2.5 core. i drive it most of the time with the resonators installed,and trust me its plenty loud that way.and without them installed it gets much deeper and more aggressive.you can still carry a conversation running down the highway,but wide open is a different story lol.id also be willing to bet the car runs faster with the exhaust system installed,even with the extra weight.
 
I'm not a fan of open headers. I liked them when i was younger, but now hearing them so often at the drag strip, i tend to find open headers to be more annoying than most(not all) of the 4cyl cars.
 
One of the best trips of my life was driving the 25 or so miles to the muffler shop with my open headers just after getting the 416 done. I couldn't stop smiling and blipping the throttle the whole way. Sounded great.

When I first started it after it was done an older gentleman from down the street came up the driveway a short time later. I thought he was going to be annoyed and start yelling but instead he asked if I could start it back up. When I did I swear he looked like he was a little kid smiling with his fists clenched just almost giddy. He liked how it sounded.
 
Here in the next couple of months I'll be installing the TTI x-pipe and mufflers. Currently the car has TTI 440-200 headers and Car Chemistry 3.5x3x10 polished header mufflers, 3 disk style but no baffles installed. Its pretty loud and nearly unbearable in any redlight scenario, but it does turn some heads.A few months ago I had a pack of 5 harleys a few cars in front of me, soon they started looking around to see what was drowning them out........... :)

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0KjSMXDxRA&feature=share&list=UUn6qQtptakuVFLo-wxLVVmw"]68 Dart 440 - YouTube[/ame]
 
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