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Technical Is there any straight through muffler that is quiet ?

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by blazedogs, Jul 18, 2020.

  1. blazedogs
    Joined: Sep 22, 2014
    Posts: 539

    blazedogs
    Member

    Just installed fairly expensive straight through mufflers on the old Ford, SBC. Am disappointed (,much too load.) I like the dual deep mellow tone that I thought straight through mufflers can provide & thought I had found some, Nope. Money waisted. I had a few years ago that were great but no longer available Does one have to go to the wider muffler with a turn to get it quieter ?. I did,nt want to put a big gloppy mufflers underneath.
     
  2. I was under the impression that all straight through mufflers were loud. HRP
     
  3. define quiet
    what did you use?
    I have installed the hushpower mufflers and those were the quietest ones I have installed
    my SBF has cheap ole thrush glass packs and is reasonably quiet. Its is ran out the back.
    I have the same behind a 350, they exit under the bed, just behind the cab. Lots of drone noise while driving.
     
  4. lostone
    Joined: Oct 13, 2013
    Posts: 3,185

    lostone
    Member
    from kansas

    Find some that offer different lengths.

    Yrs ago I put duals with 48" straight thru mufflers on my 64 bonny, sounded pretty much the same as stock.

    My muffler guy just laughed and said if you wanted more noise you should have went with a shorter muffler!
     
  5. blazedogs
    Joined: Sep 22, 2014
    Posts: 539

    blazedogs
    Member

    Define quiet
    Well ,so I can hear my Wife talk in the car, hear the radio.not hear a drone that drives one nuts after 20 miles. Don,t know how old you are but my Wife & I are pushing 80 , as one gets older one likes quieter. I know what you are going to say: "well then why are you into old hot rods" Mufflers I used are Porters Made in US.
     
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  6. 41rodderz
    Joined: Sep 27, 2010
    Posts: 6,540

    41rodderz
    Member
    from Oregon

    Good tip. I imagine you could go on YouTube and listen to different muffler sounds .
     
  7. KevKo
    Joined: Jun 25, 2009
    Posts: 971

    KevKo
    Member
    from Motown

    How is the exhaust mounted? Do you have a crossover pipe?
     
  8. Quiet like the library.......no.........perfectly acceptable.....pretty much all of em'
     
  9. Pete1
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,261

    Pete1
    Member
    from Wa.

    Back in the 50's we ran Ford midgets and some of the tracks had maximum sound limits so we had to run mufflers.
    The association had a spec muffler everybody had to run. It was a stock Pontiac straight through, about 6 inches in diameter and about 34 inches long. Very quiet.
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  10. Bursonaw
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 176

    Bursonaw
    Member

    I chose Porter Mufflers on my roadster for the same reason, they have mellow tone and wake up when you step on it. I really like them when I’m driving with the top down!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  11. Long glass pack for quite and short for fun.
     
  12. I put a pair of short Porter stainless steel packs on my '40 with tailpipes run all the way to the back. I was surprised how quiet it is in the car now that I have the insulation and interior installed.
     
    egads likes this.
  13. What he said. Most buy the short glass pack because they're cheap. Go with the long glass pack or a long smithy's
     
    Tim, Elcohaulic and lothiandon1940 like this.
  14. papa's 39 koop
    Joined: Apr 20, 2011
    Posts: 228

    papa's 39 koop
    Member

    I used the 20" Porter glass packs on my 40. Had a nice sound at idle and good sound when you would get into it. You could carry on a conversation with passenger without yelling with windows down at 70..
     
  15. Mike Colemire
    Joined: May 18, 2013
    Posts: 1,431

    Mike Colemire
    Member

    Magnaflow, longest glass pack they offer is fairly quiet, I don't remember what the length was on the ones I used.
     
    ekimneirbo likes this.
  16. A Boner
    Joined: Dec 25, 2004
    Posts: 7,699

    A Boner
    Member

    Never-Rust out of Pennsylvania...not too noisy on the freeway, and they are reasonably priced and stainless steel to boot!
    412-766-7775
     
  17. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 10,102

    jnaki





    upload_2020-7-27_4-11-0.png
    In 1959-60 they were called “Corvette Off Road” tube mufflers.

    Hello,


    When we had our 1958 Chevy 348 Impala, we needed some straight through mufflers to give us less restriction, but still be street legal. Since it was a Chevy dealer catalog parts number, it was legal for stock car class racing at the dragstrip. The mufflers by themselves and no tail pipes made a very noticeable sound. Normal driving was a little on the loud side since the end of the mufflers were near the middle of the Impala. When we had our friend the neighborhood muffler shop owner measure everything, he just installed the tube mufflers first and we had to come back a week later.

    With the tube mufflers, the 348 sounded perfect, but loud. Acceleration down any street was tremendous and thrilling. After the muffler guy had all of the exact pipes ready, he welded and installed piping out to the rear. Now, the sound was very quiet and those that rode in the Impala were impressed with the slightly “toned” idle. The times at the drag strip did not change very much. But it was slightly better. Tube versus off set stock mufflers were definitely better.
    upload_2020-7-27_4-12-15.png

    Jnaki


    As far as the length of the tube corvette “off road” mufflers were, I have no idea. But they fit nicely where the stock mufflers used to be underneath and tucked in nicely. They are still around from different sources. Obviously, they are re-manufactured versions. The added long tail pipes definitely made a quieter sound, so talking inside with the windows rolled down on a hot summer night was easily done, without shouting.

    As nice as Magnaflow systems are, the one version of tube mufflers from Magnaflow offers, makes a popping sound on some of the high performance cars in these modern days. That is not worth the cost or effort. It makes the modern car sound like a backfiring, mistuned car. Not too nice for those people walking around. There is this young guy in the neighborhood that thinks his fastback sedan is the cat’s meow with the popping sounds when he lets off of the gas. It just sounds awful and does nothing for performance. YRMV

    https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-mufflers-do-you-run-on-your-hot-street-car.1130653/page-2#post-12879733
     
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  18. Elcohaulic
    Joined: Dec 27, 2017
    Posts: 2,213

    Elcohaulic

    Dynomax Super Turbo 17749... They will get a real nice tone after a few thousand miles..
     
    partssaloon likes this.
  19. rockable
    Joined: Dec 21, 2009
    Posts: 4,674

    rockable
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    If you want it to be quieter inside the car but still fairly loud outside the car, go with the longest, thickest muffler you can find. That will help some. That is what Magnaflow recommended me do on my 57 Chevy. The short MF's were just too loud for me. I couldn't hear my tunes!

    Also, the Dynomax Super Turbos are good, as well. I have them on another car. A lot of it will depend on the engine, cam timing, length of exhaust, crossover, etc.
     
  20. MAD MIKE
    Joined: Aug 1, 2009
    Posts: 828

    MAD MIKE
    Member
    from 94577

    Don't forget exhaust pipe diameter.
    No matter what type or size of the muffler, if the exhaust size is too small for the engine size, the exhaust will still remain snappy/cackling. Changing from 2" to 2.5" can make a massive improvement.
     
  21. '34 Terraplane
    Joined: Jul 11, 2011
    Posts: 397

    '34 Terraplane
    Member
    from Western PA

    ....a quiet "straight-through" muffler...??? Would this question be considered an oxymoron? Just wonderin'.
    Definition of oxymoron
    : a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (such as cruel kindness)broadly : something (such as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements.
     
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  22. nunattax
    Joined: Jan 10, 2011
    Posts: 3,144

    nunattax
    Member

    i would think pipe diameter has the biggest bearing on things i built my exhaust from 2 1/2 inch stainless .next time id go for 2". 2" to let the noise out.should be a little quieter and easier to route
     
    HemiDeuce likes this.
  23. realative : not absolute or independent : COMPARATIVE
    A drill could be considered quiet compared to a jackhammer.:)
     
  24. bobscogin
    Joined: Feb 8, 2007
    Posts: 1,789

    bobscogin
    Member

    You can make some generalizations about mufflers. If they're the acoustic wave absorption type (glass or steel packed), the longer the quieter. If they're the baffled type, for a given design the higher the cubic inch volume of the shell the quieter they'll be. It's basic physics. No magic involved.

    Bob
     
  25. bchctybob
    Joined: Sep 18, 2011
    Posts: 5,464

    bchctybob
    Member

    When it comes to finding a muffler that sounds good to your ears I wouldn’t limit your search to just straight through mufflers. I’ve been using Walker SoundFX mufflers lately. They made our two SBC powered cars sound great and they are compact. The Smithy’s I put on first were the long ones but still pretty loud for some reason.
    If you’re worried about restriction, I use a muffler with a core one size larger than the pipe in the system. For example, 2 1/2” core mufflers on a 2” or 2 1/4” system. Seems to work well.


    Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
    rockable likes this.
  26. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,675

    ekimneirbo

    You can live with a muffler thats too quiet a lot better than one thats too loud. Same rule applys to picking a wife.
    Magnaflow has some nice sounding mufflers, but in the end it comes down to what is quiet enough to suit you/her.
    Might think about quiet mufflers and electric cut outs..........
     
    nunattax and 427 sleeper like this.
  27. proartguy
    Joined: Apr 13, 2009
    Posts: 701

    proartguy
    Member
    from Sparks, NV

    My Cad has Flowmasters installed by the prior owner. They sounded good, but radiated a lot of heat so I put DEI muffler wrap on them. I was happy that it cut down the heat and was surprised how much it was quieted down especially the interior drone. I know both the mufflers and wrap are not traditional items.
     
  28. wulf powis
    Joined: Jun 19, 2017
    Posts: 64

    wulf powis
    Member

    sometimes you can add a crossover pipe before the mufflers and it will balance, quiet them down
     
    joe hot rod 32 likes this.

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