Has anyone had experience using a Super-Trap muffler on a SBC motor. I am thinking of using one on a open wheel ford and exiting out the back(duals). I think you can use the super trap without a muffler and adjust the disk to control the exhaust noise. It will be a low compresson 305 motor. Any info. will be appreicated
Super Traps work just opposite of what you might think. The more disc you add the less back pressure and louder the exhaust. The disc are sort of wavy and provide more outlet area the more you add. Good news is that they are tunable for your needs/whims. They also eliminate the large muffler hot spot under the car.
I've always thought they sounded funny. the exhaust going through the disks makes kind of a fuff-fuff sound on top of the rumble.
When I bought my 53 Merc with a Flatty motor the guy who had it before me had two supertrapps on it. It actually sounded great but they weren't attached all that good and I lost one on my way home from the shop one night. It's in my garage now with a nice size tire mark/dent on it if you want it.
This car has Supertrapps that exit under the running boards just ahead of the rear fenders. They sound very nice....mellow. The usual 350/350 combo....cast iron exhaust manifolds.
Come on guys, they were the ****..... Back in 1992. If they are going anywhere they can be seen, well there is other options. Lots of other options.
A friend had them on his '57 with a blown big block. This is what they looked like after a trip around the block. Looked like they were overworked.
And they were gone in about a year. It was a short time fad that died quickly. They did not sound good to my old timer's ear and they look like ****!
I'd have to agree there. It was the muffler of choice for the "Pro Fairground" cars for a while there. I never thought they looked right on anything but a motorcycle, but then again, I hate any muffler you can see from the back of the car.
I've seen one earlyer than that. About mid '80s on a 4 stroke off road bike. It was supposed to be cutting edge technology at the time, but I thought that reducing the sound by increasing the backpressure was a pretty crude way of getting the job done. I believe that they were invented by the same fruitcake who has devoted his life to developing a flying car. ( not sure if he got that one to work either...)
Shapes, Had one on my XR185 in 1980, and they go back even further... We used to run them on stock cars way back when we had to meet a noise rule. The trick was to run much longer bolts through the housing and put little springs on them to allow the plates to blow further open at high RPM. IMO, if you have no room for a muffler and need mufflers...well, it's a muffler. They look pretty good recessed into a fender on a road-race type car. Otherwise, no. Either way, FORGET the ones with the built-in gl***pack (as shown above) The weld on tips are the only way to go.
As far as appearance goes, I suppose that is a matter of taste. They certainly aren't "period correct" for anything probably prior to the late 80's to early 90's? A friend of mine has them on this 58 Anglia. He has a mild Ford 302 (cam, carb, headers), and he runs a stack of diffuser discs about three inches thick. The power is virtually the same as with open headers, but the exhaust note is pleasantly quiet. I think they work great, but as a few have pointed out, they might look a bit wrong on certain cars...it's all up to what YOU want. As far as actual performance, they are fine, and infinately tuneable.
Yeah, I guess.... It the high tech version of stuffing Brillo Pads in a tailpipe. ( and I've done that.... )
Now that I have read the history of the inventor if the Super Trap muffler, they have a different personna. Moller sounds like an interesting guy - sort of like some of my HAMB buddies.