I've finally had a redback system installed in my KJ AWD. Its only a cat back system which includes a sizable hotdog just past the cat and a rear muffler.

I wasn't aware that there were two different types of redback mufflers for the magna's. The guy put a straight through muffler on which is what he says he installes in a lot of Magna's and people are wrapped.

The other type is a baffeled muffler (quieter but still sports).

Well anyway, after taking the car away for the weekend, its going back on monday for the baffeled type to be put in. We couldnt even cruise in 5th gear at 100km/h because of the droan. Had to do the whole 500km round trip in 4th because when in 5th, the droan was so loud, the misses and i couldnt even hear each other talk, seriously, we couldnt even turn the radio up enough to get rid of the droan.

When i rang the guy at the shop, he said that that is strange because everyone loves that set up and never complains about the droan.
I have heard that the AWD can be a fair bit louder than FWD so maybe that has something to do with it.
He is totally fine swapping it to the other type at no cost so that is cool. Will let you know how it goes.

The car sounds absolutely hot when you start it and it idles, and is quiet in the cabin over 3000rpm, but other than that, is just unbarable.

Hopefully the new muffler fixes the problem. Should do.

Here are some pics of the tips i chose. A before and after shot.

You might find that the drone is because of the auto. Another resonator or the muffler should fix it tho, hopefully.

You'll probably find the drone dies down ALOT, after a run-in period. I had the same thing when I first got my magnaflow muffler, went on a trip with the gf and some mates, the drone was very irritating, drowning out the music etc.

I found over a few hundred kms the drone subdised, now on the highway with the stero off, I can barely hear the exhaust, just a soft distant hum. The pay-off is a very nice bark/shriek when you put the boot in :)

So maybe it's worth putting up with it for a while, and see if the drone subsides enough for your liking. But being an auto, maybe it's always gonna sound too droney. Also Barry's fuel rail kit helps with eliminaiting drone.

Personally, with a verada, I'd be keeping it a quiet luxury cruiser.

how much did that set u back????

Nice exhaust tip...same as the one on my Verada.
I found that the drone got a little bit louder with time after I had the Redback catback fitted to my Verada but it doesn't really annoy me and my stereo drowns out the noise if needed.

Yeah thanks for the info guys, the guy at the shop said the same thing, do a few k's on it and the combonation of running it in and also the computer re-mapping with less back pressure should help but even if it was half as loud, it would be still to loud.
Cant tell you how loud it is, seriously, the back and front windows were squeaking with the vibration, the dash now rattels i recon and i got a serious headache driving it.
I have just put 500 odd k's on it and its no different.
Have to admit, when it gets over 3000 rpm, its nice and quiet but sounds absolutely great.
I love the little burble back fires you get when slowing down. Sounds great but still cant tolerate the noise.
Seriously, the droan was that strong and loud, i had to shout to the little fella in the back to talk to him.
WIll see how the new muffler goes. The bloke at the muffler shop said that another resonator will help a little but wont be anywhere near enough to get rid of that kind of drone.
Dont want something ultra noisy, just a little better than the stock muffler.

The system cost me $350 fitted. Have to admit, the job he did of the new piping from the cat back to the rear muffler is much neater than the factory one. Much better looking and hugs the body more so you cant see it from the rear of the car. The AWD's exhaust piping hangs down a bit to clear the drive shaft stuff which you can see from the rear but cant see the new piping at all.

the computer cant learn and remap

but the muffler will change tone slightly as the carbon deposits in it...

straight through muffler = cannon or close enough lol

my awd with straight through was 91db = illegal, with baffled was 86db

Yeah mate, i was thinking of the legalities of the noise everytime i saw a cop, it was time to coast in neutral until they had gone.
I had an old Peugeot V6 which wasnt quite as loud as the AWD is now and i got done in that by the cops for noise levels.

i dunno about redbacks
but i can highly vouch for the stock lukey on the awd sports.
it burbles enuf for me....
(im presuming its all stock anyway... as the previous fleet owners dont officially mod their cars).

Yeah thanks for the info guys, the guy at the shop said the same thing, do a few k's on it and the combonation of running it in and also the computer re-mapping with less back pressure should help but even if it was half as loud, it would be still to loud.

Guys, guys. It's got nothing to do with the muffler or a 'breaking in period' (though exhausts do quieten once you get a bit of carbon deposit in them). A drone in an exhaust system is always a function of the resonator length. And to make a system drone less you increase the length of the resonator (and you should only ever need one resonator on a single pipe large system).

FamWag, I too am running complete redback system on an auto. If you like I can run a tape over the resonator on my system (which doesn't drone) to get the length of it for you so you can compare with what you have????

I would have thought the KJ AWD would come with the baffled straight through (same as a sports muffler) standard? Because if it does, that's all you're getting with this new one.

I would have thought the KJ AWD would come with the baffled straight through (same as a sports muffler) standard? Because if it does, that's all you're getting with this new one.

Nope. Standard magna/verada AWD one. The TW GTVI AWD was the only verada AWD with sports muffler

Its going in tomorrow as the muffler wasn't in today.

I asked what type is goin in it. He said there are 3 different redback mufflers for Magna's/Verada's. I have currently the loudest being a straight throuth type i think he said and then there is a semi baffeled then a full baffeled is which i'm going to.
He said its still much better than the stock one but no where near as loud as the one i have in at the moment.
Will let you know how it goes.

It had a standard muffler on it before i upgraded it being the same as in all magna's/verada's. Wasnt a sports type of muffler at all.
Hey there schnell. I will measure the length and width round the resonator to compare for you.
What muffler are you running do you know?
Thanks again guys for the advice.

I have a 2003 TJ AWD and i put a Cannon exhaust on it. (I know many ppl hate the look of them...and im not trying to make my car ricey either lol). But it gave an awsome sound with a minimal droning. U will have to expect to have some droning but it depends on you setup as to how much. I think the sound from it is just as good if not better than any magna i've heard (with exeption to turbo and s/c cars of course haha).

I have the straight through redback on my 2nd gen wagon - yeah it's loud and does drone a bit but that's okay - I like it like that.

But, having said that, I rarely have passengers in my car. I put a sports exhaust on a family car once (previous car - a Pajero) and regretted it. The family car stays stock because I want to be able to hear the children in the back without them having to shout.

Will be interested in your thoughts when you change it.

Have just had the fully baffeled muffler put on.
First impressions is that it is quieter but it still droans a lot. It has reduced the unbarable air vibration in the cabin from the droaning but is still too loud for my liking.
The guy said give it a few weeks to let some carbon build up in the new muffler and if its still not to my liking then he will put another resonator on for nicks.
I know that its always going to be louder than a stock one obviously but this is still very loud. It sounds fine at idle and over 3000rpm but between 1200 and 2800rpm it droans too much and considering that is where the revs are 90% of the time, i want to try and reduce it a bit.
Hopefully another resonator will do the trick in a few weeks.

Have just had the fully baffeled muffler put on.
First impressions is that it is quieter but it still droans a lot. It has reduced the unbarable air vibration in the cabin from the droaning but is still too loud for my liking.
The guy said give it a few weeks to let some carbon build up in the new muffler and if its still not to my liking then he will put another resonator on for nicks.
I know that its always going to be louder than a stock one obviously but this is still very loud. It sounds fine at idle and over 3000rpm but between 1200 and 2800rpm it droans too much and considering that is where the revs are 90% of the time, i want to try and reduce it a bit.
Hopefully another resonator will do the trick in a few weeks.

Thought about barrys fuel rail kit? Ive heard and been in gas_heds car with a a full 2.5 redback system and it'd no louder than stock.

Thought about barrys fuel rail kit? Ive heard and been in gas_heds car with a a full 2.5 redback system and it'd no louder than stock.


but his car is not awd...

the tail pipe on the awd is different and much straighter and gives the car a different sound


also redback dont do an off the shelf for an awd... maybe the exhaust shop made it


im getting a cat back complete exhaust for my zuki tomorrow $200 made up not off the shelf

but his car is not awd...

the tail pipe on the awd is different and much straighter and gives the car a different sound

oo forgot that :D

The exhaust shop made the system up. It has a redback fully baffeled muffler and a redback resonator. Not sure what size resonator but is fairly sizable which is located just after cat. The rest is straight forward.
Going to get him to put another resonator in just after the first one as there is a fairly sizable piece of straight pipe where it can go.
The AWD's have always been noisier than the FWD even in stock form.
I have a KJ2 FWD and a KJ2 AWD and when both were stock, the AWD always had a fair bit more burble to the exhaust even though they run the same rear mufflers(different intake piping).
This could be the reason for the extra droaning from the AWD.
The guy who installed it says he has done many Mgana's with the same system and they have been no where near as droany. This is his 1st AWD, so he is learning new things.
Thats cool with me bacause he is doing all these mods for nicks.

My lukey LR2779 with one resonator wasnt too droney. Barry's fuel rail kit did make a difference though. The middle muffler in the FWD is much bigger though isnt it?

im getting a cat back complete exhaust for my zuki tomorrow $200 made up not off the shelf
Holy crap dude do you even pay your rent anymore lol

Holy crap dude do you even pay your rent anymore lol

yeah mortgage :(


to the other dude the awd's only have the rear muffler no other muffler!

Hey there schnell. I will measure the length and width round the resonator to compare for you.
What muffler are you running do you know?
Thanks again guys for the advice.
I'm running the straight through one. And running this with a single Redback resonator. No droning anywhere. And beleive me if it did, my wife would let me know and would have to swap it out. But it's been on 6 weeks now with no droning. Two weeks ago I even added Pacemaker ceramic coated extractors. Still nicely loud when you really step on it and no droning.

Hey there Schnell.

Is yours an AWD? Same thing here mate. Its the misses car and she wanted a slighly sporty note but this baby still droans like you wouldnt believe.
Its incredible. Still have to crank the radio up loud to try and get rid of it.
Windows and dash still rattle when loading the engine while cruizing.
Cant believe there is such a difference between FWD and AWD.

Just some pics of the exhaust. Not the best pictures because its a bastard to try and take photos under a lowered car especially at night.

Hey there Schnell.

Is yours an AWD? Same thing here mate. Its the misses car and she wanted a slighly sporty note but this baby still droans like you wouldnt believe.
Its incredible. Still have to crank the radio up loud to try and get rid of it.
Windows and dash still rattle when loading the engine while cruizing.
Cant believe there is such a difference between FWD and AWD.

Just some pics of the exhaust. Not the best pictures because its a bastard to try and take photos under a lowered car especially at night.
AWD?? I wish :cry: I've just been down and tried to get shots of my system for you. But because it sits 30mm lower than stock I can't get under it enough to get shots of anything other than floorpan :nuts:

However, straight off I could see a big diff between my system and yours. Dude, where is your fuel tank in the AWD? Mine sits under the rear seat. So my exhaust is the same as yours (right down to resonator length by the looks) but about 30cm after the resonator mine takes a 90 degree bend to the RHS, runs along the front of the fuel tank, makes another 90 degree turn to run by the RHS of the fuel tank, then over the beam axle and into the muffler. So I have about 1.5 metres worth of extra pipe all up and 2 90 degree bends to go around the fuel tank.

I notice that your pipe runs right next to the driveshaft hump too. Between having less pipe length and no 90 degree turns to quieten the note AND running next to the echo chamber that the driveshaft hump probably acts as, I reckon that is why yours is droning. That said, a quick discussion with my exhaust guru (who hand fabricates headers for Australia's finest street machines, so probably knows what he is on about) re-confirmed what I said earlier and what he told me when he did my car - "if you find the note drones, bring it back to me and we will lengthen the resonator until we tune the drone out". Adding a second resonator will not necessarily achieve the same result. And changing the muffler almost certainly won't. And neither will 50 years worth of carbon buildup in the system (I was sold that dummy back in the ealry 80's with two Brock Commodores. In both cases I had to go back after months of use and get them to change resonators).

So I reckon go back to your exhaust man and request that they lengthen the resonator. Go in 10cm jumps until you cut the drone.

Stay in touch.

Gee mate, great bit of info there.
Sounds like you have really sussed it out. Do you know if there is any difference up past the cat between the fwd and awd?
Also, if he just put another resonator the same as the one there immediately before the current one so between current one and the cat, do you think that will have the same effect as lenghening it? Would be easier i guess.

As for the fuel tanks, in the first pic you can see two black tubs just past the diff, one either side of the drive shaft. They are the tanks. It is one tank but in 2 seperate chambers joined at the top if you get what i mean. Aparently they have a mechanical pump inside them to pump fuel from one tank to the other so i'm told as there is only 1 fuel pickup.

My guess is that explains why in the AWD the fuel guage says empty when there is still 20L left in the tank. It doesnt say dead empty but just above bottom notch, and sits there for the next 20 odd L. I always use the trip computer to get an accurate total fuel usage as it is always accurate upto .2 of a litre.

Gee mate, great bit of info there.
Sounds like you have really sussed it out. Do you know if there is any difference up past the cat between the fwd and awd?
Also, if he just put another resonator the same as the one there immediately before the current one so between current one and the cat, do you think that will have the same effect as lenghening it? Would be easier i guess.

Can't see any obvious diff between AWD and FWD from the cat forward to the headers from your photos. But there may be a difference seeing as how you have the driveshaft running up the centre of the car.

The ideal is to lenghten the one resonator. Adding another resonator would be a quick fix with a less than ideal effect on gas flow. A 2nd resonator will also harm the exhaust note more than lenghtening the single resonator. My guess is that unless you demand they lengthen the existing one, your exhaust guys will go the quick and easy route (though I do wonder whether you have enough straight-run pipe left anywhere on the system where they can comfortably fit a 2nd resonator without it being almost on top of the existing one. Hmm.).

there is plenty of room for 2 or more resies, the awd is pretty much but not completly straight from the cat till the rear axle

the front differs only as the rear bank headder pipe has to turn almost 360deg to clear the transfer case

Welcome to the droning AWD club. The AWD is notier because it is mostly straight pipe, whereas the fwd variants the pipe bends around the fuel tank 2x 90deg bends and the bends offer a bit of noise cancellation.

When I get financial again, I will be replacing my resonator (18" x 2.5") with a resonator containing a resonance chamber and possibly a tiny baffle plate as opposed to a triflow or other fully baffled component that has perforations instead of an altered gas flow path.

I have changed my Berkley to other EXPENSIVE stainless muffs, added another 18" long resonator but still cannot blitz the drone. My Mrs wont drive my car unless it's too far to walk or hitch hike :shock: My high flow cat doesn't help either.

I recently installed a capped pipe at 90deg to the main pipe flow and that cancelled out some of the resonance - just a matter perhaps of tuning the right pipe length to bounce the soundwaves back at the right rpm. One day I'll get around to it.

I've got a TL AWD just with the standard exhaust (although I wish to put on the Sports/VRX factory muffler)

Just wondering, if I remove the existing factory resonator, what the increase in noise and/or performance will be, especially when coupled to a Sports/vrx muffler?

I don't want anything ricey sounding or loud/droning, but just a bit of note

I've got a TL AWD just with the standard exhaust (although I wish to put on the Sports/VRX factory muffler)

Just wondering, if I remove the existing factory resonator, what the increase in noise and/or performance will be, especially when coupled to a Sports/vrx muffler?

I don't want anything ricey sounding or loud/droning, but just a bit of note

best thing to do is get yourself a VRZ rear muffler and thats all, or go aftermarket (but it will be louder)

i had a straight through on a stock exhaust and it droned badly (of course lol) but it sounded like no other FWD magna, it was pretty awesome... now it's INfreekingsane lol

or maybe even try a 380 rear muffler you cn see right into them lol so im guessing they are a semi baffled type and will be higher flow than your stock one

I've got a TL AWD just with the standard exhaust (although I wish to put on the Sports/VRX factory muffler)

Just wondering, if I remove the existing factory resonator, what the increase in noise and/or performance will be, especially when coupled to a Sports/vrx muffler?

I don't want anything ricey sounding or loud/droning, but just a bit of note

Removal of the resonator will make the car sound hollow or tinny. Wanna be another hyundia excel with a cannon? Didn't think so ;)

The resonator/hotdogs used these days are rarely baffled, they are nearly all perforated pipe wrapped in fibreglass so the intrusion into the gas-flow path is neglibilble. Spend your hard-earned $ on finding the 'missinglink' muffler that turns the AWD into a V8 sounding freakshow. Pick a muffler that is high flowing (not necessarily straight-thru design) and uses reflective AND absorbtive sound reduction methods. Any remotely competant Exhaust shop will have cross-section diagrams of mufflers they can supply. :cool:

Latest update is that the car is going back in on Monday for the guy to have a look at it and either extend the exising or add another resonator between the current one and the cat to try and minimise some of the droan.

Car sounds absolutely perfect other than the droan which is much better except for when you torque the motor while cruizing between 60-90km/h.

Will let you gous know how she goes.

Latest update is that the car is going back in on Monday for the guy to have a look at it and either extend the exising or add another resonator between the current one and the cat to try and minimise some of the droan.

Car sounds absolutely perfect other than the droan which is much better except for when you torque the motor while cruizing between 60-90km/h.

Will let you gous know how she goes.

Sorry to be a raincloud over this parade, but I have already stated that 2 x 18" x 2.5" perforated tube resonators did NOT reduce the drone in my AWD. You need to select a semi-baffled resonator to replace the one you have or change the rear muff. I hope what you try works, but just be prepared for little change in your situation. The problem is the frequency of sound that produces the drone is not addressed by the perforations in the resonator or muffler not does the glasspack in those work.

I just don't want to see you throwing your money against the wall when all you want to do is enjoy your car.

Ok, here is the latest update.
Just had another resonator installed between the cat and the current resonator.
It has helped get rid of some more of the droan but is still there.
The only thing left to do that i will try is put another 6 inch resonator just before the rear muffler.

This is what has happened so far.

-Started off with 1 resonator and a straight through muffler(all redback).
way to noisy to be bareable. The droan was there in the rev range from idle upto 3000rpm.

-Had rear muffler changed from straight through type to fully baffeled.
This helped most of all, getting rid of a lot of the harshness from the droan but still to noisy. The exhaust sound is almost pefrect except when you torque the motor while cruising, the droan comes back and is still to loud. The droan is reduced in the rev range from about 1800rmp to 2500 rpm.

-Had another resonator installed same as one already there. Quieter again and not as loud when you load the motor but still a bit to niosy to be comfortable with. Once again it has reduced the droan in the rev range from about 1800 to 2100rpm.
One thing i did notice is that with this resonator installed is that it has nearly stopped the burble you use to get when you reved the car and it burbled as the revs dropped back to idle, like mini backfires. Sounded great but has now gone.

Lest step as mentioned before is to install a small resonator just before rear muffler. Hopefully this will do the trick as that is where most of the boom/droan is comming from being the rear muffler.

Its not so much the droan that is the bad thing but the booming (air vibration) in the cabin. Car sounds fine from outside but the air vibration is like when you have a back window open and all the others shut, you get that air vibration that hurts your ears. Was like that but on a smaller scale.

Will let you know how it goes.

Hey there EZboy.

I am stuck on what to do. The car is still to droany/boomy even after 2nd resonator.

What do you think? I had a look inside the resonator before he put it on and the internal diamater pipe was the same as the exhaust pipe leading into it but it was filled with heaps of little holes like swiss cheese slightly facing the front of the resy, in other words, facing into the oncomming gas if you know what i mean. I'm not sure what is behind those holes considering the external diamater of the resy is much greeater than the internal diamater pipe with the holes in it.

So what are the different types of resonators? I dont think i will get the small one at the rear as i cant see it doing much as the second bigger one in the middle didnt do much like you said. I sort of regret getting the second one now as the car is still as droany as before but doesnt sound as good outside. Seems to have quietened the outside but not the inside droan.

So you think a different type of resonatoer such as a semi baffeled one will help?

Anyone else with any other experience?

Thanks again for the help.

Hey there EZboy.

I am stuck on what to do. The car is still to droany/boomy even after 2nd resonator.

Resonators function by canceling out certain frequencies. By putting a second resonator in you're only canceling out more of that frequency. If your drone isn't that frequency or near by it wont change it at all. If you're serious about it you could get an acoustics specialist to measure the note of the exhaust for you and get a resonator with that volume (length) to cancel out the note.

I think that the reflective types will provide the best chance of success for you now. The rear Magnaflow muffler will use absorption.

I am trying to make a resonator or muffler based on the last pic of the attachment. I also have plumbed a short length of pipe into my system at 90degrees and capped it off. It reduced some resonance but I need to make it adjustable to tune the resonance out at specific rpm - that's the goal of any muffler system. Flow vs noise vs note.

I bet your car sounds like a real incessant "BURRRRRRRRRRRRR"? Sux doesn't it. :cry:

The 2nd attachment is for people who don't know the difference of the pipe paths btwn FWD (sed & wag) vs AWD.

I think that the reflective types will provide the best chance of success for you now. The rear Magnaflow muffler will use absorption.

I am trying to make a resonator or muffler based on the last pic of the attachment. I also have plumbed a short length of pipe into my system at 90degrees and capped it off. It reduced some resonance but I need to make it adjustable to tune the resonance out at specific rpm - that's the goal of any muffler system. Flow vs noise vs note.

I bet your car sounds like a real incessant "BURRRRRRRRRRRRR"? Sux doesn't it. :cry:

The 2nd attachment is for people who don't know the difference of the pipe paths btwn FWD (sed & wag) vs AWD.
Hey guys. All this kinda makes me wonder whether the solution is to take EZBoy's solution to the next logical step. Rather than have the 90degree end pipe coming off to one side, why not go the whole way and simply have the exhaust follow the same route as the FWD system up to the point where you pass over the rear suspension?? I worry deeply that adding the second resonator did not fix the prob - with a third one FW will end up with a system damn near as restriced and quiet as the OEM setup he started with :cry: is g

Hey guys. All this kinda makes me wonder whether the solution is to take EZBoy's solution to the next logical step. Rather than have the 90degree end pipe coming off to one side, why not go the whole way and simply have the exhaust follow the same route as the FWD system up to the point where you pass over the rear suspension?? I worry deeply that adding the second resonator did not fix the prob - with a third one FW will end up with a system damn near as restriced and quiet as the OEM setup he started with :cry: is g

There is no room for deviation of the AWD exhaust path as it simply follows the tail shaft tunnel. The fuel tank straddles the tunnel and the spare tire well is similarly located to the fwd. The fwd fuel tank sits ahead of the rear axle but in 1x normal styled tank.

The average perforated resonator will not effect flow by any measurably amount imo, certainly not noticable on our small capacity, small output motors. Other types of resonators shown will effect flow.

piv has correctly stated that additional resonators are unlikely to change anything due to the frequency already being targeted by previous resonators in the exhaust path.

Interesting to note that when I spoke with the AWD Ralliart team that won the Canberra leg of the whateveritscalled rally event, they ran a single 2.5" pipe with no resonators or muffler and you could hear the car coming some 10km away!!! Imagine being poor-old Ross Dunkerton and his navigator!! Did I mention they WON :D

Perhaps the simplest solution would have been to just install the factory sports/vrx muffler.

Yeah i would highly recomend people do that being just get a Genuine AWD sports muffler. Might cost more but atleast it has been designed for the car not to have the droan.

I dont really want to go back to the old system because i have just spent good money changing from the cat back and i dont really want to spend a whole lot more going back to the stock setup and then the sports muffler on top of that.

The latest update is that i have had it in at an exhaust sound specialist and he had a look at it. He has friends that work for mitsubishi and friends that have done many an AWD manga and he is going to ring around Australia wide to get some info on what to do.

He said a guaranteed fix is to change the muffler back to more of a stock muffler (which defeats the purpose a bit).
He said there will definately be a fix other than changing the muffler back but he has to research it with his contacts.

I definately dont recommend putting a second resonator in. After a week of driving, it hasent't made the car any quieter at all, and it doesnt sound anywhere near as good. The nice rumble and burble has gone and now it sounds more like a WRX popping burble when going which i CANT STAND!!

The best combonation so far is the 1 resonator and the fully baffled sports redback muffler which sounds absolutely perfect except for the booming/droaning which i cant stand round the 2000 rpm mark.

Here we go again. Will be interesting to see what this guy comes up with.
Will keep you posted.

I had success with a lukey LR2779. Very similar to the vrx/sports muffler. That and one resonator with 2.5" piping and race extractors yielded a fairly drone free system.

Was that a AWD though??

The problem is with the very different straight layout of the AWD piping compared to the FWD.
FWD aren't droany but the AWD's are very boomy/droany round the 2000rpm mark.

Was that a AWD though??

The problem is with the very different straight layout of the AWD piping compared to the FWD.
FWD aren't droany but the AWD's are very boomy/droany round the 2000rpm mark.

Yes a 2003 KL AWD.

but his car is not awd...
the tail pipe on the awd is different and much straighter and gives the car a different sound


also redback dont do an off the shelf for an awd... maybe the exhaust shop made it


im getting a cat back complete exhaust for my zuki tomorrow $200 made up not off the shelf

Hi Andy
It doesn't matter what type of exhaust system it has, if the stock system did not have drone (and changing to a hi-flow muffler or cat-back produces droning) then the Fuel Rail Tuning Kit WILL reduce it to a low level

This is because the kit reduces the CAUSE of the noise ie It improves the combustion so that more of the fuel charge is completely burned in the cylinder and headers, before it can travel down the exhaust and resonate there

There are about 50 AMC'ers who have tried the kit and found it to be effective
Greenmatt, gas-head and chisolm are just 3 that come to mind

You can also expect an improvement in part-throttle acceleration too

Another thing you can do is to improve ALL areas of ignition ie earthing to distributor, battery, timing etc as an efficient system will require less throttle and that will in turn help a little too

Cheers, Barry

Still havent heard back from this exhaust sound specialist.
Think i might bite the bullet and go back towards a factory muffler.
I'm guessing i will look at a TJ AWD Sports muffler.
Does anyone know if there is a difference between the Sports and VRX mufflers other than the tip?
Also, does anyone know if there is a difference between a FWD sports muffler andf a AWD sports muffler other than the piping before the muffler which i wont be using anyway? Is there more baffeling in the AWD muffler to get rid of AWD droaning?

Thanks. One day i will get her right.

To FamilyWagon : Yes I can answer your questions, based on my personal experience with your same issue!

Today, I had a factory Magna Sports muffler installed on my TL AWD sedan. I actually got the muffler off E-Bay. (The seller did not mention if his Magna was an AWD Sports or VR AWD)

Anyhow I decided to take a punt and bid on the muffler anyway, thinking that if I won the item for $50 (which I did!), even if the piping leading into the rear muffler differs between AWD & FWD Magnas, any exhaust shop would be able to make up some piping to join it up quite easily.

As it turned out, there was no need to make any changes at all -- The Sports muffler bolted straight onto my AWD with no hassles whatsoever. So I can be almost certain that any Sports/VRX muffler is interchangeable between all 2WD & AWD Magnas.

In terms of difference between the Sports & VRX muffler, the internals are the same, except that the Sports/VR muffler has 1 outlet that points down, and the VRX muffler has 1 outlet pointing straight out (due to the bodykit).

Regarding the possible difference between a regular Sports muffler VS an AWD Sports muffler -- I don't think Mitsubishi would go to the trouble to make 2 different "Sporty" mufflers. So, yes, an AWD Sports would theoretically be louder than a FWD Sports, due to the fact that the exhaust tract in AWD's is different ; And YES my TL AWD with the Sports exhaust is louder than my previous car (2WD TJ VRX manual)

More importantly, my seat-of-the-pants experience so far is that the TL AWD is now noticeably louder than with the standard muffler (but not intrusive) . However, it is not so loud as to be "ricey" or "boy racer-ish"......bearing in mind that I am over 25! The car is still very silent on a light or trailing throttle. If you are doing 90 - 100km/h on an uphill incline, when you press the accelerator you do notice the exhaust note, especially with the window down, but it is not unpleasant at all. Similarly, in stop/start city traffic, you notice the exhaust note, but it is not intrusive. You can still have pleasant conversations and listen to music without cranking it up.

Put it this way : If my exhaust were any louder than it is now, I would probably start getting a bit unsettled. But I'm really happy with it, and I really do think that using the factory Sports/VRX muffler would solve your problem.

Hope this helps
Justin

To FamilyWagon : Yes I can answer your questions, based on my personal experience with your same issue!

Today, I had a factory Magna Sports muffler installed on my TL AWD sedan. I actually got the muffler off E-Bay. (The seller did not mention if his Magna was an AWD Sports or VR AWD)

Anyhow I decided to take a punt and bid on the muffler anyway, thinking that if I won the item for $50 (which I did!), even if the piping leading into the rear muffler differs between AWD & FWD Magnas, any exhaust shop would be able to make up some piping to join it up quite easily.

As it turned out, there was no need to make any changes at all -- The Sports muffler bolted straight onto my AWD with no hassles whatsoever. So I can be almost certain that any Sports/VRX muffler is interchangeable between all 2WD & AWD Magnas.

In terms of difference between the Sports & VRX muffler, the internals are the same, except that the Sports/VR muffler has 1 outlet that points down, and the VRX muffler has 1 outlet pointing straight out (due to the bodykit).

Regarding the possible difference between a regular Sports muffler VS an AWD Sports muffler -- I don't think Mitsubishi would go to the trouble to make 2 different "Sporty" mufflers. So, yes, an AWD Sports would theoretically be louder than a FWD Sports, due to the fact that the exhaust tract in AWD's is different ; And YES my TL AWD with the Sports exhaust is louder than my previous car (2WD TJ VRX manual)

More importantly, my seat-of-the-pants experience so far is that the TL AWD is now noticeably louder than with the standard muffler (but not intrusive) . However, it is not so loud as to be "ricey" or "boy racer-ish"......bearing in mind that I am over 25! The car is still very silent on a light or trailing throttle. If you are doing 90 - 100km/h on an uphill incline, when you press the accelerator you do notice the exhaust note, especially with the window down, but it is not unpleasant at all. Similarly, in stop/start city traffic, you notice the exhaust note, but it is not intrusive. You can still have pleasant conversations and listen to music without cranking it up.

Put it this way : If my exhaust were any louder than it is now, I would probably start getting a bit unsettled. But I'm really happy with it, and I really do think that using the factory Sports/VRX muffler would solve your problem.

Hope this helps
Justin

Wasnt that my old muffler?

Sweet. Thanks for the info.

What is the size of the muffler? Is it smaller than the standard muffler?
I'm sure the vrx one is a fair bit smaller which im thinking means it isnt as effective in deadening the noise.
Rang mitsub for a new one and they want $460 for one. DONT THINK SO.

Will look around for any slightly used ones.

Thanks again for the info.

Sweet. Thanks for the info.

What is the size of the muffler? Is it smaller than the standard muffler?
I'm sure the vrx one is a fair bit smaller which im thinking means it isnt as effective in deadening the noise.
Rang mitsub for a new one and they want $460 for one. DONT THINK SO.

Will look around for any slightly used ones.

Thanks again for the info.

i said the same thing and refused to pay it, instead I got a cheap one which i thought would be just as good. Its now 9 months later and im still not happy with the exhaust on my car! I wish i just paid the damn $460!

To Sports :: Ha, it's not actually your old muffler......that one eventually landed up on my colleague's KH.

To FamilyWagon : The Sports/VRX muffler may be just a TINY bit smaller than the standard muffler, but when the two mufflers were side by side before the exhaust fitter put the Sports one on, I was hard pressed to tell any difference in size.

What is the size of the muffler? Is it smaller than the standard muffler?
I'm sure the vrx one is a fair bit smaller which im thinking means it isnt as effective in deadening the noise.
Rang mitsub for a new one and they want $460 for one. DONT THINK SO.

Isn't the Lukey LR2779 virtually identical to the VRX muffler?
I had an LR2779 installed on my TJ wagon a couple of months ago. The muffler is physically virtually the same size as the factory muffler.

http://martybugs.net/temp/IMG_5806_600.jpg

The LR2779 is a bit noisier than the factory muffler, particularly at WOT. At idle and when cruising, there's little difference in the noise. There is certainly no droning.

Total cost was $180 for the LR2779 and installation....which is certainly a lot less than the $460 that Mitsu are asking! And that included the 2.5" dump pipe, and the black paint.

A friend tells me that my Magna now sounds virtually the same as a VRX...which certainly seems to confirm that the LR2779 is virtually the same as the factory VRX muffler.

Cheers,
Martin.

I'm getting a genuine KJ AWD sports muffler through a Mitsub contact down from $460 to $290 tomorrow so will get that fitted and let you know how it goes.

Hopefully this will solve all the problems.

Could you do something like what i have illustrated. Use a straight length of pipe and put an "s" along the length of it?? Just a thought.




31982

Hey there mate.

Yeah we looked at that option but there is just no room to do it. The exhausts on them literally just fit in the driver shaft tunnel. You can barely get a finger between the drive shaft and the resonator.

Muffler is the only option. We couldnt even get a bigger resonator on because there is no room.

The biggest resonator would be a 150mm body at the MOST. Just no room :( If there was somewhere else to put that fuel tank...

Ok, new Muffler is finally in.

I ordered a KJ AWD sports muffler and typical Mitsub, i ended up with a KJ FWD sports muffler which didnt matter to much as we were cutting the intake pipe and also the tip off.

The exhaust bloke and i were a bit worried when we looked inside the muffler as they are a straight through design, being you can see straight through it. It just has like a gentle bend through it surrounded by a honeycomb like mesh.
We though this would make the problem worse but the Mitsub sports muffler is also much bigger like 4 times the size of the redback one.

We put it on and took one of the resonators off at the same time as i didnt like the sound with the addition of the second resonator origionally as mentioned above, So it has the cat, 1 resonator and then piping straight through to the Genuine sports rear muffler.

And..... Its bloddy perfect. I cant believe it. Inside the cabin, it is just slightly louder than the stock muffler, but after having the redback system in, it sounds silent with only the fantest hint of it being a sports muffler with no droan at all.

Outside, it is a lot quieter than the redback system with that initial bark gone when you start it up, but give her a rev, and she starts to louden up and has a lot of mini backfire burbles when the revs drop.
Sounds absolutely great. If only i put the genuine sports muffler on from the start which i was going to do origionally, but then i guess i would miss out on a lot of the burble with the stock piping between cat and rear muffler.
And the Genuine only ended up costing $265 through my contact rather then the $460 they wanted to the public. What a joke that is.

Ok, new Muffler is finally in.

I ordered a KJ AWD sports muffler and typical Mitsub, i ended up with a KJ FWD sports muffler which didnt matter to much as we were cutting the intake pipe and also the tip off.

The exhaust bloke and i were a bit worried when we looked inside the muffler as they are a straight through design, being you can see straight through it. It just has like a gentle bend through it surrounded by a honeycomb like mesh.
We though this would make the problem worse but the Mitsub sports muffler is also much bigger like 4 times the size of the redback one.

We put it on and took one of the resonators off at the same time as i didnt like the sound with the addition of the second resonator origionally as mentioned above, So it has the cat, 1 resonator and then piping straight through to the Genuine sports rear muffler.

And..... Its bloddy perfect. I cant believe it. Inside the cabin, it is just slightly louder than the stock muffler, but after having the redback system in, it sounds silent with only the fantest hint of it being a sports muffler with no droan at all.

Outside, it is a lot quieter than the redback system with that initial bark gone when you start it up, but give her a rev, and she starts to louden up and has a lot of mini backfire burbles when the revs drop.
Sounds absolutely great. If only i put the genuine sports muffler on from the start which i was going to do origionally, but then i guess i would miss out on a lot of the burble with the stock piping between cat and rear muffler.
And the Genuine only ended up costing $265 through my contact rather then the $460 they wanted to the public. What a joke that is.


Good to hear this worked out for you. The LR2779 is basically identical and this is the same setup I had with one resonator and the muffler.