Pictures of inside the stock muffler?
 

Does anyone know where I can find pictures of the inside of an RX8's stock muffler? I've read people cut it open peel the metal back and remove sound deadener? I'd like to see what it looks like inside so I can do this myself and possibly hear what it sounds like afterwards. the RX8 is too quiet and I'm not going to drop $1,000 on an exhaust just to get bigger tips and 2 horsepower. By the way I don't mean removing the muffler completely or hollowing the muffler out but just removing some of the sound deadener that people claim is inside the muffler?

You don't have to drop $1k for an exhaust. There's an HKS hi-power for sale right now for $300. Possibly best flowing mass manufactured exhaust for our car.

edit: Also, I'm pretty sure someone posted what the inside of the OE muffler looked like. I may be thinking of a different vehicle though on a different forum, I'm not sure.

That's why I added the Borla exhaust tips for $150 including installation. No noticeable horsepower gain either way and why pay $1k, I rather pay $150 for the looks.

hks hi-power and you definitely change the look, sound, and flow. loud, single side, titanium tip, and the canister is so obvious from the back it's badass.

Rotorocks may be able to provide pix of the factory muffler. There isn't much to it, really, except for a center entry, a set of panels with holes varying in size, and two exhaust exits.

Have you cut into the stock exhaust? If so did you remove parts?

Should have asked sooner I just threw mine in the EDCO dumpster last week.

turbo xs is $500 and it includes a race pipe to replace the cat.

that race pipe will get you ~10whp.

and a 10x increase in sound!

And a CEL

I don't know how much it would cost to ship but if someone has a stock muffler they don't want I'll pay $10 and whatever shipping costs!

the innards of the stocker:

The main pipe that comes into the can is perforated with 1/4 holes. The the exhaust gases exit the holes and bounce around inside the can and exit through 2 s shaped resonated pipes that exit through the tips.

I gutted my exhaust by removing both of the s shaped pipes. it was a lilttle deeper and no louder.

*edited* nevermind, I found it, its used. I dont like used. oh well.

I like the dual outlet so I think to modify the stock muffler would be ideal for me. If anyone reads this post if they would chime in and at least tell me the steps they took to gut the muffler that would help as well. I'm gonna guess people use a saw and cut a slit on three side of the muffler bend the metal back and cut out some of the perforated pipes inside and remove them? I've got a welder so I would guess people have just welded the "flap" they cut back into place? Anyone who can shed some light on this theory please put me in my place.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster, I await pictures of the melting pot :)

try searching, somebody cut one apart and posted pics several years ago

EDIT: tried, but I couldn't locate the thread

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/818...0034hsf.th.jpg

Here you are ! i am trying to make the oem muffler with a better flow !

someone to tell me what i must do to make my exhaust with a better flow but also keep the noise in low db.
i am thinking to cut out the tube that coming inside from the tips and the hall inside tube with the 180 degrees . and replace them from 50mm(stock) to 60mm.
Is gonna be too loud on that way?

Man that's awesome you got the pics I was looking for but unfortunately, a day late and a dollar short. I scrapped the idea and went ahead and bought the GReddy SE cat-back system. I just dumped my stock exhaust at the scrap metal recycling center 3 days ago! Best of luck in your endeaver. Looking at those pics I don't even see how the exhaust finds a way out of that maze?!

Great posts!

thank you!!!

if it were me, I'd just cut that perforated inlet section off, but there's no way of knowing how loud it will be until you try it

the two 50mm outlets are more than adequate, no advantage of going to 60mm and it will be a big hassle, you can maybe put big tips on it if you want that look

just as mentioned above, this was what i wanted to see for myself before cutting mine up in the wrong places and practically destroying it before midification. i would've cut it up from the sides of the canister... and it would've been dead.
great post! saves me the trouble, and the convenience of taking it to the muffler shop with specific instructions.

i already have a SS catback, but the stock one is obviously lighter and has more potential when modified... and they were right, its simply a waste of money to just buy an really expensive catback if not for some sound satisfaction


that really sucks man. you could've modded and lightened the stock unit and put bigger tips on and polished it for that aftermarket look.

first off all i cut out the middle pipe in the catback.

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6028/dsc00036ehk.th.jpg

Secondly i opened the holes with a bigger drill !!!
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/349...0035qnx.th.jpg

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/459...0039xxk.th.jpg

And i weld the catback again http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/3...c00041p.th.jpg

I install the catback !!
The sound while accelerating is more metallic until the 5000rpm after the 5000 it gets a little more screw but not too loud.
While traveling it sounds like the stock one!!!

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/5...041asdf.th.jpg
if someone want to do the same just cut a smaller piece like the one in the red square !!!

^^ has the best sounding rx8.

any sound clips of the exhaust?? lol bump haha

:sad::sad: i take it off the car , now install another exhaust but maybe there is a clip in a track day give me some time to find it!

looks like all of the pictures are gone now :-(

I do wonder what would happen if one would open up the capped port on the back of the stock muffler?


Would opening that port by-pass all the internal chambers and make stock muffler act as straight through?

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...32b89a6c73.jpg

Interesting.... I think that port is a service port to empty pieces of broken cat during regular servicing. Lol.
I would also like to see internals of this OEM muffler. If anyone has any of the old pics that are no longer available here can you please post them up.
Im thinking along the same lines of just doing tips and black high temp black spray job. Cheap but effective and keep the spare coins for later plugs/ coils or whatever!

It would be like it was straight piped. That capped part is the continuation of the main inlet pipe. On the inside it is perforated to allow the exhaust gases to expand into the rest of the muffler and out the exhaust pipes.

Well, that’s very interesting. I wonder why they terminated that pipe outside of the canister?

Ideally I think what I would like to do is to modify that end like a valve so I can open it when I’m on the racetrack and close it when I’m driving on the street.

I have to give it some thought, not sure what’s the best way to do that and if there’s something already on the market that I could use?

maybe something like this with blocker plate to close it when not on track


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...e706e09be.jpeg

Or one of these...

https://www.jegs.com/i/Pypes-Perform...VE11K/10002/-1

Probably a little heavier than your solution but you could open the exhaust from the driver’s seat. Though it says the valve is aluminum, so durability may be questionable.

the problem is when you’re not moving; you’ll melt your bumper/fuel tank/pretty much anything else dumping it under the car, even then you can still melt stuff when moving too

mistakenly did it way back in the day and would seriously recommend getting it out past the bodywork

not to mention it probably isn’t going to do anything close to what you think it will do other than being loud and annoying, if not harmful to yourself and others around you.

there’s a recent thread on here where someone did it out the rotor symbol in the middle of the bumper with some heat shrouding around it

and another thread where somebody wised up by converting the exhaust to full 3” by removing the OE restrictions that pretty much all off the shelf exhausts have

or you can play games by ignoring the details that count
.

These both describe it well. I did an extensive search for pics and couldn’t find anything. This is why I often implore people to upload rather than link images. This pic sort of shows how the OE muffler inlet tube is perforated, or in this case acting as a strainer for an OEM ceramic cat core that came apart. So people fix the cat, but maybe not the core problem. :suspect:


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...786d9a9cc.jpeg


I seem to recall it just being open inside with maybe some hollowed out outer shell insulation material to try and keep heat from escaping into the trunk and surrounding components. Once you see inside one the external discoloration makes sense. It doesn’t really have much if any “sound packing”. Maybe the two tip outlet tubes also had perforated inlet extensions inside the muffler. That was probably 15 years ago, hard to remember exactly now.

So what I’m trying to say in the previous reply is that imo the muffler isn’t really the restriction until you improve everything ahead of it; including the OE size front manifold - midpipe connection and then the same for the rear OE donut midpipe - catback. Which repeating myself again, all the aftermarkets bolt-on parts retain those connections. So a 3” midpipe with an orifice restriction on both the inlet and outlet, plus whatever the rear muffler system is.

I’d suggest whacking the OE manifold just past the last exhaust port and making it along with the rest of the exhaust downstream from there a true 3” size. Then you can consider if the muffler is the restriction. The main reason I dumped the OE manifold is for weight first, and larger primary tubes second. The tubes are so short it likely has little impact and the 5 - 7 lb weight savings might not be worth considering for some people.

That will pretty much get you most of the advantage as long as the muffler is adequate. Or maybe just consider modifying the rear muffler to remove & install it easier (v-band inlet & convert hangers to bolt onto muffler body) with just an open pipe replacement going out past the body work on track day.

The only thing to be aware of there is to watch out how far it sticks out because any unprotected flesh that manages to touch it like bare legs etc will be instantly and permanently branded. I must have half dozen brandings at least in my arms over the years working under there with hot exhaust pipes.
.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-ext...2/#post4929355

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-aft...do-all-272457/

.

Anyone have any experience with Helmholtz resonators (i think commonly named j pipes)?

Have been looking into options for my fresh rebuild that is OEM specs but handbuilt by reputable builder. Car is pretty much stock everything with new style BHR coils.

Specifically looking for length, diameter and optimal location if you have experience at all.

I read somewhere these do their best work before mufflers at the highest point in system. Can anyone cofirm or debunk this?

thanks Mark.

Given how high that closed port is I might have to modify/remove that center trim peace on the S2 bumper to make this work and then it would be more of a straight pipe out. Will see what OP Frenke did to his. I do admit deleting stock muffler and putting smaller aftermarket auger style silencer or something similar to cut the noise down and flow well do look appealing for the same center exit.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...1b82146feb.jpg

Looks like there is perfecly placed opening under center plastic trim :-)


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...1f7aef5aa4.jpg

They only work for a very certain frequency they design. Good for reducing "drone exhaust noise".
Some cars have implanted in OEM box like E92 and....

This one is scorpion/PZ and a tad louder than OEM.
In the pics, they cut the bottom half to make it flat as was hitting on speed bumps.


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...24e4906ff6.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...9094100263.jpg

It looks like a chicken was sucked in the intake and only got as far as muffler! Im surprised there is not SS wool packed in there.
Great pics BTW.

This image for Helmholtz also. The little bit. Was considering adding it to a custom version of following image. Thoughts and ideas? Or not?
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...e5dcee3d90.jpg

Am considering doing a custom version of this (with or without the extra male bit) plus a dummy tip on RHS. Probably in mild steel painted in high temp black. Thoughts and ideas?
My OEM muffler has got to be dead internally at 15 yrs.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...a7bc8c7758.jpg

Thanks Moto. Yep seen that thread and that is an awesome exhaust and also mega $$. The pic I posted has dual passes through two 4 inch mufflers rather than single pass through .Also quite loud especially if catless i believe. Was looking for high flow, not ridicolously loud, and not top dollar either.

then you shoul do what I am planing on doing, modifying stock muffler to make it straight through with center exit. Open up that closed port on back of it and connect short pipe with v band clamp, that way you have option to revert back to stock quietness when wanted by closing the port with block of plate. 🏎

Interested to see how you go. Im not that fussed about centre exit though. I do have a couple of back boxes lying around so keep the build pics coming as i could change my mind later on.
Im sure others are watching with interest also. I feel for your bumper though. 😁