I want to make my fiesta louder, but I dont want a lot of drone. I heard the resonator delete is too quiet and the muffler delete doesn’t sound good, so I was debating deleting both for the aggressive sound. Will this give me too much drone or be obnoxiously loud on the outside? Is the muffler delete good enough? Any input or sound clips would be awesome. Thanks! 👍
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Muffler delete, resonator delete, or both?
- Thread starter GregJB102
- Start date
Yes, it will drone. Do some searching on this forum and you will find plenty of information on which exhaust systems sound the best and do/do not drone.
I agree that the thermal R&D should be the best choice for most. After all the comparisons it definitely sounded the best to me. I couldn't go that route though, so I cut the muffler out and replaced the resonator with a lighter ultra quiet from vibrant, just before the exhaust tips.
I think it sounds pretty good. It's loud when I'm in the throttle and doesn't drone unless I let it. It burbles and pops too - not loud, but it counts!
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
I think it sounds pretty good. It's loud when I'm in the throttle and doesn't drone unless I let it. It burbles and pops too - not loud, but it counts!
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
i went to the shop and did the muffler delete... I revved it once and decided it wasn't loud enough 
So i also had them cut off the resonator and i do not regret it at all. Yes its loud but its not like CRAZY loud or anything really obnoxious.
There is a little bit of drone but it all depends on what speed/gear you're in. For example, if im on the highway going 75 in 5th gear at like 3,100 rpm it does have a little drony-ness to it
but if im in 6th gear going 75 at like 2,900 rpm then there's basically no drone at all.
It crackles like nobody's business too. (without crackles & pops tune)
So i also had them cut off the resonator and i do not regret it at all. Yes its loud but its not like CRAZY loud or anything really obnoxious. There is a little bit of drone but it all depends on what speed/gear you're in. For example, if im on the highway going 75 in 5th gear at like 3,100 rpm it does have a little drony-ness to it
but if im in 6th gear going 75 at like 2,900 rpm then there's basically no drone at all.
It crackles like nobody's business too. (without crackles & pops tune)
The best bet for decent sound without excessive drone and not much cost is to simply swap the rear muffler for a glass pack/"cherry bomb". I used a ~$35 18" MagnaFlow glasspack with 2.25" in/out and it sounds great to give it sound after a symposer delete. Even the picky wife doesn't mind it. Gives a nice deep tone and some mild pops and gurgles naturally without a special tune. Cost me a total of $150 parts/labor and with exhaust not making any difference at all on a stock turbo car power level, it's a cheap way to get decent sound without spending a bunch... You can also delete the front muffler/res as well if you want even a little more but I find that I like the sound with just the muffler swapped out to glasspack and the rest 100% stock... On the other hand you could do just amuffler delete but doesn't have the same deep tone and is far more raspy like a motorcycle/riced out Honda, hehe...
i went to the shop and did the muffler delete... I revved it once and decided it wasn't loud enough So i also had them cut off the resonator and i do not regret it at all. Yes its loud but its not like CRAZY loud or anything really obnoxious.
There is a little bit of drone but it all depends on what speed/gear you're in. For example, if im on the highway going 75 in 5th gear at like 3,100 rpm it does have a little drony-ness to it
but if im in 6th gear going 75 at like 2,900 rpm then there's basically no drone at all.
It crackles like nobody's business too. (without crackles & pops tune)
So i also had them cut off the resonator and i do not regret it at all. Yes its loud but its not like CRAZY loud or anything really obnoxious.There is a little bit of drone but it all depends on what speed/gear you're in. For example, if im on the highway going 75 in 5th gear at like 3,100 rpm it does have a little drony-ness to it
but if im in 6th gear going 75 at like 2,900 rpm then there's basically no drone at all.
It crackles like nobody's business too. (without crackles & pops tune)
Still some drone if I'm around 3k rpm and maintain speed. And don't get me wrong it is not all that close to the perfect setup, still boomy, but here's a sound clip of it:
View: https://youtu.be/T329nWhVlgk
Also a very poorly lit video of the burbles:
View: https://youtu.be/M9An3eIOjHA
The real reason for me to do it was to liven up the sound without spending a big chunk of change.
Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk
Also a very poorly lit video of the burbles:
The real reason for me to do it was to liven up the sound without spending a big chunk of change.
Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk
There's a TL;DR at the bottom.
The problem with adding a vibrant ultra quiet is that it only attacks high frequencies and completely ignores the low end "drone" frequencies in the 106-107hz range. Those are *exactly* the frequencies everyone complains about as "droning". Without something actively working to cancel frequencies in that range, it uses the interior of the car like the body of a guitar and creates kind of a "feedback loop" making it resonate. You have to do something to absorb or cancel those frequencies, which takes either a billion yards of sound absorbing mat, a traditional muffler or resonator 10.5ish feet long (due to the length of a 106.67hz wave) or a quarter-wave or helmholtz resonator tuned to the specified frequency. Adding the ultra quiet to an already-loud exhaust just cancels out the quieter higher-pitched raspy sounds and leaves the boomy low-end sounds - thats why they're so popular to add to muffler-less exhaust systems. They do absolutely zero to kill drone but they make a cheap straight-piped exhaust sound not like a cheap straight-piped exhaust - so they're really popular with imports running ebay exhausts. The reason everyone likes the thermal system so much is that the quarter-wave resonator they hide in their rear muffler is perfectly tuned to kill that 106.67hz frequency that drives everyone nuts, with CP-E's helmholtz chamber (slightly too small for the job) as a close second.
It should be noted - just because someone says their exhaust doesn't drone does not make it true - the presence of a 106.67hz wave, and the 120hz secondary resonance it creates in the interior means you are droning. The presence of said frequencies is not a subjective thing - they are either present or they are not. The only two exhaust systems commonly available for the FiST in the US that do anything to actively cancel out the harmful frequencies are the Thermal and the CP-E. Yes, there are others that accidentally attenuate those frequencies passively, but they are not actively targeting those frequencies. Most companies are not going to do the R&D to properly tune active cancellation on a low-cost (and now discontinued) vehicle like the FiST, so kudos to Thermal for doing it, and CP-E for trying.
There are some other interesting muffler manufacturers out there that make mufflers with built in quarter wave resonators, but I haven't been able to get a single one to reply to my emails about what frequencies they target (billy boat, corsa, several others). They're all interested in selling "systems" and not the mufflers themselves. I doubt any of them target the frequencies we want to target, because they all advertise "reduces rasp, adds a deep throaty tone" which implies they're only canceling high frequencies, leaving us with the troublesome low-end to deal with.
TL;DR - A Vibrant ultra quiet does not do anything to resolve "drone", as it only touches very high frequencies that "rasp". The Thermal system is the only system that properly actively cancels the frequencies we perceive as "drone", and the CP-E makes an admirable effort.
The problem with adding a vibrant ultra quiet is that it only attacks high frequencies and completely ignores the low end "drone" frequencies in the 106-107hz range. Those are *exactly* the frequencies everyone complains about as "droning". Without something actively working to cancel frequencies in that range, it uses the interior of the car like the body of a guitar and creates kind of a "feedback loop" making it resonate. You have to do something to absorb or cancel those frequencies, which takes either a billion yards of sound absorbing mat, a traditional muffler or resonator 10.5ish feet long (due to the length of a 106.67hz wave) or a quarter-wave or helmholtz resonator tuned to the specified frequency. Adding the ultra quiet to an already-loud exhaust just cancels out the quieter higher-pitched raspy sounds and leaves the boomy low-end sounds - thats why they're so popular to add to muffler-less exhaust systems. They do absolutely zero to kill drone but they make a cheap straight-piped exhaust sound not like a cheap straight-piped exhaust - so they're really popular with imports running ebay exhausts. The reason everyone likes the thermal system so much is that the quarter-wave resonator they hide in their rear muffler is perfectly tuned to kill that 106.67hz frequency that drives everyone nuts, with CP-E's helmholtz chamber (slightly too small for the job) as a close second.
It should be noted - just because someone says their exhaust doesn't drone does not make it true - the presence of a 106.67hz wave, and the 120hz secondary resonance it creates in the interior means you are droning. The presence of said frequencies is not a subjective thing - they are either present or they are not. The only two exhaust systems commonly available for the FiST in the US that do anything to actively cancel out the harmful frequencies are the Thermal and the CP-E. Yes, there are others that accidentally attenuate those frequencies passively, but they are not actively targeting those frequencies. Most companies are not going to do the R&D to properly tune active cancellation on a low-cost (and now discontinued) vehicle like the FiST, so kudos to Thermal for doing it, and CP-E for trying.
There are some other interesting muffler manufacturers out there that make mufflers with built in quarter wave resonators, but I haven't been able to get a single one to reply to my emails about what frequencies they target (billy boat, corsa, several others). They're all interested in selling "systems" and not the mufflers themselves. I doubt any of them target the frequencies we want to target, because they all advertise "reduces rasp, adds a deep throaty tone" which implies they're only canceling high frequencies, leaving us with the troublesome low-end to deal with.
TL;DR - A Vibrant ultra quiet does not do anything to resolve "drone", as it only touches very high frequencies that "rasp". The Thermal system is the only system that properly actively cancels the frequencies we perceive as "drone", and the CP-E makes an admirable effort.
Have you actually done this mod yourself, or are you just talking based on no actual experience? I bought a used Fiesta that had the muffler delete and the drone was unbearable. It literally hurt my ears after awhile. I added the Vibrant before the tailpipe and it did WONDERS for reducing the booming resonant drone that was present before. It was a night and day difference and I think anyone would be hard pressed NOT to notice a substantial improvement. Add to that the fact that MANY of the reviews on the Vibrant specifically mention an improvement in the droning of the car. Is it completely eliminated? No, it is not. Is it vastly better and infinitely more tolerable? Yes, most definitely. Obviously, a thermal or a Milltek is a better solution, but for $70 I now have a car I can live with and the exhaust note sounds really nice without being obnoxious. I can't speak for all the technical reasons why the resonator can or can not reduce drone. All I can do is share my experience so that others may profit. I read about 2 dozen threads on the subject and got really conflicting opinions, so I just wanted to share my ACTUAL real world experience. I am very satisfied with the muffler delete with the addition of the Vibrant until I decide to upgrade the entire exhaust, and it most definitely improved the booming drone that was present previously. I would also recommend doing the symposer delete as that also really helped as well.
Yes I actually have used the ultra quiet on a fiesta, and am a big fan of the ultra quiet in general - it does great at its intended function, which is attenuating high frequencies. If you leave the stock resonator and replace the muffler with an ultra quiet, it attenuates the worst low end frequencies (the stock resonator does) and let’s the ultra quiet handle the rasp, and works pretty well. Without the stock resonator in place, the ultra quiet doesn’t touch the harmful low end frequencies. What you wind up with is an abundance of low end barely perceivable frequencies that you might not totally “hear”, but still rattle the interior and damage your ears. I have done I believe 2 big threads here digging into the acoustics, one of them work an ultra quiet demonstrating the frequencies that aren’t touched with a spectrum analyzer. The ultra quiet is awesome, but the FiST *especially* with 3” exhaust, has a bad habit of resonating those frequencies. I’m not one to chime in with opinions on this stuff, I’ll propose a hypothesis then spend absurd amounts of time and money to validate my wife works in audiology which is what led me to my original interest in researching exhaust acoustics. I’ve now built 3 full stainless catbacks and also purchased an mbrp that I de-droned to prove it was possible. I *love* this stuff if you are really interested I think I even posted a “drone cancellation calculator” that I made to help for what I have spent testing and developing my own exhausts I could’ve bought more than 3-4 thermals, but I like doing it because it’s fun and I am weird.
do whatever floats your boat, but be careful, frequencies you don’t hear can still damage your ears, and hearing doesn’t come back once you lose it.
also - removing the symposer improves the sound signature of the car significantly and gets rid of the oscillating sound you get with a louder exhaust. 10/10 would delete symposer again! I guess it’s fine on a stock car but I found it annoying.
edit: don’t take the above as argument, I really like discussing this stuff because acoustics are fascinating.
my wife works in audiology which is what led me to my original interest in researching exhaust acoustics. I’ve now built 3 full stainless catbacks and also purchased an mbrp that I de-droned to prove it was possible. I *love* this stuff if you are really interested I think I even posted a “drone cancellation calculator” that I made to help for what I have spent testing and developing my own exhausts I could’ve bought more than 3-4 thermals, but I like doing it because it’s fun and I am weird.do whatever floats your boat, but be careful, frequencies you don’t hear can still damage your ears, and hearing doesn’t come back once you lose it.
also - removing the symposer improves the sound signature of the car significantly and gets rid of the oscillating sound you get with a louder exhaust. 10/10 would delete symposer again! I guess it’s fine on a stock car but I found it annoying.
edit: don’t take the above as argument, I really like discussing this stuff because acoustics are fascinating.
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