Custom exhaust - muffler suggestions

[Stormy]

Hey guys. Looking to build a custom 2.5 system. I want the finished product to be as quiet as possible. I know that it's going to have to be somewhat louder in order to gain performance but I want to keep noise the minimum, especially in the cabin. My wife already complains about how loud the FiST is compared to her legacy and I've already deleted the symposer, plussed up with quieter tires and sound deadened the cabin. In cabin drone is my biggest concern. Looking to use the Vibrant ultra quiet resonator but need advice on a muffler, preferably 1 in, 2 out. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Mike V]

For the time and price you will spend on a custom system I would opt for remaining stock. The factory system flows very well and is about as quiet as you'll find. If you want performance without raising interior sound levels go for a Cobb accessport and tune.

Many muffler shops will charge you several hundred for a custom system.

 

[HBEcoBeaST]

Hey guys. Looking to build a custom 2.5 system. I want the finished product to be as quiet as possible. I know that it's going to have to be somewhat louder in order to gain performance but I want to keep noise the minimum, especially in the cabin. My wife already complains about how loud the FiST is compared to her legacy and I've already deleted the symposer, plussed up with quieter tires and sound deadened the cabin. In cabin drone is my biggest concern. Looking to use the Vibrant ultra quiet resonator but need advice on a muffler, preferably 1 in, 2 out. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I know vibrant makes decent mufflers for V8s. More of a low burble sound than all out loudness. On a V8 Dodge Ram 1500 the Vibrant and Borla systems sound similar but Vibrant was more quiet (it was resonated not sure about the Borla).

Remus has a very quiet exhaust as well available in an axle back. Cool muffler tips on this one.

What sound deadening did you do? I want to go this route. I heard the entire floor from firewall to spare tire area and the hatch make the biggest difference. Unfortunately, the Fiesta is at the bottom of Ford's food chain so we don't get much sound deadening from the factory. There's basically zero deadening between the cabin and firewall. Really let's the engine noise come through. Maybe that's what she's hearing? Anecdotally the sound deadening hoodliners help with this as well as sound deadening the floor in the footwells and dash area.

Stock exhaust is pretty quiet. Maybe it's the engine itself you're hearing.

Most muffler shops by me use Flowmaster or Magnaflow mufflers. Neither of which are quiet.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[redmoe]

I went with a standard magnaflow 2.5 inch muffler and 2.5 inch pipe. I don’t find it loud or drony but it all subjective. I think my 392 challenger is a bit loud with muffler deletes and others want their scat packs louder lol.

 

[VuDoo]

Earplugs for your wife is probably the cheapest route and guaranteed to be quiet. But seriously, you are not going to find anything more quiet than stock and I think that you will be hard pressed to find someone in this forum that can even point you in the right direction. Most people on here want MORE sound and spend a pretty penny to get it.
With that being said, it might be possible to remove the resonator and stick the largest muffler you can fit, in its place. The resonator is 15.5" long and there is a few more inches before the pipe goes into a slight bend. So, if you were to find a round body muffler about 18" long that might be your best bet. If you were wanting to really do a custom exhaust, finding a muffler to fit the area will be tricky and most likely you will end up with a smaller muffler which will increase the noise. This is just not a luxury car, it is just built to put smiles on faces. Sound deadening be damned.

 

[Stormy]

For the time and price you will spend on a custom system I would opt for remaining stock. The factory system flows very well and is about as quiet as you'll find. If you want performance without raising interior sound levels go for a Cobb accessport and tune.

Many muffler shops will charge you several hundred for a custom system.

Already stage 2 OTS and will be protuned through Tune+ next weekend. Trying to save some money over going MAP or Fswerks.

 

[Stormy]

I know vibrant makes decent mufflers for V8s. More of a low burble sound than all out loudness. On a V8 Dodge Ram 1500 the Vibrant and Borla systems sound similar but Vibrant was more quiet (it was resonated not sure about the Borla).

Remus has a very quiet exhaust as well available in an axle back. Cool muffler tips on this one.

What sound deadening did you do? I want to go this route. I heard the entire floor from firewall to spare tire area and the hatch make the biggest difference. Unfortunately, the Fiesta is at the bottom of Ford's food chain so we don't get much sound deadening from the factory. There's basically zero deadening between the cabin and firewall. Really let's the engine noise come through. Maybe that's what she's hearing? Anecdotally the sound deadening hoodliners help with this as well as sound deadening the floor in the footwells and dash area.

Stock exhaust is pretty quiet. Maybe it's the engine itself you're hearing.

Most muffler shops by me use Flowmaster or Magnaflow mufflers. Neither of which are quiet.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I did RAAM Mat and ensolite over pretty much every accessible inch of floor and doors. It definitely helped a noticeable about but it's still far from like family sedan quiet.

I'm not saying stock is loud. I'm just trying to make the most of my pro tune, which means I need an exhaust but I want to introduce the least amount of cabin noise possible.

 

[Stormy]

Earplugs for your wife is probably the cheapest route and guaranteed to be quiet. But seriously, you are not going to find anything more quiet than stock and I think that you will be hard pressed to find someone in this forum that can even point you in the right direction. Most people on here want MORE sound and spend a pretty penny to get it.
With that being said, it might be possible to remove the resonator and stick the largest muffler you can fit, in its place. The resonator is 15.5" long and there is a few more inches before the pipe goes into a slight bend. So, if you were to find a round body muffler about 18" long that might be your best bet. If you were wanting to really do a custom exhaust, finding a muffler to fit the area will be tricky and most likely you will end up with a smaller muffler which will increase the noise. This is just not a luxury car, it is just built to put smiles on faces. Sound deadening be damned.

I'm not sure what's giving everyone the impression that I want quieter than stock. I just don't want a loud ass, droning, sucks to commute with exhaust. Also all performance cars, even inexpensive hot hatches have to be loud. Performance cars can be quiet-ish.

 

[Stormy]

Ok, let me clarify. Yes, I joke about my wife complaining about the car being loud, which is true, but there is a lot more to it than that. I have owned a lot of tuned cars and hot hatches and the FiST is definitely the loudest in regards to road noise. I am also a former car audio competitor and sound quality judge and I've got a lot of money and effort into audio upgrades, inclusion the sound deadening. I am tuning this car for maximum performance, but at the same time I don't believe this means that I have to live with excessive powertrain noise. Anyone who's driven a German or Japanese car knows that not all performance cars have to be loud by nature. I know there have to be compromises along the way but I don't want to have to crank the stereo to drown out a loud exhaust or yell to have a conversation at highway speed if I don't have to. At the same time, the stock exhaust is going to cost me power due to back pressure, especially when I'm running an e30 tune for track days. I'd just like some educated opinions on a muffler that won't neuter my build, nor make the cabin an echo chamber. Thanks.

 

[Business6]

From what I've read and viewed the stock exhaust won't stop you from doing anything at all until you get a larger turbo. It's why a lot of people only recommend an FMIC + AP until you decide to get a turbo upgrade as, power wise, that is the weak point in the system.

 

[Stormy]

From what I've read and viewed the stock exhaust won't stop you from doing anything at all until you get a larger turbo. It's why a lot of people only recommend an FMIC + AP until you decide to get a turbo upgrade as, power wise, that is the weak point in the system.

This was the impression I had as well but I've been working with Tune+ and this is what came from my discussion with Adam when I asked about DP and exhaust upgrades before my protune.

"That is correct, we recommend keeping the stock downpipe on the car until you do a turbo upgrade. Even then if you go with a x37/X47 turbo you can still get away with the stock downpipe without being held back too much.

The catback does have gains, in fact on a stock turbo Fiesta with stock charge pipes, GFB DV+, stock intake, and stock downpipe the MAP catback made nearly 15hp increase. "

So exhaust is definitely something I'm going to need since I will have more mods than his example. They really like the MAP system and it seems fairly quiet but if I can build a custom exhaust that's even a bit better I don't mind going that route. Could probably save some money too if I don't have to mess around trying a bunch of different mufflers. That is why I'm trying to farm advice from people who may have gone custom.

 

[ranger024x4]

Probably not the answer you are looking for but I have the Thermal R&D exhaust and love it. Has a nice tone outside without being obnoxious inside.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Vibrant ultra quiet res and a vibrant muffler sounds pretty decent on a turbo 4 while pretty subdued. You could add a Helmholtz res too, get the frequency you need to cancel and it’s not too hard to calculate the length of Helmholtz needed to resolve the remaining drone.

 

[HBEcoBeaST]

I would really like to see the dynos for the catback tests. All the dynos that I've seen showing gains are either presented by the manufacturer and/or running a stock tune. 15hp is a HUGE gain for our platform.

I know Stratified will not change their tunes regardless of the OEM or aftermarket catback. It's the downpipe that makes the biggest difference.

Unfortunately there's not a huge market for quiet exhasts and that's why companies don't develop them.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Ptuning_Nate]

I would have to say if you want a very well made and good sounding but not loud exhaust the mountune one would be fight up your alley, i know your looking into having a custom one made, but the quality on the mountune exhaust is high, it sounds great on WOT but its not very loud

 

[Ptuning_Nate]

I would really like to see the dynos for the catback tests. All the dynos that I've seen showing gains are either presented by the manufacturer and/or running a stock tune. 15hp is a HUGE gain for our platform.

I know Stratified will not change their tunes regardless of the OEM or aftermarket catback. It's the downpipe that makes the biggest difference.

Unfortunately there's not a huge market for quiet exhasts and that's why companies don't develop them.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Intake and exhaust really net no gain at all if your on the stock turbo :/, the stock turbo is the bottleneck not the exhaust