So I'm thinking this summer I'll get some 3" stainless tubing and bend up a new exhaust pipe from the turbo back. In West Virginia they don't check for emissions or look to see if there is a cat so all I need is a muffler. I don't want to sound like a Subaru fart-cannon but I want more turbo whine and a bit of throatiness. I don't want the car to stand out too much. I don't know what a glass pack would do, but what exhaust notes have you all gotten with what types of mufflers?

 

If you don't want teh car to stand out, don't put a 3" system on it.

Regards, Andrew.

 

It's more like I don't want it to be like a rice-rocket or a subaru. A little bit of beefy sound won't hurt.

 

3" is fine...

Mine is actually very quiet for a 3"

 

O.K, well if you don't want that ricer sound, be sure and fit a good muffler. It's hard sometimes trying to understand what some people want with a 3" exhaust, some want that obnoxious sound!
You can buy A Dynamaxiflohookerthrush muffler, or you can get a nice big truck muffler fitted under the car.
All the Japanese light trucks run some really good 3/3.5/4" inlet mufflers, and good aftermarket mufflers are available dirt cheap for them. They also flow very well as they're all designed for turbocharged 3-8 litre engines.


Regards, Andrew.

 

A quick lesson in sound and exhaust systems.

3 inch exhaust won't necessarily make your vehicle louder. A glass pack won't necessarily make it sound ricey.

The reason asian cars have that sound has to do with a small high rev motor and the way the make power. Also the exhaust system that makes those fart can noises or any exhaust system for that matter should be viewed in the same way that a brass instrument is constructed. If you have a 2 inch exhaust with a 4 inch tip on it, regardless of what muffler you have on it will be louder than the same exhaust with a 2 inch tip on it.

It also has to do with resonance and length of exhaust tubing used, internal volume of the exhaust, and exit point on the car. A side out exhaust will always sound louder than an exhaust that aims out the back even if you used the same amount of tubing. Turbos also quiet an engine note down. If i were you I would go on youtube and search things like volvo glasspack, or volvo magnaflow. Find something you like and go for it.

 

Hmmm, a lot of those videos end up sounding the same. Pretty close to a subaru. I have a lot of time till I do this, so I'm going to ask some custom shops and get more opinions. Andrew, nice clean underside. I like that shiny trann'y.

 

SO do i! One of the reasons I bought the car was the trans was rebuilt about 25k kms before I bought it. That and a full Volvo dealer service history convinced me.
The exhaust on my car is not ricey at all, it's not deep either, it's pretty distinctive, but not ridiculously loud. Sort of loud normal car. It's pretty unrestrictive though, I question the need for 3" systems on anything less than a very serious engine and intend to prove it with a dyno run once the cam goes in.

Regards, Andrew.

 

So the time for a new exhaust is finally coming! My muffler and resonator are rusting through and the clamp between the cat and the resonator has let go. It was probably thanks to my turbo job.

After looking at the rear end of the turbo, I decided that a 2.5" system would probably be fine ( since the out let of a TD05-12B is just over 2 inches). When I went to the scrap yard and saw all the 3" stuff I needed, I figured it was a sign from God. Maybe in the future I will go the route of a custom redblock. This stuff looks like it came out a a food processing factory, so it looks like a really good alloy. All the bends look like they were made as a bend, rather than a straight pipe that was mandrel bent. So the cross-sectional area of the bends are the same as the straight stuff. My personal favorite is the already made s-pipe for the tail end. I know some people hate it, but I really wanted to keep it.

So now I need to pick a muffler....
I'm thinking about going with the mildest performance 3" muffler they sell. I just want flow and a bit of turbo whine, but not much else. Any one know if the muffler placement makes much of a difference in sound or anything (as in closer to the down pipe or nearer to the tail pipe)?

Comments welcome!

 

I have 3" from the cat back, with no resonator and a Dynaflow muffler. Throaty enough without much negative attention.

 

Well it's done. I'm going to put the car on a lift and get a pic soon. For now I have these pics.

It's an all stainless steel system from the turbo back that I made and welded myself. It took a lot of time to make it all fit perfect, but when it came time to test it for the first time, it was done right. It's 3" in diameter. I went with a Magnaflow stainless steel muffler that is warranteed for life. It's and 18" long can. The oval is a 5" by 8". It's louder than stock and lets the turbo whisper sweet sounds to my ears. It's also quieter than I was expecting, which is good. Overall, I'm very happy with it. There is no cat or resonator either.

 

Here are some underside pics. It's over kill. It's actually pretty quiet and un annoying. The smells rich and the tail pipe looks rich.