gains of a muffler upgrade

Topic: gains of a muffler upgrade (Read 2413 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #25 – July 09, 2020, 07:29:48 am

Quote

Have you had a chance to hear the difference between your straight pipe and a resonator set-up?

My understanding of how a resonator works is that it removes the higher frequencies, but leaves the lower ones -- it shapes the sound to sound "better". Of course, that's subjective. I can tell you that my next door neighbor and some campers have complemented me on the sound. No complaints yet, but I'm idling up my neighborhood street or in the campgrounds. It'll be loud when you put your foot in it. But, so is my fully muffled F350.

It does sounds a lot like the too small muffler coal rollers. Whenever I hear a Dodge Cummins, I look around. The M11 is similar, but deeper.

Quote from: DJ and Jane – July 08, 2020, 11:27:52 pm

How loud is it in the bedroom while traveling down the road?

IMHO, too loud. But, both my wife and my brother-in-law think it's just fine. My wife likes constant noise to sleep and my brother-in-law finds a diesel sound soothing. Going down the road, nobody has slept back there yet.

I can't tell you if there was a change because my stock muffler was shot when I bought the coach. However, my sense is that most of the sound is outside, by far. I wouldn't be surprised if bigdog measured little change in the bedroom.

Chuck, the comment about Santa Fe brought back some memories. We were camping in the Colorado mountains at about 9000 feet with my F350 and fifth wheel. To leave, you had to pull out of your site, drive downhill, and turn around in a loop at the base of the hill. That F350 belched smoke for quite a while (3-5 seconds?) until the wheels started moving. Never experienced that before or since. In normal circumstances (600 feet), even with the fifth wheel, it's not a smoker.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #26 – July 09, 2020, 07:56:14 am

Man just wants a cooler bedroom..he will get it. I've never seen a motor home that put me in mind of a A Dodge Cummins with a Bully dog chip in it driven by a 25 yo and I get around.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #27 – July 09, 2020, 09:00:46 am

I wonder if anybody who's done the resonator or straight pipe is unhappy with their decision and went back (or wanted to go back) to stock. That's probably a better diagnostic than "was it worth it?" or "what does it sound like?".

I am going to try to get sound level measurements in the bedroom while idling and cruising next time I'm out.

I think the cooler bedroom and faster turbo spooling are two sides of the same coin -- the exhaust is getting out and away from the vehicle faster with less resistance than from the muffler.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #28 – July 09, 2020, 09:12:08 am

Quote from: trailertrashrick – July 09, 2020, 09:00:46 am

I wonder if anybody who's done the resonator or straight pipe is unhappy with their decision and went back (or wanted to go back) to stock. That's probably a better diagnostic than "was it worth it?" or "what does it sound like?".

I am going to try to get sound level measurements in the bedroom while idling and cruising next time I'm out.

I think the cooler bedroom and faster turbo spooling are two sides of the same coin -- the exhaust is getting out and away from the vehicle faster with less resistance than from the muffler.

I would appreciate the measurements in the bedroom. The reason I ask is because we turned the closet into bunks for the kids and sometimes they go back there to take their naps (4 and 5). I wouldn't want them laying back there going deaf. The cooler temperatures would be awesome. Especially when you roll into Walmart at 8:00pm and go to bed at 9:00pm.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #29 – July 09, 2020, 09:58:23 am

We have a resonator. I did the swap cuz it seemed (to me) like a fun project. I like the sound. I would not go back to stock.

If you do the mod, I personally don't believe you will see a large quantifiable change in bedroom temperature. I realize there are many anecdotal Forum stories about reduced temps in the bedroom, but I don't recall any actual scientific before-and-after measurements to prove this "fact".

I mean, just think about it. You have, especially in the U320, this massive lump of iron (the engine block) heated to around 180-220 degrees when going down the road. When you stop and park, all that hot metal radiates HEAT, which rises directly under the bedroom floor. Until the engine, turbocharger, transmission, and radiator (eventually) cool down, it is gonna be HOT in the engine compartment. No way around it.

Of course, removing the enormous stock muffler and replacing it with a small muffler (or no muffler) will certainly make some difference in how much heat rises below the bedroom. Fact: a BIG hot muffler stores/radiates more heat than a small hot muffler (or straight pipe).

But, consider the muffler heat radiation as a percentage of the overall total heat radiation from the whole engine/transmission assembly. How much difference will the muffler mod make in bedroom heat? No much, in my opinion. I would welcome hard evidence to the contrary.

I believe you could make a much bigger difference in bedroom heat by improving the quantity and quality of heat insulation between the engine compartment and the bedroom floor/bed platform. There are many Forum threads about this subject.

One might also consider the installation of some electric exhaust fans to suck heat out of the engine compartment after shutdown.

All of this, of course, is only my armchair opinion.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #30 – July 09, 2020, 10:13:02 am

I agree with Chuck. I still have noticeable heat in the bedroom. The radiator and block are still there and hot.

I like the faster spooling and the sound, especially under bridges and in tunnels. I don't see any improvement in power or economy.

I'll keep my resonator.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #31 – July 09, 2020, 10:31:18 am

The exhaust system can get to 800 degrees pretty easily. That's a lot of btu s .

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #32 – July 09, 2020, 10:37:29 am

Even when you change (or remove) the muffler, you still have the turbo in place. It gets pretty warm.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #33 – July 09, 2020, 10:57:40 am

A turbo blanket and heat wrapping the exhaust pipes made a big difference in the bedroom temps for me. Yes, the engine block itself might be 200 deg but the turbo was glowing red hot. Most of that heat passes out of the tailpipe now and does not radiate into the engine bay. I have not changed my muffler.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #34 – July 09, 2020, 10:59:06 am

The PO installed the resonator on my FT so I have no comparison. It's loud if you're outside and performs nicely.
One tip though, mine has a 5" tailpipe with a slight downward bend. On a dirt or gravel road you can see me coming for miles with the dust cloud it stirs up. I loosened the clamp and tried to roll it more to the side but no joy. It appears it has welded itself to the resonator. So I'll either go to a muffler shop or pull out the sawzall when I get home and cut some off since it sticks out 8" or so. Any idea how much is needed to not harm the fiberglass or paint?

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #35 – July 09, 2020, 11:03:48 am

Did a lot of dual Hayden trans cooler fan installs in the rear grilles on ORED's to remove heat from the engine bay after stopping. Some manual. Some auto

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #36 – July 09, 2020, 12:11:53 pm

Quote from: folivier – July 09, 2020, 10:59:06 am

The PO installed the resonator on my FT so I have no comparison. It's loud if you're outside and performs nicely.
One tip though, mine has a 5" tailpipe with a slight downward bend. On a dirt or gravel road you can see me coming for miles with the dust cloud it stirs up. I loosened the clamp and tried to roll it more to the side but no joy. It appears it has welded itself to the resonator. So I'll either go to a muffler shop or pull out the sawzall when I get home and cut some off since it sticks out 8" or so. Any idea how much is needed to not harm the fiberglass or paint?

I used an air grinder and tried to follow the angle of the original tip. I was also able to angle it out to the side a bit. You might be able to use Corrosion X or a propane torch to free it up to rotate.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #37 – July 09, 2020, 12:55:27 pm

Folovier, If you are towing you might want to make sure that the diesel soot isn't going to cover your towed
Chris

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #38 – July 09, 2020, 01:55:51 pm

DJ, while installing your bunkbeds system, it will help dramatically if you cover the bedroom area with DynaMat.. When I did that, it made a huge difference in noise and heat reduction.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #39 – July 09, 2020, 04:13:13 pm

Goes into my muffler shop the 22nd. I'll let you all know how it sounds and works. Straight pipe for now

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #40 – July 09, 2020, 04:26:11 pm

Another vote for the straight pipe club.
As we began towing our jeep ( no toad prior) I got the bright idea that removing the stock muffler MIGHT add a horsepower or 2. I have to believe that it did.
Reason why is that prior to the muffler removal going northbound on I 5 Washington numerous times the 8.3 would shift down on 2 or 3 particular hills. After removing the muffler and going straight pipe only I found it no longer shifting down on those hills. And that was adding the jeep towed to the mix.
I was prepared to add the resonator if I found myself unhappy with the increased sound but so far we're ok with it. When cruising through a campground it's pretty ok,, unless there's a hill or even a speed bump to power over then we're making some racket.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #41 – July 09, 2020, 07:45:22 pm

Quote from: MarkC – July 09, 2020, 01:55:51 pm

DJ, while installing your bunkbeds system, it will help dramatically if you cover the bedroom area with DynaMat.. When I did that, it made a huge difference in noise and heat reduction.

Thanks Mark, doesn't that stuff go under the carpet? I didn't go too deep. I tried to leave it where I could put it all back if for some reason I have to.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #42 – July 09, 2020, 09:38:29 pm

I put a resonator on our 2000 that we just sold. My stock muffler was rusted out. It's louder in the bedroom but not deafening the couple of times I've been back there I'm typically in the driver seat so I don't get to hear. Our new to us coach came with a resonator and it's not that bad in the bedroom sound wise, yeah it's louder outside but I can't hear from the driver seat unless we go through a tunnel or under an overpass or next to a concrete barrier. I like the sound probably would never go back to a muffler.. May just be in my head but the bedroom seemed cooler when we would stop for the night...
For those of you thinking about switching to a resonator I put a Jones 50-50 XL on my 2000 it was about half the price of the aero turbine and from the research that I did it is identical inside and outside to the aero turbine so look into that and save a little money, I got mine for under 100 bucks delivered. Somebody with minimal mechanical skills can't do the change it's not that hard, buy the parts at a diesel parts shop or online. Needed a couple of hangers a 90*, a 45*, 3or4 band clamps and a little flex pipe to make it work. All was 5".. I was able to reuse the tip and turned it out to not stir up dust.

Keith

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #43 – July 09, 2020, 09:45:36 pm

I was going to do it and your right it isn't a huge job although getting everything apart is always the tuff part but my muffler shop is 1 mile away, has a pit for motorhomes and will charge an hour labor plus parts. I gave into that offer. I ordered my heat wrap today on ebay and will wrap it from the elbow the entire distance past the cooler. Excited to hear the turbo more than anything. When I did this on my 97, 12 valve in my Chevy dually truck, it really freed up the turbo

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #44 – July 09, 2020, 09:50:19 pm

Quote from: dans96u295ft – July 09, 2020, 09:45:36 pm

I was going to do it and your right it isn't a huge job although getting everything apart is always the tuff part but my muffler shop is 1 mile away, has a pit for motorhomes and will charge an hour labor plus parts. I gave into that offer. I ordered my heat wrap today on ebay and will wrap it from the elbow the entire distance past the cooler. Excited to hear the turbo more than anything. When I did this on my 97, 12 valve in my Chevy dually truck, it really freed up the turbo

For 1 hour labor I would let them do it too!!!

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #45 – July 09, 2020, 11:25:17 pm

DJ, yes, I did put the DynaMat under the carpet. I was replacing the carpet, so at the same time, I covered the floor and bed pedestal with DynaMat in the bedroom. Then I removed all the Heat Blankets inside the engine area, covered it all with DynaMat including the bed cover, and then put the Heat Blankets back on. So I really have two layers of the DynaMat plus the heat blankets. My wife says it is much quieter than before, but the big change is the heat. After 8 hours on the road, when we park we get virtually zero heat coming into the bedroom now, before, the bedroom temp would rise at least 20 or more degrees when we parked.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #46 – July 09, 2020, 11:29:07 pm

Robert, did you use 5" pipe and resonator all the way out ?

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #47 – July 10, 2020, 06:38:41 pm

Just don't kid yourself about the noise. When I was a parker during the Alaskan Motorcade it was obvious who had removed their mufflers. Be prepared for complaints in RV parks.

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #48 – July 10, 2020, 08:37:24 pm

12 years with a 5" resonator after removing our muffler, 88,000 miles, hundreds of RV parks, never one comment Still prepared though!!

Re: gains of a muffler upgrade

Reply #49 – July 10, 2020, 09:50:47 pm

Well now unless your one of those folks that are nuisance idlers how long are you going to run your coach in the camp ground! Just saying.

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