350Z factory muffler MOD
I've found this place to be full of children, Inet warriors. I've built cars for the since I was 14, I'm 51 now. I bought a used exhaust system to play around with and still keep the original if I decide to go back with it. Haven't had time to mess with it, still cleaning up from hurricane Ike, we were flooded.
What's interesting is the rude comments, who cares what you make?. The wife and I are in that group they refer to as the upper 5% earners, but I can't see value in spending a lot of cash for something I already have, an exhaust system. So I decided to modify by doing just as you did. The difference is that I'll probably sit with it gutted for a few weeks before I decide how I want to alter the guts, already looking into some mandrel bent tubing.
The top cover will be removable for the time as I want to be able to change things as I go until I get the right sound I'm looking for. How to do that, a calibrated mic to capture the sound file and then identify the noise I want with audio software, spectrum analyzer. Remove differing sounds from the file and then make the adjustment needed in the muffler.
It's not going to happen over night. I'm almost complete on the Ike clean-up, but now we have baseball season, so I'm at practice with the son every night.
I still pop in here now and again to see what folks are doing. Hats off to you for not following the norm. When I see some one try something new, I like it. I doubt if there are very few here that know more about automobiles than I and the way I see it, any bozo can buy a name brand.
What's interesting is the rude comments, who cares what you make?. The wife and I are in that group they refer to as the upper 5% earners, but I can't see value in spending a lot of cash for something I already have, an exhaust system. So I decided to modify by doing just as you did. The difference is that I'll probably sit with it gutted for a few weeks before I decide how I want to alter the guts, already looking into some mandrel bent tubing.
The top cover will be removable for the time as I want to be able to change things as I go until I get the right sound I'm looking for. How to do that, a calibrated mic to capture the sound file and then identify the noise I want with audio software, spectrum analyzer. Remove differing sounds from the file and then make the adjustment needed in the muffler.
It's not going to happen over night. I'm almost complete on the Ike clean-up, but now we have baseball season, so I'm at practice with the son every night.
I still pop in here now and again to see what folks are doing. Hats off to you for not following the norm. When I see some one try something new, I like it. I doubt if there are very few here that know more about automobiles than I and the way I see it, any bozo can buy a name brand.
lol
You want to be the 40+ year old unbolting the exhaust go ahead. I think you'll be in the minority since the vast majority of people interested in this are in over their heads in debt for the car and thus can't afford exhausts pre made.
Granted, this type of $hit was excusable when there wasn't ANY mods available for the Z when it first came out. (I was there). But now it's just like stickers and neon lights... it's for kids.
Granted, this type of $hit was excusable when there wasn't ANY mods available for the Z when it first came out. (I was there). But now it's just like stickers and neon lights... it's for kids.
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here is how the 350z sounds like with the same mod the OP performed to the stock muffler.
Mind you this is not my car, found a clip on youtube while searching around. enjoy:
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Mind you this is not my car, found a clip on youtube while searching around. enjoy:
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That sounds horrible. If you want to go cheap do like I'm about to, axle back. I'm going to get a Magnaflow universal muffler and fab up a short pipe to connect to the midpipe. Then I have the option to later buy an aftermarket midpipe and y-pipe.
These two videos were made right before I took my Z in to get its exhaust welded back onto the muffler. The connection from the exhaust to the muffler snapped off and some fumes were still making there way through the muffler but the majority of it was escaping from the broken pipe.
Video #1 is just an audio of the reving sounds when in park
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Video #2 is an audio of accelerating, nothing crazy but I let the RPM's get around 5000 before shifting. I dont start driving until around 35 seconds into the clip, dont mind the video I wasn't really recording anything other then the sound so you dont get to see much.
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Anyways, IMO the car sounded much more aggressive and powerful (it actually accelerated much faster through gears 1-3) with no muffler. But after a few days the noise started giving me a splitting headache so I had it reattached.
Video #1 is just an audio of the reving sounds when in park
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Video #2 is an audio of accelerating, nothing crazy but I let the RPM's get around 5000 before shifting. I dont start driving until around 35 seconds into the clip, dont mind the video I wasn't really recording anything other then the sound so you dont get to see much.
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Anyways, IMO the car sounded much more aggressive and powerful (it actually accelerated much faster through gears 1-3) with no muffler. But after a few days the noise started giving me a splitting headache so I had it reattached.
For what its worth, My last 350z had a fujitsubo legalis-r/kinetix resonated test-pipe setup on it...To this date I cant recall a sweeter sounding exhaust
set-up on a Z car...
Just my .02
Hmmm, horrible?? I dont know if I would say that...For someone who has the resources to perform this "mod" for free rather then spend $500-$1000 or more on an exhaust system that could potentially sound like $hit (which imo at least half the a/m exhausts for the Z do), I think it sounds decent...
For what its worth, My last 350z had a fujitsubo legalis-r/kinetix resonated test-pipe setup on it...To this date I cant recall a sweeter sounding exhaust
set-up on a Z car...
Just my .02
For what its worth, My last 350z had a fujitsubo legalis-r/kinetix resonated test-pipe setup on it...To this date I cant recall a sweeter sounding exhaust
set-up on a Z car...
Just my .02
I have an E-cutout just before the mufler and it sounds great!!
Flip the switch, and it dumps the exhaust just before the muffler, with zero rasp. Then ten mins later get supper annoyed with the loud a$$ exhaust, flip the switch and back to stock!! Best $200 i've spent!! Loud a$$ exhaust will and does get really annoying after a while, esp on the interstate so this is a great alternative!
Flip the switch, and it dumps the exhaust just before the muffler, with zero rasp. Then ten mins later get supper annoyed with the loud a$$ exhaust, flip the switch and back to stock!! Best $200 i've spent!! Loud a$$ exhaust will and does get really annoying after a while, esp on the interstate so this is a great alternative!
You want to be the 40+ year old unbolting the exhaust go ahead. I think you'll be in the minority since the vast majority of people interested in this are in over their heads in debt for the car and thus can't afford exhausts pre made.
Granted, this type of $hit was excusable when there wasn't ANY mods available for the Z when it first came out. (I was there). But now it's just like stickers and neon lights... it's for kids.
Granted, this type of $hit was excusable when there wasn't ANY mods available for the Z when it first came out. (I was there). But now it's just like stickers and neon lights... it's for kids.
During my hot rodding days, there wasn't a big after market for parts. So we made a lot of our own and did most of our own machine work and fitted what we needed. In the process, you learn from your mistakes.
When it comes down to the final, it's not rocket science, it's more horse sense. I'm just not willing to pay some one's 300% markup for something I can do myself.




