Exhaust/Muffler?

one not so small nit: decibels (dB) aren't linear units, they're logarithmic. so each 3dB change is a *doubling* or halving. 87dB is half as much sound energy as 90dB, 84 half of that (1/4th of 90dB), etc. 

This is a useful discussion! I did a quick search of five minutes or so and found an interesting comparison. What makes it interesting is that it has the flow and decibels for straight through and turbo type designs. Not all models and manufacturers are covered, but it gives some sense of what you are getting with different designs. I have found other similar comparisons that have most of the mufflers talked about, I just did not have the time to search them out.

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&title=Giant-Muffler-Comparison-Detailed-Test-Results&A=0383

The difference in flow is 378 vs 252 straight through vs turbo. This is the best of each, but it gives some idea. If performance is a priority then clearly this is worth paying attention to. That is something like a 30% flow increase, which has serious performance ramifications. It also includes links to audio clips, which covers the very important sound quality, not just volume.

Mufflers are truly a matter of taste with no right or wrong answers, as has been mentioned here, but it is worth knowing the hard facts behind the choices, otherwise you are just dealing with anecdotes and ad copy.

Chris

Edited by ccowx - Jan/11/2018 at 10:19pm

 It's hard to beat a new set of flow-thru Trendsetter/Sidewinders for sound and looks- IMHO... just a thought.  Bruce