I've been thinking about them for a while on a number of vehicles... in particular, my Fiero, and then also on my Crown Victoria.
My Crown Vic is an LX, with a massive leather bench seat, and a wood steering wheel. You can hear it when it first starts up, and it's got a little bit of a deep deep exhaust burble when it's at idle.
When cruising around, you don't hear the car at all though... sometimes I accidentally creep up on bicyclists (not on purpose) and they get freaked out... kind of like the absense of sound that you get from a Prius when it's on battery power.
I like it like that... it's ultra quiet, and I can't hear a damned thing outside when I'm driving around either.
But every now and then, I like to stomp on it. I've got a number of some rather subtle performance parts on it, and kind of think I'd like to add exhaust cut-outs to the list. I like the upgrades that let me have my cake and eat it too... like for example... I opted for a transmission tune when I reflashed my ECM. Anything up to 1/2 throttle, the car shifts real smooth, quiet, and you don't even feel it. 3/4 throttle... it's a bit more stuff, and shifts at full throttle will send people flying into the back seat if they aren't strapped in. It breaks the tires loose on the shift from 1st to 2nd every time with 2.73:1 gears.
So the exhaust cut-outs would be no different... I'd probably have a momentary switch underneath the gas pedal that would engage the cutouts for when I romped on it...
I really don't know much about them, but just curious if you guys had any experience with them. I also thought it would be pretty cool on the Fiero, just before the catalytic converter on the V6.
Oh god they are fun. I had them on my Volvo and Fiero. I would write a small book with the fun I had with them. One fun thing was when friends were in front you at the drive though and setting off car alarms in parking garages.
[This message has been edited by 87antuzzi (edited 05-22-2011).]
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04:02 PM
blackrams Member
Posts: 32999 From: Covington, TN, USA Registered: Feb 2003
I know several folks that have electric cut outs on their exhaust. Located just after the headers so the result is almost the same as running open headers, loud, very loud. I really don't care what you do but, check on the legality in your state. In KY, cut outs are illegal and a couple of the guys I know have been caught and fined. Some haven't so, you take yer chances and do what you want. Way too loud for me but, that's just me. ------------------ Ron
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 05-22-2011).]
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04:10 PM
Xanth Member
Posts: 6886 From: Massachusetts Registered: May 2006
They sound nice and seem to seal well. Slow opening and closing though, they don't snap open like a toggle, gotta hold the switch as they open and close. Possible there are faster ones than I've used though.
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04:27 PM
84fiero123 Member
Posts: 29950 From: farmington, maine usa Registered: Oct 2004
Why not just a backup alarm type thing at low speeds or just when you flip a switch. More legal than open pipes. And you don’t have to worry about the cutouts leaking or getting stuck open or closed. I know the older ones would eventually leak, they were controlled by a cable.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't.
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.
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04:37 PM
WhiteDevil88 Member
Posts: 8518 From: Coastal California Registered: Mar 2007
I doubt cut outs would add any performance benefit to either of your cars. If you just want to be obnoxious, play your radio louder. Would you want to drive around with an exhaust leak under your car?
If you want to give your car some more roar under throttle, I have heard of people happy with the results from drilling a few holes in the back of the muffler. If you have some money, a turbo style muffler can give you a nice quiet idle and the exhaust path gets shorter and there by louder and less restricted under throttle.
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05:02 PM
84fiero123 Member
Posts: 29950 From: farmington, maine usa Registered: Oct 2004
I doubt cut outs would add any performance benefit to either of your cars. If you just want to be obnoxious, play your radio louder. Would you want to drive around with an exhaust leak under your car?
If you want to give your car some more roar under throttle, I have heard of people happy with the results from drilling a few holes in the back of the muffler. If you have some money, a turbo style muffler can give you a nice quiet idle and the exhaust path gets shorter and there by louder and less restricted under throttle.
My dad used to drill a few holes in the air cleaner cover of his olds. If you have ever heard a car with a carburetor that had that done you could hear it.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't.
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.
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05:08 PM
blackrams Member
Posts: 32999 From: Covington, TN, USA Registered: Feb 2003
Why not just a backup alarm type thing at low speeds or just when you flip a switch. More legal than open pipes. And you don’t have to worry about the cutouts leaking or getting stuck open or closed. I know the older ones would eventually leak, they were controlled by a cable.
Steve
Steve brings up a good point that I had forgotten about. Motor reliability. One of my son's friends has electric cut outs and has had to replace the motors numerous times. Seems like it or they always fail in the open position. Might be an issue specific to his car, might not be. Those motors are subjected to extreme heat from the exhaust. The car has been on my lift several times for just this. Again, not trying to sway you one way or another just think you should be aware of any issues that come along with this.
------------------ Ron
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 05-22-2011).]
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05:51 PM
Xerces_Blackthorne Member
Posts: 6163 From: Mertztown PA Registered: Mar 2008
Find a 3000GT VR4 in the junkyard, pull the sport/touring exhaust crap, and mod it to fit, seeing as the VR4 is apparently common around your neck of the woods
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06:20 PM
rogergarrison Member
Posts: 49601 From: A Western Caribbean Island/ Columbus, Ohio Registered: Apr 99
Some late model Corvettes have them from the factory. They have gotten a lot better than they used to be. I dont drive mine in snow and ice and theyve been on for 2 years. I wouldnt think a 4cyl or v6 would sound that good. It sounds awesome with a 413 4bbl. I just open them to go into local cruise ins or out on the open road. Ive seen people out in the country standing on their porch when they heard me coming from a mile away to see what it was. at nite they throw out a purrty blue flame too.
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06:54 PM
82-T/A [At Work] Member
Posts: 25241 From: Florida USA Registered: Aug 2002
Find a 3000GT VR4 in the junkyard, pull the sport/touring exhaust crap, and mod it to fit, seeing as the VR4 is apparently common around your neck of the woods
You know... that's true, I do see them all the time down here... they're old enough now that I don't even notice it. Can't say I've ever seen one in the junkyard though, but man, I've seen some nice / rare cars in the junkyard.
Why not just a backup alarm type thing at low speeds or just when you flip a switch. More legal than open pipes. And you don’t have to worry about the cutouts leaking or getting stuck open or closed. I know the older ones would eventually leak, they were controlled by a cable.
Steve
Maybe I will have a switch I can flip... because I definitely want it to be completely in my control, and not just whenever I floor it. Not sure where I would put the switch though, I really don't want my car to look ghetto by any means. I've done a bunch of stuff to the Crown Vic, but it looks TOTALLY stock.
quote
Originally posted by WhiteDevil88:
I doubt cut outs would add any performance benefit to either of your cars. If you just want to be obnoxious, play your radio louder. Would you want to drive around with an exhaust leak under your car?
If you want to give your car some more roar under throttle, I have heard of people happy with the results from drilling a few holes in the back of the muffler. If you have some money, a turbo style muffler can give you a nice quiet idle and the exhaust path gets shorter and there by louder and less restricted under throttle.
No... I love the way my car sounds... when I drive around, I can barely hear the exhaust, and that's how I like it. What I want to do is to get a bit more performance by bypassing the mufflers and such. On my Crown Victoria, it's basically a V8 Mustang with twice the amount of exhuast piping. The mufflers are pretty massive too. I'd like to have it dump out right after the H-pipe... but like I said, it's an electronic cut-out, it would only sound like that when I flip a switch or floor it... otherwise, the car will sound subtle and sedate. I guess you might not have read the entire post, but I definitely don't want it to sound like that all the time. The Crown Vic isn't a piece of crap ghetto cruiser... it's actually really nice. I just want to get a bit more horsepower when I'm really, REALLY massing on the gas (which is not often). If I get 5-6 hp out of it, it's worth it to me.
quote
Originally posted by 84fiero123:
My dad used to drill a few holes in the air cleaner cover of his olds. If you have ever heard a car with a carburetor that had that done you could hear it.
Steve
Yeah, I had a 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with an Olds 350 on it. I installed an open element air filter since I didn't need the Thermac (I live in Florida). It sounded awesome when you'd really get on it.
I've actually got a video that I recorded for when I sold the car on eBay:
EDIT: Watch at 3:15 to hear what it sounds.
[This message has been edited by 82-T/A [At Work] (edited 05-22-2011).]
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08:11 PM
PFF
System Bot
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
I have always thought about getting a set of cutouts, but I have never looked into them very seriously. Although, now hearing about how the motors have a tendency to fail, it makes me skeptical to getting a set. Doesn't take away form the coolness factor though.
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11:14 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
I actually have a plan to install cutouts on my Miata eventually. They will be controlled by my Haltech ECU, to open up at 3000 RPMs. I also intend to install a override switch so when I NEED to keep it quite (in town) I can.
Why do I want to do this? My car is LOUD!!!! VERY LOUD!! Even with a rather restrictive exhaust, it is barely tolerable by my cop neighbors. But that same muffler is just absolutely ROBBING me of power. I ran the car without the muffler for a day and was absolutely astonished at the extra power it had! I would swear it was a good 30-40 more HP. I think all the back pressure created by the restrictive muffler is choking my supercharger.... But that is a VERY uneducated guess.
So I want it to open up when I hammer it. I already have my Nitrous programmed thru the Haltech as well.. It will only engage the nitrous if a series of operations have taken place... The bottle warmer must be up to temp, the car must be in 3rd or higher, the arming switch must be on and then.. when it reaches 3500 RPMs it goes full boost. Scary sumbeech too!! Only done it a couple of times... So I would likely do a similar setup for the cutouts.
