[AkiraSieghart]

I'm trying to decide between two mufflers to add to my CP-E 3" exhaust. Either Borla's XR-1 Sportsman or Magnaflow's 12867. CP-E's exhaust is too drone-y and too high-pitched for my liking. I want a low tone at idle and low RPM that gets loud and higher at WOT (similar to a V8 I guess). I'm also trying to eliminate as much drone as possible. I've narrowed it down to these two mufflers but I'm having a hard time deciding between the two. Does anyone have any experience with either mufflers or have anything to add to help me decide?

 

[glassjaw]

no personal experiencing in owning either. ive had a resonator delete on my car because i was weary of just that issue. i am happy with it, not too loud, no drone, loud when you accel. but not too loud.

 

[bman13235]

I put a magnaflow muffler in and found it to be perfect in my 3 inch exhaust. No drone whatsoever. It does still get really loud when you get on it though. Like really really loud as it turns into a straightpipe basically.

 

[AkiraSieghart]

I put a magnaflow muffler in and found it to be perfect in my 3 inch exhaust. No drone whatsoever. It does still get really loud when you get on it though. Like really really loud as it turns into a straightpipe basically.

Do you have any resonators? What about a cat in your downpipe? Any drone while cruising going up hills? I always have a bit of drone in 6th gear at 60+mph but it gets a little unbearable while going up hills. I'm currently running a CP-E 3" catless downpipe and CP-E's 3" exhaust which has two tiny resonators at the end. I plan on doing custom exhaust work and I'll be chopping off the two resonators at the end of the exhaust so I'm wondering how that will change things.

 

[UnfocusedST]

I've never know the cp-e exhaust to be high pitched. I've been running mine for two years. However like most 3" systems it can drone. Have you tried adjusting the helmholtz resonators?

Sent from another galaxy.

 

[airborne]

Following thread, looking to add another resonator or a muffler to my Roush cat back exhaust. Don't want a ticket for not having a muffler, and the drone can get annoying at highway cruising speeds.

 

[LMStone510]

One of our local fellow ST owners has a cp-e exhaust (with the stock downpipe however), and as @UnfocusedST points out, his experience was that adjusting the Helmholtz resonators made a huge difference to tone/drone and overall exhaust note.

Also, since you essentially have a 100% cp-e turboback system, before I started cutting and trying something new, if it were me I'd reach out to cp-e and see what they suggest to address your goals. I wouldn't be surprised if they suggested a specific change that they have done for others already.

Hope that helps,
Mark

 

[AkiraSieghart]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've tried adjusting both of the resonators inwards and outwards and everything in between. It's not really much drone and it may not bother some/most people but it is something I'm looking to get rid of as much as I can.

As for cutting the exhaust up, that is part of plans for a custom exhaust build to re-route the pipes from the center to the sides. Not anything to do with the exhaust itself.

 

[UnfocusedST]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've tried adjusting both of the resonators inwards and outwards and everything in between. It's not really much drone and it may not bother some/most people but it is something I'm looking to get rid of as much as I can.

As for cutting the exhaust up, that is part of plans for a custom exhaust build to re-route the pipes from the center to the sides. Not anything to do with the exhaust itself.

If you want a custom exhaust why not sell the cp-e one and build your own?

Sent from another galaxy.

 

[AkiraSieghart]

If you want a custom exhaust why not sell the cp-e one and build your own?

Sent from another galaxy.

CP-E exhaust has ~70k miles on it. I don't think selling it will yield a profit after paying a shop to build me a custom one.

 

[UnfocusedST]

CP-E exhaust has ~70k miles on it. I don't think selling it will yield a profit after paying a shop to build me a custom one.

Gotcha. I figured it was much newer.

Sent from another galaxy.

 

[AkiraSieghart]

Gotcha. I figured it was much newer.

Sent from another galaxy.

Unfortunately, no. If it had less than 15k miles, I'd at least try to sell it and see what offers I'd get but I think it's too used for most people to consider. Also to your point before, perhaps "high-pitched" was the wrong way to describe what I mean. The CP-E exhaust is deep but not as deep as I'd like it. It's mainly the drone factor. The amount that mine drones seems to be normal but it's too much for my tastes. I'm the second owner and the first is the one that installed the exhaust. I put up with it begrudgingly until about a month ago when I was rear ended and had a loaner for a few weeks. While a Nissan Versa is one of the most boring cars I've ever driven, the quieter driving experience was bliss and when I returned to my FoST, it's almost unbearable now.

I'm not looking to quiet the exhaust down totally but since 99% of the driving I do is on the highway, I need to lessen the drone. I think I'll be purchasing the Magnaflow muffler and welding it in right after the cat.

 

[Unfitproduct]

I've never know the cp-e exhaust to be high pitched. I've been running mine for two years. However like most 3" systems it can drone. Have you tried adjusting the helmholtz resonators?

Sent from another galaxy.

How do I do this?

 

[UnfocusedST]

How do I do this?

The closed off ends can be slid in an out to help adjust the resonators.

 

[Unfitproduct]

The closed off ends can be slid in an out to help adjust the resonators.

Any chance you can provide a sample picture?

 

[UnfocusedST]

Any chance you can provide a sample picture?

I can try and get a better one later.

Sent from another galaxy.

 

[bman13235]

Do you have any resonators? What about a cat in your downpipe? Any drone while cruising going up hills? I always have a bit of drone in 6th gear at 60+mph but it gets a little unbearable while going up hills. I'm currently running a CP-E 3" catless downpipe and CP-E's 3" exhaust which has two tiny resonators at the end. I plan on doing custom exhaust work and I'll be chopping off the two resonators at the end of the exhaust so I'm wondering how that will change things.

I have no resonators.

It is a 3 inch downpipe with 100cell cat, then 3 inch back to a single magnaflow muffler (3 inch to two 2.5inch), then out to the tips. I don't get much drone going up hills, but it is louder than cruising normally. When I get on it however, it is loud AF. If I am giving it a bit up a hill then it will drone. Basically the expensive magnaflows work well at low levels of load but when you get into it it's a straight through.

 

[Spauldin]

i just deleted the muffler off mine, have the Borla exhaust with a catlless DP so now im straight piped.

 

[AkiraSieghart]

Hey guys, just wanted to give a bit of an update for anyone thinking about a similar product.

I ended up purchasing the MagnaFlow muffler for the simple reason that it's $50+ cheaper than the Borla. I'm the IT Admin of a few Lincoln Technical Institute campuses in NJ and have connections with their auto campuses. I asked an instructor at one of the campuses if he can weld the new muffler on and he agreed so I was fortunate enough to have it done for free. We ended up cutting off the "muffler" that comes on the exhaust which is really just basically hollow with literally the bare minimum padding (picture below) and welded the new muffler on in its place. I've driven about 500 miles since then (this past Friday) so it had time to break in. Here are my thoughts:

At low RPM, the exhaust is very quiet. While idling, it's completely silent in the car and very quiet if you're standing right behind the exhaust. For comparison, I'd say in the car while it's idling, the stock CP-E is about a 7/10 (10 being the loudest), with the muffler, it's probably a 2/10 or 1/10. From behind the exhaust, the stock CP-E is 7/10, I'd say with the new muffler, it's about 3/10.

I've done a lot of highway driving and have been testing for drone while cruising at high speed/low RPM/6th gear up and down hills. With high speed (60+ MPH), light acceleration, low RPM (<2,500), and on flat ground, I'd rate the stock CP-E exhaust at 8/10. With the new muffler, I'd rate it at 4/10 with the same conditions. There's a slight hum, nothing more. 1/10 silent if just cruising with no acceleration. Same conditions but up hill, I'd rate the stock CP-E exhaust at 9/10. With the new muffler, I'd rate it 5/10. Slightly more hum than on flat ground but very controlled. No interior rattling and no deafening drone.

One thing to note, at WOT, the car still SCREAMS. Like, I actually think that at WOT, it's louder with the new muffler than the stock exhaust was. It's interesting. Overall, I'm extremely pleased. I'm going to test everything again without the two tiny resonators at the back of the exhaust to see how things change. My next part of the build revolves around re-rerouting the exhaust from the center of the car to the sides so those resonators will be chopped off most likely. I expect a significant change but depending on how severe, I'll have to find a new resonator to weld into the new exhaust path. Once I continue with the build, I'll update this thread again.

 

[big_cg]

Nice. I have the same setup and issue as you. The CP-e is very loud, I am thinking of buying a 12867 magnaflow and having it welded in the straight pipe section shown in the photos. Other posts indicate it should fit there