How to Fix An Exhaust Drone

How to Fix An Exhaust Drone

Exhaust drone is primarily the result of sound waves traveling through the air and vibration that is transferred through a vehicle's frame, body and components. Exhaust drone vibration may also be a result of sound frequency alignment between the engine and exhaust. When the frequencies are aligned, the result is a pressure wave between the engine and exhaust. Sound waves, transferred sound and sound frequency must be controlled to quiet the exhaust. Exhaust system modifications and the application of sound control material will reduce exhaust drone in your vehicle.

Things You'll Need

Resonated tip

Muffler

Steel weights

Lead weights

Ring clamps

Hood liner

CLD tiles

Sound-blocking mats

Seam tape

Exhaust System Modifications

Install a resonated exhaust tip on the tailpipe. Resonated tips are lined with material that damps sound waves. When exhaust gas passes through the resonated tip, the lining damps the sound produced by the exhaust system by as much as 10 decibels.

Replace the muffler. Muffler design and size directly affects the sound profile of the exhaust system. Select a muffler with multiple chambers designed to damp the sound waves. Multiple chamber designs cause sound wave collisions, which reduce the total volume of the exhaust system. Altering the muffler design will also alter the sound frequency of the exhaust system, potentially eliminating resonating pulses in the cabin of the vehicle.

Extend the exhaust pipe by 3 to 4 feet. Exhaust drone not related to the volume of the sound output is a result of the sound frequency of the exhaust system. Lengthen the pipes to change the frequency of the sound. When the sound frequencies of the exhaust and engine match, a drone may occur. Altering the frequency of the exhaust will reduce or eliminate exhaust drone.

Clamp weights to the exhaust pipes. Exhaust drone can be damped by increasing the density of the material through which the vibration must travel. Clamp solid steel or lead to the exhaust pipe both before and after the muffler. Use ring clamps to secure the weight to the exhaust pipes.

Sound Blocking

Install a sound-damping hood liner in the engine compartment. Exhaust sounds produced at the engine and exhaust manifold resonate in the cabin of the vehicle. Hood liners damp the sound output.

Install vibration-reducing mats on the bare metal of the vehicle's interior. Constrained layer damping tiles, known as CLD tiles, will reduce the vibration of the metal. The drone of an exhaust system is amplified by vibrating sheet metal. Damped metal will not transfer as much of the vibration to the cabin. Apply CLD tiles to approximately 25 percent of the metal surfaces to ensure sufficient vibration control.

Install sound-blocking mats in the interior of the cabin. Remove the interior seating, upholstery and trim. Cover virtually all the surfaces in the interior with sound-blocking mats. Connect the mats with seam tape to reduce sound leakage. Reinstall the trim, upholstery and seating.

How to Make Your Exhaust Sound Deep on a V-6

How to Make Your Exhaust Sound Deep on a V-6

The size of your V-6 engine is the greatest single influence on exhaust resonance. The volume of space the engine displaces determines the actual volume of the exhaust gas output which passes through the exhaust system. The muffler type, muffler design, exhaust pipe design and construction, and attached aftermarket tips will all contribute to the exhaust sound profile produced by any V-6 engine. In terms of modifications, replacing the muffler will allow for the greatest change in sound resonance, followed by the exhaust pipe design and size. Exhaust tips are typically used to amplify or dampen the exhaust sound output.

Things You'll Need

Muffler

Exhaust pipes

Exhaust tip

Hacksaw

Muffler Replacement

Inspect the existing muffler to determine if it is a stock or performance muffler. Stock mufflers, installed and often branded by the manufacturer, commonly compromise performance to reduce sound output and costs. Replacement of the stock mufflers may allow significantly more exhaust gas to pass through the system in the same amount of time. More volume will typically deepen the tone of the exhaust.

Select a muffler which will both increase gas throughput and have resonator chambers. To deepen the sound of the V-6 exhaust select a muffler design that allows both minimal exhaust restriction as well as resonating chambers to allow the pulses of the exhaust to collide. Collision of the sound waves and exhaust gas will deepen the tone of the exhaust. Performance exhausts also allow more volume to pass through the exhaust system which may also increase the performance output of your V-6.

Install the muffler. To ensure exhaust gases do not escape the exhaust sytem, nearly all muffler designs require welding around the input and output connections. Local muffler shops typically install pre-purchased mufflers for a nominal charge. Local muffler shops also will provide recommendations for tone and performance and may have performance mufflers available for immediate installation.

Exhaust Pipe Size and Design

Determine if your exhaust pipes are stock. Stock exhaust pipes, as with the muffler, compromise some performance and sound to reduce the costs. Increasing the exhaust pipe diameter by one-half to one-full inch results in an increase of the exhaust throughput of the engine. The tone of the exhaust will generally deepen as the volume of exhaust increases.

Install a dual-exhaust.True dual exhaust systems have one exhaust pipe for each of the V-6 engine's manifolds. Replacing a single pipe exhaust system with a dual pipe system will reduce back-pressure to increase the total gas throughput of the exhaust.

Install a cross-over pipe or a dual-in/dual-out muffler design to allow each side of the dual exhaust to counter-balance the pulsing flow of the other. The result of a flow-balanced dual exhaust with larger pipes will be a deeper more mellow tone.

Exhaust Tips

Measure the diameter of the tailpipe. Place a tape measure over the end of the tailpipe to determine, in inches, the greatest width of the pipe. This will be used to determine what size exhaust tip to purchase.

Select an exhaust tip. Exhaust tips that are flared, dual-walled, beveled or increase in diameter from tailpipe to tip will all amplify the sound of the exhaust to varying degrees. Resonated exhaust tips contain a sound dampening material, such as fiberglass, which will reduce the sound output at the tailpipe. Resonated tips can reduce the volume of the exhaust without sacrificing the tone.

Cut off several inches of the existing tailpipe. Select the length of the cut based on the amount of tailpipe required for removal. Be sure to allow some tailpipe to remain as a means of attaching the exhaust tip. Use a hacksaw to cut through the steel.

Install the exhaust tip according to manufacturer instructions. Exhaust tips may be secured with clamps, screws, bolts or welds. Welds are the strongest connection type and may be directly welded to the cut end of the tailpipe. Clamp-on, screw-on and bolt-on exhaust tips slide over the existing tailpipe and are secured with tension to the pipe.

How to Make My Exhaust Sound Louder

How to Make My Exhaust Sound Louder


A vehicle's exhaust sound is affected by four factors. The first and greatest is the engine size. The greater volume of engine displacement -- usually measured in liters or cubic inches -- the greater the exhaust output. Assuming the engine will remain the same, muffler type and construction, exhaust system piping, and exhaust-tip style may be altered or replaced to directly affect the overall sound profile of your vehicle. The replacement of exhaust system components with those designed to increase the exhaust output without sound dampening will make your exhaust sound louder.

Things You'll Need
Exhaust tip
Muffler
Exhaust pipe


Instructions
Replace the muffler with one designed to amplify the sound of your vehicle. Glass packs, straight-through exhausts and straight-pipe designs will significantly increase the sound output over a stock muffler. When you decide to select a new muffler type, consult a muffler shop or select a design that increases the volume of gas expelled through the muffler system without passing through sound-dampening chambers. Mufflers designed with limited baffles also can increase the sound output of your vehicle.

Add a sound-amplifying exhaust tip. Exhaust tips with dual walls, flared ends or large diameters may increase the sound volume of the exhaust output.

Increase the size of your exhaust pipes by 1/2-inch to 1-inch in diameter. This should be done in conjunction with replacement of the muffler to ensure that the gases are not constricted by the old muffler's diameter. The increased volume of gases allowed through your system will not only allow the exhaust gases to be ported from the system more easily, the greater throughput and pipe diameter will create a deeper tone and resonance in the exhaust system.

Connect your exhaust system with welded hangers. If your exhaust system is hanging from the vehicle with rubber mounts, the vibrations transferred from the exhaust system are dampened. Direct connection through welds helps ensure the vibration from the exhaust is heard in the passenger compartment.