Back in '97, I put a "MagnaFlow" muffler on a base '97 Civic DX coupe. It wasn't much louder, and starting off required considerably more throttle. Torque suffered.
In a snowstorm, an "off-road" snow event ripped the seam in the muffler (it could have been snow on a hot muffler = rapid expansion/contraction and split). It sounded like an '83 Omni with a straight-pipe.
I kept the stock muffler and had it re-installed. Immediately, I noticed better, low-speed driveability. My Mom drove the car and independently mentioned that the car had a "LOT more power" and it immediately "went when you hit the gas". This essentially was a single-blind test, since she didn't know the muffler was replaced to stock.
I don't hold much faith in the "butt-dyno", but in this case, it was noticeably measureable.
Muffler choice, in this case, effected performance dramatically.
RH77
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“If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research” ― Albert Einstein
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Last edited by RH77; 07-23-2008 at 11:53 AM..
Reason: Physics got me again
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