What muffler for my 96 civic HX?

[steveo539]

Just bought another HX last night that needs a new muffler. The car is totally stock at this point. I'd like to know if there is a muffler with improved engine breathability that will still keep the car quiet. I will not put on a muffler that is loud. Not an option. Any thoughts?

[chefdave]

Hi
from what i understand you will need a long round straight through silencet. striaght for better breathing and long to keep noise levels down. see if you anyone near you who makes custom exhaust systems and tell them what you require. am in same boat as you need a new silencer and talked to man who makes racing exhausts. gave him my requirements and he guided me and qouted for parts and shipping. im going to make mine up with clamp together system then get a local garage to weld up. not sure who you would approach in US as im across the pond my choices are a bit limited espcially as im 150 miles from a custom exhaust place and have to drive over to mountain ranges.

[Cobb]

Thats funny, putting a muffler on a honda!!!

[poomanchu]

Originally Posted by chefdave

Hi
from what i understand you will need a long round straight through silencet. striaght for better breathing and long to keep noise levels down. see if you anyone near you who makes custom exhaust systems and tell them what you require. am in same boat as you need a new silencer and talked to man who makes racing exhausts. gave him my requirements and he guided me and qouted for parts and shipping. im going to make mine up with clamp together system then get a local garage to weld up. not sure who you would approach in US as im across the pond my choices are a bit limited espcially as im 150 miles from a custom exhaust place and have to drive over to mountain ranges.

Hi! I am not trying to argue, just letting the OP know a straight through will add a ton of noise. The silencer's for these are really just a restricter that restricts everything but noise. Picture the kid in the loud civic with a fart can, and the little plate that makes the opening smaller. It's like that.

I really speak from experience, as I am the resident ricer here . I have ran multiple Ebay straight throughts, HKS Hi-Power straight through, Greddy SP2, RS*R ex-mag (my fav and current), Ractive. The straight throughs are the loudest silenced or no.

Just trying to save you time and money. Mind you the straight throughs can sound nice with upstream resonators, but just the can on stock exhuast...bleh. Oh and everyone will try to race you lol.

here is my HKS stright through, no pics of the silencer mounted though you can see the holes for it.

I recommend stock. I am sure any stock civic of your gen will work fine.

Rule of thumb with a D series engine (what you have): Adding things like intake, exhaust, header etc will not increase power, only noise.

Originally Posted by Cobb

Thats funny, putting a muffler on a honda!!!

xD

[steveo539]

Thanks for the comments. Right now I'm leaning toward stock as I definitely do not want more noise. I hope the Honda Engineers would use an efficient silencer/muffler on a model they tune for fuel efficiency. However, I work in the heavy truck industry & I know some manufacturers will cheap out to save a nickel on each vehicle. Also, the car is nearly 18 years old and some technological advancements my have happened in nearly 2 decades.

The way it is now, at a certain resonance/RPM, it'll rattle your brain.

[poomanchu]

From my understanding as long as it is the axleback portion (part that has the muffler) and not the entire exahust system, it should bolt right up whether it's an EX/DX/HX/LX. Might look into the 99-00 Civic Si exhaust, same body style (couple) but those got a 160hp 1.6 dohc instead of the 115hp sohc. I don't know if the axleback would bolt on.

Another option is to find another stock honda/acura taxleback made for a higher performing stock car. Like a RSX type s or integra Gsr. I see those on Craigslist all the time for around 100, I am sure a muffler shop could take care of the rest for not a lot of scratch. It should 'breathe' better as it was made for a higher performing larger motor car, yet still sound nice since it is stock and has Db and nvh taken into consideration.

Best of luck!

[chefdave]

Hi
no offence taken. i was only quoting from someone how has making very successful exhausts for over thirty years. his exhausts have been on many winning cars. he understands noise suppression round silencers are quieter than an oval of same length. two silencers will be quieter than one obviously. as noise from exhausts are being checked at comperation level he has to keep pace with these changes. limit is 70 desibels. not sure how loud new cars are. aftermarket exhausts are now made alot quiter and still make performance increases. looking underneath my wife's 3.0 subaru legacy has at least 3 silncers and 3 cats but still get alot of performance and 30+mpg average despite having auto box and permement 4wd. so subaru must of engineered a brillent exhaust system. as a previous poster said you can use a more modern exhaust for quietness and performance. bottom line is not to increase pipe diameter or you will lose power and mpg. suggest you do some reserach on internet for building exhausts.

[poomanchu]

Originally Posted by chefdave

Hi
no offence taken. i was only quoting from someone how has making very successful exhausts for over thirty years. his exhausts have been on many winning cars. he understands noise suppression round silencers are quieter than an oval of same length. two silencers will be quieter than one obviously. as noise from exhausts are being checked at comperation level he has to keep pace with these changes. limit is 70 desibels. not sure how loud new cars are. aftermarket exhausts are now made alot quiter and still make performance increases. looking underneath my wife's 3.0 subaru legacy has at least 3 silncers and 3 cats but still get alot of performance and 30+mpg average despite having auto box and permement 4wd. so subaru must of engineered a brillent exhaust system. as a previous poster said you can use a more modern exhaust for quietness and performance. bottom line is not to increase pipe diameter or you will lose power and mpg. suggest you do some reserach on internet for building exhausts.

At 70 decibals, it is as quiet as a brand new lexus hybrid. He has managed to figure out what auto manufatures and speed shops have been wanting forever, a performance free flowing exhaust that gives up no power no loudness. It's not like lexus is tuning for maximum quietness NVH or efficiency or anything.

Lexus ES300 - Road Test - Car Reviews - Car and Driver

Please tell me where to buy this straight through muffler that is lexus quiet and gives optimal power, cops will never mess with my integra again. I have friends who can make extremely outragious claims too, it does not make it true. I am not even going to get into your false statements lmao!

And yes, most OEM exhaust systems are brilliantly engineered; hence why I suggested the OP get one.

Anyways, I have offered my experiences. Best of luck with your search OP.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by steveo539

Just bought another HX last night that needs a new muffler. The car is totally stock at this point. I'd like to know if there is a muffler with improved engine breathability that will still keep the car quiet. I will not put on a muffler that is loud. Not an option. Any thoughts?

For fuel economy, airflow is not as critical as it is for performance cars. When driven for economy, the capacity of the stock exhaust is more than adequate and mpg gains will be minimal if any. I'd take it to an exhaust shop and just get a stock equivalent muffler.

Actually, I wouldn't, but you should if that's what you want. What I'd do is just replace it with some straight pipe and a turn-down. In fact, I even did so:



And it's surprisingly quiet with no muffler at all.

[arcosine]

Don't waste you money on these big mouth mufflers. Just get one from autozone that fits and is quiet. You could go up one size on the pipe.