[kevinthefro]

Has anyone ever cut open the stock muffler? Wonder what the bends are, how it's made, but I don't wonder enough to cut mine open!

 

[...m...]

...i bet we could get ahold of a stock exhaust for next to nothing - folks around here can't seem to give them away...

 

[ChrisB]

Has anyone ever cut open the stock muffler? Wonder what the bends are, how it's made, but I don't wonder enough to cut mine open!

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/390820-post16.html

 

[tesprit]

Yes, I cut one open and it is basically a 3 chamber muffler. If you look at the photo below (not my photo as I made a much smaller opening, but it illustrated this well), the exhaust flows through the inlet pipe (starts on the far right) which passes through the first chamber, then through the first plate and baffle mesh, then continues through the center chamber where the exhaust tips are welded in and through the second plate where it it slams into the far left baffle. From there it flows back to the right through the internal pipe and dumps into the center chamber where it slams into the first baffle and then fills the center chamber area where it then flows out the exhaust pipes and tips. The photo is taken showing the top of the muffler peeled back.

The interesting thing is that I heavily drilled and cut the inlet pipe where it passes through the center chamber which allowed the exhaust to dump straight to the exhaust tips and bypassed the far left chamber. After I welded the top back in place and tried it on the car I did not notice hardly and difference in the sound or volume of the exhaust. :shrug:

 

[kevinthefro]

Interesting. Thanks.