Question for you guys. Whenever I hop into my car and started to drive, the exhaust is always quite mellow in the beginning. If I take it on the highway for a bit and then drive some more on the local streets etc (after 30 - 45 minutes) or so the exhaust note is just so much better (much more throaty at the press of the pedal). Usually during that time I would shut my radio and listen to the exhaust till I get home.

I am no mechanic person but why does it sound so much better after it's driven for a while? Is it normal that the exhaust/muffler sounds better after it's all warmed up? What's the deal?

 

44 views...no replies? There are so many pros here

 

it is becuase it heats up. i commute about 45 mins to work each day and same with me. it happens on my other cars also. my guess is that heat helps sound resonate. i don't know... not much of a science major.

 

Thanks for your reply. I didn't notice that in my earlier cars though.

 

Because metal expands when it gets hot. The pipes probably expand just a little when they are warmed up and create a different sound. I also think the sound changes at the cats get warmed up.

My Mustang GT has an aftermarket x-pipe with high flow cats. It sounds like crap until everything gets warmed up.

 

Maybe it's because the cat has to warm up:

http://www.car-sound.com/04converter.asp

 

one explanation would be the warmed up cats... i saw a video of a scion tc at startup in the cold morning and it sounded real raspy even with the TRD exhaust... but after 5 to 8 minutes of warm up, the growl became more throaty and aggressive.

also the exhaust will sound meaner under load than just reving the motor in neutral or parked position.

 

Because it takes a few minutes of driving to clear your head and forget about the wife and kids, but given some time on the road your perception of sound returns to normal.

Dr Phil

 

It is the steam->water inside the exhaust, and it will dry up as you drive for a while (heat up faster in the summer time).

 

Interesting thought.....so the steam/water acts as a resonator & absorbs the sound? (FYI - I haven't noticed mine gets louder as the car warms up a bit)

 

How can I get that same sound right off the bat? Will a muffler like the HKS Sport Muffler give that? I think a full exhaust system would be too loud for me.

 

i went out for a drive yesterday here in la and the exhaust got DEEP as hell...it was ridiculous...i met up with my friend and even he was like holy crap...from my observations...if you drive it pretty hard for a good 30 mins itll really start to get deep...i LOVEE it...



...time for a drive :]

 

I've never really noticed. I'll hvae to check it out the next time I'm out.

 

i noticed the same exact thing today....after going and stopping in rush hour traffic then found a little free space, put some pressure on it and man did it sound good.

 

Warm up your car until all the steam coming out of your car's exhaust was gone, and I bet it will sound louder right off. I remembered I had the similar problem with a DC sport cat back system on my previous car. Have you seen water coming out of the cars's tail pipe ahead of you when you were going up hill? It mostly happens in the morning time when their engines were not fully warm up.