Hot Carls R/T

I was wondering if anyone has taken out the resonator in the factory Cobalt SS/SC exhaust system...I could see it being a restriction? How loud is the exhaust without the resonator? I just installed a magnaflow muffler and just seeing what people have done....Colin

stealththx

Good question...I am interested too. What about removing the cat with a resistor mod too? How much power do these really restrict?

codyss

The Converter might restrict 5hp at most and the resonator not even 1hp.

Removing the converter is over-rated.

zinner

Ok when I had my catback system built, I had a race resinator (small) and a strait through round muffler and it was HELLA loud and lots of vibration.

I got a ultra quiet, race resinator and now it's still loud and has a bit of vibration but it's much better. If you took of the resinator all together your looking at some noise and vibration.

Ern

I was kinda wondering if you did like 3 inch from the stock cat back and remove the resonator and keep the stock muffler?

Any ideas?

glockglade

Well I just recently had a custom 3 cat back exhaust built for mine, and took out the resonator and it is really loud around any positive boost level. I have and apexi n1 muffler, and have noticed a lot more power. Going to dyno it thursday next week, but I have ordered a silencer for the muffler to help out.

olddude

As a general rule, removing a resonator will yield zero additional power. (if you look through one you will see it is essentially a straight pipe)

Removing it will add drone and, perhaps, a slight noise increase. It is (again, generally) not worth doing unless you like drone in your exhaust.

Hot Carls R/T

Thanks for all your help guys....I was wondering were you can get a high flow resonator? Or is there such a thing? I was debating on going too a 2.5" exhaust or a 3" exhaust which one is better? I talked too the guy that was going too build me a custom exhaust and said he recomands no more then 2.5" at the most....We are going too take out the bend after the resonator. He is charging me $350-400 CAN for a Stainless Steel Catback and does a awesome job (Performance Improvements etc in Hamilton goes too him for exhaust work) I got him too put on a magnaflow muffler and its looks and sounds awesome....Colin

selfinfliction

no such thing as a "high flow" resonator, because they are a straight shot through, just as said before. picture this:

a straight piece of exhaust pipe with a bunch of holes in the sides of it. now weld a chamber around the OUTISDE of that pipe and pack that chamber on the outside with fiberglass or wadding of some type. that's what a resonator is

so you can see why people that remove the resonators are serving absolutely no purpose except the fact that their car will have that annoying ass vibration at certain rpms, and having one can help a little with drone, but usually droning is caused by the muffler.

someone please correct me if i'm wrong.

codyss

Most resonators are actually just steel with no interior at all.

The larger than exhaust pipe tube allows exhaust sound waves to bounce around before exiting through the muffler.

Some resonators are basically a glass-pack muffler, like the ones on the Grand Prix.