How do Mufflers Work?

Everyone around you is giving you the same advice: install a performance muffler for more power.. and a deep and pleasing growl. But you still have your doubts. You want a few questions cleared up before making an investment like this.

---

What is a Performance Muffler and How Does it Work? It’s simple, really. A muffler is a set of perforated tubes which reflect the sound waves coming from your engine to cancel out their noise. How are sound waves created? Sound waves are created when an exhaust valve opens up inside of your engine. This opening creates pulses. The pulses send a rush of high-pressure gas directly into your exhaust system. When high-pressure gas molecules come into contact with the low-pressure molecules inside the pipe, they begin to stack up one on top of the other. A wave of molecules continually stacking on top of each other travels down the exhaust pipe. This wave creates a pocket of low pressure in the back of the exhaust which propels the sound wave forward and gives it even more speed. The sound wave travels down the exhaust pipe ahead of the actual exhaust gas. How do mufflers cancel out sound? What’s curious is that it’s possible to add 2 or more sound waves together without cranking up the sound! Quite the opposite. Thanks to something called “destructive interference” you’ll actually create less sound. And that’s exactly what a muffler does. Muffler tubes and holes are tuned as finely as a musical instrument to reflect the sound waves into each other so they can interfere with their own frequency and cancel out any noise. Some mufflers will also reduce the back pressure in your exhaust system. The end result? A deep growl and real gains in horsepower.

---

How do I Choose the Right Muffler? There are so many options available on the market that your head could spin. But the safest and smartest choice you can make when purchasing a performance muffler is to go with a reputable brand name. Corsa, Magnaflow, Flowmaster, and Borla are truly at the top of the list for manufacturing the world’s best mufflers. The right muffler for your vehicle will also depend on its engine and exactly what you want to get out of it. If you drive a vehicle equipped with a powerful engine and you’re looking for a mild exhaust sound, a good choice will be Flowmaster’s 50 Series Delta Flow Muffler. But if you’re looking for a truly deep and aggressive sound – check out Flowmaster’s Super 44 Muffler. If you still feel overwhelmed by the many choices, drop us a comment below and we’ll figure out the best choice for you, together.