Resonator Delete Question

**surfinjoe** · 04-03-2008, 08:49 AM

According to what I have read here, the stock resonator is supposed to 'increase' the audible exhaust note (make your car sound louder in the car). I have a Magnaflow system that sounds great, but I have the stock resonators still in place. If I delete the resonators, will my car have less exhaust noise in the car? I am a little bothered by the droning sometimes.

What will headers/midpipe do for the exhaust note? Is it going to be unbearably loud?

**LS2Tuner** · 04-03-2008, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by surfinjoe

According to what I have read here, the stock resonator is supposed to 'increase' the audible exhaust note (make your car sound louder in the car). I have a Magnaflow system that sounds great, but I have the stock resonators still in place. If I delete the resonators, will my car have less exhaust noise in the car? I am a little bothered by the droning sometimes.

What will headers/midpipe do for the exhaust note? Is it going to be unbearably loud?

From my personal experience on the 05/06 GTO's which I have removed them on 6-7 different cars from stock mufflers,Flowmasters,SpinTechs,DynoMax,& Edelbrock's and it made the note deeper on all. Every 04 I have messed with that was already removed.

Headers are not going to necessarily add volume it will change tone. And on the mid pipe ? if you go cat-less it will increase volume quit a bit. Due to the fact that the cats work as a pre muffler.

**surfinjoe** · 06-04-2008, 08:36 AM

Is there a kit to simply delete the resonator? I want to add headers and a mid-pipe however I have exceeded my budget for the year. My current Magnaflow system is a little rice and needs more growl to it. Will deleting the resonator help in this area? Will I get any HP at all?

**440 rwhp trans am** · 06-04-2008, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by surfinjoe

Is there a kit to simply delete the resonator? I want to add headers and a mid-pipe however I have exceeded my budget for the year. My current Magnaflow system is a little rice and needs more growl to it. Will deleting the resonator help in this area? Will I get any HP at all?

yeah a guy on ls2gto.com sells them for $100. his name is stolenfox. great product

**mark21742** · 06-05-2008, 02:18 AM

I agree with Ls2tuner. from my experience the cat definately quiet the exhaust down a lot more than the resonaters. just for your info my pacesetter lt headers ran $450 shipped to my door and if your getting rid of the cats they also sell a mid pipe.... magna flow hi-flow universal cats through summit racing are only $65 each.....i know what you mean about the budget.....house, food, wife, kids..... then if anything is left something else expensive in the house breaks and needs replaced then no money for mods

**surfinjoe** · 06-05-2008, 05:30 AM

Mark - thanks for the feedback. Did their headers give you a good amount of HP? From what I have read, our stock manifolds flow pretty good.

**mark21742** · 06-05-2008, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by surfinjoe

Mark - thanks for the feedback. Did their headers give you a good amount of HP? From what I have read, our stock manifolds flow pretty good.

trust me, i have seen smaller more restrictive manifolds but headers will by far out flow the stock peices. how much power i'm not sure, but I can tell you I can definately feel the difference from before and after. Id say that the for $450 it's worth it, plus when you do more mods the headers will already be there to support them.......tip for atleast the pacesetter lt's.....unbolt steering rack mounts, and shaft.... pull back a few inches, slide old driverside manifold out, slide new header in, bolt rack back up (17mm crows foot on a 2 foot extension helps you in tightening the the 1 hose back up coming from the steering pump, i think the other fitting is a 15mm...dont quote me on the size), after the rack is bolted back up you can then bolt the drivers side header up.

**TheJudge05** · 06-05-2008, 07:11 PM

The resonator is in place to reduce the "resonance" created by the system when the engine is running, the reason GM does this is to clean up the in-cabin noise which also cleans up the exhaust note (audibly); basically the drone is removed. The resonator eliminates low frequency excitations created by the system, therefore allowing only the desirable tones to be heard; it also restricts airflow. The combination of the exhaust system coupled to the engine creates specific resonant frequencies, the resonator was designed to dampen the offensive resonant frequencies therefore eliminating the drone. Many aftermarket systems are designed to increase HP, and little effort is made to reduce drone, a good example of this is the SLP Loudmouth system, great HP, great sound, terrible drone in most vehicles. However, some of the more expensive catback systems generally do a good job of mitigating the drone.

**mark21742** · 06-06-2008, 12:20 AM

hey judge thanks for the explaination, I allways wondered what the function of the factory resonators were

**surfinjoe** · 06-06-2008, 05:42 AM

I have heard that the resonators in the GTO are to increase the exhaust note in the car. I am not saying I don't believe your explination.

So my question is this. I have a Magnaflow system that sounds great when you hit it, but under normal driving conditions it kind of sounds bad. It sounds kind of like a fart can on a big honda. If I remove the resonators, will the 'growl' of my exhaust note improve under part throttle conditions? I also have some droning under highway conditions (very slight). Will deleting the resonators make this worse?

**Tide** · 06-06-2008, 10:27 AM

IIRC, Magnaflow is a straight through muffler. Which means it will sound like ass with an H style midpipe. Two options for a better tone:

Replace the Magnaflows with a chambered muffler such as Flowmaster.

Or.

Replace the stock H style midpipe with an X pipe.

H pipe + chambered mufflers = traditional muscle car sound
X pipe + straight through mufflers = more of an exotic, modern car
Mixed bag = ass

All things considered, sound is subjective. But to me, an H pipe with straight through (Magna, Dynomax, Corsa, etc) mufflers sounds like 1978 Ford F100 with an exhaust leak.

**surfinjoe** · 06-06-2008, 10:57 AM

I have the Magnaflow catback with X-pipe. All I am trying to do is eliminate the resonators as I feel that they are making the 'exotic' sound not come through enough. I understand your point on H-pipe.

Do you think the resonator delete will make the system sound better (more exotic)?

**TheJudge05** · 06-06-2008, 02:26 PM

I think the simple answer is YES, if you delete the resonator you will introduce a drone at highway speeds. I had this on my 99 SS (LS1) with a Loudmouth system. The exhaust sounded great and I loved giving the ricers an ear full of real American mucle, but it droned pretty bad at around 1800 rpm / 68 mph. However, I would still put up with the drone for the enjoyment of the great sounding exhaust.

**mark21742** · 06-06-2008, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by TheJudge05

I think the simple answer is YES, if you delete the resonator you will introduce a drone at highway speeds. I had this on my 99 SS (LS1) with a Loudmouth system. The exhaust sounded great and I loved giving the ricers an ear full of real American mucle, but it droned pretty bad at around 1800 rpm / 68 mph. However, I would still put up with the drone for the enjoyment of the great sounding exhaust.

+1 on giving the ricers an ear full....its even better when you have side pipes

**GOT1GOAT** · 06-08-2008, 09:00 AM

I have the mag cb and when I had my two resonators removed (straight pipe in place), my sound got deeper and sounded better.
The problem of getting them removed is a pita if you go to a chain shop - most think that they are a second cat (believe it or not) and don't wont to face the possible fine. Was worth the money imo.

**surfinjoe** · 06-09-2008, 04:29 AM

Originally Posted by GOT1GOAT

I have the mag cb and when I had my two resonators removed (straight pipe in place), my sound got deeper and sounded better.
The problem of getting them removed is a pita if you go to a chain shop - most think that they are a second cat (believe it or not) and don't wont to face the possible fine. Was worth the money imo.

Do you have a sound clip? Are you running headers? My issue is that I love my exhaust note when I hit it, but when I am at part throttle it sounds kind of lame (rice-ish). I am not looking for a true muscle car sound, just something a little exotic and powerful. My hope is that the resonator delete will make this happen. I am sure that when I get a set of headers it will also improve the sound, but I am a year out on that mod.

**GOT1GOAT** · 06-09-2008, 06:30 AM

No sound clip and no headers yet. Sounds lame at part throttle because we have a4 instead of m6.

**98tranny** · 07-01-2008, 01:08 PM

if i delete the resonator, will it still pass inspection?

**LS2Tuner** · 07-01-2008, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by 98tranny

if i delete the resonator, will it still pass inspection?

YES

**qwkgto** · 07-11-2008, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by surfinjoe

According to what I have read here, the stock resonator is supposed to 'increase' the audible exhaust note (make your car sound louder in the car). I have a Magnaflow system that sounds great, but I have the stock resonators still in place. If I delete the resonators, will my car have less exhaust noise in the car? I am a little bothered by the droning sometimes.

What will headers/midpipe do for the exhaust note? Is it going to be unbearably loud?

the resonators will keep the tone down on the car,taking them off its great have done several of them I use the stainless steel xpipe one peice design,flows true right through the middle has a great sound,on my turbo setup that all i have is the x pip rest is 3 inch pipe back to the turbos then out the factory tips car sounds awesome.xpipe helps mellow the tones just like the factory reso but xpipe is not restrictive.