Got rid of ridiculous Magnaflow Cat-back drone!

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bahollis

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I installed a direct fit Magnaflow Cat-back system on my Tahoe last year, and have been dealing with the awful highway speed drone ever since. Pretty much anything in the 2100-2500 RPM range produced a drone that drowned out any and all cabin noises (including normal radio volume, conversations... etc.) Anything below that range, say like going 65 MPH as opposed to 70 MPH was tolerable, but still a bit noisier than I would have liked. The WOT sound of the exhaust is nice, and the sound at idle is just sick. I just could not deal with the cabin drone. I use my Tahoe for all our family trips, and the wife and kid were pretty much over it too.

Sooooooo, before I ditched it in favor of a quieter muffler and a $$$ loss to boot, I thought I'd try something. Being that I have not had the system welded up I just took off the tail pipe setup after the muffler. I got a bit of strapping material and secured the loose end of the muffler since the hanger is attached to the tail pipe that I took off, and I took it out on the highway. No more drone.

The dreaded cabin drone had nothing to do with the muffler in my case, it was the resonation in the tail pipe assembly. That last bit of pipe was the perfect shape and length to produce a vibration similar to a pipe organ. After I figured that out and removed it, I attached a 16" slash cut tip directly to the muffler to direct the exhaust downward during idle and traffic stops, and viola... no more cabin drone. Hell, the setup is louder at idle and WOT than it was before!

So if you're having the same issue, and you haven't welded it up... give that a shot!

Hollis
 
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06xl

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I installed a direct fit Magnaflow Cat-back system on my Tahoe last year, and have been dealing with the awful highway speed drone ever since. Pretty much anything in the 2100-2500 RPM range produced a drone that drowned out any and all cabin noises (including normal radio volume, conversations... etc.) Anything below that range, say like going 65 MPH as opposed to 70 MPH was tolerable, but still a bit noisier than I would have liked. The WOT sound of the exhaust is nice, and the sound at idle is just sick. I just could not deal with the cabin drone. I use my Tahoe for all our family trips, and the wife and kid were pretty much over it too.

Sooooooo, before I ditched it in favor of a quieter muffler and a $$$ loss to boot, I thought I'd try something. Being that I have not had the system welded up I just took off the tail pipe setup after the muffler. I got a bit of strapping material and secured the loose end of the muffler since the hanger is attached to the tail pipe that I took off, and I took it out on the highway. No more drone.

The dreaded cabin drone had nothing to do with the muffler in my case, it was the resonation in the tail pipe assembly. That last bit of pipe was the perfect shape and length to produce a vibration similar to a pipe organ. After I figured that out and removed it, I attached a 16" slash cut tip directly to the muffler to direct the exhaust downward during idle and traffic stops, and viola... no more cabin drone. Hell, the setup is louder at idle and WOT than it was before!

So if you're having the same issue, and you haven't welded it up... give that a shot!

Hollis

Holy moly donut shop bro I thought I was the only one having this issue.. Everything you stated is exactly what I'm dealing with so basically cut of the pipe the comes out the end of the muffler running behind the rear passenger wheel an just add a slanted tip??
 

iwaslowr

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I added my tailpipe to reduce drone because the lack thereof was intolerable... but the one I have is also 4" in diameter from the muffler back, and I have a Flowmaster. :shrug:
 

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