dopeboy1

Hey so as soon as I had the rv6 jpipe and rv6 hfpc's installed my mechanic advised me that they thought my resonator was starting to go. Its a really faint rattling sound coming from the resonator but it seems it might be getting a bit worse.

So my question is where and what kind of resonator should i buy to replace? Are there other options than OEM for a 2012 SH-AWD?

Or what could i expect it to sound like if I just got rid of the resonator all together? Tons of drone/rasp?

dopeboy1

I notice there aren't any responses. I thought having my friend take this video might help.


You can hear the slight little rattle or whatever when the camera is at the side of the car. Cant hear it when the camera is at the back.

Think that sound is my resonator or something else or do you think it sounds normal?

dopeboy1

come on someone has to be willing to speculate

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I might not be of much help but I'll throw in my

I think I hear the noise you're talking about but it's hard to tell if it's something wrong with an exhaust component (like the resonator) or if it's simply a noise that naturally occurs when the exhaust speed and sound frequency is at a certain point. You'll notice with most cars where the exhaust is freed up, that a raspy/rattling noise is present at certain RPM's. It may also change based on whether the engine is under load or in neutral since the sound frequency will change as different "amounts" of combustion is occurring in the engine. But if it doesn't bother you and you're not hearing it from the cabin I might not worry about it.

I removed a resonator on my 3G TL but I haven't messed with my 4G resonators so I'm afraid I can't recommend a certain kind of resonator, or what to expect when removing the existing resonator. I have the stock cat-back with magnaflows welded in, RV6 HFPC's and an XLR8 J-pipe and my exhaust sounds COMPLETELY different. Much lower tone and no rasp.

Maybe do a few WOT pulls in the car (when there's less snow....) and see if you notice it. Sometimes noises like that are present when rev'd in neutral but not when the engine is under load.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

just listened with earphones!

100% healthy exhaust sound with a little bit of rasp thrown in!!!!!
it's exactly how my car sounded like with PCD's and Jpipe.

I rocked that combo for more than a few years and getting into the higher RPM's ALWAYS always turned heads (not in a good way)
it wasn't until I bought a "cat-back exhaust" that the noise subsided.

this tells me two things.
the factory "cat-back exhaust" isn't well equipped for quelling new frequencies.
and my new exhaust with bigger mufflers took care of the extra noises.

your mid-muffler and or resonator is working perfectly; unless the road grime compromised any of the welds.
if you are not upgrading to a catback, you can stick a larger aftermarket resonator in.
could do it in series with the stock resonator; or you could cut stock out and weld in two aftermarket resonators in series. whatever will allow you to fit the biggest (longest) resonator in the space provided.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

based on your anecdotal evidence; the magnaflow mufflers are indeed helping with the rasp.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Here's my rasp!

dopeboy1

Thanks guys.

So I gather I can either put on magnaflow mufflers (which I assume would make it a fair amount louder) or put in more resonators.

Since I don't really want it much louder I think im going to add one of these behind my stock res.
Vibrant Performance ::.

Any idea if that particular res is a good one?

Losiglow: it does make that noise when driving but only after about 5000rpm. Any chance you have a video of how yours sounds with those mufflers?

Justnspace: I cant see those videos it says 'this video is unabailable'

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Every time I try to take exhaust note videos they end up sounding like crap. Maybe I'll try what you did - having someone rev the engine while I strafe the car. I'll give it a try but no promises it will come out accurate. Maybe I'll try sticking the phone in the trunk, then getting up to higher RPM's. I'll need to take a test drive anyways since I'm flashing an updated tune tonight and need to make a log with a few WOT runs.

I love the Magnaflows, but they're a mixed bag. Essentially I swapped some rasp for drone. I didn't have a ton of rasp to begin with, less than you but still present at higher RPM's. I have the HFPC's as well, but the XLR8 j-pipe instead of the RV6. Maybe that's the reason for the difference. And yours is a 3.7. I have the FWD 3.5. So it's a different shaped j-pipe as well. The rasp is all but gone now but there's a low frequency drone from about 2000-2500 RPM. It doesn't bother me like the drone I had in my 3G, which was at a really annoying frequency. I actually quite like it since it gives a nice low growl when accelerating at lower RPM's.

The crappy thing about exhaust work is that you have to pay a significant amount up front without knowing exactly how things will turn out. I forked out $350 between the price of the Magnaflows and install, which included cutting both of the other mufflers out and welding the new ones on. It would suck to fork that out, only to find you hated the sound. I mainly did it for the potential performance increase and hoped the exhaust note wouldn't be crap Luckily it sounded good afterward and hopefully provided some increased flow. Admittedly, I couldn't tell a difference. But the ol' butt dyno isn't exactly the most accurate so who knows.