What is the cheapest possible way to get rumble?
 

I'd really like to enhance the sound the car makes, eg. louder, more aggressive, more sportscar-like.

I don't have a budget to replace the exhaust pipes unfortunately.

One of my old friends claimed he replaced a tube in the engine (cost him $20 for the part) and that itself already made a huge difference.


What are my options if I'm looking to spend no more than $100?




Thanks in advance.

Maybe try a cheap catless front pipe? I have one of these and it added a little more rumble with my perrin catback: http://www.jonmotoring.com/j2-engine...ipe-test-pipe/

(just noticed you are in Australia, its free shipping in the states, not sure what it would cost you there)

replace the engine tubes.

Buy a bunch of old metal chairs from the church basement and weld them into an exhaust. It already has bends in them so you can just cut where you want to get the right bends. It's going to be loud and you will lose probably 150hp with only a .5" tube.

To be serious though, You have 2 options. 1 is to just remover the stock muffler and get a cheap bent pipe from Autozone that reaches either one of the muffler exits. Pretty much a muffler delete for 20 or 30 bucks. If it's too loud head back to Autozone and find a Vibrant or other straight design muffler. Cut the Autozone pipe to the right length and instal with either welds or clamps(clamps probably to test out first). That is probably the cheapest of all ways.

That will change the sound. Got no clue how good it will sound but that is a chance to take with custom systems. I had a custom 2.5" piping, header, res and Vibrant muffler on my Spec V Sentra and liked the sound. Could sound good on twins, but could sound like crap too.

If it's the boxer rumble you want, then Borla or Rev Works are probably some of the cheaper headers you can get. Just got to be sure they are UEL(Uneven length tubes) to give you that Subaru rumble sound.

Anyways, good luck. Get a sound clip of your choice :)

$20 tube in engine?

I have the J2 catless front pipe with a completely stock exhaust system other than that. Gives it a deeper tone with a little rasp in the higher rpm ranges but not much of a rumble.. Do you have a sound clip of what your exhaust system sounds like though?

Drill a few holes in the bottom of the muffler.

Find a used single-exit muffler delete. I got one for $50 and the sound is great.

The only way to get the signature "boxer rumble" is to have unequal length headers. I don't want to disappoint you but $100 isn't going to get you there. If you can save up a bit more you can pick a cheaper set up for ballpark $500. I installed my own so you can too, it just bolts on.

hey mate unfortunately it is more complex than replacing a $20 part.
in order to change the sound of the exhaust without making your car sound like a riced out honda civic, you will need to change the following parts
header - preferable a Unequal Lenght this will give you the "rumble" you are looking for
and a cat back exhaust - this will give you the loudness that you are looking for.
now on this forum you can search the different brands and styles of exhausts and headers to see what do you like and what you can afford.

Was he talking about the sound tube for the noise generator? I think there is one available from scion that make it louder in the cabin but thats not going to give you rumble.

Used borla UEL header, no tune, hire immigrant labor to install

When I was looking at the off-the-shelf solutions for a nice cat-back exhaust every kit I looked at was about 2-3 times more expensive than what I felt they were worth.

When you get down to it... most are just mufflers and pipe, not exactly expensive items.
( I realize you are paying as much for the time they spent designing the kit, and in some cases name branding, as you are for the parts and profit by the seller)

So instead I went to a local muffler shop that offered custom exhaust services and spent some time telling the shop guy what I wanted... He offered to build a stainless 2.5" cat-back with a Magnaflow muffler and tossed in a set of tips as well, installed for $300.

Once he got started it took him about an hour to remove the old exhaust, custom bend the new pipe and weld/hang the new muffler and tips in place. The guy knew his stuff and wow it made a hell of a difference in sound and flow.

While he was doing the work I looked up the parts he was using and guesstimated he had maybe $200 in parts and likely could get it cheaper than what I found online. Even so... for about an hours work he netted at least $100 in an hour.

After driving the car for a few days I noticed more drone than I wanted during highway driving @ 70-80mph... so I went back to the muffler shop and had him add a 24" resonator for $100 installed. After all was said and down... I now have a custom Magnaflow cat-back for $400... and it sounds fantastic. Excellent rumble for a decent cost.

(btw - I am waiting on my Open Flash Header so I can get more flow and that classic Subaru burble! My exhaust guy quoted me $100 for the header install... soon!!!)



For you $100 you may be able to find a local muffler shop to swap your muffler for something with a little more flow. You may be surprised at how good a deal you can find if you look around... just make sure the shop is reputable.

Also - I got a significant sound change from simply buying a drop-in K&N air filter... nice and throaty growl under the hood over the stock sound...

Thanks for all the responses, guys.

I just spoke to one of my mates who works at a Toyota dealership. He said the cheapest and most effective option would be to remove the "cats" on the exhaust. I'm guessing he was referring to "catalysts"?


Any thoughts?