Have you ever come across a car with a loud muffler? What was your reaction?
Yeah, I get it! You might have wondered how on earth their car was that loud.
Well, when figuring out how to make your car loud, it might seem like all the options are too costly or, instead, they can’t work with your vehicle.
But do you know you can make your car loud having to break the bank?
All you need to do is; remove every component that can dampen the exhaust system, like the catalytic converter, exhaust muffler, resonator, and install a performance kit with a great sound.
In this article, you will get an in-depth explanation of how to make your car louder.
Also Read: Noise When Turning Steering Wheel While Stationary
Are Cars With Loud Exhausts Legal?
Cars with loud exhaust are illegal when the noise they emit is above 95 decibels.
However, if you are a resident of California, smog laws and other legislation can make modifying your exhaust illegal.
In addition, bypass, cutouts, and whistle tips are illegal in California, and every car must have mufflers.
Do Exhaust Tips Make Your Car Louder
No, exhaust tips do not make cars louder.
Drivers install exhaust tips for aesthetic purposes and not for making their cars louder.
Exhaust tips give the vehicle a great appearance.
However, in some cases, the exhaust tips alter the noise made by the vehicle’s engine exhaust gases as they go via every part of the exhaust system.
In this case, the length of the exhaust tip determines the note sound produced.
Hence, your vehicle might not be louder, but it will have a deeper sound than installing the exhaust tips.
However, note that exhaust tips are the best accessories for altering your exhaust note.
In case you need your car’s exhaust to deepen, get yourself a new muffler.
Since mufflers, pipes, and resonators are crucial for setting your car’s exhaust note.
Ways to Make Your Car Louder
Are you wondering whether you can make your car louder? Well yeah, you can easily make your car louder. Here are the six excellent tips on how to make your car louder.
1. Install aftermarket exhaust
Installing aftermarket exhaust in your vehicle increases the airflow.
It is one of the easiest ways to make your car louder because its horsepower increases as the engine breathe better.
The only disadvantage of this method is that by installing an aftermarket exhaust, you are abandoning quality.
Because manufacturers use many resources to create their exhausts, getting the same reliability on the new one isn’t easy.
However, your car will get that loud voice, but you will need to research your car.
Since some cars are very restrictive, you might note some differences and not register the same in others.
2. Drill Holes in Your Exhaust
Drilling holes in the exhaust is a popular and one of the cheapest methods to make your car louder.
The holes make sound waves via the exhaust to escape before they get to the muffler.
Therefore, you drill the holes between the muffler and right after the catalytic converter for emission.
Here, you will have to start with a few holes as you test the sound.
3. Modify the Car Resonator
The purpose of the resonator is to modulate sound in the exhaust by making a space for sound waves to bounce and crash on one another hence canceling themselves out.
The resonator is in between the catalytic converter and muffler. Thus, modifying the car’s resonator size alters the pitch and the grumbling tone of the engine.
4. Install Straight Piping
Installing straight pipes ensures that all the noise and gases travel straight from the engine to the exhaust tip to louder your car.
To achieve this, you will have to remove the converter and the muffler to ensure there is no obstruction to the flow of gases.
In turn, it results in better performance of the engine and production of more noise.
The process of installing straight pipes starts by removing your initial exhaust system up to the header.
After removing the exhaust system, install straight pipes using clamps and connect them to the header.
The car will now sound louder because there is no catalytic converter, resonator, and muffler. Also, since there is no integrated oxygen sensor in the catalytic convertor, your check lights will stay on.
However, it is essential to note that this installation cannot pass inspection because of its emission standards and violation of the town’s noise ordinance.
5. Install Cat-Back
Installing a Cat-Back is a standard method of making your car louder since it allows you to use your catalytic convertor and is also cheaper.
In addition, it is popular because you don’t need to avoid any laws, and there is no need to obscure your engine lights on your dashboards behind.
Installing cat-back gives you better exhaust sound and increases the volume hence providing a fantastic experience.
Thus, I would advise installing a cat-back to make your car louder since it is easier to operate for a longer time.
6. Install Exhaust Tip
Installing an exhaust tip will not increase the horsepower, but it can probably change the sound note.
Therefore, since making the exhaust louder can be expensive, and some methods like installing aftermarket exhaust can cost up to $500, you can go for exhaust tips.
They are affordable compared to other methods, and you can get an exhaust tip for $10-$15 on Amazon.
Although they come in different colors, they all function just the same.
So, if you would love to get an exhaust tip, I recommend you get a shiny silver one since they look beautiful and will enhance your vehicle’s appearance.
Final Thought on How to Make Your Car Louder
As you have seen, making your car louder is not as complicated a task as it might seem.
All you have to do is alter the exhaust system in a way or another, and you are good to go. Each modification covered in this article explains how to make your car louder.
So, are do you still want to make your car loud? Add that exhaust tip, trim or replace your exhaust system completely.
However, check the modifications which are against the law in your state before implementing them.
In addition, note that some noise-dampening systems in modern vehicles can limit the process of making your car louder.
Hi I’m Marshall based in 1478 Doctors Drive Santa Monica, CA. I’m your DIY Car Repairman with more than 5 years experience in automobile repair, a skill I learned from my old man.
I started this blog to share my experience on both simple and technical aspects of your car.