to drone or not to drone

"parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis" (parkrndl)
11/07/2016 at 21:00 • Filed to: None

So !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It’s a bone-stock base model with one exception: the previous owner put a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on it. In general this is loads of rip-snorting fun and works wonders if you like to feel like you’re 18 instead of oh, say, 47.

But there’s a catch. Between 1500 and 2000 rpm (that’s between 60 and 80 in top gear) it produces a deafening drone/resonance that gets inside my skull and has me avoiding interstates. Avoiding interstates is not good, especially in a car that makes an on-ramp feel like a block party.

So I caved. I found a pair of take-off GT mufflers on Craigslist for 25 bucks. A local shop is adapting the inlets to the V6 pipes (2.5 inches to 2.25 inches) for me tomorrow. Hopefully they’ll sound a little meatier than the stock V6 mufflers, but I still feel like a wuss.

Driving home today, I made some kind of comment to my wife about taking my baby to be neutered tomorrow. Her response was actually kinda clever: “I would say it’s more like having the implants removed.”

Smartass.

DISCUSSION (12)

jasmits > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
11/07/2016 at 21:04

Easy, go faster on the interstate

Urambo Tauro > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
11/07/2016 at 21:11

Oh snap, that was a good one! She’s a keeper.

Bourbon&JellyBeans > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
11/07/2016 at 21:22

Virtually all axle back systems for the Cyclone V6 drone like mad in that RPM range. My Bassani’s drone probably the least out of all the options I’ve heard but during the first 2000 or so miles with them, I could feel my brain vibrating inside my skull.

parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis > Bourbon&JellyBeans
11/07/2016 at 22:27

I actually feel vindicated hearing that. Guess I’m not imagining it. I’ve spent the last few weeks reading about ‘11-’14 V6 exhaust systems on various Mustang forums and the discussions always have one guy who says his Flowmasters or Magnaflows or whatever have NO DRONE WHATSOEVER. I noticed the Bassani systems are very highly rated, but also pretty pricey... if I started throwing five-hundred-dollar-plus exhaust systems at this car to see which one droned the least, I might be looking for a divorce lawyer to round out my little mid-life excursion. So I’m going the budget route, and if that ends up too quiet, I hear you can install the “induction tube” off a similar-year V8 car to get a little more intake noise in the cabin. Kinda like when we used to flip the air cleaner cover over on that old 2-barrel small block to get that “vvvvoooooooooooooo” when we stomped on it...

Stephenson Valve Gear > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
11/07/2016 at 22:37

...and that is the reason my ‘14 V6 still has the stock mufflers. I would love to hear the engine’s exhaust note when running through the gears, but I know that realistically it would drive me crazy on the highway, and this car gets a l-o-t of Interstate miles. Perhaps a good alternative for you would be the installation of a sound tube from an ‘11-’14 GT, or maybe an aftermarket cold air intake? A little extra intake noise during WOT, without the drone at cruising speed...

Stephenson Valve Gear > Stephenson Valve Gear
11/07/2016 at 22:39

And now I see that I missed your mention of the GT sound tube in your response to DidNotFinish... well, great minds think alike, huh? :-D

parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis > Stephenson Valve Gear
11/07/2016 at 22:41

I am liking the sound tube idea more and more...

Stephenson Valve Gear > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
11/07/2016 at 22:55

I kinda like the idea, too. Maybe one of these days I’ll find one and throw it in the pony car.

Birddog > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
11/07/2016 at 23:06

I doubt you’ll regret the change. You may even feel a boost in the butt dyno on the low end.

Bourbon&JellyBeans > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
11/08/2016 at 06:13

Yeah, I was on a Mustang forum for a while (ugh, it was unpleasant) and I realized that some people just don’t understand what drone is. Lol Flowmasters and Magnaflows drone the most out of most of the exhaust companies out there. Retrofitting a stock part may be a good choice. Let me know how it goes because I too am getting to the age and place in my life where I’m not sure that I want people to hear me coming down the road before they seem me.

parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis > Bourbon&JellyBeans
11/08/2016 at 21:24

As of 4:00 today, the GT mufflers are installed. It’s nice to be able to drive on the highway and hear the radio and think quietly to myself without putting in conscious effort to block out the drone; but it’s a little sad to stomp on it around town and have it sound like the Altima that it replaced. I seriously need to look into that induction/sound tube off the V8 cars. My advice? If you’re at a happy place with the Bassanis on the highway, enjoy them a little longer at least.

parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis > Bourbon&JellyBeans
11/08/2016 at 22:09

For reference: