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Knothead
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Okay, I just got a picture of the inside of the pipe where the 1 inch opening is. The perforations run for more like 2 inches of the pipe, not the 4 to 6 inches like I thought I saw yesterday.
Tim H.
Well-Known Member
Wow...crazy how small that is. Now you have to post some audio of the exhaust! ?Okay, I just got a picture of the inside of the pipe where the 1 inch opening is. The perforations run for more like 2 inches of the pipe, not the 4 to 6 inches like I thought I saw yesterday.
Porpoise Hork
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately you cannot accurately calculate the the amount of flow those additional perforations just before the reducer plate provide. That's if they even allow flow to pass through and rejoin passing. But looking at this design it is likely more to provide sound attenuation than limit performance.
Sandman Ranger
Well-Known Member
How far in to drill out?
TORQUERULES
Well-Known Member
I wonder if it can be punched out? Be hard to fish out, but it might just be pressed in or barely tacked. Lol. Just brainstorming...
P. A. Schilke
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Hi Matt,
What you are trying to do is circumvent the the muffler tuning by altering the blocking plates around the louver tubes etc. Expanding the volume of exhaust into a larger area and reducing the energy of the exhaust for various reason besides customer satisfaction. All vehicles certified for sale to the public must pass drive noise, a Federal requirement... So you get your truck and want to dink with it. Not part of the OEM sales requirement. There are also evaluation drives of the vehicle prior to sale of the public and the vehicle must also comply with these evaluation subjective requirements. The aftermarket exhaust systems are not required to meet drive by noise federally, but by state and local requirements. So you pay your $ and take your chances with local law enforcement. This is in the realm of subjective noise attenuation vs the regulations. It is up to the vehicle purchaser in their respective state vs their requirement. Most home mods with which I have experience sound like the annoying rice burner "tuned" exhausts with a bellmouth exhaust outlet the size of Nebraska. Much like a replication of my momentary fart on a continental basis.
Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
Porpoise Hork
Well-Known Member
The stock muffler is somewhere close to 24" long and that plate is only accessible from the inlet, however it's all the way at the other end of inlet pipe. Drilling it out might be possible if you use a bit like the ones @Tim H. posted.
If you're looking for improved flow yet retain stock or near stock noise levels then it's far cheaper and easier to buy one of these Amazon for $45 bucks and take it to your local exhaust shop and have them install it. Shouldn't take more than 30-45 minuets to do and unlikely to cost you more than 50-60 to install it. It has 3" ends but the internal piping is 2.5" which just happens to be the same diameter as the cat-back pipe. I have used these mufflers for years and they have far better flow than and are only slightly louder than stock. You can only really hear it when the truck first starts up or under hard acceleration. Otherwise it's very quiet. Granted it doesn't flow quite as well as a straight through design, but those are far louder as well.
If you want a full 3"version for even better flow the price basically doubles.
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Tim H.
Well-Known Member
Can you post the measurements of the OEM muffler? Inlet/outlet diameter & total length end to end? Thanks!Okay, I just got a picture of the inside of the pipe where the 1 inch opening is. The perforations run for more like 2 inches of the pipe, not the 4 to 6 inches like I thought I saw yesterday.
TORQUERULES
Well-Known Member
Yep, that is exactly what I am trying to do. I know exactly what I was suggesting and didn't need to be "schooled" so to speak. Been at this for a while too.... It is a s**tty stock muffler that while one has it off would be fun to see if that restriction could be punched out and see just what it sounds like. An experiment. Plan and simple. I hate ricers too BTW, but I do love experimentation. Its a 4cyl and at a certain point with aftermarket exhaust it will sound like s**t, but when do you reach that point with this application? I have heard a few cat-backs and they sound okay, none with no cats at all (i.e. downpipe replacement too), so I can't comment on that. The turbo muffles a lot of the ricey sound and if done correctly they can sound decent with a turbo. My two Mazdaspeed 3s had full exhaust replacement in 3" from the turbo back and had a nice deep mechanical sound with some turbo sound thrown in. Not bad really and no drone. Being direct injected also changes the tone of these engines quite a bit compared to an old N/A PFI 4cyl as they have an almost boxer engine sound to them.
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HenryMac
Well-Known Member
Many of us are still hoping we'll at some point hear a 2019/2020 Ranger aftermarket exhaust that sounds better than stock.
Until then, the stock muffler is the best muffler we've ever heard on a 2019/2020 Ranger..... not the shittiest.
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TORQUERULES
Well-Known Member
By s**tty I mean that it is in no way going to flow as good as a nice aftermarket performance muffler. I agree that sound is subjective and it is at least not obnoxious, but it pretty much has NO sound. I like a little at least. But with a 4cyl, that balance is hard to find. The MBRP sounds pretty good and is on my list right now. Or a simple muffler replacement.
HenryMac
Well-Known Member
Thanks for clarifying.
I think you'd be surprised at just how good the stock muffler flows. The aftermarket mufflers gain very little performance based on dyno data ... that's a good indicator of how well the stock muffler flows.
Folks are all up in arms about the 1" dia. restrictor. That allows some of the exhaust to free flow through the muffler and it creates enough back pressure for the remainder to be pushed through the perforations. That's pretty much typical for these types of mufflers.
I'm betting Ford spent more money designing the stock exhaust system, to tune it for the motor, than any of the aftermarket companies.
I wish you success. I'm of the opinion that the only good sounding 4 cylinder... is a quiet 4 cylinder, but I'm hoping you'll prove me wrong..
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