Every vehicle has them, they’re standard parts but not everyone knows what they’re about, how they function and why they’re crucial; you guessed it, I’m referring to the mufflers. One of the first things we can understand about them is their purpose thanks to their name which is muffling the sound, or rather the noise coming from the vehicle’s exhaust system as well as the vibrations that accompany it.
When the time and day comes to replace them, and knowing how quick and easy they can be affected by the weather conditions, specifically snow, rain and salt leading to corrosion or the chance to go through physical damage due to the driving terrain, it’s important to know there are two types of mufflers available to choose from: direct fit and universal muffler.
With the latter you don’t have to mind about the exact fit and brand because it can be adjusted to fit your exhaust system, and that’s the advantage beside the affordable price it comes in as opposed to the direct fit.
As soon as you notice a change in the sound, and determine it is the muffler that’s the problem, don’t waste time in replacing it because it’s not only the engine sound affected by the work of this essential part, it’s also the exhaust fumes (read:deadly!) as it’s designed to keep them away from the vehicle cabin. In other words, it can be dangerous to drive around with a muffler that doesn’t function as it should!
Likewise, the direct fit or universal muffler you opt for is directly connected with the engine’s performance since when the engine can easily be relieved from the exhaust gases the faster it can generate more power so if you want to upgrade the performance, the key is in upgrading the muffler.
Other than the necessity to upgrade in the case of damage or the aspect of performance, one can also do the change out of aesthetic reasons, more so as there’s a variety of mufflers to choose from to customise your vehicle with instead of going for the same old.
Having in mind how wide the range of high-performance mufflers is, from perforated and bullet, chambered bullet, louvered bullet and full case, to multiple baffle, cherry bomb and turbo, you can opt to get a change in the sound too depending on your taste, get something mightier than the original you’re used to and turn some heads on the streets; be sure to check the rules, though, before you choose so you don’t end up paying fines for being “cool”!
