I have a 98 SE with a two year old warpspeed y-pipe and cat and a new Walker B-pipe and muffler. This setup has worked fine for me until about three months ago when the car started making a droning noise that is most pronounced at about 1500 rpm, it is also noticeable at idle. My exhaust system is secure and does not have any leaks, it's basically new.

I read on the org that if your exhaust system does not have enough back pressure you will get a droning sound. I noticed that if I restrict the exhaust system with a rag the droning noise is decreased substantally. I realize most of us want the lest restrictive system possible but I really dislike this droning noise.

Does this sound like it could be the cause of the droning noise? What's the easiest/best way to make the system more restrictive? I understand just taking a big hammer to it will do the job. Do I bend the exhaust system somewhere to make it more restrictive? Where may be the best spot? Or is there some better way to resolve this.

 

Exhaust systems do not operate on back pressure. Thats a myth.
I also have a Y pipe with the same Walker set up as you.
It's a nice quiet system. Something is wrong with one of your components.
Check the flex section of your Y pipe, check the muffler and the resenator.
That system has a lifetime warranty.

 

Thanks, mine was nice and quiet also until a few months ago. I have changed the muffler and B-pipe since the noise started and that made no difference at all. The cat and y-pipe including the flex section look like new, there are no leaks. The only thing that stops the droning noise is restricting the exhaust. You would think restricting the exhaust at the tail pipe would cause the noise to get louder if there was a leak. This just started out of the blue three months ago I had not done anything to the exhaust that would have caused the problem. I have been under the car many times and had Midas look at it, they suggested changing the muffler under warranty which I did but that was no help.

 

Check the Y pipe. Pull it off the car, look into it and make sure the flex section is clear.

 

That will probably be my next step, my buddy has an old stock Y-pipe I may try and install to see if it makes any difference. When I removed my stock Y-pipe and installed the warpspeed this drone was there but hardly noticeable. No it's just too loud, it actually causes vibration inside the car you can feel it in the floor.

 

Took the car to Midas this afternoon, after inspecting the exhaust the guy basically told me that everything is fine and that this is how a hi flow aftermarket system will sound. It's like installing a glass pack, you will get more noise. He said that these systems lean the car out and that maybe in time carbon buildup in the system will quiet it down a bit. He tells me he has 30 years experience with exhaust systems.

I always thought that my Walker quietflow muffler and B-pipe were like stock but I guess they are not. It makes sense to me but either my car got louder or my hearing improved. Guess I'll just turn the stereo on more often.

I get the felling that if I made the system more restrictive by installing a stock Y-pipe or muffler that would probably quiet it down.

Thanks for the advice njmaxseltd.

 

It is rotting from the inside. This happens with some exhausts after a few years so the sound changes. OR it is broken in.

My Budget Y and Magnaflow setup has been a lot more louder more drone for the past few months as well.

 

he is correct about that. And yes, Putting these on our cars do make us much leaner.

 

The Midas guy doesn't know what he's talking about. The Walker system is nothing more then a replacement stock setup.

Again, I'm running that same setup and it makes no noise. Something is failing internally in your system. Your going to have to take it down and inspect it internally. I'm thinking the issus might be up front or the resonator on the B-Pipe.

 

I agree Walker parts are stock replacements and he is full of s*** about that. But I understand the Warpspeed Y could/will make things louder. I changed the B pipe after the droning started and it made no difference. The droning is not that loud but loud enough to annoy me. I'm thinking the flex section has deteriorated enough to allow exhaust to escape under load but not enough that you can really see it. The droning mostly occurs under load. I'll either live with it or purchase a new Walker Y-pipe and reinstall the OEM cat. I want to make sure the new y-pipe is lined is there anything but Walker that is worth installing and be more like OEM?

Appreciate the feedback from all.

 

Reinstalled stock cat a couple of days ago, no difference. Installed my buddies stock Y-Pipe, big difference. No more drone, runs quieter and the engine appears to run smoother.

Inspected Warpspeed Y-pipe looks like only some surface rust in spots, flex section looked fine. There was nothing loose or leaking from the Warpspeed.

Can't explain it but my exhaust sounded good with the warpspeed for about 18 months and then suddenly droning at 1500-2000 RPM. Unless my buddy decides to sell me his Y-pipe I will probably replace with a Walker Y-pipe. They are supposed to be similar to stock. I just don't want to consider a hi performance Y-Pipe because I do not want to take a chance with the drone.

I've read where Bees in a can sound was described as exhaust turblence, that's a good definition for the issue I was having.

Anyone have a stock Y-pipe in good condition they want to sell? Anyone want to buy a slightly used Warpspeed Y-Pipe I'll let it go cheap :-)

 

Have you checked the EGR valve to make sure it is clean? Carbon build-up can cause some strange noises when it is functioning.

 

Thanks, I have never looked at it, it sounds like I should check/clean that regardless.

 

I would not be surprised if it's something like that considering that nothing has really changed in the exhaust system.


Great first post, welcome to the org.

 

I checked the Warpspeed flex section more closely and could see that the part at the very front of the flex section had deteriorated and numerous small holes about the size of a matchstick were present. This is probably why it got louder, and after only 18 months, kind of disappointing.

 

I have the same issue with my warpspeed y-pipe. For a while, I had a leak between the Y pipe and the cat, which caused the CEL to come on. The O2 sensor was seeing too much oxygen. I finally ended up welding the Y-pipe to the Cat, which isn't ideal, but I was hoping the exhaust would last longer than I'm going to keep the car. Welding it together helped alot, but it still drones and I suspect it's for the same reason you discovered.

Warpspeed does offer a 4 year warranty against rust through. It may be worth calling them to see if they'll give you a new one.

 

I'm not sure it was really rust that caused to to fail may have been the movement of the flex section that wore it out.

Thanks, but I have decided to install an OEM Y-Pipe, not only does the car run quieter but the engine seems to run smoother with the OEM pipe. I realized that a quiet running car is more important to me than a few more horses.

 

After going the aftermarket route, I tend to agree with you. The HP gains are not exactly earth shattering, and are really only noticable at higher engine speeds. It would be nice to have a quiter car, but I'm can't justify the cost for a 10 yr old car that's only worth about $3-4K anyways.

 

You can sometimes find used OEM ones at fair prices if you look around. Even at 100K if the flex section is OK, it's good.