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Do i need a resonator on my exhaust? That’s a good question to ask. A car is made up of various components, which all serve different purposes.
Yes, you need a resonator on your exhaust. The exhaust system in your car includes a resonator and a muffler. These two components are what control your car’s engine noise as it passes through the exhaust pipe.
The exhaust system in every vehicle is more than just a big, long pipe from the engine to the rear of the car, meant for emitting gases from the engine.
There are many tweaks you can do to your car’s exhaust and watch as your car would sound differently when next you go driving.
What Is The Function Of A Resonator?
When you drive, you’d notice that your car makes a particular noise; this noise typically comes from the exhaust. The function of resonators is to “resonate” – kind of control – the sound the comes out from your car’s exhaust.
The resonator tunes down the sound coming from the engine so that the muffler can silence it. But, many people think that the resonator is what silences the sound from the engine.
No, the resonator would only receive the sound, change/tune it down a bit, and then pass it on to the muffler. It is the muffler that has the capability to silence the sound.
So, since the resonator is not responsible for silencing the sound from your engine when you drive, is it really worth getting a new resonator to replace an old, damaged one?
Do I Need A Resonator On My Exhaust?
Practically, yes, you need a resonator. It helps the muffler to do its job effectively. Without the resonator, the muffler may not be able to tune down the sound waves from the engine.
When you start your engine, it sends down sound waves through the exhaust channel; these sound waves travel with speed, and if there’s no resonator to reduce the speed, the waves would continue with that speed, and thus, let out a loud unpleasant noise from your exhaust end pipe.
Mechanically, resonators are designed to be bigger than the exhaust pipe itself.
The added space is to accommodate as many sound waves as possible and make them cancel each other as they hit against the resonator’s case, which would reduce the speed for the muffler to be able to cancel the sound totally.
With all said so far, the answer to the question, “do I need a resonator on my exhaust?” is YES. Resonators do a good job to keep your car sounding cool as you drive.
Regardless, without a resonator, your car would still function very well; however, it’d be noisy; if you’re cool driving a noisy car, then you don’t need a resonator.
Signs That Your Resonator is Bad
Although your car’s exhaust system may have a resonator, when the resonator is old and weak, it may not be effective in reducing the sound waves for the muffler to cancel them.
The main sign to tell that you need a resonator is when your car makes a loud, unpleasant noise when you drive.
Asides from having a noisy exhaust, there’s no other practical sign that you need a resonator.
On the other hand, removing the resonator from your exhaust is legal, as long as it doesn’t make your car’s exhaust noise exceed the legal limit.
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