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RandallNeighbour · 04-24-2006, 06:05 AM

I discovered bypass pipes could earn me a trip to the muffler shop once a year to put the factory one back on to pass inspection. Soooo, I decided to just drill a hole inside a factory muffler to see if it made for better sound and it did.

I used a long-nose, electric die grinder and some 1.5 x 1/4 inch grinding wheels I purchased from Ace Hardware (Home Depot and Lowe's don't carry them, so don't go there to look as I've already done it!)

This way, you get the benefits of a bypass but not the visual pipes themselves and it's far harder to nail you for a mod they can't see. Moreover, it's not really loud enough at idle for them to figure out either.

But I can now hear the exhaust with the stereo up and the top down. It's still fairly quiet with the top up, which is good because on long trips I don't want to hear an engine drone on for hours and hours.

Since I have the grinder, and extra wheel and my old factory muffler, I think I'll "re-enact" the process for photos and post it on my website. I'll put a link to it here when I get it done. I'm out of town on business this weekend, but I might be able to get around to it after that.

04-24-2006, 06:05 AM	#8
RandallNeighbour Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 7,243	I discovered bypass pipes could earn me a trip to the muffler shop once a year to put the factory one back on to pass inspection. Soooo, I decided to just drill a hole inside a factory muffler to see if it made for better sound and it did. I used a long-nose, electric die grinder and some 1.5 x 1/4 inch grinding wheels I purchased from Ace Hardware (Home Depot and Lowe's don't carry them, so don't go there to look as I've already done it!) This way, you get the benefits of a bypass but not the visual pipes themselves and it's far harder to nail you for a mod they can't see. Moreover, it's not really loud enough at idle for them to figure out either. But I can now hear the exhaust with the stereo up and the top down. It's still fairly quiet with the top up, which is good because on long trips I don't want to hear an engine drone on for hours and hours. Since I have the grinder, and extra wheel and my old factory muffler, I think I'll "re-enact" the process for photos and post it on my website. I'll put a link to it here when I get it done. I'm out of town on business this weekend, but I might be able to get around to it after that.