What Does Exhaust Drone Sound like and What Causes It?
Exhaust drone can be an irritating, reverberating, repetitive sound that can come from your exhaust and is typically heard at consistent highway speeds versus while accelerating or idling. Unfortunately, exhaust drone can occur when running an aftermarket system.
So why isn’t your aftermarket exhaust system music to your ears? We can compare exhaust drone to an instrument that is out of tune. The change in tune one key higher or lower can have a profound impact on the sound and that’s enough to make us cringe. Apply that concept to your vehicle, and in the same way, normal vibrations in the engine and the vibration of factory exhaust systems are designed to create sounds that play well together. After market systems can vibrate at a different frequency creating the clash that we call exhaust drone.
How do we eliminate the exhaust drone sound and get your engine and exhaust back to working in harmony especially, since sound is one of the number reasons to purchase an aftermarket exhaust? First, we should mention that the sound of exhaust drone can vary from mild to severe and so it’s important to understand each of the options to reduce exhaust drone. Let’s review your options.
Mufflers
A high-quality muffler can often quiet a vehicle and reduce the volume of exhaust drone. JBA Performance Exhaust sells a range of mufflers to dampen or help eliminate exhaust drone and obtain the signature JBA sound.
Exhaust Tips
Exhaust tips on the muffler can alter the frequency of the exhaust system vibration just enough to eliminate exhaust drone. It is relatively easy and inexpensive and JBA Performance Exhaust can help in the tip department as well.
Exhaust Modifications
There are some parts of the exhaust system that can be changed to alter the frequency of any vibrations that will help to reduce or eliminate exhaust drone such as changing pipe diameter, length, or the addition of a J-Pipe. Note: before making any modifications make sure that you will not affect the legality or performance of your system by performing any modifications. You can always call and talk to a JBA Performance Exhaust tech who can help you understand the impact of any modifications.
Summary of Exhaust Drone
- Exhaust Drone is the vibrating sound that occurs in vehicles most often at steady highway speeds and is caused by the engine and exhaust system vibrating at incompatible frequencies.
- Changes range from adding mufflers or sound dampeners to more involved changes including exhaust system modifications.
- The experts at JBA Performance Exhaust have years of experience helping drivers of all kinds of vehicles reduce or eliminate exhaust drone. Contact us today!