Hey I have an '02 SS and Iwas just wondering if the resonator was absolutely necessary. I stopped by my mechanic today to investigate a louder then normal exhaust note to find out that my resonator is the cause. I might be interested in also going with an aftermarket cat back system and was wondering what you all would suggest.

 

I have the corsa exhaust system on my 01 SS NA if you want to hear some clips of that system its about three posts below this one. BTW the corsa system comes with a "resonator" of sorts also.. or at least it appears to be one

 

If you are going with a cat back system i would suggest Borla but i am bias because i have the system and i love the way that it sounds.


here is a sound clip.

 

No, you can delete it- the exhaust pitch will change a slight bit, but it won't get significantly louder (like it would if you deleted a muffler).

If you're looking at getting an aftermarket exhaust anyways, I'd just have them stick in a cheapo mild steel piece of tube to quiet it down while you save for the catback/wait for shipping etc.

If you're gonna do it permanently- have them delete it w/ stainless tubing.

 

One more quick question, living in canada I have to get emissions testing every 2 years. Will removing the resonator affect my ability to pass emissions ???

 

If it is only emission testing- then no, it will not effect that at all.

I know some states down here have 'safety inspections' as well that cover a much broader range of stuff-so obviously you'll have to look into what all they check locally.

However, as far as straight emission testing goes- removing the resonator (or changing the catback at all) will not set off an SES light, and will not effect emissions or emission testing.

Around by me, on the 96+ cars- they plug into the OBD port under the dash- make sure the engine has no active or stored SES codes, they remove the gas cap and test it separately to make sure it is working fine, and then they check under the car with a mirror (or pop the hood on models w/ the cat attached to the exhaust manifold) to make sure the catalytic converter is attached and is not being bypassed.

 

Well I'm getting the resonator replaced with a piece of straight pipe, and getting the u-bend removed at the same time. My exhaust guy is going to do it for $50 with a piece of stainless. my mechanic informed me the resonator is not required for emissions so all is a go !!

 

Just replace the muffler on my 06 with a flowmaster 40 seriesand it isnt the loudest ever but has a great low tone.

 

Nice, I recently did this too.

I had about a golf ball sized hole in my resonator that would make the exhaust so loud the interiour would vibrate.

The resonator is not required, it just get rids of a little bit of the lower pitch sounds.

After about 2.5k rpm or so, you can hear a quiet, deep, exhaust type sound. Alot of the time you'll hear people on here saying that without a resonator, and a straight pipe instead, that the sound will be too loud and you'll want to replace it. This is not true at all

 

I'm pleased with how little the exhaust note changed when I got it done. I didn't do the ubend delete as of yet because I'm saving the cheese for custom exhaust. It's going to cost about 900 bucks for complete 2 1/2" from the flexible part right after the manifolds to the back with a highflow cat two new magnaflow mufflers and all done in stainless. I've noticed an improvement in mileage ... is it possible that it's from the resonator delete???