Decimated Decibels
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 777
Likes: 45
From: Beaumont, Ca
Decimated Decibels
After experimenting with different mufflers and not getting the sound I was looking for, I took a suggestion from someone on the boards and inserted one wad of heavy duty steel wool inside each baffle. I made a wire mesh cap to keep the wad all inside. It all went inside up to the half way point in the baffle, where the welded divider is. Wow, I could not believe the difference, the sound level must have dropped by about 10 to 15 decibels. Finally, the soft sound I was looking for. My only concern, will this create additional heat, since the baffle already has a cat? (2006 Heritage. Staggered pipes).
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 393
Likes: 0
From: Lafayette, IN
Huh.
Have you got any more information on this? Does it have any effect on performance/etc?
I love my Rush slip-ons, but shaving 10-15 decibels would make my neighbors happier when I leave every morning at 6...
Have you got any more information on this? Does it have any effect on performance/etc?
I love my Rush slip-ons, but shaving 10-15 decibels would make my neighbors happier when I leave every morning at 6...
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,067
Likes: 2
From: New Hampshire
The steel wool will rush out in short order. Check out one of the forum's sponsors http://www.americancustom.com/ I am not affiliated with them and I get no compensation, but I have heard great things about their custom mods.
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 777
Likes: 45
From: Beaumont, Ca
Home remedy. It worked.
This is not really the fine steel wool you might be envisioning...its heavy duty..its the pot scrubbing kind, kinda like a wiry type. It's not for sanding. Since the baffle has about 1 3/4 in pipe running inside its lenght, I was able to put a heavy duty wire mesh screen across the entrance, and secured it with a hose clamp. Nothing will be ingested into the engine because the pipe in the baffle has a welded section in the middle, which divides it into two chambers. Its not coming out by itself, believe me. I don't believe the steel wool will deteriorate any time soon, at least not the way the asbestos sheet covering the baffles has. I am just concerned about additional back pressure and the resultant heat created. Other than that, its good. If I feel a heat increase, I will just undo the clamp and out comes the whole thing.
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 777
Likes: 45
From: Beaumont, Ca
I couldn't come up with the word for it, but yes, it is fiberglass, and it was in bad shape, torn in places. Once I rolled it around the baffle a couple of times, it was not too bad.
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 393
Likes: 0
From: Lafayette, IN
If it was asbestos, it wouldn't suffer damage from the heat. 
It would also be (I believe) illegal for sale...
It would also be (I believe) illegal for sale...
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,337
Likes: 4
From: Sunny South Florida
The result is more back pressure. If you tune for it, it should be fine. The cat already is quite restrictive so I know I would not go this way, but I prefer performance to quiet.
With a coarse wool you should be fine as far as heat / fire risk, it is the finer wool that is more likely to catch fire. It would look cool as hell going down the road, but I'm sure that's not what you were looking for.
With a coarse wool you should be fine as far as heat / fire risk, it is the finer wool that is more likely to catch fire. It would look cool as hell going down the road, but I'm sure that's not what you were looking for.
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