PSE Sounds too quiet?!?!

Hi guys, I have just fitted my PSE mufflers (taken from 3.6 and Mk2 ones) and have just come back from test drive and they sound way too quiet! how loud should they be? To be honest they sound no different from the stock muffler's! They are not fitted up to the switch, but could this be the reason? The switch thing doesnt have a on/off so to speak, it slides the left but they will pin back, so i cant leave the switch the other way because it doesnt stay there. Do they only work with an on/off switch? :? Would it matter if they were taken off a car when the off switch was selected? Maybe??? i am just looking for suggestions as i am 99% certain they must be louder than they are. i have heard that at about 5000 rom they go above 100db which makes them illegal for track days, but there is no way that these are louder than the stock ones. Is there anything i need to do to them, maybe hit them with a hammer c: :? Any suggestions will be so greatly appreciated Thanks, Chris

Are you sure the flaps are actually open? It sounds as though they are closed at the moment.

Not a exhaust man myself.. One of the tech'y bod's will be along soon.. My question, did you do the muffler change yourself ? If so, big job ? Take long ? Dan

Yeah, that is what i am thinking. Any idea how to get them open and for them to stay open? As mentioned, the value thing only stays in one position, when you push it and let go it goes back!

Yeah did them myself. Takes no time at all. Have changed them a number of times, for installing bypass pipes, then back to stock for MOT, etc. Takes about 20 mins to remove and install them, and i am serious. The hardest part is jacking the car up!

The PSE cans will default to loud if no vacuum is present. They could have rusted in the silent position but that might be difficult as the spring on the actuator is quite strong. Did you connect the vacuum tubes to the actuator? If you did you can quite easily close the baffles by sucking on tubes to hear the affect.

Hi Damian, Yeah, the spring is very strong. It actually took me quite a bit of effect to move the spring, so i have confidence in the actual spring itself. Sorry, i dont know the answer to this: Did you connect the vacuum tubes to the actuator? What is the actuator? I am going to try and play around with it tomorrow by seeing when the engine is on to move the switch to see what happens but i am 99.999% certain that the value is in quiet mode. I had this crazy idea of maybe removing them and filling them with water to see how much water passes through? Is this a completely stupid idea?

The actuators are the round lighter coloured metal, 2/3rds the way down the can from the inlet/outlet end. These have a little adaptor sticking out of them that the vacuum tube attaches too. These tubes get fed back into engine bay. The spring is attached to the suction pipe that is drawn back into the actuator when quiet is selected.

Thanks Damain, I am going to try and get my arm up there this morning to have a play around with the switch to see if it sounds any different with the switch the other way. I want to try and do as much as possible with it without going to the trouble of taking the mufflers off again! I am guessing it is ok to spray the switch with WD40?

OK, i am just back from jacking the car up, again!, and removing the mufflers, again!, and giving them a proper good clean, with using about a can of WD40 and testing all the valve's, please see pictures. I havent taken it on a test drive yet, just started it and rev'd it a little but i am still thinking it is too quiet. i was expecting the car to roar. Maybe i have been spoilt from the noise of the bypass pipes but if i had paid £2k from an OPC for this then i would be very disappointed. Does it sound like they are faulty? As you can see from the pictures, when i pushed the spring in, air came out of that little spout thing (i think this maybe called the actuators? :? ). Is this a good sign? One of the mufflers, the spring was slightly frozen, as you can see from one of the pictures, but the WD40 soon cleared it all up and now is pin's back into place properly. I even rolled up some kitchen paper to push into that little silver tube to make sure everything was clear. I dont want to remove them again :frustrated: i think i have possibly been spoilt from running the bypass pipes for about 8 months! Dont get me wrong, the car is making a lovely sound, just expected louder. It would be great is anyone knew that the mufflers are working as they are supposed too or if they have any suggestions. Thanks, Chris

Hi Chris, That's them! If the move and make a noise of the baffles moving they are fine. re. the noise, inside the car you won't hear much difference, with the exception of tunnel/narrow street drive-by They kick out 104dB in noisy mode, 96/97dB in quiet. As I've said, by default they are loud so it's unlikely that they have been sealed closed unless someone has welded it shut inside the cans. All I can suggest is to listen to another car and find out if you've become to accustomed to a straight through bypass pipe system. Damian

Excellent, So when i move the spring, is it correct that pressure / air comes out that little silver tube?? Does that meant the valve is working properly? Ah ok, so if they are 96 db in quiet and 104 db in loud then that makes sense, i think i just might have been spoilt by the bypass pipes. They do make a lovely sound, i cant wait to take it on a test drive, as need to burn off the WD40! 8)

Yes, how it works in reality is a vacuum (from the intake manifold) is bypassed to PSE sucking the spring in closing the baffles making the exhaust take the convoluted route around the cans, therefore quieter. The PSE does make a lovely sound, not raucous but loads of low frequency sounds, burbling on idle. Damian

Excellent. Thanks so much for your help, i am about to go out on a run in it and sooooooo looking forward to it!

Any time! Find a nice quiet town, one that still allows you drive through and lower the windows :thumbs: