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best way to make a 87 gl have that new subaru sound


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cut off the muffler. on a more serious note, cut off the muffler, and cut the center section of the exhaust out and install a glasspack, and then replace thae muffler with that center section. That is how i do it. Others may suggest diffeerently. you will not find any aftermarket beyond a muffler itself.

 

If you chose a glasspack, i suggest it in the middle rather than at the end as far as scavenging and exhaust veloity dynamics are concerned.

 

What does it sound like?

Edited by MilesFox
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I used to have a raspy note from 2" from the end of the Y pipe and just a sports muffler at the rear of my EA81. Then, on the weekend I fitted an EA82 Y pipe for its extra performance. It was with a cat converter - instantly lost all raspiness and exhaust noise but 'gained' the rattly sound of many EA82's and I think it is loose cat material :( . I dunno what your answer is as later models have cats too, but they have more valves and to make it sound like a later model turbo .......

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you might try looking up cars with unequal length headers.  I think some of the difference in sounds comes from the EA and EJ cars having a different style exhaust manifold.  in the products section is a member who is making various headers, and will cut you a deal if you donate your car for measurements.

 

tbh most car people can hear the difference between a weak motor and a performance motor, no matter what exhaust is on it.  I doubt that you can make an 82 sound like a wrx, though you can make it sound good.  

 

I like the sound of my exhaust in my EA82, but it just seems like real performance machines have a separation and strength in their exhaust pulses that isn't easy to replicate with a small motor.  Thats why Hondas with a wallmart Vtec emblem and a big exhaust sound like they ate Taco Bell last night instead of sounding like a true performance version.  

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Theres also a big difference if it's turbo or non turbo car even if the exhaust is virtually the same otherwise. I've done a 2,5" exhaust both to my non turbo and turbo car and there was a huge difference between them (to clear up both had self made exhaust manifolds too so no factory y-pipe). The non turbo car always sounds a bit rattly but the turbo car with better exhaust manifold and 2,5" pipe from turbo to the back had nice low tone sound. Ofcourse it will never sound like a EJ series engine but million times better than the stock exhaust. I had two mufflers in both of the cars, one in the center and one in the back. Center one was 5" round muffler with a 16" lenght. It had a straight pipe trough altouhght it had about 5-6" long empty chamber in the middle so more like resonator style muffler. The back one was just 2,5" straight stainles muffler with a huge outlet. That combo sounds great to me. You need the resonator style muffler to the center if you want to get rid of that rattly noise of EA82.

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you have to make a new header. the difference is in the length of the header primaries. you will never get it to sound like a new gen subaru without it. 

this is my scoob, with a straight pipe. could have made the primaries more unequal to get the soobie sound, but i was mostly intending on getting heat away from the axles. 

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I cut the rear cat off my 88 turbo. Then i put a 3 inch straight pipe to the back starting from the rear axle. It sounds great but I feel like I lost a bit of torque. Doing it over again I'd put a 2.5 inch pipe all the way back. Before that I had a Flowmaster 40 on there. On a turbo its great till 2500 rpm...then its basically silent.

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I cut the rear cat off my 88 turbo. Then i put a 3 inch straight pipe to the back starting from the rear axle. It sounds great but I feel like I lost a bit of torque. Doing it over again I'd put a 2.5 inch pipe all the way back. Before that I had a Flowmaster 40 on there. On a turbo its great till 2500 rpm...then its basically silent.

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I think a big part of a great sounding car/engine comes from an open filter intake. Unclip your filter box and leave the top loose while you drive around and you'll see what I'm talking about. I'll usually drill holes in the bottom/fender side of my air box to add that sound, and it can help with performance if its not sucking in hot engine compartment air.

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Mr. Sarcastic, I was just going to bring up intake changes. Aside from having an intake note, which is either something you like or dislike, the amount of air an engine is receiving, or the way it's receiving it... Will change exhaust note. I have a Weapon-R intake. Accentuates (ooooh) engine noise going in as well as out. Though, it's worth mentioning that in order of operations, working with exhaust first is ideal. Engines can only take in, what they can put out.

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