GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I recently unbolted the muffler on my 06 vibe (base model). Ive been told that this can provide some extra power+ helps the engine breath a bit better. It also sounds great!

It does not sound great, and it's not legal. It sucks for everyone else and is likely to get you pulled over.

It doesn't sound much better. And the muffler is far enough away from the manifold that it won't increase performance at all. The only way it would, is if you increase the size of the pipe from the header back.

Nucleotide wrote:I recently unbolted the muffler on my 06 vibe (base model). Ive been told that this can provide some extra power+ helps the engine breath a bit better. It also sounds great!

All around this is not a good idea. If you want to mess with the exhaust system in order to get more power you have a number of factors to consider. A header would be the first thing. A header would create pulses of high pressure and low pressure that echo back to the exhaust valve. When properly tuned the high pressure will bounce off the closed exhaust valve and the valve will open immediately after that. That means the low pressure will suck the exhaust out of the cylinder and thus improve power and torque. That works only in a narrow range of the rev band and you would have to choose where you on the rev-band you want this effect.
Taking off the muffler only increases noise and may actually reduce power and fuel economy.

The manufacturers spend lots of dollars to come up with a good compromise regarding noise, fuel economy, performance, pollution control and cost. Why would you think removing a part they have designed should improve the overall performance?

I would go with a CAI before removing the exhaust or muffler, if it were me. No need to risk the tickets or possible exhaust entering the car if you don't have the pipe routed to the rear. You get a decent intake growl with a CAI that sounds much better than a non muffled 4 cyl exhaust. I had one on my 10 GT and it sounded great. The 03 GT has enough intake noise built in when the lift engages that it sounds like I have a CAI on it also.

kumquat wrote:It does not sound great, and it's not legal. It sucks for everyone else and is likely to get you pulled over.

Someone's got a hair up their (removed).

Seriously though, kumquat is right. Nothing about unbolting a muffler is a good idea. Removing exhaust restriction is only useful with a tune. Otherwise the engine will probably be less efficient than before. Not to mention if the exhaust isn't vented away from the vehicle, CO can get trapped under the vehicle and get inside the cabin. CO will seep through the smallest cracks and it doesn't take long to reach dangerous levels.

Sorry to spoil the fun! But if you absolutely have to have it loud, at least cut the muffler out and put a piece of straight pipe where it was so the fumes vent away from the car.

(removed) dyno! Sounds Loud so it must be fast!

Thanks for all the input guys, however Im not particularly seasoned with modifying cars, so Im trying some things to get more driving pleasure on my tight college budget. Im looking at headers, I just ordered a short ram and I want to get a tune or chip but can't find anything that would be mildly simple to install. Ive also thought about removing the stock carpet and replacing it with some cheap lightweight vinyl carpet. Do you guys have any suggestions for cheap (i mean really cheap) modifications to get these cars moving a bit faster? Ive been thinking about selling her and moving up to a mazdaspeed 3, but Im attached to my vibe

You could get an aftermarket muffler and have it welded in by a shop. That's what I did. The stock muffler is very heavy and good for scrap metal $$$.

You can't really just get a chip or an ECU reflash/whatever our domestic market calls it, Toyota has everything encrypted and the ECU is very "smart." It will do anything it can to get back to running just like stock, so the only way to change it is with an actual aftermarket ignition/fuel controlling computer, which is $300 for a boomslang harness (to make it plug and play), $200-3000 for the computer, and then $400-600 for dynotuning; additionally you have to find a shop that can dynotune and work with the computers usually used on Japanese cars.

Now, for real gains, you have to go forced induction. This is with a supercharger or turbocharger. That sort of thing runs $1000-6000, depending on your connections and you also still need an aftermarket computer. You cannot run F/I with the stock ECU because it's based in a very narrow set of parameters and will probably blow the engine trying to run the way it was designed to.

If you want to get more power, speed, and handling, you either need to be willing/able to shell out the $$$ to modify a car with little aftermarket support, or get something different. I'm not trying to be an arsenic, but Toyota is pretty good at maxing what they build out so there's not much to improve on. Except the 1ZZ header, that thing is....well...





You see.

Or just make due and enjoy what you have, because what you've got is a loyal steed who will unlikely ever let you down so long as you take care of it. Then you can drive past all the other guys broken down on the side of the road and LOL all the way past them.

thanks guys, I may end up just upgrading to something speedier. Ironically, I find myself broken down on the side of the road more often than most people I know, lol

Nucleotide wrote:thanks guys, I may end up just upgrading to something speedier. Ironically, I find myself broken down on the side of the road more often than most people I know, lol

Probably because you are screwing around with the car and causing your own problems. Seriously, I was young and dumb once and understand the inclinations.

If you want to get ahead, use the car as it was intended - economical transportation.

Don't waste time on the car but concentrate on your college. You may not realize this but no one cares about what you drive and removing the exhaust or driving fast impresses no one. Graduate from school, work hard, stay out of debt and in a few years you can have any car you want.

Nucleotide wrote:Thanks for all the input guys, however Im not particularly seasoned with modifying cars, so Im trying some things to get more driving pleasure on my tight college budget. Im looking at headers, I just ordered a short ram and I want to get a tune or chip but can't find anything that would be mildly simple to install. Ive also thought about removing the stock carpet and replacing it with some cheap lightweight vinyl carpet. Do you guys have any suggestions for cheap (i mean really cheap) modifications to get these cars moving a bit faster? Ive been thinking about selling her and moving up to a mazdaspeed 3, but Im attached to my vibe

Nucleotide: I really understand you quest for more thrill. However, I feel compelled to look at your priorities:
Depending on your level of spirituality education should be 2 or 1 on that list. That includes getting through college without being deeply submerged in debt. Fooling around with a car will not only cost you money, it is a huge distraction academically. BTW what is your field of study? Rule of thumb: the car that is paid for is the cheapest. I know there are some issues but I would investigate those before getting another vehicle. Instead of modifying start your wrenching with proper maintenance!

Next should be family and girlfriend. Sure you want to feel something when you push that pedal. However, do not underestimate the "power of flowers" as a gift to your girlfriend. I guess the flowers will impress her more than a fart can on your car. Also she would likely not understand the thrill one might get from removing a carpet. You will not feel anything either from tearing out the carpet. You will need to remove the whole interior, including the rear seats and the passenger seat to drop enough weight, also remove the stereo and those heavy speakers.

My suggestion is this: join the SCCA and take your Vibe as it is to the Autocross. Get your thrill there on a closed course and keep things civil on the roads. There are faster cars than my Vibe, but their drivers are all braking the speed limits.

My muffler unbolt has been the only thing Ive done to the car so far in terms of tampering with the car aside from some fresh headlights and a different radio. Im usually very wary of any modifications and do my research (my dad has a mustang that Ive helped him modify for the past 3-4 years and Ive learnt a lot from him). But I heard about the muffler from here-say and went about it more out of curiosity and got a bit of guilty pleasure from driving it around for a couple days with the muffler unbolted

I appreciate all of your thoughtful words of feedback, guys :p I work a pretty much full time job and have so far managed to keep myself debt free from college (only two semesters in though) and am studying hard

My major is biology, specifically Zoology. Or Marine Biology, but I haven't decided on which. Education and getting myself through college is definitely #1, but I have had a huge passion for driving ever since I was a child and was an avid go kart racer years ago, and still have some of that octane in my blood!

Having a dad that drives a 450+ hp mustang is also pretty big influence too lol.

I will definitely sign up to join the SCCA, something that Ive thought about but never really assumed that my car would have any place there (especially in its stock nature)

Im not sure if I've come across this way, but Im no hooligan on the roads when there are other drives present! I just enjoy flooring her out of those corners

Good man!

Alright, nucleotide. Thanks for sharing your back ground a bit. It really helps knowing with whom we communicate. Good man, indeed!

The SCCA Autocross' are run in classes. Your unmodified Vibe would probably be in the Stock H class where you would be competing with other smallish cars, like Mazda3, Ford Focus and such. What I liked about the autocross is that you are running against the clock and try to improve your ET over several runs, independent from the others.

You can get a weekend membership so you can try it out without spending a bunch of money. I have done a few auto-x using a Mazda protege. It was usually the weakest car in the running but I got plenty excitement out of it. Of course I couldn't keep myself from looking what the others did and I was glad to realize I never was the slowest.

vibrologist wrote:Next should be family and girlfriend. Sure you want to feel something when you push that pedal. However, do not underestimate the "power of flowers" as a gift to your girlfriend.

BLEH girlfriends are overrated

Cars > girlfriends

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Nucleotide wrote:Cars > girlfriends

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Smart man !

I feel the same way about cars and boyfriends ! Cars > boyfriends !