When an engine is running it produces hundreds of explosions
every second. These bangs are caused by the engine igniting compressed fuel in
the chamber and then releasing high pressure gasses from the cylinder directly
into the exhaust to be transported to the back of the car to be emitted into
the atmosphere.
Trying to cover up this noise is very difficult and even the
best sound deadening compounds can only manage to make the noise acceptable to
within the few yards.
Modern exhausts do not try to deaden the sound with insulation.
Instead they produce a noise that is the exact opposite of the noise produced
by an engine.
Every vehicle produces noise, but as every make of car is
designed differently, the noise they produce is slightly different. Or in other
words, noise comes from the engine at a particular frequency which varies from
car to car and model to model.
The best way to deaden this noise is to find this frequency and
attempt to produce the exact opposite frequency. When these two noises come
together they cancel out and as a result no sound is produced.
This is how most modern silencers work. The pressure waves
from the engine are forced into chambers which are designed to reflect the
pressure waves towards one another. By reversing the direction of the waves to
meet new waves coming from the engine they cancel each other out this deadening
the sound.
Most exhaust systems are tuned as finely as a piano, so the
just the right frequency waves are reflected back to deaden the sound, but
unlike a concert piano, a car does not always have the same pitch. As you
accelerate, the pitch of the engine will increase, manufactures of exhausts
will attempt to allow for this by producing baffles which can work across many
different frequencies but it is impossible to get rid of all of the sound
produced by the engine. This is why when you are driving and suddenly put your
foot down the exhaust will appear to be louder. It is simply because the tuning
frequency of your silencer has been passed and less sound deadening waves are
being produced.
A noisy exhaust is a sure sign that there are problems with
your system and it is recommended to get it looked at by our trained
specialists as soon as possible.
Your silencer is one of the most important parts of your
car! and often overlooked and ignored ,a faulty exhaust will result in:
- Loss of power
- Increase in fuel consumption
- Damage to the valves of your
engine
- Poor tunning of your engine
- Polutants released into
atmosphere
- Increased noise levels
- Risk
of falling off altogether
damageing your car or others on the road
- Failing MOT
- Polutants being drawn into the
cockpit of your car
- A fixed penalty from the boys in
blue
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