Exhaust, Mufflers & Tips

Mufflers are part of your vehicle’s exhaust system and are located at the rear, bottom of your vehicle. They aid in dampening vehicle emissions and engine noise. They are made of steel and are coated with aluminum to provide protection from the heat and chemicals released from the exhaust system. Mufflers are used mainly to dissipate the loud sounds created by the engine’s pistons and valves. Every time your exhaust valve opens, a large burst of the burnt gases used during your engine’s combustion is released into the exhaust system. This release of gases creates very powerful sound waves. To understand how a muffler dissipates the sound waves created by your engine, one must understand how sound is produced. Sound is a pressure wave formed by vibrations. These vibrations are pulses of alternating high and low air pressure. So, every time your exhaust valve opens, a very high-pressured gas enters into the exhaust system. These high-pressure gases will collide with low-pressure molecules, create pressure waves (sound), and travel through the exhaust system. Now, how exactly does a muffler dissipate these loud sound waves? Sound can actually be cancelled out. If you can introduce a pressure wave that is the exact opposite of the initial sound wave, meaning their wavelengths, or high- and low-pressure points, are opposite, they cancel each other out, and there is no sound. Another way to describe what happens is when one sound wave is at its maximum pressure, the other sound wave is at its minimum pressure; so, they cancel each other out.