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The "fart can" has arrived!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by Pinto Girl, Nov 18, 2007.

  1. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(drees @ Nov 22 2007, 10:39 PM) [snapback]543134[/snapback]</div>
    Check where David Beale lives. Only in the U.S. do we get as energized about individual expression as we do.

    On a positive note, the comment was made that if the exhaust sound is not noticeably louder, the law tends to be ignored.
     
  2. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(apriusfan @ Nov 23 2007, 09:38 PM) [snapback]543167[/snapback]</div>
    I don't know if that is true but we don't get so paranoid that every new law will erode our rights. Outside USA people value the rights of the group as much as the rights of the individual. The right to a quiet nights sleep in the suburbs is more important than the right to fit a rice burner with an industrial size chimney. Like in Canada, the law isn't enforced unless the muffler is too loud. Most times a vehicle would just recieve a defect notice requiring it to be presented for and pass inspection before it can be used again. There is a small cost but no fine is normally issued.
     
  3. cairo94507

    cairo94507 Active Member

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    Note: Pinto Girl -this does not apply to you. You are more than qualified to know what is good and what is bad. You likely know more about cars than 85% of the posters here.

    The reason we need laws to regulate the mufflers that some install on cars is that some people have no concern or respect for their fellow citizens, neighbors, etc. If you have ever lived in the City or in an apartment complex, where some jerks comes home at 0300 with his stereo cranked up to 100 and sits and revs his 6 cylinder with the fart can or worse, a 4 cylinder, then you can't appreciate how disruptive that is to your whole family, including pets. Oh, and a true fart can is stupid loud and offensive. Those people comprise that portion of society which needs law enforcement intervention to educate them as to what is appropriate and what isn't. These are also the same asses who get stopped and ticketed and later call it racism, riceism, or whatever.

    These, I have noticed first hand, are the same idiots who sit in restaurants and talk on their cell phones like they are in their "crib" dropping the "N" word and using the "F" word as every other word because they have no vocabulary and are actually ignorant. Gee, why can't I get a job????? OH, and tell them you are not hiring them and the first word out of their mouth is "racism". Yeah, grow up, get a life and be responsible for your own actions. And while you are at it don't get any more tattoos on your face, neck, hands. Possibly remove some of the studs, hoops, jewels, decorating your face. Or if not, enjoy working for McDonald's. Life is tough and generally speaking you get no second chances. Apparently their parents, when not smoking a crack pipe, failed to tell them some of this stuff. Finally, education is never as expensive as ignorance.

    OK, well that is enough for now------
     
  4. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Nov 22 2007, 05:24 AM) [snapback]542854[/snapback]</div>
    I couldn't open that 'y'all' link, but I can only imagine why you're calling me to task over that. Bad grammar? Something about neoCons use this term? Some other attempt to pigeonhole me?

    Let's see, I was homeless in my teens and early 20's, put myself through college--twice--and got my life together, worked hard and, after a couple of decades of labor, was lucky to be in the right place at the right time to participate in a decent-sized IPO...so --tell me-- if I didn't do any of that, and was still homeless and receiving public assistance, would my existence would be somehow more valid to you?!?

    Phlueeze.

    I think that if you actually knew me, and the entirety of how I live, you might retract your assertion. Further, I also believe that you're jumping to some big conclusions about me, based on a few perceptions.

    I think I live a financially sound, environmentally respectful, moderately but not super-excessively impactful life in most every way. And I continue to trend in that direction. Can I improve? Of course, there's so much room for it. There's room for you to improve, too.

    Frankly, I think you're hassling me for being a rich Bay Area resident 'cause the whole noise issue has gone away. But, as I said, you and most of us here went out and BOUGHT A NEW CAR...when there are lots of perfectly serviceable used ones out there...so don't go getting all pious on me.

    By your standards, we're ALL suffering from affluenza, if you want me to put it bluntly, and I think you know it. But, if finding someone who is "worse" than yourself makes you feel a little bit better, than I'll gladly play that role.
     
  5. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Nov 23 2007, 07:39 AM) [snapback]543170[/snapback]</div>
    Honestly, I think the problem in the USA is that we *have* to have laws to enforce what should be seen as common decency.

    The cult of the Individual has RUN RAMPANT in America!!


    We're primarily now domesticated animals, living in closer quarters than, really, we're comfortable with or were designed for. Politeness and courtesy are essential; without it, the public spaces we've created would (are becoming?) impenetrable jungles of human emotion.
     
    offib likes this.
  6. statultra

    statultra uber-Senior Member

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    could you take a recording of how it sounds? i have a TRD stainless exhaust on my scion ( 1nz-fe) it sounds really nice, a nice deep noise not loud, not annoying like some other cars
     
  7. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Nov 22 2007, 05:24 AM) [snapback]542854[/snapback]</div>
    What's amusing about your juxtaposition of "trickle down" and "Liberal" (in regards to me and my ilk) is that it was everybody's favorite Conservative, Ronald Reagan, who first coined and (ab)used that phrase.

    I think your friend is just plain confused, regardless of any political bent.



    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(statultra @ Nov 23 2007, 12:33 PM) [snapback]543247[/snapback]</div>
    I don't currently have the hardware which would let me do so.
    :-(

    Honestly, it doesn't really sound much if at all different from stock...the same loudness, with a lower pitch.
     
  8. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Nov 23 2007, 09:40 AM) [snapback]543249[/snapback]</div>
    Have you had any opportunity to assess the cat-back's impact on mileage? I am really curious about the impact of a cat-back exhaust on mpgs of the ICE (with its Atkinson cycle engine).

    Also, any chance of posting a pic? I (and I imagine a few others are too) am curious how the tailpipe looks relative to the rear bumper.
     
  9. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Nov 23 2007, 08:57 AM) [snapback]543229[/snapback]</div>
    OK, I fixed the broken link.

    But I find it quite revealing that you zero in on the broken link, but totally ignore the hypocrisy of you chastising others for stereotyping neoConservatives . . .
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Nov 21 2007, 10:06 AM) [snapback]542482[/snapback]</div>
    when you yourself are guilty of doing the exact same thing. <_< . . .

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Apr 18 2007, 10:01 AM) [snapback]425440[/snapback]</div>
    http://priuschat.com/index.php?s=&show...st&p=425440


    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Nov 23 2007, 09:40 AM) [snapback]543249[/snapback]</div>
    DUh :rolleyes:
    I've always thought my liberal friend were a little confused. :lol:
    And I think you too are just plain confused regarding who is guilty of stereotyping . . . and hypocrisy. ;)
     
  10. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    After watching this food fight play itself out, I am starting to get confused. Here is what I think I understand:

    1. Pinto Girl purchased an aftermarket cat-back exhaust product for her car;

    2. Pinto Girl started feeling guilty over making the purchase after reading about an island of trash in the Pacific Ocean that is somewhere between the California coast and Hawaii;

    3. Pinto Girl posted about her feelings of guilt in this thread and a similar thread in the FHOP forum;

    4. Somewhere along the way after item 3. above (and in particular, the more recent posts), this thread became more about Pinto Girl's alleged hypocrisy than the relative merits of the cat-back exhaust product that Pinto Girl purchased.

    If I haven't missed anything significant in my Cliff Notes summary of this thread, perhaps we can get back on track as to the merits of the cat-back exhaust product. It is a modification that was made to the Prius. It doesn't seem to make the increased sound level that is characteristic of other aftermarket exhaust modifications to other cars that are powered with traditional 4 cylinder gasoline-powered engines. And apart from an oval polished stainless tailpipe, one might not know that the modification has been made. There is also a possibility that the modification may have either a positive or negative impact on mpgs, which I personally would like to know more about.

    If there remains an overwhelming desire to continue the food fight, maybe the food fight part of the thread could be moved to the thread in the FHOP forum.
     
  11. cairo94507

    cairo94507 Active Member

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    Heck, I just want to see some installed pictures......
     
  12. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cairo94507 @ Nov 24 2007, 09:12 AM) [snapback]543576[/snapback]</div>
    So would I. And if there is any feedback that Pinto Girl can give regarding a positive or negative impact on mpgs, that would be great too.
     
  13. drees

    drees Senior Member

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    Well said. Though I think you missed the tangent on noise and aftermarket exhaust modification laws, though those aren't quite as off topic.

    I still don't get the law banning aftermarket exhaust tips when it would be much easier to simply ban exhausts which exceed a certain sound limit like they do here in the states currently.
     
  14. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(drees @ Nov 24 2007, 09:54 PM) [snapback]543861[/snapback]</div>
    I don't get the logic of the law either. I would have expected some maximum decibel level measured x feet (or meters) away from the tailpipe. That is an objective standard - you either pass or fail. There must be more to the law than what was posted.
     
  15. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(apriusfan @ Nov 24 2007, 11:29 PM) [snapback]543871[/snapback]</div>
    Ah, but that would require all police to be able to use their brains! Currently only about 1/2 do, the rest just use their tazers. ;)
     
  16. hycamguy07

    hycamguy07 New Member

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    PintoGirl~

    Any updates??? Can she post the sound wav file here so we can hear it? :)
     
  17. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hycamguy07 @ Nov 27 2007, 09:58 AM) [snapback]544769[/snapback]</div>
    I am not Pinto Girl, but... At the second half of post #67 above, I believe she mentioned not having the hardware to record a wav file.
     
  18. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    Hey...[ahem]...y'all...
    :)

    Sorry I've been away for a few days. Here's an update, though, on the muffler.

    I'm going to try and see if I can't record the thing, but I'd agree that it has a really quiet and low pitched sound, and no louder than stock. Not raspy or 'reed-y.' Also, the individual exhaust pulses aren't discernible; there's just a really subtle lower-pitched-than-stock sound that doesn't seem to resonate inside the car as much as the (to my ear) somewhat higher-pitched sound of the stock muffler. Which is odd, because I tend to be really sensitive to lower-pitched sounds, to the point where some are irritating to me.

    MPG-wise, it's too early to say, but I'm up plus or minus 1.5MPG over two tanks since installation...which gets me back to where I started: A not-so-stellar (but usual for me) low-40's, even with the big tires and Touring wheels. If that holds, (and I know this sounds pathetic to the hypermilers here) I'll actually be feeling a little bit better about the whole thing.

    But...

    The car is back in the shop. I wish I'd gotten a picture, but the pipe on (as you're looking under the car) the forward side of the muffler, where it connects to the rest of the exhaust system, does indeed come too close to the edge of what appears to be either the fuel tank or the underside of the battery compartment (it looks like a stamped metal shield or part of the unibody, I couldn't tell). I can't believe I don't know this, but...there you are.

    It only was a problem, oddly enough, when the ICE first started up when cold; I guess the engine runs just a bit rough and for the first fifteen or thirty seconds, I'd here this little thumping noise as the pipe juuuuuusssssst contacted that thing on the bottom of the car. Then, by the time I'd get to the end of the driveway, it'd go away and wouldn't return again until the next time the ICE started up for the first time.

    At any rate, my mechanic is messing a bit with it now. That sort of a thing does raise an eyebrow for me, but I'm hoping that there's some subtle difference between the US-market Prius and the JDM one...that's the rationalization, anyway. The skeptic in me just kind of shrugs my shoulders and wonders, after spending all that money and going to all that effort, why they couldn't have measured this correctly, and what else they messed up...?

    When the car comes back, I'll shoot some pictures and post them. Overall, however --speaking strictly on the merits and faults of this product-- I'd still say that it's a thumbs up for me. Not an A+, but pretty well made, IMHO, and (the huge chrome tip aside) suiting (again, IMHO) the personality of the "sporting" Prius (if that's not an oxymoron; I believe it isn't). A bit racy perhaps, but it tries not to bother anyone and falls on the "mellow" side of whatever category it's competing in.

    To be honest, I've been waiting for the muffler to gradually get louder/begin to show signs of blowing out...but the sound quality has changed not at all, which is a relief.

    Anyhow, hope everyone's well.

    --PG

    P.S., I have, indeed, been a bit busy in my spare time: I'm building this slot-car track from scratch out of MDF and 2x4's, routing the slots and using stained-glass tape as the conductors. I know; it's one of those things that, well, seems to leave most "normal" (and I mean that as a compliment) people speechless...
    [laughing]

    Here's a poorly compressed jpeg:

    [attachmentid=12655]
     

    Attached Files:

  19. xfader

    xfader Junior Member

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    Ok, you took a pic of your slot car track and not the exhaust?

    c'mon. stop teasing us!

    It would cool if you were the first Prius owner to get a modified exhaust ticket! haha.

    I loved the sound of my suby boxer burble, but the popo intervened. I love the fact you're trying to get a little more HP's out of your Prius. It's part of car culture. koodos to ya!
     
  20. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    The slot car track photo brought back memories from my early teens - I had both HO and 1/32nd scale tracks.... The HO scale track was on a 4x8 sheet of plywood that folded up out of the way against one of the walls in my bedroom; the 1/32nd scale track was in the garage on 2 4x8 sheets of plywood that folded up against one of the walls.