[Jamis]

I have dealt with this drone for about 2 months now and I'm fed up with it. Do you guys think Dynamat Extreme on the entire interior will quite it down a lot? If not, I'm going to be open to trade someone for a stock if they pay for the swap. Love the sound, but my sensitive ears just don't like the drone. Not a single person that's ever ridden with me has said a word about it, but I know it's there.

Help!

 

[lewisb13]

Dynamat will definitely help. It will be expensive, but it will help. The mufflex mufflers dont have any drone, so thats got to be annoying. I have the 14 inch one on my truck and theres almost no noticable different in VOLUME inside the truck unless youre WOT. It would probably be cheaper to get a different muffler honestly. Someone would have to take all the seats AND carpet out, then lay the dynamat and put all that mess back in there. Personally Id spend the money on another muffler and a better sound system.

 

[Jamis]

Well, the sound system is another reason for the dynamat. I already have 2-10's hooked up to an Infinity Reference 611a. This setup completely rocked my Yukon, but either the small enclosure under the seat in the crew or the way the Line-Out is getting signals leaves a lot to be desired in the Ram. I've got a JL Audio Clean Sweep on the way, which will be needed for the JL 4300 and new JL door speakers anyway. Just trying to figure out what I spend my money on first.

 

[snrusnak]

Do you have resonators on the truck?

 

[TNC]

Could you expand on what exhaust system you have there...just a muffler, full exhaust, resonators yes/no, or other specifics?

 

[Jamis]

Just the Borla Turbo XS muffler swap. Stock resonators stayed on. No Y Pipe swap.

 

[Graygoose]

then OEM muffler, or Dynamat like mentioned, but get ready for sticker shock.

 

[TNC]

jamis, your drone issue may be unusual. That Borla muffler and the Magnaflow are just about an identical design, and lots of folks have the Magnaflow without the drone. It's especially odd since you still have the resonators attached. I have exactly the same setup as you with that same muffler, and I have a short bed and regular cab. Everything in the exhaust system is stock with resonators with the exception of the muffler. I was very happy not to get the drone experienced by some with different exhaust setups...more often those without resonators. But...exhaust sound and the resulting noise can be very preferential, and some are much more sensitive to it. I can say with all honesty that when I'm going down the highway or cruising around town at a more or less steady throttle, I get no more noise than I did with the OEM muffler. It's only when I accelerate that I can hear the exhaust note, and it's not anywhere close to what I'd call a drone...instead it's a very pleasant sound. Even going down the road with the MDS kicking in and out, I get no additional sound different from stock unless I step on the gas.

Was your muffler bolted in or welded in? Did you go with the 19" muffler or something shorter?

 

[Jamis]

Muffler was welded and it is the 19". Other than between 1700 and 1900 RPM's I love the note. Unfortunately, that's a pretty popular range for the gearing on my truck (.355's) and is right were I sit at 70MPH. Hence, I'm in the peak of the drone at cruising speed.

 

[snrusnak]

I'm surprised with a 19" muffler and resonators it's a bother. I'd suggest oem muffler or one of the huge 30" magnaflows, I'm not sure what else would suffice for you, even dynamat.

 

[Razorbass]

Muffler was welded and it is the 19". Other than between 1700 and 1900 RPM's I love the note. Unfortunately, that's a pretty popular range for the gearing on my truck (.355's) and is right were I sit at 70MPH. Hence, I'm in the peak of the drone at cruising speed.

That RPM range is the typical culprit for drone. I put in the Maganflow cat back which eliminated the resonators. Once the packing in the muffler burned off, the drone in that RPM range became very noticeable and I have had some passengers comment on it. I am considering putting the resonators back on to help reduce this. This way I can still enjoy the muffler at WOT but not have to deal with the drone. What sucks is I paid extra for the cat back and could have gotten away with only the muffler. Oh well, live and learn.

 

[Jamis]

I'm surprised with a 19" muffler and resonators it's a bother. I'd suggest oem muffler or one of the huge 30" magnaflows, I'm not sure what else would suffice for you, even dynamat.

So does this mean you have experience with Dynamat at reducing drone or just because? I've actually contacted Borla and they have heard of the issue, although it is rare with their complete cat-back kits and they have a special resonator that goes before the muffler that they send their customers. Unfortunately, they don't do it for muffler only swaps.

 

[snrusnak]

So does this mean you have experience with Dynamat at reducing drone or just because? I've actually contacted Borla and they have heard of the issue, although it is rare with their complete cat-back kits and they have a special resonator that goes before the muffler that they send their customers. Unfortunately, they don't do it for muffler only swaps.

The only experience I have with dynamat vs. exhaust drone is in my friend's z28 camaro. He has a 14" magnaflow with headers and a full free flowing exhaust. It had a ton of drone, and then he did the whole car in dynamat and although it helped a little it wasn't really that big of a change. I think it doesn't have so much to do with "insulation" but more with the frequency of the exhaust pulse or something. It is more of a physical transmission of the noise, so to really eliminate it you'd need more air space between the muffler and the cab. I'm certainly no expert on drone though but this is JMO on what I've seen over the years. It seems like drone is more physically transmitted, not really like a loudness thing.

 

[TNC]

Muffler was welded and it is the 19". Other than between 1700 and 1900 RPM's I love the note. Unfortunately, that's a pretty popular range for the gearing on my truck (.355's) and is right were I sit at 70MPH. Hence, I'm in the peak of the drone at cruising speed.

Yes, even the gearing that you and I have are identical, and that's the rpm I get at 70 mph...1700. Hate to hear that the drone is present under the circumstances. Like snrusnak suggests, perhaps an even longer muffler would do the trick. Frankly I don't think the Dynamat is going to stop this, as I think the bed in pickups is often the main culprit for transmitting unwanted noises. It does bring up maybe another question. I have a thick rubber bed mat in mine along with an ARE camper shell. I wonder how that might affect sound or the lack thereof? I would almost tend to think a camper shell might amplify the sound, but that's just speculation on my part. There are so many variables it's hard to tell. Like I said before, a person's sensitivity to particular sounds can be very preferential so it's hard to qualify.

 

[cacauba]

If not, I'm going to be open to trade someone for a stock if they pay for the swap.

if you can't get it figured out i may be interested in a swap depending on the install price. i work in katy.

 

[Scoooter]

Is it drone or is it when the MDS kicks in? I had the magnaflow 18" single in dual out on my 2009 longhorn crew cab with everything else stock with resonators and today the magnaflow came off. I couldn't take it anymore. The drone wasn't bad, it was the sound inside the cab when the MDS kicked in which I guess could be considered drone. I loved the sounds the muffler made but the MDS killed me. Much happier without that sound and no I'm not cutting off the MDS with my Trinity. I like better gas mileage then I do a muffler lol

 

[Dodgeramhemi09]

I have had the 14 inch Magnaflow Mufflex setup on my truck for close to 3 yrs. I have a 2009 5.7 Hemi and the drone is very noticeable. I replaced the stock muffler about one month after I got the truck and noticed the drone immediately. The only time I do not get the drone is when I only allow the the truck to operate with 4th gear being the highest gear.

Maybe your playing your stereo system too loud to notice it, but it is there!!:4-looney:

 

[Dodgeramhemi09]

Some people have experienced better gas mileage with the MDS shut off via a programmer such as predator or trinity. Some think that with MDS on (cutting in and out from 8 to 4 cylinders ) makes the truck lug a bit and work harder, thus decreasing gas mileage. Let er rip with all 8 all the time , truck works less hard, increasing mileage. Mileage increase is very minimal, but is an increase. All of this is of course based upon how you drive, everyone drives different so it may or may not make a difference.

 

[Graygoose]

Some people have experienced better gas mileage with the MDS shut off via a programmer such as predator or trinity. Some think that with MDS on (cutting in and out from 8 to 4 cylinders ) makes the truck lug a bit and work harder, thus decreasing gas mileage. Let er rip with all 8 all the time , truck works less hard, increasing mileage. Mileage increase is very minimal, but is an increase. All of this is of course based upon how you drive, everyone drives different so it may or may not make a difference.

so those programmers will turn the MDS off the 4th gen's too?

 

[wbowyer]

Does your muffler have 1 in and 2 outlets? If so then try adding an aero-turbine muffler AHEAD of the borla. this will not negatively affect performance and there were a few clips on aero's youtube site where people have stacked their mufflers with another straight through design. If your muffler is a single in single out and you have enough room you can add it after the borla. Essentially what this does is allow the aero muffler to act as an additional resonator.