I am gonna need a new muffler for my Sunfire. I looked up some parts on JC Whitney and this one caught my eye. I'm not actually sure what I'm getting, I just wanted to know what I need to consider (as far as sizes go). I'm new to buying parts for cars, so I want to be sure to get it right.

I'm looking for an affordable muffler that sounds decent and will fit properly.

Thanks in advance for the help!

you wont find it there. seriously, to positively effect the exhaust note, you need to change more than just the muffler.



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i use to have a 98 sunfire with the 2.4, with no other modifications except a dual canister muffler from ebay and it sounded good. i agree that you should do more than just a muffler though. if you go with a hi flow muffler (straight through) your gonna burn out your cat alot faster. i recommend atleast a cat back and getting a hi flow cat as well. i had a cherry bomb muffler on an old camaro and i hated the way it sounded, to much crakel. do you have the 2.2 or 2.4? if you end up having an exhaust shop piping your exhaust system, go with 2.5" pipe since they will probably use crush bends not mandrel. it sounds like your really new to upgrading your car. the exhaust is really important when it comes to future modifications. are you trying to go fast or slow and loud? good luck


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robby runyan wrote:if you go with a hi flow muffler (straight through) your gonna burn out your cat alot faster.

Care to elaborate as to y? I know a bunch of people, including myself that have/had straight through mufflers and we have never had any problem with our cats. Aftermarket exhaust doesnt suck the exhaust out of the engine, it just allows it to flow with less restrictions.

OpenFace, That "muffler" would work better as a resonator(installed after the cat, under the car). I currently have a Pacesetter cat-back on my 96' 2.2 cavy. Its not Stainless Steel and is starting to rust, but overall im happy with it. Alot of people will back up the Vibrant system, its more expensive, but its Stainless Steel and wont rust. Look around on here, there are alot of threads on exhaust that can help you decide. Im personally going with a custom fabbed 2.5" SLP Stainless Steel exhaust on my 03' cavy.

tinkles, myself as well as several people ive known have had cat problems after putting in a cat back. if you go with just a muffler it might not make much of a difference. if you get a cat back and increase pipe diameter, your going to increase flow especially if you drive your car hard. i could be wrong and it could just be a coincidence. a hi flow cat will also decrease backpressure which will also help when trying to free up hp. you want to try to free up some backpressure but not to much, unless you have a turbo. the turbo will provide the backpressure so you want the exhaust to be as freeflowing as possible. thats why people run 4" exhaust on some turbo apps. when i had a cat back, i went through 2 cats. i redesigned my exhaust system with 2.5, i put on a 2.5 hi flow cat from dynamax and also burned that one out. i had a 3" hi flow cat put on and havent had a problem since and ive been all over the east coast. i have an obx 4-2-1 header to 2.5 pipe, 3" cat, 2.5" pipe, Y pipe to two 2.25" pipes to the mufflers. system works beautifully, just alittle loud. looking to add a resonator to queit it down alittle. as far as vibrant, im a big fan of their exhaust systems. i put one of my wifes 01 tiburon with a cat back and it sounded great, until it got flooded . i found a cat back for the 99 sunfire for i think 550, but borla has one on sale for around 525. i personally like borla better than vibrant. my first intake was from vibrant, and i was not impressed at all. win some loose some i guess.


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My stock muffler is hanging down right now. I figured I could replace it with something that's affordable and also take care of it not being mounted up.

I wouldn't mind replacing the exhaust system, but I wouldn't want to spend more than $200. I've only seen one system on JC Whitney that goes for that price.

I've got some other important things to take care of before I spend money on the fun parts. My turn signals are messed up, the back doors won't open, I've got to have the engine checked out, and I'm sure it's due for an oil change.

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I want to replace my headlights with some of those white high-intensity bulbs but I'm not sure what to order. JC Whitney has a huge selection. I'm a newbie so I don't know what I need to get. How many bulbs are there in each headlight that need replaced?

You can look here at the list of lights. Also, are these something that could easily be installed by myself?

I'm still learning, so please forgive my lack of knowledge. I just want to get it right!

robby runyan wrote:you want to try to free up some backpressure but not to much, unless you have a turbo.

Quote:



wrong. backpressure is best when completely non-existent. you do, however, want a constant flow and good scavenging. the two are completely different. btw, i went two years on a cat back with stock manifold and cat. still works perfectly fine.

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The pacesetter can be had for around $200.

if your staying with halogens, silver stars are pretty good. never seen the streetglow bulbs in person so no opinion on those. just dont buy those HID look-a-likes (6k & up), they put out less light because their coated, its like wearing sunglasses. headlights are very easy to change, atleast in a cavi, not sure about the sunfire. DO NOT touch the glass of the bulb with your fingers if you do change them yourself. if you do accidently touch them, clean with rubbing alcohol. what problem are you having with your turn signals? provide a little info and we should be able to help. as far as what i said about the backpressure. i cant remember exactly why it was, but i remember being told by an ASE mechanic that i worked with that if you dont have enough back pressure that if can cause damage to the valves. im not sure if thats exactly what he said being that it was a couple years ago. as far as the muffler hanging, you can get a hanger from autozone and properly mount the muffler until you get a new one. the bouncing muffler can put alot of stress on your exhaust piping.


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Again comes the issue of backpressure...
Backpressure was an issue with carburated engines, not fuel injected ones.
As for cherry bomb: don't buy it unless you want that ricey sound. Go with a Thermal R&D cat-back, you'll be very happy with the sound (it'll give you a deeper tone).
If you want just a simple replacement, have a muffler shop run some 2.25" piping back from the cat with a resonator (16+ inches) and a generic 2.25 in/out muffler.


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My '98 Sunfire had the 2-muffler stock exhaust system and both mufflers needed replaced. I went to a shop and got an estimate of approx $450.

I ended up converting to a single system on my own using this exhaust pipe:

http://www.autozone.com/R,APP1006345/vehicleId,2396201/initialAction,partProductDetail/store,1704/partType,00856/shopping/partProductDetail.htm

and this muffler:

http://www.partsamerica.com/productdetail.aspx?MfrCode=MAR&MfrPartNumber=103210&PartType=15&PTSet=A

Total cost was about $125 which included the exhaust pipe, muffler, clamps, and a muffler hanger. I'm not concerned about performance or anything... just wanted to "quiet" down the exhaust as cheaply as possible. Everything on my car is stock. I still don't have a tip installed on the muffler; my system ends at the muffler. It looks a little "goofy" from the back, but all I care about is the car getting me where I need to go economically.

OpenFace wrote:My stock muffler is hanging down right now. I figured I could replace it with something that's affordable and also take care of it not being mounted up.

I wouldn't mind replacing the exhaust system, but I wouldn't want to spend more than $200. I've only seen one system on JC Whitney that goes for that price.

I've got some other important things to take care of before I spend money on the fun parts. My turn signals are messed up, the back doors won't open, I've got to have the engine checked out, and I'm sure it's due for an oil change.

---

I want to replace my headlights with some of those white high-intensity bulbs but I'm not sure what to order. JC Whitney has a huge selection. I'm a newbie so I don't know what I need to get. How many bulbs are there in each headlight that need replaced?

You can look here at the list of lights. Also, are these something that could easily be installed by myself?

I'm still learning, so please forgive my lack of knowledge. I just want to get it right!

As far as a muffler, your cheapest option would be to take it to a muffler place and have them reinstall your muffler. If you're deadset on a new muffler, I got a 3A Racing one from Pep Boys. It's pretty loud but it's not ricey and has a nice tone. It cost me a little under $100 for the muffler and installation.

As for headlight bulbs, I'm running Luminics Ultra White bulbs and I love 'em. They're very white but the light output is better than stock. I'd check eBay for a 9007 pair, they're about $30. Just stay clear of the cheap eBay bulbs and any bulbs around 5900K or higher. That's when you start getting bluer light output that doesn't let you see much at all.

As for the problems you're having, the first thing I'd do is go to Autozone and have your car scanned through the OBDII port. The codes, if you have any, will save you a lot of troubleshooting. And if you don't change your own oil, learn how to.