Questions on automatic/standard exhaust
 

I try to learn something new everyday; a few days ago I found out that V6 Mustangs (2011 and up??) have different exhaust arrangements. Some posts stated that an automatic equipped Mustang has resonators and the manual did not. The manual has a different stock axleback muffler than the automatic. The only described difference with the mufflers that I found was that the center tube in the exhaust tips is not in the standard transmission equipped Mustangs.

I searched and read for an hour, and had more questions than I started out with!

1) Is it true that Ford removed resonators on manual transmissions? Seems expensive for Ford to have two different mufflers....is the muffler more restrictive in the automatic equpped V6?

2) Can the automatic transmission equipped simply remove these resonators? The aftermarket axle backs do not have different part numbers for standard verses automatics, so it would seem an automatic would benefit more with a set of aftermarket mufflers.

Lots of opinions on removing resonators on the 5.0 equipped engines, and those that did not like it complained of cabin drone. I could not however find any specific posts from an automatic V6 owner that removed the resonators, keeping the stock axle back mufflers.

Anyone out there with an automatic V6 with removed resonators and stock mufflers that can share their opinion on sound/drone?

The M6 and A6 5.0 cars use different mufflers also.

The mufflers are all the same for autos and manuals.

Back in the day, Ford had different mufflers for the 87-93 5.0 cars depending on the transmission choice (automatic cars had slightly quieter mufflers that apparently did cost like 1-2 hp). I would think that each engine would have only one muffler set for both transmissions in the interest of containing costs, though.

No they aren't the same, automatic has mufflers with a different tip, the ones with the small pipe inside the tip.


Early 2011 through end of Job 1 had no resonators on manual equipped cars, later ones did and all 2012-2013 cars do.

And sure you can remove the resonators and replace them with a straight pipe, will increase the burble and pop on deceleration might make it slightly louder.

how do you do that?

Thanks Ltngdrvr. I've been wondering how to get that burble and pop. First time I heard someone say what the resonators did when removed

Look at the part numbers on the stock muffles. They are different.:grin:

So does that mean auto trans cars (with either engine) don't have any resonators?

My auto has resonators.

All of them except GT500 and maybe Boss cars have them now, V6 and GT, automatic or manual.

The Boss has them.

Glad to see I was not alone in this confusion. Thanks for the responses to clear ir up. I guess a trip to a muffler shop to have the resonators removed is my next step. I'll keep them though, just in case drone becomes an issue.

I believe all cars have the resonators. Those are in place to attenuate a single frequency. Typically it's the frequency that adds to the dreaded drone. They are straight-thru and really do not pose much of a flow restriction. Even where you see the dented area does not get into where the exhaust flows. because there is a straight pipe that passes thru the center of the resonators.

Now, the mufflers are in fact different between automatic and manual cars. I just got finished swapping my mufflers on my car with GT500 axle-backs. I noticed that the stock ones I removed had stickers that had "MAN" on them. That means they were specific to manual trans to give a little different sound.

Regardless if manuals and autos have different stock mufflers or not, they both equally suck.

Thats weird they would use different mufflers. To be honest both the manual and the auto sound the same stock

The auto mufflers sound better on a manual car. I had guys on AFM with manual cars wanting to buy my stock mufflers when I switched to GT500s.

We're the gt500s a big improvement on an auto car?

They sound a little bit better than stock.

The mufflers on my '13 GT Auto also have MAN stickers on them though. Either they put the wrong ones on my car, or they all say that.