Hi,

Anyone that has swapped out their exhaust, did you weigh the factory muffler and will you post the weight? I've tried looking up the part number but source did not give the weight [sigh].

Thank you,
Chevy2

 

ive got one i can weight for you tommorow....but the damn thing is pretty heavy...10-20 lbs.

 

I'll weigh mine for you when I get home from work..I'll post up around 6 or so...and specific reason you want that info?

 

Hey,

Thank you both for the offer- looking forward to the answer.

Reason? I'm gassing for a new muffler that has some deep throat sound to it and a little less back-pressure but I'm loathe to add additional weight. I can see the OEM muffler, it looks ginormous, it's the fattest muffler I've ever seen, like a baby whale, but hanging on the car I can't tell how heavy it is or what the internal baffling looks like- all I know is the sound's not particularly agressive (which infers lots of baffle weight and added backpressure) and the muffler LOOKS heavy. I don't want to swap out the whole system just now, since I have no other mods, I figure it's not worth it. Let the OEM pipes rust for a while- meanwhile, the muffler shouldn't be too much money. But the weight and backpressure are the keys, here, for me.

If not too much trouble, mine's a 2009 SS, is the pipe fore and aft of the muffler 2 1/2" ? I measured my pipe OD last night on both sides of the muffler and the calipers read 2.6+", but read in another thread that they're 2 1/4", but maybe that thread was for a different model or year- ? That wasn't clear to me in the thread.

More on the weight thing; I also plan to swap out the factory battery in the trunk for a lightweight (~15 lbs.) Odyssey dry cell battery for the months when the temp's above zero (9 out of 12). I have the 15.3 lb Odyssey in another car and it works perfectly. Perhaps if I only use the OEM battery for sub-zero months it'll last longer than the obligatory 36 calendar months; it's been my experience that they die right on schedule .

Thank you,
Chevy2

 

Just weighed the stocker for ya...with the hangers it's 13.5 pounds. Not too terribly heavy.

EDIT:It's the same exhaust piping diameter for each year.

 

Sweetsandman,

Thank you! I agree, not really heavy, seems there's a lot of air in there. Maybe I'll just live with the stocker for a while...

Great info, thanks again!
chevy2

 

wonder how much weight i save with a side exit exhaust?

 

It's not nearly as heavy as it looks; if u want cheap sound, cut it off and weld a piece of 2.5" pipe in its place.. muffler delete sounds better than 99% of the exhausts out there imo and it's not super loud either. Cheap way to go

 

Is that what you've done?

 

Yes.. I personally like it and when I do upgrade to a 3" exhaust, I will probably still go mufflerless

 

Do it!

Yeah, I could get impatient waiting for the OEM pipes and muffler to rust out to upgrade to larger pipes. I don't know, maybe something cheap for now, but the weight is no issue, happily enough- a glasspak weighs ~ 9 lbs...

 

don't bother with a glass pack it's a waste of money I was hessitant at first about the muffler delete but, I heard it and loved it, got it done a week later, lol, it's slightly deeper rumble than stock at idle and pretty much sex under load

 

oooo glass pak thats just to loud. I personally like how loud the stock muffler is.. Loud enough to hear a tune but silent when off the gas

 

how many miles are on your SS?

Mine was hella quite until about 3k miles. But I drive aggressive every day and NLS a lot now. It does take some miles to break in, but its still not loud.

 

muffler delete is pretty quiet I'm telling ya, it sounds like if you had a tuned muffler

 

If you delete your muffler have them cut the tip off and weld it on the straight pipe, other wise it looks like crap. I got mine done for 20 bucks, it looks good and sounds great. Don't be afraid to chop, the NSRT4's didn't even come with them.

 

This may be in the top 100 stupidest threads of all time who cares it might be a difference of 10 lbs not like it's 200 lbs

 

I am going to have to disagree with you strongly on that.

Weight savings is one of THE biggest factors in any cars performance. If this was the only weight saving modification being considered then I will agree that it is pointless, but if this is part of a more extensive weight reduction program for his car (such as prepping a track car) then finding 10lbs. to remove is a signifigant accomplishment.

Still valuable information for all of us to know for the future if we plan on tracking these cars more seriously.

I know that GM managed to get an SS/SC comp car down to under 2400 lbs...I am sure they took extra notice as to the weight of every exhaust component during that process.

 

I had my tip welded on as well.. the guy that did this for me didn't charge me a single penny I recommend muffler delete.. weight savings, although pointless lol, but the sound is really so much better and I still think it's better than having any muffler of any kind on the car at all. I've yet to be pulled over by the cops(knock on wood)and I pretty much had this done within 2 weeks of buying the car.. it was like driving an economy car with the stock muffler lol.. no sound whatsoever. After owning an SRT-4, it just made sense and then you can hear them on youtube without mufflers and they sounded really good.. so I went ahead and did it.. if you're unsure, do a search on youtube and it'll give you an idea of what it sounds like.
Good luck with whatever decision you choose.

 

Well if that all maters can some one tell me how much the tape on the engine components weigh?

 

OK, I'll set up an appointment for the muffler delete and tip weld- sounds too promising to pass up[sic]. Thanks to all for the encouragement and for relating your experience. I'll take the money for a glass pack and spend it on welding (I don't have a welder). Certainly won't be bothering me to save ~12 lbs. freeing up ~1 HP, improve the sound and reduce the backpressure a little!

Knightwolf, you owned an SRT-4- was it a Neon? Which do you think is the better car? Which do you like better? I thought I really wanted a Neon SRT-4, then I read two bad reviews, one in AutoWeek and (I forget now where else), so I went AWD, then they killed the Neon, so I went without, until I bought the SS. I really kick myself for having let those reviews turn me away from the SRT-4. I couldn't let the Cobalt SS get away- I love it, so far!

 

I loved both lol.. The neon was quite a bit slower though, surprisingly. It was just barely over stock and stock for stock, the Cobalt would rock its world by at least 4 cars in the 1/4 mile. Now with this thing tuned, I'd like to meet up with a stage 3 on the street and see how close it is :P It'll spin all the way through 2nd gear now, which is alot of jam lol I love it
As for the NSRT-4, it was a great little car, very reliable.. it started in -45 weather here WITHOUT a block heater lol.. had to actually get into the car, put the clutch in, and turn off all accessories to fire it up(it had an auto-starter), but once she ran for a few seconds, she'd be good to go.. crank the stuff up and go back into the house to let it warm up lol. Never had a chance to take it to the track, but I did race a stage 2 Nsrt-4 from a dig with a ported turbo, intake, 3" exhaust and a bunch of other ****.. I took him off the line up to 120km/h and then he blew past me and put 3 cars on me like I was sittin still lol. Raced the same guy with my Stock Cobalt, and I passed him in 4th gear by 1 car length.. so ya.. there ya have it. And that guy had run a mid 13 with that car at the track.. I'm guessing traction issues, same as I have with this Cobalt SS. My launches in 1st gear are part throttle, otherwise it just destroys the tires haha.

 

Knightwolf,

Thanks for the stories and insights.

Chevy2

 

for all the weight freak, including me. i would go with the side exit for weight reduction and performance.

 

My 3" CB with no resonator and my catless DP saved me a total of 20 lbs over stock but I think I put some of that back with my IC and CPs