Will an aftermarket muffler and exhaust tips void/increase my car insurance?

[PinkFloyd]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-OUTLET-DTM-DUAL-BURNT-TILT-TITANIUM-TIP-MUFFLER-EXHAUST-w-2-5-INLET-/301037206369?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3APontiac%7CModel%3AGrand+Prix&hash=item4617373b61&vxp=mtr

That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. If I replace just the mufflers and exhausts, (not the whole system) will it mess with my car insurance at all?

[Abyssal Echo]

nope it wont have any effect on it at all. in fact they wont know anything about it unless you tell them.

[Cooper197]

It shouldn't. They would not know about it unless you say anything, and even then probably won't care since even a full system isn't a significant performance modification unless you have already done a ton of engine work.

On another note, don't buy exhaust stuff online unless you have heard that specific muffler on your specific engine. And by that I don't mean "Well I have a Chevy 350 and I heard it on my friend's 351 Cleveland, they are both V8 so it should sound the same" No. Not always how it works. Much easier to buy directly from a shop so if you hate it you can say that you hate it and have them fix it. May be a bit more expensive, but very worth it. First one I ever had done I bought online because I was "saving money" and it would "sound awesome" At first I thought both things. I ended up replacing my $50 muffler with a $200 muffler because I couldn't stand how freaking loud the one I bought online was. It droned at high way speed, you could hear it from a mile away, and it made my car sound like an oversized lawn mower. My car has a 4cyl. However, when put on a different 4cyl after it was removed from mine, it sounds awesome and is moderately loud. Hear it in person first, then buy it. Don't buy online without hearing it.

[PinkFloyd]

It shouldn't. They would not know about it unless you say anything, and even then probably won't care since even a full system isn't a significant performance modification unless you have already done a ton of engine work.

On another note, don't buy exhaust stuff online unless you have heard that specific muffler on your specific engine. And by that I don't mean "Well I have a Chevy 350 and I heard it on my friend's 351 Cleveland, they are both V8 so it should sound the same" No. Not always how it works. Much easier to buy directly from a shop so if you hate it you can say that you hate it and have them fix it. May be a bit more expensive, but very worth it. First one I ever had done I bought online because I was "saving money" and it would "sound awesome" At first I thought both things. I ended up replacing my $50 muffler with a $200 muffler because I couldn't stand how freaking loud the one I bought online was. It droned at high way speed, you could hear it from a mile away, and it made my car sound like an oversized lawn mower. My car has a 4cyl. However, when put on a different 4cyl after it was removed from mine, it sounds awesome and is moderately loud. Hear it in person first, then buy it. Don't buy online without hearing it.

Thanks for the reply. It really helped. I'm completely new to working on cars and I figured that I could just put the car on a jack and torch cut the stock mufflers off and put the new ones on. On ebay it says "fits 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix." So I should be good there, but you're completely right about hearing it in person. I just figured that it would sound the same but look different because of the quad exhaust versus the stock dual.

[fordgtguy]

Wont do anything but i warn you not to buy car parts on ebay because its all garbage. I have quite the experience when it comes to cars and ebay is the worst place to go for parts. If you have any questions ask me

[ksdnfkfr]

I asked my dad because he's put custom muffler and
pipes on his truck and motorcycle and he said no.

[PinkFloyd]

Wont do anything but i warn you not to buy car parts on ebay because its all garbage. I have quite the experience when it comes to cars and ebay is the worst place to go for parts. If you have any questions ask me

What usually goes wrong when you put bad parts on a car? I know that's ind of a stupid question, but seriously, what would happen? Thanks for your input by the way.

[fordgtguy]

What usually goes wrong when you put bad parts on a car? I know that's ind of a stupid question, but seriously, what would happen? Thanks for your input by the way.
First of all you are putting a 35 dollar exhaust pipe on a truck or car and depending on where you are you may not pass emissions tests. Secondly they are just cheap and wont last long and also might leak or have a build up of crap in the exhaust which could cause a fire. What i think you should do is find a good exhaust tip and pay the money for having a good pipe on your car but your call.

[PinkFloyd]

First of all you are putting a 35 dollar exhaust pipe on a truck or car and depending on where you are you may not pass emissions tests. Secondly they are just cheap and wont last long and also might leak or have a build up of crap in the exhaust which could cause a fire. What i think you should do is find a good exhaust tip and pay the money for having a good pipe on your car but your call.

Alright, yeah, I wanted to know if I'd be risking like a fire or something else actually serious. Thanks for the advice.

[Cooper197]

Thanks for the reply. It really helped. I'm completely new to working on cars and I figured that I could just put the car on a jack and torch cut the stock mufflers off and put the new ones on. On ebay it says "fits 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix." So I should be good there, but you're completely right about hearing it in person. I just figured that it would sound the same but look different because of the quad exhaust versus the stock dual.

If you can torch cut something, you probably know this but, there is a lot that comes with putting on a muffler. i was in your place once, bought one online, thought to myself "Okay, I can probably do this in like 30 minutes or an hour"

Problems that I had?
Well,
1. I can't weld. That is key to not getting exhaust leaks which sound horrible and make you lose power. Boo.
2. I needed to make hangars for the exhaust to mount up into the factory place so it looked right. Also related to #1, can't weld
3. The aftermarket muffler was about 12" shorter than the factory muffler, so when the factory one was removed, the pipe had to be extended, and slightly bent, to fit correctly. Once again, required the tools and ability to weld.

If you can weld, and do it very well, and you have access to the right metal to do it yourself, should be quick and easy. However if you don't, it gets difficult and expensive fast, and then you end up paying to have it professionally fixed anyway. I paid $50 to have a new muffler welded on, the one I explained above. Literally took my muffler in as it came out of the box, it came out on the car and working for $50. Some say that's spendy, personally I think that price is fair. I didn't have the skills to do it, and it took them a little under an hour so it seemed okay to me.

The second time I wanted things done differently. I hated the sound of my online exhaust, and after hearing a setup on another car exactly the model of mine, I knew what I wanted. I went back in with another online muffler, but this time I knew how it sounded and what it was. I had them weld me a new cat-back system with no resonators or center mufflers. Just pipe from the catalytic converter to the muffler. The same shop charged $125 including the installation of the muffler at that point. Once again, worth it. This time the sound is 1,000x better and exactly what I want.

I think exhaust mods are awesome when done correctly, and stupid when not. It's worth doing some research, shopping around and talking to some exhaust shops. You can probably get something pretty awesome fairly cheap. It's gonna be more than $30, my prices above are just installation/shop materials (doesn't include muffler) so it can get up there in price fast, but find somebody you trust and talk to them. You can probably get something sorted out!

Also, autozone is not a good place to get a muffler unless you want it to sound like crap! :lol: I bought some cheap DC sport thing the first time off Amazon, just didn't sound right on my car, but sounds great on my brother's now. Ended up with a magnaflow system for my Subaru, can't be any happier!

[PinkFloyd]

If you can torch cut something, you probably know this but, there is a lot that comes with putting on a muffler. i was in your place once, bought one online, thought to myself "Okay, I can probably do this in like 30 minutes or an hour"

Problems that I had?
Well,
1. I can't weld. That is key to not getting exhaust leaks which sound horrible and make you lose power. Boo.
2. I needed to make hangars for the exhaust to mount up into the factory place so it looked right. Also related to #1, can't weld
3. The aftermarket muffler was about 12" shorter than the factory muffler, so when the factory one was removed, the pipe had to be extended, and slightly bent, to fit correctly. Once again, required the tools and ability to weld.

If you can weld, and do it very well, and you have access to the right metal to do it yourself, should be quick and easy. However if you don't, it gets difficult and expensive fast, and then you end up paying to have it professionally fixed anyway. I paid $50 to have a new muffler welded on, the one I explained above. Literally took my muffler in as it came out of the box, it came out on the car and working for $50. Some say that's spendy, personally I think that price is fair. I didn't have the skills to do it, and it took them a little under an hour so it seemed okay to me.

The second time I wanted things done differently. I hated the sound of my online exhaust, and after hearing a setup on another car exactly the model of mine, I knew what I wanted. I went back in with another online muffler, but this time I knew how it sounded and what it was. I had them weld me a new cat-back system with no resonators or center mufflers. Just pipe from the catalytic converter to the muffler. The same shop charged $125 including the installation of the muffler at that point. Once again, worth it. This time the sound is 1,000x better and exactly what I want.

I think exhaust mods are awesome when done correctly, and stupid when not. It's worth doing some research, shopping around and talking to some exhaust shops. You can probably get something pretty awesome fairly cheap. It's gonna be more than $30, my prices above are just installation/shop materials (doesn't include muffler) so it can get up there in price fast, but find somebody you trust and talk to them. You can probably get something sorted out!

Also, autozone is not a good place to get a muffler unless you want it to sound like crap! :lol: I bought some cheap DC sport thing the first time off Amazon, just didn't sound right on my car, but sounds great on my brother's now. Ended up with a magnaflow system for my Subaru, can't be any happier!

Yeah, If I do something like this, It'll be with an auto shop for sure. I mean the $30 mufflers are complete crap because they tend to not hold up well at all. Thanks for the advice by the way. It really helped. :)

[Cooper197]

Yeah, If I do something like this, It'll be with an auto shop for sure. I mean the $30 mufflers are complete crap because they tend to not hold up well at all. Thanks for the advice by the way. It really helped. :)

No problem! This is my kind of thing! You don't have to spend a ton on a muffler, Flowmaster tends to not be too terrible. You can get a decent flowmaster for between $50-$100. Personally, not a huge fan of the sound of them usually, but that's just me and the systems I've heard them on. As I mentioned above I have a full magnaflow system now. Including performance cats, and having a custom header made soon as they are nearly impossible to find for my car. It goes through the Magnaflow cats into a Y pipe to two Magnaflow 14816 mufflers. Sounds really good on my car, but it's a Subaru with the super weird H6 motor, which sounds weird a lot of the time. The guys who hooked me up with it did an excellent job, listened to exactly what I want and what my overall budget was.

Anyway I could go on for years about this kind of stuff. Point is, just make sure you get something of quality, that could end up being $50, or it could end up being $250. Just depends!

[IAMWILL]

I would advise on shopping on a website like Autoanything.com, they have awesome customer service that can answer a lot of questions and good prices. Also maybe join a forum for your car and ask questions there, people will give you good advice as to what you need. Honestly I think you're best off buying the parts and having a shop install them though, it costs some but I think its worth it.

I've spend about ~$1000 on the exhaust for my truck over the years. Started with a Flowmaster Super 44 muffler, then switched the 2.5" piping from the y-pipe back to 3", them switched the muffler out to a 14" Magnaflow Magnapack and added a nice 4*12" tip. I can't do any cat work because of California laws (f**k CARB) but its plenty loud and has a really angry deep growl. Sets off some car alarms when I drive on narrow streets :D

You can get stuff cheap but expect to spend ~400 if you want a really good, professional installed system.

[Infidelitas]

Depends on your insurance company. My insurance doesn't usually ask about the exhaust, but it will be worth asking before you plan on doing so.

[baseballfan]

Best bet is to call and ask. If they give you a hard time consider switching to another company

[carmen97]

it shouldnt mess with your insurance if anything if you have a warranty it might void it

[AlanPeanuts]

Nope! But remember, no muffler or straight-piping is illegal in a lot of places and won't pass inspection.