Difference between Exhaust and Muffler

[boa129]

I am just wonder what is the difference between the whole exhaust system, and a muffler. What do you get from exhaust system that a muffler dun have.

 

[Taurine]

The exhaust system carries the exhaust gases from the engine to the rear of your car where it exits out a muffler.

A muffler, if you can believe it, muffles the sound that your engine is making. There are mufflers in the middle of your exhaust system underneath your car and then finally one at the very end right underneath your rear bumper.

 

[pimp racer]

In simple terms Exaust is the long pipe and the Muffler is the round thingy.

 

[MistaX]

In simple terms Exaust is the long pipe and the Muffler is the round thingy.

That could confuse people. "The Round Thingy" you speak of is the actual Tip, Whist the muffler is the two rectangular boxes connected to the exaust system
And the whole Exaust inludes everything from the engine outlets to the tip itself.

 

[PublicSecrecy]

exhaust is basically all the gasses that travel OUT of the engine...exhaust. It usually passes thru an O2 sensor and then on to a catalytic converter, through the exhaust pipe, and comes out the muffler. Mufflers can become rusty and noisy and sometimes fall off, or become noisy. The muffler is pretty much the part at the very end that u see sticking out which is just there to keep it quiet. Now, some people have great big ones and cover their car in plastic and have stickers all over them. These are ricers. Other people have moderately sized ones that sound deep, and throaty, or scream at a hi-pitched noise which sends shivers down your spine. As they shift you can sometimes here a whistle and "TSSS" noise quickly thereafter. The car is often an inch or 2 lower than normal, and have plain (although nice) looking 5 spoke rims for maximum strength:weight, and have a slightly modified hood or wing on RWD'ers . These are Car enthusiasts, or racers if you prefer. They will kill a ricer. Also, Chrome does not neccesarily mean good.

 

[pimp racer]

That could confuse people. "The Round Thingy" you speak of is the actual Tip, Whist the muffler is the two rectangular boxes connected to the exaust system
And the whole Exaust inludes everything from the engine outlets to the tip itself.

I thought it was simple but ok. Here we go-

THe exaust is the pipe and the Muffler is the Rectangular box. Happy?

 

[retsmah]

The whole exhaust system, what the man asked about, is the exhaust manifold / headers, catalytic converter(s), muffler(s), possibly turbo(s) and then all the pipes that connect that stuff.

Edit: mufflers don't have to be rectangular, both of my cars have had circular mufflers.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

You guys are still ovecomplicating it. The muffler is the part that quiets the sound, and the exhaust system is the combination of the muffler and the pipe that connects it to the engine.

It sounds to me like he's actually asking about mods, though, asking why a full catback is better than simply a muffler.

If that's the case, a muffler will mostly have an effect on the car's sound, and only a minor power gain. The stock piping will still remain, and it will restrict the airflow due to small diameter and many bends. An exhaust system usually starts at the Catalytic converter, and has a larger pipe, which, more importantly, is also much straighter, and also made of a finer, smoother, metal, allowing unrestricted airflow. On a naturally aspirated car, such a system can provide moderate gains, but with a turbo, major improvements in the powerband and torque curve, as well as max figures, can be seen.

 

[Ev0]

The exhaust system can be very complicated depending on the car. For example, some cars have multiple catalytic converters. Otherwise, an exhaust can be extremely simple. I'm sure most race cars just have a pipe that runs from the engine (no muffler, no catalytic converter).

 

[PublicSecrecy]

The Bugatti EB110S for instance has 4 catalytic converters, one per turbo.

 

[MistaX]

The whole exhaust system, what the man asked about, is the exhaust manifold / headers, catalytic converter(s), muffler(s), possibly turbo(s) and then all the pipes that connect that stuff.

Edit: mufflers don't have to be rectangular, both of my cars have had circular mufflers.

I was trying to keep it simple. But yes, the headers and such are included in the entire system, but I really don't think he ment that.
And 90% of cars have rectangles, and even the circular ones are just oval-rectangles, if that makes any sense at all.

 

[McLaren]

Take a good guess on why NASCars are so loud. Exactly...they don't have one of those.

 

[PublicSecrecy]

Cuz they're American. Simple. 💡

 

[Scaff]

We don't have mufflers in the UK, same thing, but we call them silencers.

Amd once again "How stuff works" gives a good introduction to the basics

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/muffler.htm