499 East Old Country Road
Hicksville, NY 11801
516-822-3671
Exhaust
Your vehicle's exhaust system is one of the essential parts of your car. An engine burning fuel creates a lot of harmful gases and much noise. The exhaust system in your vehicle is made up of the exhaust manifold, oxygen sensors, catalytic converter, resonator, exhaust pipes, muffler, and tailpipe. These parts are designed to reduce pollutants that the vehicle is expelling and reduce the noise generated by the engine.
When people look at the exhaust system of a car, they see the tailpipe and the muffler. However, most people are unaware of how extensive the exhaust system is.
An Exhaust System is Made Up of Many Parts
The exhaust system starts at the engine. The exhaust manifold harnesses the combustion gases and moves them into the exhaust system and away from the engine. With more modern fuel-injected systems, oxygen (O2) sensors measure the level of oxygen in the gases. In addition, there are sensors placed before and after the catalytic converter.
Depending on the number of cylinders, there may be two or four sensors throughout the system. This information can be used by your car's computer to automatically adjust the amount of gasoline injected into the engine to create the right mixture of fuel to oxygen and allow your vehicle to run smoothly and efficiently.
The catalytic converter reduces the harmful emissions created by the engine. The exhaust that eventually comes through the tailpipe is still harmful, but the catalytic converter dramatically reduces the level of toxins. The catalytic converter converts carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon into water and carbon dioxide, which is less harmful to the atmosphere. This works by having either metals or, in a few cases, chemicals act as a catalyst to convert the gases as they enter the converter. The metals that are used in this process are platinum, palladium, and rhodium.
Exhaust Systems Reduce Air and Noise Pollution
While the catalytic converter is working to reduce air pollution, the resonator is the first stop along the way to reduce noise pollution. The resonator is essentially an echo chamber where the exhaust bounces around. As it does, the energy resonates, and some of the noise generated by the engine is canceled out. The resonator does not remove the sound from the engine. Instead, it eliminates the drone created by the engine at certain RPMs. Reducing or changing the sound of the engine is the job of the muffler. Not all cars have a resonator.
With sports cars, when you turn the car on and drive it, you want to hear the rumble of the engine. That sound is associated with power. That sound is generated by combining the resonator and muffler to give a car that distinctive sound. With factory-installed exhaust systems, the intention is to reduce noise to make the car as quiet as possible. When the exhaust enters the muffler, it goes through a series of chambers and baffles specifically designed to eliminate as much noise as possible.
Since the exhaust is such an extensive system with so many parts, it is common for issues to arise at some point in the life of your car. For example, if your exhaust system has a leak or is not working properly, you will hear the difference.
A faulty exhaust can severely impact your car's performance
The vehicle will be louder as the system is not able to reduce the noise efficiently. Since the exhaust system is so delicately balanced, you will notice the car start to vibrate and shake if there is a hole in the system.
An exhaust leak can also lead to the oxygen sensors sending bad information to the computer to adjust the amount of fuel sent to the engine, severely impacting your fuel efficiency and even your engine's power.
Come to Sonny's Auto Repair
If your car starts to sound a little louder, you smell a foul odor coming from the exhaust, you lose fuel efficiency, or your car is vibrating in a way you have never felt before, you may have an issue somewhere in your exhaust.
We will always give you the options available and tell you straight. We will also give you an honest and fair estimate of what it will take to fix your car. So come to Sonny’s Auto Repair and keep your car running smoothly. Call us at 516.822.3671 or drop us a line here.