How loud is open headers?

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Yeah man......drive the sucker over there. I've driven my cars w/open headers so many times I can't count. When I was a teenager, I would leave a few bolts out of the collector-to-exhaust flange, just so I could jump under the car and swing them open in 5 seconds. Fun stuff......and I NEVER got a ticket.

You'll soon learn how to drive the car so as not to attract too much attention. Not too hard on the acceleration.......and don't decellerate too much either. Keep it around 2000 RPM (I've got a stick) and I've even passed cops like this! But if you need to go up any long inclines......it will be noisy.

Man I love just mashing the throttle when it's all clear though!!
 
I say drive it too. When i had my 67 Satellite, it had a 383. I lived in one place and stored the car in another, about 30 miles away.

When i took the engine out, i sawed the exhaust off even with the bottom of the oil pan.

Put the engine in, broke it in etc, then i was going to drive it home.

The car had no carpet or sound deadener in it. The exahust was blowing out right on the area where the accelerator was.

Besides sounding like a bass drum for 30 miles inside, it was just like driving a oven down the freeway too, my foot was baked.
 
with all the harley's running around with open pipes and they don't get stopped, I wouldn't worry about it.

You are taking it to get fixed

How radical is your engine? It it doesn't have 11:1 or more compression it really won't be too load as long as you keep your foot out of it.

I have electric cut outs on my 340 and run them open in town alot. Not as loud as real open headers but still on loud side.

As others have said, if you see a cop, let it idle, kick it in neutral. If you are out there doing smokey burnouts (get it on video) your going to get stopped anyway, open or not.

Also as others have said. Get a few feet of pipe and clamp to collectors, this will quiet it down a great deal

I run my 67 Barracuda with 273 HIPO with just header mufflers for a while, and I believe my 69 Chevelle 396 375 hp also just had header mufflers and it would shake the windows in the house.

My Jr year in high school I drove my Barracuda about 14 miles from my house to Fortville for the Homecoming parade right thru down town with police directing traffic. I was not the only one with open headers.

At the dance later that night I didn't want to drive it home with open headers, so i ask the principle if I could go out and close my headers.

He said, " I don't know what headers are, but it is getting cold out there and you better go close them" I always get a kick out of thinking about that night and what he said...................LOL
 
I've been running fenderwell headers with no mufflers dumping infront of the rear tires. I love it, but I get complants about peoples chest hurting when they stand next to my car.
 
I say drive it as long as you don't have to pass a donut shop.LOL Local cops might give you a pass but state troopers will bust you for sure. I say tow or slap header muffler on. Tickets and fees are too much any more.
 
FASTBACK340 said:

Personally, I'm trying to justify the expense of electric exhaust cut-outs so I can rattle un-suspecting zipperheads at stop lights. :thebirdm:
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lol same here...although they are a bit pricey, plus I would have to get Y-pipes put in as well...but I want a pair so bad. Just to have some fart can rice burner pull up next to you and then flip the switch and open them things up...haha the look would be priceless
 
Ever go to the drag strip? You can find one without a map if you get somewhat close. Back in about '73 I started a '64 Chevy2 with a tri-power 396 and 3' collectors in town at about 3 am and within seconds lights were going on all over the place and people were running at me in their underware screaming at me. Seriously, go in the afternoon during high noise levels and you'll get away with it.
 
I put a set of Hedman Hedders on my GTX back in January 1974 in Daytona Beach, but I didn't have enough cash to buy mufflers and hardware. I drove the car for the entire semester and then home to L.I. in May. I got some long looks from Daytona cops and Florida troopers, but nobody ever said a word. The toughest part was the drive to L.I. on I-95. I swear my teeth are still rattling.
 
I drove mine 20 miles to the muffler shop with open headers last month. The muffler shop is next door to the county cops station. I joked about this to the muffler shop owner and he said "just tell them you are going to see Mark" It was an awesome ride. Drive it!
 
If you see a cop just put it in neutral or if its a 4spd, just push in the clutch. Quiets right down. Used to cruise Gratiot uncorked once in a while back in the day. Never got a ticket, or even stopped. Lots of cops around too. Good luck and enjoy.
 
You can drive it and it wont be that loud...Driven dozens of cars to the shop open headers...just get it up to speed and coast as much as possible if you think it's too loud.
If your going straight to the muffler shop you wont have a problem with police.it's when guys get stupid and start doing burnouts and stuff when problems happen.It wont be as loud as you think.IMHO
 
ok back 5 years or so i had the blue dart in my pic it needed exhaust well my father in law was a cop so i had him come down to the garage and listen to the car at idle not loud at all he says its fine so i grin he says what i say nothing so i get up the next morning 6.00 am start the car full bore all the way o **** there he sits hes not happy loud as hell what really pissed him of was when i did a burnout at work in the parking lot before i took it to get exhaust he drove by and saw the smoke and the dart i had been married 6 months to his daughter lol
 
We did it in my town with our old big block willys... nobody seemed to care.
 
I wouldn't try driving a car with open headers if I am trying to sneak home late...
 
This loud.



Just drive it and tell the cops that it's on it's way to get exhaust.

I doubt they will give you a hard time if you tell the truth.
 
Go for it. I have electric cut-outs on mine and pretty much drive with them open all the time. The only time a cop ever said anything was to tell me how awesome the car sounds.
 
as WILDCAT has said, with all the harley's running straight pipes, drive it!!!!!!
them harley's make me:puke:! if i was the fuzz i would pull them all over and site them for noise polution. they are very annoying and way too loud.
 
CHARGER1969 said:
as WILDCAT has said, with all the harley's running straight pipes, drive it!!!!!!
them harley's make me:puke:! if i was the fuzz i would pull them all over and site them for noise polution. they are very annoying and way too loud.
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Eh, I say let them be as loud as they want. It gives us an excuse for being loud :-D
 
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