Hi Scotty,
It’s a pleasure to communicate with you, subscriber and consistent viewer of your channel from Toronto, Ontario.
I have a 2010 Honda Civic DXG Coupe, Manual Transmission with 193,000 miles. I bought the vehicle brand new, the AC compressor has failed, and two new alternators has been the only maintenance other than the standard stuff in my 10 year ownership (a testament to Honda reliability I believe).
A few months ago, my muffler fell off (our roads are heavily salted in the winters) but I believe the catalytic converter is still in place. I’m wondering if this affects the engine negatively, as it may be tuned to perform with the muffler in place? Or if there is a substantial loss to gas mileage and/or performance with the muffler missing.
I’ve read some arguments about back pressure loss etc.
On a “what is good for the vehicle” standpoint, what do you recommend I do? Replace the muffler or can I keep driving it without.
Thank you, Scotty.
Val
Your car will perform normally with or without the muffler. I've done numerous muffler deletes, resonator deletes, etc. and never had a problem with engine performance. You may have potentially gained some power because your exhaust is less restricted now, but most of the time the muffler's effect on exhaust flow is negligible.
Thank you !