This has been on the “Autopsy List” for a while and I finally got round to cracking open the angle grinder the other day…
Unlike the 360 silencer, the F430 silencer (muffler) only has one mode of operation. The valves in the exhaust system either force the gases through the silencer or allow them to bypass it completely (more info here). This means that the actual silencer dimensions are much more compact than on the 360.
As per most other Ferrari exhausts of this era, the box is encased in a solid white insulating material held in place with thin skin of stainless steel. Over time this white material breaks down and escapes from the exhaust – there is no danger from this other than a dirty engine bay. Here are a couple of pictures showing what’s underneath the outer skin.
The silencer itself is fairly complex in the way it attenuates the noise of the exhaust gases. Here’s a picture of with the top cut open – there are five chambers.
The gases are fed from the catalytic converters into a central chamber which is the largest of the five.
Due to the V8/flat plane crank configuration, the exhaust pulses will be crossing over each other in this chamber and mixing. The pressure builds in this chamber which in turn forces the gas into the two chambers to either side. The gas is routed into two pipes (one for each side) via lots of small holes – this smooths out the noisy individual firing pulses into a fairly steady flow of gas.
The gases are then passed into the outer two chambers via two short open pipes (note that in the picture below the pipe for the right hand side is out of sight at the bottom of the box).
Finally, the gases are routed to the other side of the box to exit the tailpipes. Again, the picture below only shows one side as the other pipe is hidden underneath.
Related posts:
- Ferrari 360 Exhaust Silencer
- Converting a F430 Exhaust to fit a 360
- Ferrari 360 & F430 Remote Control Exhaust Valve
- Ferrari F430 Exhaust Manifold Change
Other posts in this category: Engine & Drivetrain
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Aldous Voice 