HRV Mid Exhaust Resonator Removed.

CalgaryHRV said:

Well I wasn't going to modify our HRV, but this is super simple and easily reversible if wanted.
I enjoy hot rodding everything and have a tons of experience. We have 3 other modified vehicles.
Not for everyone, not if you are worried about warranty, not if you like stock.

The mid exhaust resonator under the passenger door has always bugged me since it hangs down so low, looks terrible, plus the stock HRV sounds so lame.
While the US$1000 Mugen axle back muffler is nice, spending that much for minimal gains is not the goal.

A sawzall, a short length of 1 7/8 tubing, 5 mins of MIG'ing and done.

As suspected, the mid resonator is straight thru and weighs about 8 lbs.
You can see right thru it.

View attachment 30925


Pipe welded in place of the resonator. It's already dirty since I did this last week, plus I painted it all with high heat flat black VHT high heat paint.

View attachment 30926


So, from inside you can't really tell any sound difference. No difference at idle, driving around town, barely any difference under full throttle, even with the windows down.
Most importantly, zero drone. None. Note that I have already removed the air intake resonator prior to this.

Outside the HRV, it has a little more burble at idle and a little more raspy when revving it up.
It doesn't sound like my 5.0L Mustang but it now has a bit of attitude which was the goal.
Zero hp gains, 8 lbs lighter. Plus the HRV looks better from the passenger side.


It's louder in this sound clip than in real life. I hope this link works.

HRV mid exhaust resonator deleted Nov 2020.mp4

drive.google.com

Total cost, about 1 hour and $10 worth of MIG wire and Argon, pipe in my spare steel pile, $20 worth of VHT high heat paint.
Of course, the resonator can easily be reinstalled if desired.

The off-road HRV guys should dump this resonator immediately for ground clearance!

Click to expand...

Pclaythomas said:

I really want to do this but have no welding or suitable cutting tools. Local shops want too much money for the job, too.

Click to expand...

CalgaryHRV said:

Well I wasn't going to modify our HRV, but this is super simple and easily reversible if wanted.
I enjoy hot rodding everything and have a tons of experience. We have 3 other modified vehicles.
Not for everyone, not if you are worried about warranty, not if you like stock.

The mid exhaust resonator under the passenger door has always bugged me since it hangs down so low, looks terrible, plus the stock HRV sounds so lame.
While the US$1000 Mugen axle back muffler is nice, spending that much for minimal gains is not the goal.

A sawzall, a short length of 1 7/8 tubing, 5 mins of MIG'ing and done.

As suspected, the mid resonator is straight thru and weighs about 8 lbs.
You can see right thru it.

View attachment 30925


Pipe welded in place of the resonator. It's already dirty since I did this last week, plus I painted it all with high heat flat black VHT high heat paint.

View attachment 30926


So, from inside you can't really tell any sound difference. No difference at idle, driving around town, barely any difference under full throttle, even with the windows down.
Most importantly, zero drone. None. Note that I have already removed the air intake resonator prior to this.

Outside the HRV, it has a little more burble at idle and a little more raspy when revving it up.
It doesn't sound like my 5.0L Mustang but it now has a bit of attitude which was the goal.
Zero hp gains, 8 lbs lighter. Plus the HRV looks better from the passenger side.


It's louder in this sound clip than in real life. I hope this link works.

HRV mid exhaust resonator deleted Nov 2020.mp4

drive.google.com

Total cost, about 1 hour and $10 worth of MIG wire and Argon, pipe in my spare steel pile, $20 worth of VHT high heat paint.
Of course, the resonator can easily be reinstalled if desired.

The off-road HRV guys should dump this resonator immediately for ground clearance!

Click to expand...

Xperiance said:

Did you get a check engine light after the resonator delete? I'm thinking about doing this for the looks and ground clearance

Click to expand...

CalgaryHRV said:

No CEL or DTC's at all. No change in drivability at all.

Since the exhaust resonator is downstream of the catalytic converters and the two O2 sensors, the ECM does not detect the change.

Think of it as a cat back or axle back aftermarket exhaust mod.

Click to expand...

CalgaryHRV said:

No CEL or DTC's at all. No change in drivability at all.

Since the exhaust resonator is downstream of the catalytic converters and the two O2 sensors, the ECM does not detect the change.

Think of it as a cat back or axle back aftermarket exhaust mod.

Click to expand...

SylenThunder said:

OK, it sounds great.

However, I do have some concerns about possible side effects.
Removing the resonator will remove a good bit of the back pressure that the engine relies on for proper operation. (Common issue in NA engines) Though the lack of resistance can add a few horses, it can also cause the engine performance to be a bit more sluggish and slower to respond at lower revolutions. Which if they balance each other out, it isn't much of an issue. However, it can also lead to weaker performance and horrible fuel economy.
Additionally, the lack of proper back-pressure could also trigger an engine light.

What are your experiences here?

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Johnshrv18 said:

Great to know these possible effects. I did a resonator delete on my previous 2002
Honda Accord 2.3L SOHC and wish I hadn’t. Never had a check engine light go on or experience suggish performance and also had a Magnaflow SS exhaust at the tail end. Hardly any sound difference with the stock Honda resonator but with the resonator delete sounded great with the Magnaflow on the street but at highway speeds the drone became unbearable above 3000 RPM’s. So I had a universal resonator resonator reinstalled but the drone was still there but at least tolerable. Finally wound up installing a third mini one and made the exhaust sound performance tuned but not super raspy like without the resonators. It pretty much went back to the sound of the stock Honda resonator with the Magnaflow muffler! Should have left it that way from the start but I wanted it louder! Wound up being an expensive mistake!

In Xperiance’s video clip after his resonator delete I heard the crackling in the exhaust note almost like backfiring which I personally don’t like. It sounds more like part of the exhaust is missing which was exactly what was done, not like a nicely tuned exhaust. When my warranty is over I plan on having my local trusted muffler shop do the same mod I had done in my Accord, just switch out the stock muffler with a polished stainless steel Magnaflow muffler with a custom bent axle-back stainless steel pipe welded with stainless steel weld, connecting to the stock pipe. I’m going to leave the stock resonator in like I should have done in my Accord. I know it won’t sound too much over the stock exhaust but the Magnaflow will give it just enough raspiness and “attitude” to make it sound like a nice performance tuned exhaust but at a fairly budgeted cost. Plus the polished stainless steel exhaust body will dress up the overall look of the vehicle!

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Johnshrv18 said:

As for ground clearance unless you plan on going off roading often, the stock ground clearance even with the resonator in place should be more then enough. I had a 2004 Honda CR-V for 14 years surviving 14 Chicago winters, some with hefty snowfalls, and its 8” of ground clearance was far more than adequate.

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Johnshrv18 said:

I’ve always liked a louder-than-stock exhaust sound I guess ever since I had a my first car, a Mustang which wound up having dual straight through glass pack mufflers, way “back in the day” but now that I’m getting older appreciate more of a subdued exhaust sound! But your HR-V does sound a lot better than stock without being abrasive. They did use a stainless steel pipe to replace your resonator r
with stainless steel (SS) welds, right? When I had my previous CR-V’s SS Magnaflow muffler installed the other shop I used didn’t use SS, so the welds rusted before the exhaust pipes used to connect the muffler to the stock SS pipes did. But at least the SS Magnaflow muffler never rusted for the four+ years I had it on my CR-V and still looked like new when I finally sold the vehicle! That’s why with the latest muffler shop I used for my Accord, I made sure they used all SS welds and pipes when installing the SS Magnaflow muffler.

BTW, I have a white HR-V too like yours but mine is a 2018.

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