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VE Sportwagon + KPM Exhaust Drone

vesportswagon1969

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NO DRONE yes you can get a no drone system at Penrith and they still sound awesome, They custom make them there, and they have a SSV Sportswagon there with AFM and they will start it up and let you listen and then drive it so you can here it for yourself, Thats what won me over, I had brought too systems until i went there and i was un happy then i brought theres and me and my wife love it ' No Arguments" how good, its in Coreen Ave Penrith A1 Exhaust, Ask for the custom one thet have on there car, And its got stainless Mufflers and its only $900.00 so cheap with tips too. you wont be sorry its worth the drive i think the guy you should speak to is mark ? there is about 5 guys there but hes the best.
 

Quicksilver

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Just got the exhaust done on my AFM SSV. The drone is insane in 4cyl mode.... Anyone know a place in Perth where I can get it disabled? Thanks.
 

musicman

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Hi,

I have a SSV VE Series 2 2011 Sportswagon. I took it to KPM in Adeliade and got an OTR, headers, computer chip and 2.5 inch exhaust as part of a power package. It now has 367kw at the fly wheel and 280 at the rear wheels. I am so happy. They took the AFM off because it sounds crap with the exhaust, may cause some drone and doesnt make much difference anyway. It went from 9.8L per 100K to 10.2L with an average speed of 100km per hour. Of course, if you hammer it goes through the juice. Overall, cant recommend KPM enough. Yeah sure they are expensive but if you want great results, no drone and a heap more power, they are the ones to talk to.
 

Not_An_Abba_Fan

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First post so we will forgive the thread dig.

How do they know it's 367kW at the flywheel? Did you remove the engine and have it dynoed?
 

SSVSE

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Try fitting a set of axle back J-Pipes ,they produce a nice v8 note are very good at killing drone. AFM on is not problem with these.
 
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BehaveSS

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Sorry for digging up old thread, I was doing a search on Drone and came across this one.

I have some info to share from my previous experience at Holden, some of you may know about it, it's a really simple concept, cheap too.

Drone is a resonant frequency that unfortunately is aligned with a particular excitation frequency, such as engine firing order or power train or even roughness of road to a lesser extent. If the input frequency happens to be near or aligned with the resonant frequency of anything, that thing is going to be extremely excited and shake/vibrate a lot more than the input energy. If the resonant frequency is quickly surpassed, not many people will notice it or complain about it. But the issue is when it's close to a typical road speed / engine speed... like 60km/ 80km/ 100km/ etc...

An easy way to combat this is to move the resonant frequency higher or lower, there's 2 variables, Stiffness of the system or Mass of the system. it's much harder to change the stiffness of your Exhaust unless you're willing to add stiffening bars etc... so the easiest is the add mass. Adding mass will reduce the resonant freq. So keep that in mind, you won't get rid of your drone, you're shifting it. if you shift it low enough, e.g. below the idle speed of your engine, it will appear as though it's gone all together.

Exactly how much mass and where to add is hard to explain as we used equipment to find exactly the spot and exactly the mass... but it can be done by trial and error if you have the time. Jack the car up safely on jack stands, while car is in neutral bring the rpm to the usual drone rpm, get under the car, hold a metal pipe/screw driver/rod whatever that's stiff so your hands will feel the vibrations from the exhaust pipe, move along the exhaust pipe with your metal stick, and subjectively note the location of the MOST vibrations, Mark that location and then get some Metal Ring clips and test with add some weights, step it slowly by 250g or whatever you can find, until the drone has changed. sometimes there are multiple locations... the same process can be repeated.
 

Not_An_Abba_Fan

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Above test is flawed as it will only induce a vibration on the exhaust while free revving. The vibrations under load are in a different frequency range so you will not find the drone that is experienced under load.

The other way would be to fit a decent system that has been researched and tested not to drone. Manta is one such system. They make one of the very few on the market that doesn't drone on the VE auto wagon.
 

BehaveSS

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Firstly, I have no bias towards any brand, I believe every brand will have it's perks and flaws, there is no perfect system that meets everyone's needs.

Let's clarify the science a bit Frequency, amplitude and harmonics..... Free revving and under load will produce the same frequency but different amplitudes through out the frequency range, and under load will show the higher order harmonics more so than Free Revving. Usually solving the issue for the 1st and 2nd Harmonic will achieve a pretty good result and you won't have to worry about the higher. I agree, the DIY method I described is not perfect, I don't claim it to be. It's a method for enthusiasts and DIYer who want to play around themselves and immediately see results. Well if the reader isn't this type, it's okay, just ignore this post. This post is meant for those who like this info.



What I shared is a simplified procedure where we at Holden use accelerometer and data logger. Just trying to help those who want to try for themselves.
 
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RockDAhouse

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Anyone knows where I can get the capped helmholtz done to the exhaust in Sydney? Called few places and they have no idea what I'm talking about.
 
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