There are many factors that help with the loudness, performance, and emissions of your car. One of the most important is your car’s exhaust system. The car exhaust is made up of multiple different components that work together to expel the gases produced by your vehicle’s combustion engine.
If you want to learn more about how cars work or how to work on cars, it is important to know how exhaust works so that you can provide your own auto maintenance on your exhaust pipe.
The good news is that you’ve come to the right place to get the answers you seek on how your exhaust system works and to help with understanding your car.
Continue reading to learn about your car’s exhaust system and the components that make it up.
The Exhaust System
An exhaust system is comprised of multiple components that work together to get rid of the gases your engine produces. They also work together to reduce the noise produced by your car. The most common setup for an exhaust system is for the tubes and piping to run underneath your car.
This design is in place to prevent toxic gases from entering the passenger area of the vehicle. Most exhaust systems have the added goal of reducing the number of harmful emissions to the environment. Here is a more in-depth look at the components of an exhaust system.
Exhaust Manifold
The exhaust manifold works by collecting the gases produced by each cylinder of your engine. From there, the manifold directs those gases into your exhaust pipe. The exhaust manifold is most often made of cast iron or steel and it utilizes bends to increase efficiency.
Catalytic Converter
Also known as the “cat”, the catalytic converter acts as a catalyst by making the chemicals your engine produces react without changing itself. Its primary purpose is to convert the harmful emissions into water vapor and carbon dioxide. The gases produced due to the catalytic converter are still harmful, but they’re much better than carbon monoxide and other toxic fumes.
The average catalytic converter lasts about 100,000 miles but will fail due to unburnt fuel and exhaust leaks. A sign that your catalytic converter is failing is if you smell something that smells like rotten eggs. If that happens, start to do your research on the replacement cost.
Muffler
The muffler’s function is to muffle the sounds produced by your engine while still maximizing the flow of gas. The better the flow of gas, the higher performance you’ll see from your vehicle. A small hole in the muffler can have a detrimental effect on performance and sound muffling.
Resonator
The resonator acts in a similar capacity to the muffler. It can be placed before or after the muffler and its job is to control the sound vibrations of the car. It also plays a big role in increasing the performance of your vehicle through improved exhaust flow.
A good resonator will increase not only your performance but your fuel efficiency as well.
Tailpipe
The final component in the exhaust system is the tailpipe. The tailpipe comes out of the muffler and continues past the rear bumper most of the time. Its purpose is to direct the exhaust out the rear of the vehicle and away from the passengers.
Start Performing Your Own Auto Maintenance Today
In order to provide proper auto maintenance on your car’s exhaust system, you need to know the components and how they work. It will also help you identify which components are having issues based on additional noise or strong smells. By knowing the function of these parts, you’re ready to start your own auto maintenance due to better understanding your car.
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