[dmako]

There has been discussions in the past around removing the center muffler for clearance and better sound.

I was wondering if replacing it with say a straight glass pack type muffler vs. a pipe would work better?

You would, I think get more clearance, and the sound might be better than a ‘rapping’ sound with a straight pipe.

 

[Eric L.]

I do not believe you will get "better" sound by removing the center resonator. In fact, its there to keep the engine quiet, and its "offset" from the body there to prevent vibration. Fitting a straight pipe might give you what other VQ owners have experienced when going with a straight pipe without a freer flowing exhaust - a "bees in a can sound."

Your idea of replacing it with a glass filled straight pipe style muffler is a pretty good idea. If you go for it, please keep us updated of the results!

 

[Tyler_Canada]

What about using a resonator from the G35 coupe? It's supposed to be freer flowing than even the one on the sedan, which is probably still better than the one on the Murano.

 

[CopperKat]

Wouldn't doing this affect your warranty?

 

[Eric L.]

Yes it would affect the warranty. Its a do so at your own risk modification.

 

[Tyler_Canada]

It should only affect the warranty on the exhaust. For anything else they would have to prove that it was the source of the problem.

 

[Eric L.]

Actually since most of the engine management system is based on intake/exhaust, the sneaky Nissan dealer could refuse any work on any engine issue. It wouldn't surprise me.

 

[dmako]

This warranty voiding is sure something.

If I replace my Goodyears, will I lose my warranty

Yet dealers like Grubbs seem to push performance parts for the FX like exhaust, intakes, etc that are 3rd party.

 

[Halo]

This gets to the heart of the issue as it comes to car modifications. Replacing the center muffler would in theory only void warranty claims as they pertain to the part of the car that was modified.

However, in practice, suppose an aftermarket resonator increased horsepower, or reduced backpressure (as claimed by the manufacturer). Nissan could deny a warranty claim on the CVT claiming that the change in the torque curve caused uneccesary wear and the CVT is not defective. Remember, it's not the dealer, but NISSAN USA who pays the warranty claim. The dealer just does the work.

Different car companies have slightly different policies as far as modding goes. When warranty claims get complex because of mods, they are usually handled by the manufacturer on a case by case basis. This makes sense because the manufacturer is weighing the benefit of denying your claim ($ savings) with the cost ($ lost in losing a repeat customer).

As far as who has to prove what. It plays out like this... you take your MO with aftermarket intake/exhaust to the dealer for a CVT failure. The dealer contacts NISSAN USA for a claim who refuses it because the car is modified. You could negotiate with NISSAN, pay the repair yourself or take NISSAN to court to make them prove that the part was not defective.

 

[Eric L.]

The last post is wonderfully correct. Don't expect the dealer to bend over backwards to help you on your warranty. Any modification is do so at your own risk.

 

[Tyler_Canada]

I'm not overly worried anyway. By the time there are aftermarket parts available, my warranty will already be over.

 

[GMTURBO43]

I'd be curious to see the G35 resonator compared to the Murano's. I'd like to think there wouldn't be much difference visibly - in which case - would the dealer really be able to notice if it wasn't a hackjob? Not that I want to encourage screwing the system or anything

 

[Tyler_Canada]

I've heard (in the G35 forum on FA) that the coupe resonator has better flow than the sedan resonator. I would suspect that the sedan resonator might be the same part that's on the Murano. If the coupe resonator looked the same, I would try to pull it off.

 

[dmako]

They take the fun out of everything.

I'd hate to have work turned down due to something I did, and since it's not a bolt on mod, I won't try it.

The G35 coupe resonator sounds interesting, perhaps someone will try this.

 

[Tyler_Canada]

I just checked, the coupe resonator is a lot smaller than the sedan one. So it won't be unnoticeable to the dealer, but it should at least fit.

 

[eager]

Let's see dealers make money on warrantee work.

Unless you were repeatedly dropping CVTs I doubt they would make much issue of a modified exhaust.

 

[Eric L.]

Let's see dealers make money on warrantee work.

Unless you were repeatedly dropping CVTs I doubt they would make much issue of a modified exhaust.

Nissan's warranty rate is a fraction of the dealer's "boat payment" rate to non warranty customers. For example, lets say replacing the CVT costs Nissan $3000. They might pay the dealer $3500 for the repair. If you had to pay out of pocket, you might have to pay the dealer twice that much, $7000. Now if you were the dealer and you could find an excuse to charge more, wouldn't you?

 

[Halo]

Listen to Eric folks, he knows of what he speaks.

The dealer has little to gain by having the factory pay for a warranty claim. I know the marketing makes it seem like they're on your side, but this is not the case.

Look, I'm not suggesting that swapping out a muffler will void the warranty on the car. All I'm saying is that if you mod the car and the factory refuses a claim the dealer is not on your side.

 

[Julio Bro!]

What about using a resonator from the G35 coupe? It's supposed to be freer flowing than even the one on the sedan, which is probably still better than the one on the Murano.

My Dad has a 2004 Murano and my wife is planning to get one too; that muffler/resonator has me intrigued. It seems to be a full muffler, just because of the size; resonators are usually smaller. As such I suppose it brings some power loss and weight, I think it's used to make the vehicle real quiet, luxury like.

Swapping it with a G35 resonator seems a good idea, but you'll have to check it inside. The 240SX resonator is just 1 inch of internal diameter and, even though it's a straight tube, this is restrictive. This type of resonator doesn't change tone as much as it changes volume; it can reduce 3 or 4 decibels of the final sound and it does absorb some vibration.

Using a glasspack type instead will provide for more power, but it will increase the volume of the sound...maybe not much, and also probably will bring some vibration to the system too.

Maybe a better option would be to use something like Dynomax's Ultra-Flo or Super Turbo mufflers. These can be chosen to be the same size and configuration as the one mounted in the Murano and surely will bring more power to the system, without so much an increase in sound and vibration, particularly with the Super Turbo. Also, if installed with the word Dynomax towards the vehicle, maybe technicians won't notice the difference eh.

I don't think the increase in torque will bring trouble with the CVT, the torque-converter is still there to dampen things a bit and, what I've read about the technology, it seems to be quite strong.

 

[Tyler_Canada]

Swapping it with a G35 resonator seems a good idea, but you'll have to check it inside. The 240SX resonator is just 1 inch of internal diameter and, even though it's a straight tube, this is restrictive. This type of resonator doesn't change tone as much as it changes volume; it can reduce 3 or 4 decibels of the final sound and it does absorb some vibration.

Actually, given that the 240 uses a 2.4L engine, it would make sense to have a smaller diameter exhaust. Given that the G35 uses the same 3.5L engine as the Murano, and has more horsepower and torque, using the resonator from it could not possibly reduce power in any way.

I don't think the increase in torque will bring trouble with the CVT, the torque-converter is still there to dampen things a bit and, what I've read about the technology, it seems to be quite strong.

Actually, torque converters multiply torque. When unlocked, a torque converter will increase torque, but reduce horsepower because of the slip. I still think the CVT can handle a bit more than the stock engine gives. They wouldn't leave no margin!

Already I've been using the pop charger for close to 6,000 miles, and I haven't had a single problem. And I only have 22,000 miles left of my warranty anyway. I think I'm going to wait until next summer, and see what cat-back exhaust options are available.