I have 2008 S-type, 4.2 naturally aspired. Almost every ad I see for exhausts are about unleashing that latent V8 power. I want to shut mine up as a freeway speed it's got a really annoying droning sound. The car is great but the sound has to shut up. I see there are smaller mufflers in the middle of the system, then big ones at the tail pipes. Where do you reckon, I should start to quiet this beast down?

Thanks

 

Sounds like someone has modified it.

Going back to the original should be a good fix if you can figure what to do.

 

They look stock. Which is why I was asking about the mid-section vs the big mufflers at the end. I'm in California and it passed SMOG no sweat. I thought playing with mufflers threw off the emissions.

 

The big end mufflers are about as much as you can get there i think. The middle muffler is actually a resonator that gives a little more sound if i am correct. You might be able to replace the resonator with actual inline mufflers and quiet it some. I know the drone you speak of. My 06 str has the same but i am used to it i guess

 

Well, maybe it is stock, then. As I said, it looks untouched.

 

I never heard stock causing a droning sound.

 

I had a loose clamp once and that was a noisemaker. Maybe check for any soot indicating a leak too

 

Will do, thanks. BTW, if you do a search for drone or droning, there are a lot of comments from users about this issue. And it seems to be right at highway speeds. And JagV8, will get a better look in a couple says -- maybe it has been messed with.

 

No, something's amiss. These cars shouldn't have a drone sound at highway speeds. They should have a very quiet exhaust across all the standard speed range.
Just how I like it too!

 

Will investigate further. I did happen to hit the 101 fwy at a moment when I could actually do the speed limit -- but will have a look underneath today.

 

Here's where I'm looking...

"The resonator is a complement to the muffler in that it removes high-pitched noises along with annoying hums and buzzes. The resonator is designed to eliminate sounds at a particular frequency which bounce off the inside of the device canceling each other. This is what gets rid of the annoying droning creating a pleasant exhaust note."

 

I had the rear silencers removed on my n/a V8, stainless straight through replacement system fitted.
I am getting on a bit but it still makes me giggle.
The thunderous noise at above 4000 rpm is wonderful but given that most driving is at around 2 to 3 thousand revs then it is no issue.
Standard exhaust is boring as a boring thing on a boring day.
It's a V8 Jag for crying out loud, not a Lexus.

If it drones, drive faster; there is always a sweet spot near the top of the rev range.
Thus spake Zarathustra.

 

The only car I ever owned that was -- stock -- just too damned loud, was a 1966 Shelby GT 350. It wasn't because of the exhaust, but because it was a solid lifter motor. It was like trying to drive around inside a machine gun. Driving it on the freeway was the worst. The Jag has the same problem: freeway, unrelenting, unpleasant noise. Loudness has zero to do with it. The 'best' sounding car I ever owned was a 330 GTC (had two of them). And it's not that it was quiet, it was louder than the Jag but always just right. I had a 750 Bevel Head twin Ducati that had a truly loud stock exhaust. Again, was a pleasant loudness. My S-type just has an unrelenting drone at freeway speeds and above. It doesn't get louder.. it doesn't get "cooler"... it just keeps droning. If you do a search on this forum for "drone" it seems to be an issue that people sometimes have and find annoying. I suspect it's inherent in the exhaust when something is "wrong with it". (a leak?) My guess.