Poll: I think my FMF Q4 noise level is.....

If we get enough votes for quieter/much quieter exhaust, maybe FMF will take notice and help us keep trails open while still adding some performance. I get the feeling most people who buy the Q4 were hoping it was a couple decibels lower.

I may just have to shut up about the noise thing otherwise

Sorry man, but I love mine.

It does need to be repacked though.

Well, honest opinions are valued too :)

Kind of like it on the street, but too loud for a bike that might spend some time on the trails. If I have to wear earplugs for reasons other than wind noise, something isn't right...

Other than stock - there's none quieter.

Oops...I voted option 2...and I have a PC4
...musta been the beer

mucker wrote:

Oops...I voted option 2...and I have a PC4
...musta been the beer

I think you can cancel your vote.

motokid wrote:

mucker wrote:

Oops...I voted option 2...and I have a PC4
...musta been the beer

I think you can cancel your vote.

I saw the cancel option, and tried it.
Wasn't clear how to cancel...and think i submitted my option again...so I'm not sure that i'm helping at this point.
...did i mention oops?

You mentioned beer...good enough for me.

Used to have a Q4 but started to give me headaches on longer rides from the resonance in my helmet so I went back to stock. Not to change the subject but one of the quietest bikes I've ever heard is my friend's 2002 DR650. It's still all stock but whatever the factory did with the muffler makes it quiet. While the stock WR makes a "pop" sound, the DR is more like a "swish".

I removed mine because it fell apart a couple months after I hit a tree riding in a dual sport event. It is kinda loud though, almost as loud as my PC4 imo, so I voted #2. If I still had a stock muffler, and if I didn't love the sound and the added performance so much, I'd probably eventually consider going back to stock. For now, I'll just have to repack it.

any tips on packing to make it a lil quitier? stubbs sugested leaving the packing loose

sswrx wrote:

Used to have a Q4 but started to give me headaches on longer rides from the resonance in my helmet so I went back to stock. Not to change the subject but one of the quietest bikes I've ever heard is my friend's 2002 DR650. It's still all stock but whatever the factory did with the muffler makes it quiet. While the stock WR makes a "pop" sound, the DR is more like a "swish".

I just bought a stock exhaust and I am going to give it a try. Oddly my friend with a ktm 690 also as a Q4 and the noise is much more reasonable, but part of that is the deeper tone. He does not have an open air box, but also does not need to rev the bike much. My KLR also makes the quiet swishing sound of the DR - sometimes I wish it was just a touch throatier though. I think the sweet spot is around 90 decibels, where a lot of the Japanese enduro and plated euro bikes come from the factory

I had FMF Q4 mufflers on both my WR-250R and WR-250X, and I feel the sound output was very much acceptable.

About 20 years ago, I was one of the guys who was basically paranoid about making my exhaust noise even one tenth of a decibel louder out of fear of attracting the scowl of anybody around my riding spots.
Then, I pretty much realized that anybody with a sourpuss look on their face wasn't doing so because of my muffler (be it Q4 or stock), but because I was laying a tire track down and, "...out destroying the Earth's fragile environment", or getting in the way of their horseback riding out on public trails that we have to share (yes, believe it or not - bikes and horses sharing the same trails, legally).

sswrx wrote:

Used to have a Q4 but started to give me headaches on longer rides from the resonance in my helmet so I went back to stock.

Did you wear earplugs?

I've not noticed any resonance, but I ride an X 98% on pavement. That pavement % will change when I get my R wheels...

YZEtc wrote:

I had FMF Q4 mufflers on both my WR-250R and WR-250X, and I feel the sound output was very much acceptable.

About 20 years ago, I was one of the guys who was basically paranoid about making my exhaust noise even one tenth of a decibel louder out of fear of attracting the scowl of anybody around my riding spots.
Then, I pretty much realized that anybody with a sourpuss look on their face wasn't doing so because of my muffler (be it Q4 or stock), but because I was laying a tire track down and, "...out destroying the Earth's fragile environment", or getting in the way of their horseback riding out on public trails that we have to share (yes, believe it or not - bikes and horses sharing the same trails, legally).

I generally agree with you there. Its really the ringing in my own ears that bothers me the most, which can be solved by ear plugs. They also get rid of all the other wind noise and buzzing vibrations too. Its the extremists and the abutting landowners who usually do the most complaing

I know a few other non-riders (including some familiy members), who, when a quiet stock KLX250 slips by on the trail, say "that looks pretty cool", but when they hear a hooligan on a 125 MX bike ripping through the woods at 100 decibels are like "WHAT THE...". A lot of that is directed at the courtesy of the rider though and the fact that on bikes like that the guys are roosting at every opportunity. So yes, the noise is just one part of the equation. I am sure a rider with a Q4 who idles buy a group of hikers would be regarded a lot better. Its the extremists and the abutting landowners who usually do the most complaing though and for them its pretty black and white.

I am a just a little PO'd right now because my local spot just got fenced off....and it happened up where I used to live too. Ultimately it wasn't the noise that got it shut down (it was high school kids having bonfires back there), but I gotta wonder if the noise drew more attention to it. Don't need to give the other user groups any more ammo...

I am moving in the direction of being a stock exhaust with trials tires guy...getting tired of losing dirt space!

Managed to get the stock exhaust slipped on to my megabomb this evening (was not hard, just required the removal of the gasket and the oslightest bending on the muffler tabs). Downloaded the PCV map for "stock exhaust with no airbox lid" and off I went. I will not be going back to the Q4 anytime soon unless I enter a hare scramble, but even then I am not sure my lap times would be faster. Throttle response is not as sharp, and the top end is more restricted. But, I was going plenty fast and comfortably riding with no ear plugs. I hit 76 on the freeway at wide open with 13/47 gearing and a calibrated speedo corrector. With the Q4 on the same stretch I would get to about 81, so it would seem the horsepower is down a bit. I have a stock header on its way to me and I will do a little comparison once it arrives, but I am happy/relieved to make the switch. Now I can fire up at 6am on Saturday on not have the neighbors crying bloody murder.

i have a fmf q4 slip on and IMO its not loud enough :o

Gundy wrote:

Managed to get the stock exhaust slipped on to my megabomb this evening (was not hard, just required the removal of the gasket and the oslightest bending on the muffler tabs). Downloaded the PCV map for "stock exhaust with no airbox lid" and off I went. I will not be going back to the Q4 anytime soon unless I enter a hare scramble, but even then I am not sure my lap times would be faster. Throttle response is not as sharp, and the top end is more restricted. But, I was going plenty fast and comfortably riding with no ear plugs. I hit 76 on the freeway at wide open with 13/47 gearing and a calibrated speedo corrector. With the Q4 on the same stretch I would get to about 81, so it would seem the horsepower is down a bit. I have a stock header on its way to me and I will do a little comparison once it arrives, but I am happy/relieved to make the switch. Now I can fire up at 6am on Saturday on not have the neighbors crying bloody murder.

Interested in selling the megabomb?

I live 30 minutes away from Philly.

Interested in selling the megabomb?

I live 30 minutes away from Philly. [/quote]


Thinking about it.....I'll put it in the classifieds here when the time comes. Im a bit of a hypocrite right now since I put the fmf stuff back on for an enduro last weekend

Gundy wrote:

Quote :

Interested in selling the megabomb?

I live 30 minutes away from Philly.

Thinking about it.....I'll put it in the classifieds here when the time comes. Im a bit of a hypocrite right now since I put the fmf stuff back on for an enduro last weekend

PM me before you classify it....

I am thinking about welding a little extra bit of pipe on to the end of my quiet core insert so I can put a fat pivoting washer in there. When I need quiet I could turn it to block flow. When I need oomph, I turn it 90 degrees. Its an old trick.

I don't have a Q4, I have a PC4 with quiet core insert. Way too loud.

oic0 wrote:

I don't have a Q4, I have a PC4 with quiet core insert. Way too loud.

I voted wrong, sorry. I also have a new to me Powercore4, with no apparent insert, silly loud.... but it's growing on me. Neighbors might lol.