does my car need one i have a 1990 firebird ? will it pass inspection ?

 

I'm not familiar with NY laws, but mufflers don't affect tailpipe emissions, so it shouldn't matter. It could, however, pose a problem if there are any visual inspections for say like noise level. But as far as an actual sniffer you should be fine.

 

Google your state's Inspection laws

Some states require one, others dont.

You should run one, they sound terrible straight piped anyways. A good muffler gives it "tone".

 

I've debated on taking mine off here in Missouri where there is no smog inspection but I don't even think a visual inspection would be an issue here either. But if you do remove the muffler just remind yourself of a few things.

1.) Without a muffler your car WILL be very loud. It will probably attract unwanted attention and more so if you drive this car daily/weekly/alot. Not so bad if you drive it every now and then like I do with mine.

2.) Keep the muffler and get a manual cut-out or an electric if you want a few pony gains. It'll still be loud when open but at least you can close it too. The electric cut-outs are very expensive vs. the manuals costing around $40 on Summit.

3.) Check your local/state laws on this. But honestly, I'd keep it and if you're driving this daily/weekly. It'll pick off your neighbors and it makes for a potential problem.

 

A muffler will help give your car the sound (tone) you want.

Most popular mufflers are under $100 from summit (SLP, Flowmaster, Magnaflow, etc).

Running no muffler might start to bother you after a while. I ran no muffler for about a month (gave me a headache). Muffler went back on.

 

Your car will be A LOT FASTER with a muffler. Not to mention, it will sound better with one too. I felt like i lost a ton of low end torque without my muffler on.