A review of a new to USA muffler packing material

[bogiediver]

bogie here with another review that might interest some.

Had V&H pipes that were too loud for my taste and didn't want to spend big $$$ on new pipes and possibly have to re-tune.

Found a high-temp material made specifically for use in toning down muffler noise called Acousta-fil.  Acousta-fil comes woven in a compressed blanket, allowing for easy install; then expands when heated during riding to completely fill the entire baffle-to-pipe void, at a higher density than likely using a tape wrapped, loose fill material.

See the full review at www.bogiesreviews.webs.com, including some interesting bench test before and after pictures.

As always, FWIW and JMHO

[-deuced-]

Are you a journalist, that's a very well written review. I remember the headlight review(s), they were on here a couple of years ago, and the horn rings a bell. Good job 

[bogiediver]

Thanks for the kind words...

Just like sharing product info that helped me and may help others

[Templar2]

Thanks for the post.  I to have dealt with mufflers on my 07' FLSTC that needed some 'quieting", I run the stock headers with 2" Rush slipons.  What I ended up doing was using fire stove door sealing tape (5/8") and wrapping the baffle, then I wrapped over that with muffler packing (1/2") and held it in place with SS snap ties.  After 5,000 miles it still looked like new!  Sound was reduced and the harshness was gone.  Another set on the bike was used with SS wrap and it to quieted things down with minimal wear to the packing, I think the muli layer packing with the door rope is a bit better though and much cheaper.  Thanks

[bogiediver]

For those who have read the review already - I need to make a small technical correction.

I mistakenly referred to the material as 'woven'.  The material is actually 'non-woven', compressed and held together by the melting thread.

My bad - my thought was 'thread=woven' - wrong on my part.

My apologies - the review has been corrected

[Kansas]

I solved the too loud muffler problem on my scoot by simply leaving the stock muffler on it.  Works well and the price is right.

[moose]

great review

thanks for all your effort

[Rags722]

Bogie,

Great review, but I do have a question.  even using the calculator on the product page, I kinda got lost in the sauce.  Given an average touring bike with TWO mufflers ( Let's use Kerker/early Screaming eagles as an example) roughly what would be the overall cost to repack 2 mufflers using this product in DOLLARS, and what would you guess would be the expected life of a repack in years?

[bogiediver]

Need specific measurements to answer the quantity of material.
OD & length of baffle
ID of exhaust pipe

Then company contact can answer regarding pricing...

[Jet Jockey]

I can't get a response from the US distributor you listed in your article. any clues?

[bogiediver]

Contacting them now - asking for a phone number to add...

I'll report back...

[bogiediver]

Reply was emails were just received yesterday...

They will respond to acknowledge, but may require additional time to answer specific questions.

[Jet Jockey]

I did finally get a response...Thanks.

[Jet Jockey]

BTW there are three levels of this material according to an ebay seller....quote                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                "The Acoustafil range goes
ECR, PTX and then ZT1 which is the ultimate for high temperature race applications."

Do you know which one you have?

[bogiediver]

BTW there are three levels of this material according to an ebay seller....quote                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                "The Acoustafil range goes
ECR, PTX and then ZT1 which is the ultimate for high temperature race applications."

Do you know which one you have?

Sorry for the delay...

The blanket material is the PTX grade.

From the mfg:
"To give you the full picture – many acoustic infill products aimed at the after-market sector will be based on cheaper, less temperature resistant but, more readily available E-glass technology. Acousta-fil however uses fibre based on ECR-glass chemistry which provides increased temperature and acid resistance. Although ECR and PTX grades of Acousta-fil are both based on this ECR chemistry, the fibre used in the latter is slightly more physically robust and is therefore the one we choose to use in these applications. E-glass has a normal working temperature of up to 550°C, where as ECR-glass is good for 720°C.

The ZT1 grade has even more temp resistance (850°C) but is reserved for more specialist applications due to it's high cost."

Hope this helps.

[Jet Jockey]

Thanks,
That does help. I was thinking about using the ZT1, but that may be overkill.

[Jasper]

back from the dead:

Bogie: I've been in and out of contact with Michelle from AcoustiFil for a while now. she emailed me back essentially saying that it wasn't available in the US, but to keep in touch as they were releasing a new version that'd be more in line with what we were looking for


I got this email back today



Hi Jeff.  I apologize for the delay in getting back to you.  We have finalized this product for distribution and I do have some here in Eau Claire, WI now.  For the size of your muffler and the application you could try one 400g bag of our new Acousta-fil® Boa product.  You can use as much or as little as you wish depending on what effect you are going for. I have attached a photo of the product in its packaging.  It is one continuous length of material with interrupts at every 50g of material.  You can wrap this around your baffle or stuff it in the can around the baffle as you wish.  I have also attached a close up of the product out of the package.

The cost of this product is $19.53 per bag.  This does not include shipping.  I do have this material in stock and can ship it right away.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  If you are interested, please give me a call to discuss further and set up a payment.

Sincerely,


Michelle Lien






also attached was a picture of the new packing, looks similar, but instead of a mat that would be easily unrolled/fitted in place, its now a "fluffy string" for lack of a better term

(link from a UK based company, rather than uploading the half dozen pictures she sent me)

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorsport/exhaust-accessories/acousta-fil-boa-exhaust-silencer-packing




any thoughts? it seems the mat-style would be WAY easier to work with.

I do love my Dragula 2:1 on the S&S 124....but its flat out deafening....and id like to quiet it down a little bit with sacrificing top end (i could put the 2.5" baffle in vs the 3", but that'd likely knock me back a few HP/TQ

[bogiediver]

I was told about the new 'Boa' product, but have not seen it or tested it.

From the conversation, the mfg believes it will last longer than the mat and be more flexible as to the level of noise reduction.

Until I see/test it I really can't add more that that - except the mfg has been doing sound control for a long time and I have confidence they would not bring out an inferior product.

I'll contact them to see if I can get a test arranged.

[bogiediver]

I heard back from the mfg, but still waiting for more info.

I believe the issue is the result of their core business being sport bikes & dirt track bikes.  I say this because he described why they thought the Boa product was better:

"The point of the Boa product is that it's designed for use in almost any size and shape of muffler, with the minimum of wastage. Although it can be installed by first wrapping it around the perf pipe prior to re-assembly. I believe it's easier to feed it into  the muffler from one end with the one end cap removed. With the muffler in a vertical position, I did this with the aid of a suitable implement to push the Boa into place, using a spiral action around the perf pipe."

The silencers (as they call mufflers across the pond) they are most familiar with have end caps separate from the baffle (i.e. perf pipe).  So his description makes sense for that application. 

I reminded him our typical application, in the big v-twin market, is a baffle with the end cap formed as part of the baffle, with the opposite end taper fit into the outer pipe and that it's not possible to 'stuff' this type of muffler pipe with the baffle installed.  Needs to be wrapped prior to insertion - that's the big advantage to the blanket style product being pre-compressed.

Asked to verify if the blanket product is/will be available in the US, as was the plan at the time of the review.

I'll post an update as I get more info.

[who?me?]

Good Info, thanks. I was hoping to repack my screaming eagle touring mufflers, but when I opened them up and removed the inner part everything seems to be sealed in cartridge that slides into the chrome outer muffler. Rats.

[ArnieMP]

Hello Bogie,  thank you for your reviews.  Could you update the information on the Acoustafil?  How it sound after all this time?

[bogiediver]

As far as the blanket version of Acoustafil - it significantly reduced the perceived sound level after several rides to let it fully expand.

Rode with it for just over a year - 17,000 miles - and it had no noticeable degrade - i.e. sound level was about the same as after break in.  I got a good deal on a set of pipes I really wanted - so I swapped them out at that point.  The guy I sold the pipes to is still running them and likes the sound level.

The new pipes I acquired unfortunately had some cheap packing in them and it has started to degrade, I did finally get a sample of the the new 'boa' product, but didn't get to re-packing my pipes before the end of the season here in N IL.  I am planning to do so before spring and update the review once I get a chance to ride some miles.

I never heard a final verdict on the blanket product, so I don't know for sure if that's at all available.

Again - I'll post an update when I get the boa product installed and tested.

Stay tuned.

[Nowhereman]

D&D should look at that stuff for their Boarzilla pipes.
They'd probably sell a lot more of em.

[bogiediver]

Bringing up this older thread for a promised update.

Acousta-fil now comes in a different, 'boa' style.  Different, but just as good.

Check out the review at www.bogiesreviews.webs.com

Not affiliated with any of the manufacturers of reviewed products.  Not intended as advertising - simply a review of how the products perform from an enthusiast's point of view.

[Ancient]

A question sir, did you purchase the material or was it provided to you?

[Templar2]

Durability?  Have used the mulitwrap SS and it shows no sign of wear after 5K!  Sound is good, but still a bit loud (so what, right?) but this stuff looks interesting if it lasts.

[bogiediver]

A question sir, did you purchase the material or was it provided to you?

The original blanket product was provided, the 'boa' was purchased.

Though, not sure how that matters with regard to the review and my opinion of the performance.

[bogiediver]

Durability?  Have used the mulitwrap SS and it shows no sign of wear after 5K!  Sound is good, but still a bit loud (so what, right?) but this stuff looks interesting if it lasts.

A little early to tell on the 'Boa' style...  had it installed for about 2k this year...

The blanket product I had in for over 25k ('14 & '15 riding seasons here), with no noticeable degradation (i.e. sound level didn't noticeably change from the initial installation and there was no threads being expelled).  But, in the interest of full disclosure, I did not pull the baffles from the old V&H to look.  Sold them to another who is still using them.

I would expect the same from the boa since it's made from the same type of glass material; but, only time will tell.

[GunShyKennedy]

I've found some of the blanket stuff, the original review type material on ebay and have bought some.
That's ebay in Australia.
Here's the item number for the 300mm wide stuff.  331057174335

Listed Description:
ACOUSTAFIL PTX SILENCER MUFFLER PACKING 300mm Wide x 1 Metre.

No more expensive here online than most of the fibreglass product it replaces.

[Thumper Buttercup]

I ordered two packs of the Boa packing for our Supertrapp SuperMeg
pipe today.

We were getting some noise from the old Supertrapp packing and hopefully
this will fix her up.  I'll post up some photos when we get the package
and repack ours.

[Ancient]

A question sir, did you purchase the material or was it provided to you?

The original blanket product was provided, the 'boa' was purchased.

Though, not sure how that matters with regard to the review and my opinion of the performance.

I didn't imply it weighted your opinion of the product, although the fact a company gave you the product does give that impression. I doubt if any random person called a company and said they would like to try a product free of charge they would have much success. I would assume you mentioned your site and that you review motorcycle products and then link your review on popular motorcycle forums. 

Seems to me if someone accepts something gratis that they plan on testing and reviewing for their own website, that would constitute an affiliation with the company, that gifted you the product, would it not? Is my thinking all wrong here?

[Kansas]

As many of the loyal HD owners age, the thrill of a loud exhaust has morphed into an annoyance. There is nothing cool about listening to the incessant noise as you ride up a mountain, or need a mega watt stereo to hear the weather forecast. Glad to read this thread.

[Thumper Buttercup]

A question sir, did you purchase the material or was it provided to you?

The original blanket product was provided, the 'boa' was purchased.

Though, not sure how that matters with regard to the review and my opinion of the performance.

I didn't imply it weighted your opinion of the product, although the fact a company gave you the product does give that impression. I doubt if any random person called a company and said they would like to try a product free of charge they would have much success. I would assume you mentioned your site and that you review motorcycle products and then link your review on popular motorcycle forums. 

Seems to me if someone accepts something gratis that they plan on testing and reviewing for their own website, that would constitute an affiliation with the company, that gifted you the product, would it not? Is my thinking all wrong here?

When I e-mailed them today I had referenced that I had read a review on their product
on a Harley site.  The guy who I worked with even requested a link to our site and the
link for the review.

The guy I talked to today was a Product Design Engineer and seemed a pretty good guy.

I'm paying for two of the 400g bags and shipping.

One thing that always impressed the reviews from bogiedirver is how well articulated
and factual they are.  I'm running the Truck-Lite head and spot lights also from his review.

[Thumper Buttercup]

OK,

We pulled our baffle and packing out the other day, the packing was very brittle and broke up easy,  the end was burnt to a crisp with pieces falling out when the packing came out, infact the baffle pulled out and the packing stayed in the bike.  Looking at the baffle when we installed it the last few inches to the front were not covered by the packing when it got installed on the bike.




Here is the package tops of the new boa baffle material.






We ordered the packing and two packs came to $57 with shipping.  Each pack comes with with 6 32" lengths of the packing material.

Here is a shot of the material close up.



At first I installed 4 pieces of the boa material, here is a shot of it before I attempted to install it.



It was too tight in the front to install this way so I pulled off the last piece and reinstalled the last strip extending it to the end.  The fit was really tight and I ended up using a rubber mallet to get the last couple inches into the muffler.

We buttoned up the bike and I started her up, the exhaust has a very deeper note now and does not sound like it's leaking through the packing like it was before.  It will be interesting to see how it behaves once we get the exhaust really hot and the packing material expands out to it's fullest.

With our Supertrapp SuperMeg we could have gotten away with one package but we are good if we need it again for any reason.

I'll post back up when we have a few more miles on it.

[GunShyKennedy]

I spoke with a fellow at the factory in the UK who sent me an XL file which formulates (calculates the parameters) for filling the baffles with the correct amount of material, depending on the attenuation desired from minimum to maximum.
This formula is used by Akrapovic, who use Acousta-fil in their mufflers.
Dunno how to attach such a file here. FSG, I say, Gary, maate 

================================


Arrived an hour ago with the post.
Cut to the appropriate length, wrapped around baffle firmly, taped with green masking tape.
Easy to work with, cuts with scissors, no messy itchy fibres.
A neat fit. started and ran engine for 10 minutes.
Obviously quieter, will be more so when the stitching melts at operating temperatures. Cadence sounds more even.


Biggest rain here in 100 years according to the weather bureau.

Will report when I've had a 30 minute run.
Modify message


=================================


After a decent ride, the idle is a little quieter, softer to my ear.
Highway speeds have quietened significantly to an extent where the exhaust is barely audible on cruise.
Accelerating still gives a pleasant bark.

Well pleased with the result and the economical cost of the product.

[FSG]

I spoke with a fellow at the factory in the UK who sent me an XL file which formulates (calculates the parameters) for filling the baffles with the correct amount of material, depending on the attenuation desired from minimum to maximum.
This formula is used by Akrapovic, who use Acousta-fil in their mufflers.
Dunno how to attach such a file here. FSG, I say, Gary, maate 

Send me the XL file via email.   :

See the attached AAA_INFILL_CALC_Fabric.xls File, it's actually a xlsx file, so when saving add the x to the extension then open with Excel.

[IronMike113]

Is this the same that is in Eau Clair Wi, (Culimete-Saveguard LLC)

[Thumper Buttercup]

Is this the same that is in Eau Clair Wi, (Culimete-Saveguard LLC)

Yep they sell the Boa stuff, with the trans fee we were about $58 for two bags.

[GunShyKennedy]

Here's a link for anyone in Australia interested in purchasing the product.
Helpful folk.

http://www.thermalvelocity.com.au/default.asp?

[dynamagic]

Great review Gary & cheers Richo for the link ... save me some homework mate 

[camel]

How do you repack a 2 into 1 Thunder headers?