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I'm a new comer to the MX5 and have a 2001 car with a very quiet exhaust. I'd love to be able to hear the note a little better. Can anyone recommend a sports muffler (not too loud). Somewhere near Hobart, but I don't mind paying postage for the right one. Thanks

This might seem like the opposite to what you've asked, but try putting a pod filter on the car and see if it makes the engine louder-enough, before shelling out for a new muffler.

As above, that was my first avenue to tide me over for the first year until I get a catback exhaust made. Makes a notable difference, and is cheap and easily reversible.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll look into it. In not back home for a couple of weeks and still have an ignition barrel failure to solve (now hopefully have a secondhand part to fix her with).
I'll let you know how things go.

Agreed, pod filter made a bigger noise difference on my car than replacing the rear muffler with a mazdaspeed unit. Maybe from outside the car it's different, but in cabin the pod made the bigger difference

An intake is a nice option if you want to be very quiet when needed, I have a coldside intake on mine and you can only hear it when there;s some load, free revving it's pretty quiet.


As far as exhaust goes, on the NB there are two mufflers, the large one at the rear bumper, and a smaller one before the diff.
While I've not heard one in person, apparently having the small muffler removed will make it a little louder without going too crazy.

Apparently the muffler from the MX5 SE (the turbo one) is also a cheap way to get a little more sound from a non-turbo car.



I used to have an RSR Exmag muffler on mine, and while it sounded nice it was very loud (idle at 100db per my meter, legal is 90db at 4800rpm or something). the day after I sold it I drove the car with no muffler and it didn't really sound much different volume wise.
Basically, stay away from the cannon style mufflers if you can, they offer minimal sound reduction.