1999 pontiac grand am gt exhaust question!?

[Joseph]

i want a cooler sound on my car.. i've seen all the vids on youtube with grand am's and exhaust but my question is... what actually makes the cool noise? the muffler or the cataletic converter? and what is a resonator? and why does it have to be taken off?? i want a new exhasut system but if i dont need to whole system thats cool too.. help me out!. and can the old cataletic converter on my car get clogged? what would be the reason for a little blue puff of smoke when i start my car. the exhasut smells bad too.. kinda like an old car smell. but the thing is my engine is new with ABOUT 10K ON IT. ???? HELP!

 

[jacob f]

the puff of blue smoke( if its not black, that's different) is likely oil seeping in the valve seals, i wouldn't worry about it.

the cat converter is for emissions, while it does effect sound a bit, its necessary so dint touch it.

the resonator basically uses the sound waves to cancel each other out, they work best at certain engine speeds, it helps to kill engine drone on the highway

a muffler more or less makes an empty space, and smooths out and absorbs the sounds.... basically they do the same thing in a different way...

why not try taking the muffler off and see what difference it makes, maybe just an aftermarket muffler will give you the sound you want, or perhaps a full cat-back