Mufflers are an important accessory for cars because not only do they make noisier cars more appropriate in suburban settings, but they also improve the performance and longevity of your car. If you are new to cars or looking to get back into customizing them, then the first addition most people make is a new muffler. That is because they are relatively easy to install but still have a large impact on the car's control and usage.

Here are three types of mufflers you should be familiar with and that are great for beginners and experts alike. 

Straight-Through Mufflers

Straight through mufflers have the simplest construction of most mufflers and, as the name suggests, you can see straight through it when looking from the inlet. It is often a simple tube that has many holes in it. These holes lead to another, outer chamber that is packed full of noise-reducing material like fiberglass. These types of mufflers sound great and give a lot of power gain to the engine, which is why they are so popular. Sometimes the simplest design really is the best, and that is often the case with straight-through mufflers.

Twin Loop Mufflers

Here's another muffler design whose name pretty much describes it perfectly. Twin loop mufflers have a very similar construction to straight-through mufflers with one crucial difference: the exhaust is not allowed to exit after one go through but, rather, must go through the whole muffler twice before it can escape. This reduces the sound even more but doesn't give as much high-end performance. That makes it perfect for inner-city driving where you can't get up to the high speeds anyway and where being quiet is a larger priority. Twin loop mufflers are a bit bulkier than straight-through mufflers, but they last just as long.

Reverse Flow Mufflers

A reverse flow muffler is very different to the preceding two designs but has its own benefits over them. In a reverse flow muffler, the exhaust is pumped down a path that looks like a very square S. There are four corners that the exhaust has to go through and these sharp turns mean that by the time the exhaust gets to the end of its path a lot of it has dissipated. It also means that there are far less popping sounds when driving as compared to the first two designs. However, there is virtually no sound dampening materials used in reverse flow mufflers which means that cheaper versions can be quite noisy. If you spend a bit more, then the sound dampening will be on par or even better than many straight-through mufflers, so that is something to bear in mind.