drain89

iTrader: (10)

Don't slam me for this...I know there are a lot of Ford Haters. I don't love the things but I have to say that stangs with flowmanster 40's or borla's (and a few other mfg's)and an off-road pipe sound great. They have a nice crisp sound but not raspy, not tooo loud. I've heard other GM's with true duals and they don't sound near as good in my opinion even with flowmaster's and a lumpy cam, so I know it is not just because they have duals and factory headers. Is it because of the h-pipe? The different firing order? Different head port shape? Is there a way to make a 350 sound like a 302 or 351?? IMO it sucks that our cars look so much better but don't sound as good. BTW has anyone had experience with the SLP loudmouth exhaust or is it a loud version of the typical 3rd-4th gen "truck sounding" cat-back. Thanks. Draino

kjgroen

I dont know what sbc your hearing? I have a 283 that makes my friends mustang sound like a girls car. I have heard alot of Mustangs. Some sound good, Most sound like poop. OR aleast 90% of them.... Kevin

drain89

iTrader: (10)

Again, I'm not talking about dilapidated POS rustang exhausts. And in contrast I'm talking about 305 & 350 stock to moderately sized cam sbc's with aftermarket (supposedly 25-30 hp..ha ha ha!) cat back exhausts. Although to me most big blocks sound very similar ford vs. gm vs. mopar HOWEVER the small block ford vs. small block chevy (even with both having dual exhaust) sound distinctly different. WHY IS THIS??? Come on any guru's out there please enlighten me. This is a serious question of mine. Thanks again. Draino

drain89

iTrader: (10)

P.S. I have had 3 3g's (2 305 & 1 L98) I had flowmaster crossflow w/no cat, flowmaster force 2, dynamax 3" In 2 2 1/2" Out system, both w/no cat, and cat w/no muffler. My buddy 89IrocN20 has a 2magnum glasspack followed by a quick-tube cut-out in his intermediate pipe and a flowmaster crossflow muffler for when it's capped (It sounds better than what you'd think although very restrictive). I've heard a ton of flowmaster american thunder kits around town, SLP's on SS's and I've heard almost every wav. dub of 3rd gen exhausts on this site in the last 3 years and none sound as good. They all sound the generally the same to me...some more metallic sounding...some cackly like a glasspack....all louder than stock. I ramble about this to drive the point that I've heard them all (except for the magnaflow & SLP's loudmouth system).

drain89

iTrader: (10)

P.S. I have had 3 3g's (2 305 & 1 L98) I had flowmaster crossflow w/no cat, flowmaster force 2, dynamax 3" In 2 2 1/2" Out system, both w/no cat, and cat w/no muffler. My buddy 89IrocN20 has a magnum glasspack followed by a quick-tube cut-out in his intermediate pipe and a flowmaster crossflow muffler for when it's capped (It sounds better than what you'd think although very restrictive). I've heard a ton of flowmaster american thunder kits around town, SLP's on SS's and I've heard almost every wav. dub of 3rd gen exhausts on this site in the last 3 years and none sound as good. They all sound the generally the same to me...some more metallic sounding...some cackly like a glasspack....all louder than stock. I ramble about this to drive the point that I've heard them all (except for the magnaflow & SLP's loudmouth system).

dudelovett

Mustangs have shorties out of the factory (or so Ive been told) this might help their sound (which is overated)

Tom Keliher

Whatever the reason, I have to agree. I have heard quite a few Mustangs that sound really good.

Monkie

Are you talking about the new ones? If so I think the NEW Z28 and TransAm sound better. I heard a TransAm a while ago in a parking lot while I was going to my car and it sounded so mean. I wish mine would sound like that!

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1992 Camaro RS 3.1L
T5 Manual 5 speed
Cold/RAM air intake
Z-28 Exhaust
8.5mm MSD Ignition wires
TB Coolant bypass

Soon to be a 3.8L turbo RS

AIM screen name - Stopsign696

Kills:

95 (****) Probe GT,94 Mustang GT,91 CRX (dont ask me why he raced me),2nd Gen Z28 (350) haha to you V8 guys!,1992 RS 305 TBI (good race),First Gen Integra, Old Escort LX
More to come

buddman91rs

i think the reson to them sounding "better" is the fact that from the factory the rustangs have true duals. the h-pipe has 6 cats us third genners have a y-pipe that goes into a single cat to a single in dual out muffler. The true duals is the difference, we have all 8 cylinders going through one pipe, so technically we have a single exhaust system and for all intents and purposes a single system is what all the other chevys have...thats why we sound just like the trucks. what the h-pipe does is split the exhaust into two so that when each cylinder fires one exhaust note comes out of one side of the exhaustas the resonance of that note goes back up the pipe the other pipe is letting loose it's note and the note from the left sidefollows the note of the right side and so on and so forth soooo looking at the exhaust tips from overhead and listening to it you hear 1 note on the left 2 on the right then you get the 2 exhaust notes from each pipe mixing together and voila! the reason why im getting true duals w/no cats hope you guys can understand it i almost got lost rereading it oh yeah and trust me on this i was an avid mudstain fan and know just about everything about them, lost intrest about two years ago when my dad told me i was getting the camaro listed below....needless to say i have a newfound love for camaros


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1991 RS LO3
mods: 14" chrome air cleaner, straight-piped after cat exhaust with one chrome dual tip on the left side.
future mods: headers, removing smog equipment, and as many cheap mods as i can find
aol s/n: budman8503

drain89

iTrader: (10)

This is good..keep the info rollin. I don't know much about Ford's but I've heard that their small blocks have a different firing order. Is this the main difference. My buddies 94 GT had factory shorties, gutted cats and resonators (home-made 2 1/4" off-road H-pipe), and a 2 1/2" Flowmaster American Thunder 2 Chamber Cat Back. It sounded real good. It would have sounded better with full-lenght headers. I know guys with Monte Carlo's and other G/A bodies, Nova's, old Camaros, etc. with full length headers, h-pipe, true duals and mild-to-moderately cammed small blocks that don't sound as good as the stereotypical flowmaster equipped stang. Borla's sound unbelievable on a stang...trust me I heard one. I don't think you could put the same stuff on a comparibly built sbc and it sound alike. There has to be a reason. I'm wondering if it's the firing order, are they different. Anyone?

MrJ

It's mostly the firing order... it's just an optimal one for the perfect exhaust tone. Same reason why LS1s sound like crap... their firing order is different from that of earlier SBCs. With the stang, alone with the firing order, the factory shorty headers and true duals all work together to make the '5.0 sound'.

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91 Trans Am WS6
Bright White
5.0 TPI auto
Flowmaster 3" 2 chamber catback
Trans Go shiftkit
2000 stall converter

Built on Wednesday

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

I haven't heard 1 that sounded better, or even good compared to a Third Gen with all the good stuff, 305 or 350, IMO.

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Looking For:

87 IROC-Z 350 TPI
84 TRANS AM 305 H.O.

kjgroen

Actually, the reason the sbc has the fireing order it has, is a great reason... This fireing order creates the least amount of harmonics and is most efficint on the internal rotating mass of the engine.. The fireing order on the SBC makes alot more sense if you know engines.... Just my $0.2

Christos

I agree, the only two exhaust exhaust setups that sound good on thirdgens, are borla, or glasspacks.

althought i must say i love the stock exhaust sound too.

Grim Reaper

MrJ is correct, the firing order of the Mustang is the major reason for the sound difference. Also they have a wide bore, short stroke which will tend to give a higher pitch than a 305.

All the other factors the MrJ sited also contribute to their sound. But a dual exhaust 350 will still sound more like an L98 than a Ford 302 (or Windsor 351)...primarily due to the firing order.

JPrevost

True about the bore and stroke, true about the firing order, and true about the h-pipe dual exhaust etc. Couldn't it also be that there exhaust is in general shorter? Their vehicles are shorter and our exhaust seems to take 90 bends more frequently and overall are longer. I know one thing is for sure, no mustang sounds like my friends f-body. He's got a 69 327 with full length headers and two flowmasters dump right under the seats. It's not as load as a lot of the cars at idle but when he gets on it the exhaust screams. I personally like the super low exhaust sound, that is why I'm a diesel fan. I like the way a single exhaust 3" full sounds. The lower (not louder) the better. I sometimes drive slow just to keep the exhaust note at 2200rpm with high load (uphill). Nothing sounds cooler.

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, Jon (91 RS too many mods to list), getting new engine in summer

MrJ

bzzzt. wrong answer.
What people think of as the 'Borla' sound is a borla catback running on a wide open plate. It's basically the same as an open pipe 'NoMaster' setup in it's tonal quality. But don't get me wrong, it sounds tough as hell. Glasspacks sound alright until the packing rots out, then they sound like complete, total, a$$... like an old diesel truck. There are plenty of nice sounding catbacks for Thirdgens... Hooker is the favorite on this site. Some Flowmasters sound real nice (like mine), while some do not.. seems to depend on whether or not you are running a cat converter. Dynomax sounds deep, but not a whole lot louder than stock. I've heard an ATR exhaust on two friends' cars (one with a 91 Z28 305 TPI, the other with a 89 TTA) and both cars, though they sounded much different, roared like thunder on the throttle. So to get back to my point, there are several nice sounding exhausts for thirdgens.



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91 Trans Am WS6
Bright White
5.0 TPI auto
Flowmaster 3" 2 chamber catback
Trans Go shiftkit
2000 stall converter

Built on Wednesday

Christos

Well, i have heard a straight pipe from a thirdgen, with no muffler, or cat, and it was nice and mellow. sounded like a louder version of the stock exhaust.

but a borla sounds so much sweeter than that, maybe it was half open, i don't know. sounds nice.

and gotta love glasspacks for that muscle car sound. i disagree with alot of people here on exhaust, i think people should hear our cars. i mean if you want a quiet exuast, keep it stock, it sounds good.

I don't care much for the tinny sound i hear from alot of muscle cars i see on the road (mostly mustangs) with an aftermarket exhaust system

5.0GTA

I have a Flowmaster 40 series and a hi-flow cat on my 88 GTA 5.0 and it sounds sweet as hell when you get on the throttle. I'll have to admit though, my dad is getting me a '01 Mustang GT for graduation, but dont beat me up...i'm still keeping the GTA and using it as my race car I just LOVE the 'Stang sound with true duals and flowmasters. Does anybody here run Edelbrock TES headers with their 305? I wanna know if they sound good enough to put on mine. Besides, our TRUE enemies lie overseas....I'm getting tired of this Ford-Chevy rivalry.

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1988 Pontiac GTA 5.0 TPI
-K&N Filter
-Hypertech Air Foil
-Hypertech Perf. Chip
-2.5in Flowmaster Muffler

Kills
94 Probe GT, 95 Mustang GT, 86 Trans Am 305 TPI, 96 Impala SS, 85 Thunderbird 5.0, 95 Thunderbird 4.6, 95 Accord V6, 80 Mustang Cobra, 98 Integra VTEC

[This message has been edited by 5.0GTA (edited January 25, 2001).]