devianb

I used to really love the sound of my Dynomax muffler, but now, I find the exhaust tone kind of annoying below 2500 rpm. I am not digging the sound anymore. I think I will get some resonated exhaust tips to reduce the loudness and possible change the tone.


Do you guys like the sound of your aftermarket or custom exhaust in all rpm ranges?

Nixon1

I think the Dynomax sounded best at 800-1200 rpms. It's a fast-idle muffler.. The catback and high-flow cat sounded like a 305 on a fast idle...a de-tuned 305, but a 305 nonetheless! But the Dynomax does sound a little burbly further up in the rpm range.

I've heard a Flowmaster muffler on a 2.8....can't say if it was the catback, I think it was just the muffler....but it sounded like crap. Sorry..don't want to offend those of you with the Flows...but.....I think it sounded stupid at lower rpms, like wanna-be-Nascar Beretta...and at upper rpms it sounded like r!ce.

Anything else, I haven't heard! I'd LOVE to hear a Borla system on these...or a Magnaflow muffler just out of curiosity.

Someone on these boards has a Hooker Aerochamber muffler too, it sounds pretty damn nice! But I believe they had to have the catback custom made because Hooker doesnt make one for us.

SAEspinz80

Yea, I had the Hooker Aerochamber installed on my Firebird. Had it for 2.5 years and loved it everyday. I do have audio clips of it.

I ordered the muffler through Summit for $80.00ish. But Nixon1 is correct, they do not make a "cat-back" version. You will get the muffler, then have to have a shop install it. My local Mineke shop did it for me with a full mandral bend setup.

The thing about the Hooker muffler is that it is very mellow, and throaty! But not extremely loud. It's just a real nice sound. If'd you like to hear it let me know. I was always happy with it throughout the RPM range once the cat warmed up.

devianb

When the windows are up, I think it sounds great, but when the windows are down, it sounds different and not as likable.

The sound of accelerating from a dead stop to 2nd gear doesn't sound that great to me. I do love the sound when cruising and decelerating.

By the way, you guys ever notice that the exhaust doen't flow out evenly from the tailpipes. More of the exhaust seems to exit from the passenger side exit.

Ovrclck350

I have a loud exhaust

V6camaroman

i have a pretty loud exhaust and most of it is still stock. i have stock exhaust manifolds, stock 2 1/4" y pipe a 2 1/4" pipe in place of the cat a 2 1/4" int pipe flowing into a daytona turbo muffler with 2- 2" tail pipes on the left side. it doesnt sound to bad. its got a nice throaty tone at idle its just Loud from idle all the way up to 5500rpm (red line). if u let off the gas at anything higher than 3000rpm it crackles and pops which i like. overall its a nice sounding exhaust. i cant say that it flows the best though. none of the exhaust is mandrel bent. im actually pretty sure that the exhaust holds my car back a little bit. i want to get a dynomax super turbo catback for it some day.

dsaint1347

I like the low rumble it gives when it's all warmed up but when it's not it sounds way too loud. People keep asking me if I have a V8 and when they find out that I don't they give me that funny look like the one I give tthose guys driving civics with the big fart sounding coffee can muffler.

icebird_1981

i have a flow master and it sounds amazing every one says my car sounds mean as hell, i will have the vid up soon u guys can tell me what u think. but i like it. also mine is carbed and i think that helps out. i cant wate to hear the diffrence after the swap.

dsaint1347

Does that help at all, where and how much can I get them from?
I do see more exhuast coming out from the passenger side.

devianb

I was thinking of getting the Hooker ones in the Summit and Jegs Catalog, not sure if I want the single 3.5 slash cut or the 3" twin slash ones.

Ovrclck350

Thought I was gonna be all smooth and flash the Borla in the sig.....till I realized it wasn't in there.

Anyways, added it.

88CamaroKid

This is just the thread that I needed....... I'm stuck tryin to decide what exhaust to get!! You guyz should hear SAEspinz80 exhaust that he had on his Firebird... he sent me a MP3 of it and it sounds AweSome!! Now I'm thinkin of gettin the Hooker Aerochamber and a Catco free flow cat. and havin a shop install it with mandrel bent pipe! One question SAEspinz80..... which Hooker muffler did you use? Got a part number? Let me know..... I really want my Camaro to sound like that!!

Nixon1

Yeah I'm inclined to agree...has a damn nice sound.

icebird_1981

hey can u send me a copy of that mp3 please?

SAEspinz80

Hey thanks!! Glad you liked it. FYI, that was with a STOCK cat. I never got around to getting a hi-flo cat.

As for which muffler to buy....here goes the explaination. If you go to holley's website, www.holley.com, get into their exhaust section of their website. Make your way to hooker>>mufflers>>aero chamber. You will see a bunch of charts for different applications. Scroll all the way down and you will see a bunch of images of specific fit muffers. Here is where you will find what you are looking for.

They make two mufflers specificlly for f-bodies. HOWEVER, the 82-92 muffler has a 2.25" inlet and (2) 2.5" outlets. That would mean you would maintain a 2.25" I-pipe. Just a warning.

Soooo, I orderd the 93-99 muffler. This muffler has that same dimensions as the 82-92 muffler, but had a 2.5" inlet!!! Exactly what I waslooking for, and came with (2) 2.25" outlets. No biggie.

Soooo, I bought the 93-99 muffler from Summitt, along with a set of 2.5" Hooker Stainless Steel Elite tips and had a muffler shop install it all. NOTE: I bought 2.5" tips even though the outlets were 2.25"....not sure how this works, or what they did. But just because the outlets are 2.25" doesn't mean you need to have 2.25" tips.....heheh pea-shooters!!

The new part numbers are as follows, looks like they may have changed slightly:

82-92 Aero Chamber: 21720HKR
93-99 Aero Chamber: 21721HKR (***THE ONE I HAVE***)

SAEspinz80

Just pic of my ride with the tips, its since has been traded in.

icebird_1981

please tell me where u got those black outs for your bird??

2_point8_boy

i have a 100% stock exhaust setup on my car. Sounds great. The old one pipe in, 2 pipe out on the driver side works for me. Even sets off car alarms going thru a parking lot :-)

Nixon1

You running without a cat or muffler??

2_point8_boy

nope, just fricken' loud for some reason. Everything is there, has to be for smog stuff, but it's loud as hell. I like it. Can't figure out why, but not about to complain.

mike1986fyrbird

Ha... it must be rusted out

2_point8_boy

nope everything from the manifolds back is brand spankin' new. Had it replaced about 6 months ago. Had to get a new CAT and muffler, but didn't have any money, so my dad paid for it and wouldn't pay for performance stuff. I know it's no rusted out, but what the hell, not gonna complain.

Nixon1

Maybe ya got some loose clamps or a bad connection somewhere....

rezinn

Or you've got that SLP 2 on the left exhaust. It was an option I think.

2_point8_boy

i don't know what's up with it, but it doesn't have any leaks anywhere in the system and I $h!t you not, it sets off alarms in the parking lot. It's got the single pipe into the muffler and dual pipes leading and exiting out the driver side. I know it was an option on the car because when I got it replaced the guy asked me if I wanted a performance muffler, and since my dad was paying for it i said I'll just take the stock one for now. He said that the stock one only had one pipe(this was when I was getting the estimate), but i told him that it had 2 pipes coming out on the left side of the car. He looked a little more in his book and found it, said it was a factory upgrade. Cool with me, not gonna complain. All I know is that all the exhaust comes out the end of the pipe and it's loud. I like it. Good Times.

Ovrclck350

Setting off alarms is fun.

91FIREBIRDGT

I dunno if i would go bigger than 2 3/4" exhaust on our V6's. Heard it would lose torque if you went with bigger exhaust. I got the 80 series flowmaster with stock piping right now...I'm gonna change out my old piping for 2 3/4" soon

SAEspinz80

I got them from GTS. Their website is www.GTStyling.com. The part number is in my sig.

DaGoat

How does yours sound now, and do you have the cat on or not? Got any sound clips?

Kj Rockz

Sometimes I like the way mine sounds, othertimes it bothers me...



Mine is fu(king loud...

devianb

In terms of loudness, my car was a little loud when I had the stock exhaust because I had a hole in the muffler. Its wierd how my stock cat back and catalytic converter fell to pieces, but my y-pipe still looks decent with no rust, just aged and stained from a previous distributor leak.


I only find my current exhaust (Dynomax + hi flow cat) annoying when I am using overdrive with the windows down.

Nixon1

91GT....2 1/2 in. seems to be the ideal size....but 2 3/4 in. is hard to find so it might work for ya. But yeah, 3 in. or larger is too much....what happens is the engine is operating more efficiently, and a more efficient engine makes higher rpm power..so it shifts the entire powerband upward in the rpms. So technically you arent losing power, but you're making it at unreasonable rpms.

Nixon1

KJ...I notice from your graphic that you've got a Flowmaster muffler and CHC headers...what series is the muffler? I assume you're running without a cat....did you go with 2 1/2 in. piping? Stock y pipe? I'm just curious.

91FIREBIRDGT

My car gets confused as to being a V8 not only by looks but by the sound. My exhaust has a nice rumble sound. I was thinking about going with MagnaFlow's exhaust for our cars instead of the flowmaster to get an all around nice sound. the Flowmaster right now sounds nice at idle but a little bit awkward at high rpms. sorry don't have any sound clips yet.

90RS3.1

I've been running a flowmaster for a while now and i like the sound. At low RPM's I've had people ask me if its a V8. Its got a very very nice thoraty low RPM sound. NOw at highger RPM when im racing it can almost osund *****, but just that low rpm sound was good enough for me.

redraif

Well I still say my car must be the exception then...I have a flowmaster & the car sounds awesome, though it always had a heafty sound for a 2.8...I think it was because I have the 2.5inch in and out high flow cat. That and the routing of the tips. No one has been able to figure that out yet...The routing it the only thing I can think of.

People swear its an 8 and its loud. And LT1GUy has been behind me many times in his carbed 1987 350 V-8 (stock exhaust for now) and said my car is so loud he can't hear his, even with an exhaust manifold leak. And it does not sound ***** at all, even at upper RPMs. It might sound strained, but never bee like!

Now with the new cam its got one serious lope. Now if I could get it on an MP3...now if I could figure out the how to...
I will get some video footage of it on the dyno soon. Then I will know how it really sounds. I can also get some sound readings inside and outside the car.

Sound does not bother me since the car is so sound proofed.

Akshay

I have a 2chamber flowmaster (40 series). It sounds really nice at idle and cruising speeds, but the tone gets higher above 4000rpm. The pipes were custom made (2.75inch mandrel bent). I get a lot of "thumbs up" when the I start the car and cruise...even from police. My car is otherwise stock.

I'd suggest a 3 chamber flowmaster (80 series). I've heard they sound great and don't get r!icey at higher rpm's.

Akshay

88CamaroKid

Sounds like some of you have some awesome sounding 2.8/3.1s!! I still don't know what I should go for.... that AeroChamber just sounds so badass! But then again there's Dynomax and Flowmaster to choose from. I think I want to go 2.5" all the way back, probably a high flow 2.5" in/out cat. and mandrel bent piping all the way back. What should I go for guyz?!?!?!?!?!? Help me!!!! Plz!!

HaHa, I fired up the Camaro today, it sounds pretty good with the exhaust coming straight out of the Y-Pipe too! HaHa!!

Nixon1

Wish I could hear a Flowmaster CATBACK..I've just heard the mufflers on 2.8's, never the catback. I enjoyed my Dynomax although I do admit it got very boring after a little while..it's a very typical sound...BUT at a high cold engine idle, let's say ~ 1000-1200 rpms....oh WOW...it sounded beyond good. Very very loud for a car with a cat converter..and it sounded deep & menacing enough to be a 305. I kid not. Stayed deep until 3000 rpms or so, then it gradually got higher and higher pitched. Upper rpms, I couldn't tell the difference between the Dynomax and the stock system..sounded the same. (Which is like CRAP)

devianb

The sound is only annoying to me because my car is not fast. I am just going to leave my exhaust alone for now. Its time I get down to some real engine mods like cam and rockers, then I think I will enjoy the exhaust note even more.


That 1-1500 rpm zone is the annyoing zone to me. I love the higher pitched note in the 4-5500 rpm range.


Go figure, I start looking at resonated exhaust tips and then when I take my car out for a spin, the exhaust doesn't sound loud anymore.

Sometimes I think my car has a mind of its own.

white89v6

got to get new y pipe so im going to the shop with open manifolds. no power what so ever. sounds
like a big moter cycle

2_point8_boy

i have a clip of my stock setup, but don't know how to let others hear it unless you want me to e-mail it to you. If you would like to hear it, pm me. crappy quality because I had to use a set of headphones as the microphone...but sounds desent none the less

SAEspinz80

I think it boils down to two things. Sound (obviously) & money.

Dynomax - Great for the money, entire cat-back in a box. Apparently the sound is debatable. I have never heard one.

Flowmaster - Don't know if there is a catback available for us. The sound falls apart after 3000 rpms. I've heard it. The best word I can use to describe this muffler is raspy.

Hooker - I wanted to do something different and took a chance. Throaty sound that I never got tired of. A little more money, no catback for our application.

Borla - Too expensive for a six.

devianb

I am not going to do anything with my exhaust tips until after an engine rebuild. I get the feeling that my car is going to be much faster than before.

dsaint1347

I agree, it sucks that I have this mean V8 sound and I can't keep up with even a mini van.

Funny, now thats it's warmer outside the muffler is a little quieter.

Kj Rockz

I have Flows 80, and straight pipe to the back. No Cat.

She is pretty loud. IT can be quite bothersome some times.
But like one other person said, if I could keep up with all the minivans, then I probably wouldn't care as much.


I have a Monte SS too, it is also loud, but I find that it bothers me alot less.....

theratdude64

My all time favorite (and only 15 bucks) are Cherry Bomb Glass packs. They even make my 4 popper sound pretty cool. VERY nice on the V6, and SWEET on v8s

lol

Nixon1

I have a friend with a Pinto that ran a glasspack....had a very distinctive sound! Kinda funny!

Another friend has an 84 T/A with the WS6 package and L69 motor....his exhaust is headers, custom-bent sidepipes, and a pair of glasspacks. His car FARTS its way around town.

88CamaroKid

Ya, I guess I need to decide what I want to go for. How much do you think it would be if I took in the Hooker Muffler and a Catco Cat. and had a shop mandrel bend me all the rest of the piping?? I'd also have to have them make me a custom y-pipe. I found the Hooker AeroChamber Muffler on thunderracing.com on there its -
#66-21502 2.5" in/out offset muffler $75.99
Will that work for me? Also for the cat. do i want 14in or 12in?? I found these 2 on summit -

#CTO-6006 14in long, 2.5" in/oulet $55.39
#CTO-6806 12in long, 2.5" in/outlet $60.99

So could I go with that AeroChamber muffler and the Catco cat. and get the sound that you have? I'm gonna go to a shop today and ask them how much it'll be to have them install those with mandrel bent piping and a custom y-pipe.

Help guyz!!

Thanx!!

Nixon1

I can guarantee the shop work won't be cheap...ESPECIALLY the y pipe..that gets very pricey very quick, considering they not only have to bend it to fit in the car and to meet with both exhaust manifolds, but they have to drill and thread an oxygen sensor provision in...