chefdan1

well,

the time had come for me to buy a new muffler. i originally had the flowmaster 40 series i believe. well i went to the exhaust shop and told the guy i was really just strictly looking for performance. he told me to stay away from the flowmaster and showed me a chart of their flow rates. he told me to try a magnaflow. well i said sure why not. the performance/sound/idle are just so much better. at idle it is deep and sounds really mean. kinda quite when you are cruisin but the minute you step into it it screeeeaaammmsss!!!!i love it would recomend it to anyone

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I would love to see before and after quantified performance data, such as time slips or dyno printouts.

gtabadboy

I would disagree that magnaflow is better thana flowmaster but hey, what do I know I went with the race Spintech for my 4" mufflex system. Too bad my car didnt start after the install and I couldnt hear it.

Mark A Shields

I have them laying around here somewhere

BORLAZ06

lol...a mechanic told me the same after he put flows on his LS1. he said the stock ones were even higher flowing. lol. that was from his experiance though. well then i sorta believe it cuz i had flows b4 and they were restricting the **** out of my car. so i wouldnt doubt it. damn blomaster

f0rmula350

yeh when i first got my car it had a flowmaster catback, it sounded mean, but when i got my hooker headers + catback on, it sounded better and it was such an improvement in performance.

flowmaster = devil.

raptere

I'd believe that the performance is way better it has an actual stright through design muffler i've also been looking at the catbackI have a post with more info just do s search for

RAPTERE

it is the most recent thing i have posted other than this and i would like peoples inputs on the this topic also if you had any sound or video clips or even pictures chefdan1 that would be great in helping me make my deciseion!

Thanks
Raptere

LedZep

iTrader: (22)

I newly purchased my 89 Formula and it def has aftermarket exhaust but how can I check it with out removing the muffler?

f0rmula350

umm not sure, i know most companies have there name on the muffler.

IROCThe5.7L

Arent magnaflows straight throughs? Some muffler guy tried to sell one to my friend over flowmaster and they were straight through. Why not just run straight pipes then?

LedZep

iTrader: (22)

Yes I know the name of the muffler is on top which is not able to be seen with out removing muffler. Does anyone know anyway for me to check the name with out removing the muffler?

gtabadboy

Hmm your only option is to try to find some numbers on the bottom of the muffler. The name is almost always on teh top. Sometimes you can tell by the design, inlet/outlets and comparing pics but you never really know. Is there a reason why you want to know what kind it is or just curious?

LedZep

iTrader: (22)

Im just curious, see I was told it had stock speakers then I pull the covers off and it has a complete Polk Audio system so im curious as to what is on it.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Okay, that was a little too terse. My apologies.

One should be very cautious about accepting the advice of the "service advisor". If they pull out "test data" from the manufacturer they're pushing, but not the competitor's data that they're dissing, you can figure there's a commission involved. Do your own research before buying into their claims.

It is also possible that the difference between two products on a test stand would make absolutely no difference on your car. If you need 8" wide slicks for traction, for instance, what difference does it make that 10" slicks grip better? If Muffler A has adequate flow to let your engine breathe, what difference does it make if Muffler B flows more?

Hope that is a more reasoned and socially-acceptable response than my first. I'm all for eliminating back-pressure in an exhaust, but I'm just as passionate about eliminating shaky advertising claims.

raptere

answer to question about traight through muffler. Yes the magnaflows are straight through but they still muffel the sound similar to glass packs i think there is the main tube with holes around the outside of it and the high piched sound is absorbed by a staneless steel wool while the low piched sound are let through. Flow very well and are still relativly quiet.

Check out my post i have pictures about how they work:
https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=176728

Raptere

Project_1986_TA

Yes, Magnaflows are a straight through design. I have them on my T/A and the sound awsome and give good performance. Now only if i could get some headers!

chefdan1

i understand your point but the flowmaster was more. when i went in their i did my research before hand. i talked to everyone who use to own a flow and now own a magnaflow. their were lots of them. when i went to the shop i wanted to hear what the guy had to say. if he would have said flowmaster flows better i knew it would be b.s. so when he said this is cheaper and has the best flow rate i knew he was not lying.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Thanks for the additional information. A much stronger story.

Ricktpi

Food for thought, his profit margain may has been greater on the Magnaflows. That's more important to a business than the selling price. If you think I am on the Flowmaster bandwagon, I'm not. I prefer Spintech or Dynomax myself, for flow rates & sound.

89IRO

Spintech all the way! I will never touch a flowcrapper. They don't flow and they are just cheap POS. My second choice would probably be magnaflow. Plus, to me, flowmasters sound like crap, not clean and crisp sound at all like a spintech or magnaflow.

AJ_92RS

Dynomax :rockon:

Magnaflow is nothing more than an expensive Dynomax, because it's SHINY!!!!! Same internal design.

89IRO

Yeah, pretty much. It seems like muffler shops around here stock Magnaflow better. I guess people are willing to pay more for the name so that's why they stock magnaflow. -89IRO

gibbs_000

Hey chefdan1 i was looking into magnaflows for my T/A which muffler did u use and are u running duals or just one muffler???

bad_ta_05

you could try a vortex cherry bomb muffler. i think they flow the best, its like a strait through design but it sounds awsome. i dont mean a cherry bomb glasspack, its a vortex cherry bomb muffler and they make one for our cars. i have one and it sounds really good. its nice and quiet at idle, louder than stock and alot deeper, then when you get on it you can deffinately hear it. mine is really loud outside the car and quiet inside but you can still hear it. also gains alot of performance because its such a strait through design. i tried to find the site that i found it on but i cant find it. you might be able to if you want to see a cut up of it, it shows the inside and flowcharts and all that stuff. they are cheap too! there are a few people on this site that have one and they like it too.

330hp_91RS

TRY a Dynomax Ultra Flo system.

You will never go back to Magnaflow.

Check out the specs on the net. I have a stainless Ultra Flo muffler and it is the best sounding one I've had. I have had: Super turbo ( dynomax), Flowmaster 80, Flowmaster 40, some real old hooker on my 83' I sold.

LedZep

iTrader: (22)

Im looking for something to produce a very deep rumble, not very loud just a deep low rumble like a subwoofer sort of. I have flowmasters and they produce a hollow sound that I dont care much for. Does anyone know a muffler or exh. system that would produce the sound I am looking for? Sort of like the exhuast on my 1976 400b Formula, any opinions or attached sound files would be helpful.

89IRO

Spintech 343SC---Crossflow design like 80 series Flow. 3" in, 2.5" dual out. At idle, it isn't loud, but the deep rumble is noticable. Interior noise is always quiet. But when you get on it, it absolutely screams! I scare people all the time at school. BTW, I've got a 3" Carsound cat. converter (since I live in CA) and stock manifolds-- can't wait till I get my 2055s. -89IRO

gtabadboy

Got my mufflex 4" in with the spintech 2 days ago. This thing is so f****** loud that I can hardly hear when I stomp it. AT idle it is nice. I drove by about 4 stangs and stomped it... I can imagine how loud it was for those little 5.0 flowmaster sleds.

89IRO

Glad to hear you're happy with it.

spdracerIROC

For someone who has had the following cars:

1978 TA 400BB, Hedman Headers, Custom dual 3" exhaust Flowmaster Mufflers
1974 Pymouth Duster 360, Hooker Headers, Dual 3" Exhaust (custom)
1985 Firebird 2.8 (Modded to 3.4L), Custom Headers, 2.5" Exhaust, Flowmaster Muffler
1987 Formula 350 Hedman Headers, 3" Flowmaster exhaust.


I really don't think Flowmaster exhaust sounds bad. I certainly have never had $20,000.00 sitting in the bank to spend all on a project car,
so while I'm sure there is better aftermarket exhaust, I go with what I happen to like. :-)

On that note I *LOVE* How my IROC sounds.....
Just enough rumble at idle to actually be able to use the drive through at Mc'D's and at WOT can be heard a mile away. :-)

I just need to find a *GOOD* 3" exhaust compatible catalytic converter for my IROC.

PhilM

well this is obviously a very opinionated thread. personally, i don't think there is that drastic of a difference in flow between any aftermarket muffler. since not many people are spaking in favor of them, I will say that a Flowmaster muffler with the right engine in front of it is one of the sweetest sounds on earth.

now you can all disagree if you like...just my thoughts.

89IRO

I don't know what everbody else thinks, but I don't disagree, it's your opinion. -89IRO

rx7speed

with a straight pipe you get no muffling of the sound
least with a straight through muffler sound is muffled a little bit and the noise is change quite a bit also

jfreeman74

What's up? Am I the only one on this board that has the Random Technology catback? You guys just don't know what your missing.

89IRO

What's up? Am I the only one on this board that has the Random Technology catback? You guys just don't know what your missing.

That's what I try and tell them about the Spintech. But remember, it's an opinion thing, and some people like the different noises that different mufflers have.`

jfreeman74

That's true but I can't understand people wanting to go with anything that will make them lose HP. That is what the Flowmaster did for me. I had it on my car for 2 dyno runs and decided the good sound wasn't worth losing 7 RWHP. And that is on a 305.

25THRSS

I guess some people feel the sound outweighs 7 hp. I myself will soon have the best of both worlds, a flowmaster catback with a cutout. When I'm just cruising I have the flowmaster sound, which IMHO kicks ***, and when I need the extra few ponies I just open the cutout. Very simple, and a cutout will beat anything as far as flow goes.

BORLAZ06

flows is just an echobox thats all..lol

Matt87GTA

I like Flowmasters. I like the way they sound on lots of applications - including mine. I also like how lots of other mufflers sound.....

I also seriously doubt many people here need to worry about flow numbers when comparing aftermarket performance mufflers. If you do, that comment does not apply (just to clarify). But sleep soundly knowing you are one of the very few.

89IRO

Well, I wouldn't go around saying those numbers unless you have proof to show us (even though I hat Flow. too.) I myself, am a Spintech man, and always will be. Oh, and a cut-out is just pointless. Around here, (so. cal.) the cops are morons, and I also don't like the idea of having some back-pressure, and then at the flick of a swith, have just about zero back pressure, and then flick the switch again to close it, you're back to your old back pressure-can't be good for anything. If you're a red-neck that lives in the woods of Mississippi, and want to impress the squirels, then you can just run a cut-out all the time. :lala: -89IRO

jfreeman74

I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. I do these test for myself. Believe it if you want to and don't if don't want to. I'm just stating what I found during my dyno tests. The cutouts are good for the track and at the dyno. I wouldn't run around town with it open. That's just asking for trouble. You could get the electric cutouts.

89IRO

O.K., I know what you're saying man. It's just that I'm warning you that you're gonna get all these flowcrapper fans on here wanting proof. If it is for yourself, then don't post it! And still, though I may be wrong, I doesn't seem to me that it would be good for an engine to be changing back pressure that quickly and often. A set of Hooker 2055s, high-flow Carsound cat., and spintech muffler, will sound mean enough for me! Later guys. -89IRO

MetKiss316

400 big block? You don't say. I'd like to see a 400 big block Pontiac before I die. I'm sure everybody would, including Pontiac, themselves...

Yeah, Flowmaster sucks.

SLP IROC-Z

iTrader: (1)

flowmasters, yucky. hooker, corsa, dynomax, slp are nice systems. flowmaster has a chambered design that causes restrictions and turbulance

HamSpiced

price compareson from flowmaster to megawhatever?

82sportcoupe

I have this muffler, its great. I dont understand why alot of people dont give it a chance. its not as loud as a flowmaster, which is fine w/ me cuz i like to hear, and it flows really well. Im glad you brought the vortex muffler up.

katman

I bought a 79 Z28 that had headers and 2 flowmasters and it rattled the car and I kept thinking something was wrong with the engine, both sound and vibrations. I had both cut out and a new pair of the aluminized magnaflows put in and I was able to chirp the tires going into 2nd gear. I just couldn't believe the difference between the two brads of mufflers. The magnaflows have a nice smooth low rpm sound that sets off all those stuid burgler alarms. At hyway speed in the car it quiets down a little for those late night cruzes home. When you put your foot in it it sounds just like it is WIDE OPEN!!! No more rattleing or vibrations !!!!!
Two days after I spent $300.00 for my exhust my car was stolen. Three weeks later a new 79 Z28 with a single flowmaster after headers, same nastyness. $300.00 later sweet sounding car.
My 89 TA is going to get Hooker LT & Magnaflows.

KAT

pat12spe

Ok, I'm just curious about one thing. I ran to my local junkyard today and they just got in an 87 t/a with flowmasters on it. He said for $150 he'd put it on mine for me (the owner is a good friend of mine - so that's why it's cheaper). I am running stock right now and I'm looking for a decent exhaust. Is it worth it for the price to upgrade to flowmasters from a stock exhaust? I'm running a 305 TBI, headers, hollowed out cat, soon to be open element with ram air hood.

82sportcoupe

im not sure about the price, seems steep to me, but im not sure. As you can see in this thread, many people will tell you different things. However, i think flowmasters would be worthwhile, IF you like the sound.

I dont know if you guys read last months Super Chevy Mag (I think that was what it was in). This guy has some sort of Twin turbo something w/ over 1,000hp. He had flowmasters, Im sure he wouldve paid the extra money for better mufflers if it was that big of a deal. For a street driven vehicle (NOT RACE) it is going to come down to how you'd like the car sound, I dont think your going to even notice the 2hp difference there might be.

Mark A Shields

You guys are funny. You can say all day long how one aftermarket muffler flows better than another. But, once you get spanked by some car running 12s, or heck for that matter most cars on here would get spanked by a 13 second car , I'm sure you don't go look at what muffler he's running, lol. Point being, out of all the aftermarket mufflers, the difference is so tiny it's not worth the arguing, go for what sound you like best.

In conclusion, pick a Hooker and you'll run 13s gauranteed