Camaro82Z28

I'm going to be putting a cat back on my car and can't decide between the Flowmaster American Thunder cat back or the Hooker Aerochamber.

I want something that has a noticable difference over the stock sound and performance. I know that flowmasters don't flow as good but thats not a huge concern. I'm after the sound.

The car has a carbed 305 with stock manifolds and no cat. Which cat back should i go with?

Ron U.S.M.C.

Here's a Flowmaster sound clip = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld3GsWl6znA&NR=1 By the way I have a 3in American Thunder Flowmaster ( 80 series muffler ) Cat back with a high flow "Magnaflow Cat" and it sounds allot like the car on the sound clip. (I think mine sounds better when your actually standing next to it). Some will always be haters of the Flowmaster sound,etc. Thats just the way it is. Personally I like the way my Camaro sounds. What ever you decide I would go with a Magnaflow cat .
Here is a sound clip of the Hooker Areochamber = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgsinw-Qs5w&NR=1. I have to admit it dose sound OK.

1st91firebird

im thinking about putting a 3 in. flowmater exaust system on my 91 firebird buts its a v6 will it make a noticeable difference or should i go with a different brand

Ron U.S.M.C.

Here's a sound clip of a before ( stock ) and after install on V6 Camaro with a Flowmaster 80 series muffler = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImzCAcPRSHE I don't think it is a 3 in. cat back . I think its just the muffler.

GTA Sammy

iTrader: (1)

I like the crackle of that Hooker exhaust....... but it would be nice to hear it at idle and WOT.

I have a Flowmaster 3" catback system hooked up to a custom Y-pipe with Hedman longtubes.
Here's mine on the dyno
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nATv0SRE5eU

and idling on my driveway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZl4g...eature=channel

I think that it also depends what combo you have ie Intake,Heads,Cam....
I say that because things sounded different from my 1st dyno run to the third.
I may end up changing to a Aerochamber muffler next year (just for something different)....... I wanna hear what the FlowMasters sound like once I'm done with my NEW Custom Y-pipe in a week or 2, besides I think the FM's are just fine

Camaro82Z28

Yeah i have the stock heads and intake and a slightly larger cam. I was thinking about getting this y pipe http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/ca...enty-pipe.aspx too. Will it change the sound at all?

camaronewbie

I have the Aerochamber muffler - it was cheap, sounds good but doesn't rattle the windows, supposed to flow really well, and DOES NOT sound like a Mustang (not that I don't like the mustang sound, I just didn't want my Camaro to sound like one).

Camaro82Z28

Does it still have a pretty aggressive sound even when you aren't on the throttle too much?

Air_Adam

Hooker sounds pretty aggressive all the time, but its not overly loud untill you really get hard on the throttle. I had one on my 3rdgen and loved it. That system might find its way onto my 4thgen now.

antsZRS

i have had a flowmaster on my stock 305 tbi set up. and i liked it. it wasnt too loud and it didnt sound like a mustang. i had 4th gen style tips on it. and i liked it. at WOT i think it was a little raspy but it was all stock at the time so i didnt bother me much,

i have a buddy that had the Hooker cat back on his and it sounded nice. i was gonna do it to my car, but ended up going a diff. rout.. true duals with my new motor,

DeathStarr89

iTrader: (1)

Hooker all the way. The Aerochamber muffler is light years ahead of the old Flowmaster stuff. Much better tone control, better flow and little to no drone.


the inlet is also flanged so if you ever have to drop your gas tank you can take the muffler and tailpipes as 1 unit off the midpipe and get them completely out of the way.

Camaro82Z28

Thanks guys these were the exact responses i was looking for! Did you guys have any problems with the hangers or was it a pretty easy install?

Air_Adam

'Dropped right in' so to speak, with my Hooker kit... only thing you might have to wrestle with is the connection at the cat, depending on what system you get and whats on the car now. I had no cat, so I had the flange cut off the I-pipe from the kit and had a 3-bolt header flange welded in its place, and the same on the end of my Y-pipe. What you do depends on whats on your car now, and which kit you get (there are Hooker kits for base 305, 305 HO, and 305/350 TPI... I think all have different cat flanges). Everything else fell right into place nicely.

Camaro82Z28

Yeah i don't have a cat on the car right now and don't plan on putting one on either so i'm sure i can have something fabbed up so it connects to the y pipe properly. Did you take it to a muffler shop to have the flanges welded on?

Air_Adam

Yup, thats what I did.

gurkgurkgurk

i run edelbrock headers and y pipe to high flow cat and 3 inch exhaust to a hooker aerochamber muffler. and it sounds mean. when u get on it, it screams. but what i love about it more is that its not loud. i can still have a conversation in the car when i have a passenger, and im sure my neighbors are thankful aswell

DeathStarr89

iTrader: (1)

The only problem i've had with my Hooker kit is that the I pipe didn't want to slide into the pipe that goes over the rear end. I did go out and buy new hangers because mine were trashed. Carquest was the only parts store that could find them.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

I've got a 3" catback with Hooker 2055's and the AeroChamber muffler. I really like it because it's got good tone with a rumble at idle (Lets you have a conversation even at highway speeds) and really lets you have it when you're on the throttle.

Camaro82Z28

Thats exactly what i was looking for as far as the sound goes. Air Adam which muffler shop did you go to? I actually live in Saskatoon too
And what was the part number of the exhaust you got? Was it 16820?

Camaro82Z28

So i ended up ordering the Hooker cat back and installed it yesterday. It sound amazing! I couldn't be happier. the install was really easy as well. the hangers all lined up perfectly. The only problem i had was fitting the i pipe into the over axle piece, but heating it up with a blowtorch solved that problem. The tips look flawless! and the sound is completely different. Thanks everyone for your help and opinions

DeathStarr89

iTrader: (1)

Just curious, how is your ground clearance?

Mine is pretty bad with the hooker kit, i'm going to take the I pipe back out and cut a few inches off of it and try to tuck it up closer to the body.


I have about 2" between the pipe and the ground with stock V6 rear springs and chopped fronts. The I pipe is all the way up in the other pipe as well, i measured it and marked it.

Camaro82Z28

I have a little more than 4 inches of clearance with stock springs. And the i pipe isn't all the way into the other pipe. Its supposed to go in another half an inch but i couldn't get it in any further.

DeathStarr89

iTrader: (1)

maybe closer to 3" but it still seems way too low.



I'm going to modify the trans crossmember to let the pipes sit up a little higher, then try to tuck the rest up this weekend.

Camaro82Z28

Yeah mine is routed along the stock exhaust location so it doesn't go underneath the crossmember. Thats why it sits up higher.

DeathStarr89

iTrader: (1)

stupid longtubes.. lol

Camaro82Z28

Heres a video of the exhaust:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7d_-TQy_CQ

camaro1122

iTrader: (1)

Sounds very good!