I have a stock v6 3.1L firebird with a cat-back exhaust, and I am thinking of getting a Hooker Aero Chamber hoping it will give me a better exhaust noise. And when do I know when the converter needs replacement???

 

Would a Flowmaster 80 SERIES work on a v6 3.1 firebird??

 

TRY USING THE SEARCH BUTTON ON TOP. THIS HAS BEEN
ASKED TOO MANY TIMES.

 

I have personally seen what happens when you put high dollar exaust on a v-6. At idle they sound great; however, the slightest crack in your throttle plate will cause your engine's weakness to shine through (It is a V-6 and will allways sound like one)
:lala:

save your money. If you want it to sound better without spending $$ completely remove your cat and put a pipe in its place (so you can just place the useless pos back on when you have an inspection). Cats muffle your sound a great deal and removing yours can have the effect you are looking for.

 

If you really want a decent sounding exhaust, at least slightly
louder than stock and some rumble, go with the Dynomax
cat back system. It is the cheapest aftermarket high performance
exhaust system! At only $160 from Jeg's or Summit. Worth
every penny for your first V6 mod. From there it's like $50-$200
more for Hooker, Edlebrock, Flowcrapper, etc.

I personally use Dynomax on my 3.1L. The sound changed
from stock and got a little louder. Nothing like a V8 or
anything, but pretty decent! I was happy with it.

If you want even more louder exhaust and more rumble,
make your own CAI (cold air intake). I did, and since my
air intake flow increased so much, the exhaust changed as well!
Because of that, the exhaust note changes.

I wasn't going to give you info, since this topic comes up
often in the V6 forum! But I decided to help out.

But PLEASE read up and do some research before you
buy! At least this way, you know what's good or not.

 

id go with dynomax, like everyone saids a v6 will never sound like a v8 , sorry to disapoint you , closest i got to a v8 was my dynomax, but only under lets say 2000 rpm

 

What are the disadvantages of removing your cat and put a pipe in its place?? and would that sound better than using Dynamex??
Thanks for all.

 

Disadvantage 1: removing your cat. is illegal in most states!
Disadvantage 2: if you need an emssions test in your state for
the state inspection, you will fail emissions. Depending on your
state laws for the inspection, you may get a reject off the
bat for having no cat. in the first place.
Disadvantage 3: Cop pulls you over some reason, maybe
exhaust too loud, you could get a fine for having no cat.
If the cop looks for it under your car.

Just replace your cat-back with a Dynomax system and replace
your stock cat with a high flow one. Dynomax also sells one
for our cars. The high flow converters keeps it legal and
emissions passing while outflowing the stock ones.

However, if you are in an "inspection free" state, or a state
where it requires safety ONLY, then by all means, remove
the cat!

Your stock muffler will NOT cut it! It's desgined to be as
quiet as possible and NOT made to sound "like a hot rod".
That's why there's aftermarket comanies such as Dynomax,
Flowmaster, Hooker, etc. for that reason. These will also
outflow your stock system and pick up some hp too! I did
on my Dynomax cat back alone on a V6. Trust me, you want
some form of a high performance cat back system, with or
without a cat. converter! Removing the cat and replacing
it with pipe is just to start with! Finish it off with a nice
high flowing system. You will notice a difference. NOT a
V8 rumbling, but better than a stock V6 sound.

 

What if I empty the inside of the cat converter and keep the outside. Would that still be legal? bcz the cat is there but, who knows what s inside of it?
I am wondering if anyone has a sound clip of the exhaust without the cat converter. Would it sound too loud and noisy???

 

If you emptied out the inside of the cat, it will pretty much
make the cat. converter useless. It's also illegal. Modifying
a catalytic converter in any way voids the warranty, is illegal,
and may damage the converter.

Gutting out the cat. will make better flow and will make
the exhaust louder. But by NO means will it make a huge
difference. It's still a 140hp 3.1L with tiny restrictive manifolds
and tiny restrictive y pipe going through a gutted cat. A
gutted cat. or no cat and a Dynomax cat-back system will
sound louder, more aggressive, and flow better than stock.
But it's nothing like a V8. But it should be what you are looking
for. If you want the ultimate exhaust sound and flow for your
V6, I'd suggest the Pacesetter headers, y pipe, a high flow
cat. ( to still make it legal and pass),and a 2.5" Dynomax
cat back system. This all together can make some good hp
gains. As much as 30hp! That's a LOT for a 60 degree V6 motor.

 

ok....

here is a vid of my 1991 Z24 (3.1) wiht a 40 series where the cat used to be and all new 2.25" piping split into duals.

(yes, i know i'm burning coolant )

http://whitelightning2.kicks-***.org/AV/NewZ24vid.MOV

sorry about the .mov, as soon as i figure out a way to convert it to mpeg i will. stupid Kodak camera