So my exhaust project is coming up soon. I'll probably order late next week. I'm pretty much set on the Hooker 2055 headers, still not sure if I'm getting them hotcoated or not, but for now I'm going to talk about catbacks..

I need one obviously and I have been looking at either the Hooker 3" setup (I'm pretty sure this is the most popular one...could be wrong though):
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...9&autoview=sku

Or the Edelbrock 3" setup:
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...4&autoview=sku

Price is not an issue as they are very close together in price. I have heard sound clips from both and I love them even though they both sound very different.

I am however a little concerned with the noise level on the Hooker, I've heard from some that it's very loud...now don't get me wrong, I definitely want something louder than my stock, but I'm not particularly aiming for the "Look at me, I like to scare away women, children, and effeminate men with my exhaust" sound when I'm casually in a parking lot, or a neighborhood, or even passing by a cop (they're idiots around here ) That is what brought me to look at the Edelbrock setup, I've heard it's not too loud, yet not to quiet...and I love the sound.

However I'd also like to know if the Edelbrock is a good-flowing exhaust (Even though most of my power gains will be from headers, I still want it as unrestricted as possible). That's also important.

Any and all input is appreciated

 

Go with the Edelbrock IMO. To me the sound is alot better and they are about the same volume.

 

I liked the summit and borla. Both are real nice. I have the borla and my best friend has the summit. My friend likes my better but I think that they are about the same. Get one that has the abbility to change the plates to control the sound that goes through the mufler.

 

Haven't looked at those. How much are they? I've heard that Borla is kind of pricey (but very good)...

 

Interior noise is much less on the Hooker. My buddy has 80 series delta flows and his exhaust is louder both inside and outside the car. I prefer to tone of my hooker system though, everyone says it loud from the outside, I wouldn't know, its quiet on the inside but everyone tells me they can hear me a block away so I guess its fairly loud, not as loud as flowmaster though.

 

the edlebrock setup is more muffled than the hooker for sure.

interior resonace
edlebrock is not to bad. quite quiet compared to blowmaster. without load it is quiet @ idle.
hooker also quiet @ light loads. interior resonace does increase with load. more load @ xxxx rpm will produce more noise. without load it is very quiet.


@ idle
the edelbrock has a deep "bassy" tone to it not too loud. a little more than stock
the hooker has a more "mellow" sound to it.


@ cruise
the edelbrock sounds similar to the hooker but a little quiter
the hooker sounds louder than the edlebrock

@ WOT
the edlebrock sounds some what muffled but it does growl.
the hooker screams and is a bit more louder.


i have installed both and driven both setups. i choose the hooker for mine.

 

all I can say is I love my Hooker... lol well anyhow I cant get over just how good it sounds without being annoying for daily use.

 

I love my hooker too. Edelbrock makes some nice kits tho. But the hooker does sound great.

 

Click the link in my signature for a sound/appearance sample of the edelbrock catback. For me it was great until the muffler developed a rattle a couple of months later. I'm trying to get it replaced under warranty. I think hooker makes a better quality product, but I just don't like the sound very much. It's all a matter of preference.

 

the set I got (borla) was around 700 and they were pricy but they sound great. The summits that my friend got were about 500 and were nice, but the sound was not as deap as mine. thats is why I like mine so much.

 

Yea i couldnt (and still cant) decide between the Dynomax Ultra Flo and the Edelbrock... i have sound clips of the dynomax, but i was unable to find sound clips of the edelbrock...So jungleman, you said you had some sound clips of the edelbrock... i was wondering if you could hook me up with those...

Also, i heard that the edelbrock system doesnt bolt right up and fit exactly and that sometiems you have to cut alittle bit of the pipe or something... is this true (for the guys who have installed it)????

 

you have cut it to fit the vehicle. you have to trim the tail pipe ends to sit centered where you want. you also might have to trim the I-pipe to over the axle junction, it may sit too low.

 

how much of a pain in the *** is it to do that???

 

Why is it a hard choice? The dynomax kit is 2.5" and the edelbrock kit is 3". 3" isn't even really enough. There you go, decision made. As I said above in this thread I have a video with sound in my signature.

 

More than enough for him and most cars, you are different. A 305 TBI vs. a built 355 here.

 

That's a good point, but I would still personally be hesitant to put anything less than a 3" single exhaust on a v8 car.

 

You guys sayin the 3" would be too much or are you saying that anything over 3" would be too much for me and my 170 HP TBI???

 

I think 3" would be a little on the big side for now, I thought you had a 350 in my first post. If you plan to modify your engine, I'd say go with the 3" so you don't have to replace it too soon down the road. If you just want to do exhaust I guess 2.5" would be ok.

 

Well the only mod i plan to do is an open element. And MAYBE down the road a chip. But definately nothing more than that...

 

Whoa, never knew this.

Can you describe a little more in detail what needs to be done? Or pics would be great

Anyway, yes I am going 3"...I plan to do heads/cam work in the future, and I do not want the exhaust to be a bottleneck. It's cheap enough to just go 3"

 

Bump

 

well as for pics the car is not mine but a buddies. i had to do the same thing with my hooker setup as well. you could install as delivered. yes it would work but to me it has to look good as well.


the intermidate pipe may sit a little low, atleast for us with lowered cars. your car maybe different. it may sit just perfectly fine.
every car is different. so this may or may not apply to your install.

the tailpipes will have to be trimmed. the ends that go onto the muffler is where you trim. it is best to mock up the entire exhaust system and check for clearance and fitment. i did this with small jacks and jack stands. it works great this way. either way a 3" system is far superior to the stock setup, especially on a TBI.

 

I see, so the tailpipes are a cosmetic thing...

My car is stock ride height so I won't have to worry about that now. That might change however.

I may or may not do the tailpipe thing, but just in case I do, can you tell me how much I will need to cut? Also what would be the best thing to cut it with?

Thanks

 

I would say go with the hooker cat back. I just installed one on my 88 L03 about two weeks ago and it isn't that loud, as long as you keep your foot out of it. I did have to cut the tail pipes and the I-Pipe for clearance and fitment. You could use a hacksaw or a proper exhaust tube cutter if you have one. The best thing about the hooker set-up is that it's quiet when your just cruising down the road. If you've ever had really loud exhaust you'll understand how nice it is to not be the center of attention all of the time.

z28redline

 

Well thanks for the great input from both sides everyone, I have decided however to go with the Edelbrock I am just too in love with the sound It does flow at least almost-as-well as the Hooker one right? Certainly not as bad as Flowmaster? I know that most of the gains are from the headers anyway, but I just want to make sure.

I want to finalize this parts list before I buy, just to check for compatibility:
- Hooker 2055HKR shorty headers
- Edelbrock 5672 Catback
- Catco 9118 Cat

I might go with stainless steel tips at a later date but right now I will keep the stealth look and see how I like it. Everything should bolt up fairly well no?

Let me know, I'll order on Monday. Should arrive just in time for graduation!!

 

I would be really wary of the 5672. When we pulled the muffler off on wednesday, not only was it rattling, but there was an 8" crack in the case... I had it installed in January. I would go with flowmaster or hooker if you want to get a quality product. My current setup has the 5672 piping with a dynomax ultraflow PN 17227 muffler, and so far I've liked the sound and appearance of it. It is very quiet. You could get all of the parts for a setup like that if you wanted something unique. However, to keep things simple and cheap my vote is hooker or flowmaster catback. It is true that the edelbrock has an excellent sound and appearance, but looking at the muffler after we took it off, the design does not seem to be very good in the flow department. It looks to be a strange and restrictive design, especially when compared to the straight through design of the Ultraflow. The edelbrock might work out great, but their quality control has really gone south as of late.

 

Thanks for the input...but I'll take a chance. If anything goes wrong, I've got the 1 year warranty to fall back on.

Worse comes to worse I'll buy another muffler a couple of years down the road...

Does this setup look good for flow and for compatibility, though? I realize I'll have to make a small hanger modification for the cat, but it should fit right up no?

 

My Hooker isn't totally broken in yet, but I like mine... really, the Hooker is only loud when you really get on the throttle. Just normal driving around, its really pretty quiet. Mine has a set of headers and no cat on it too, so it would be louder on my car than alot of others that use iron manifolds and a cat. I think the pair of 3" tips I put on it instead of the split-2.5" tips helped with that some though... Its not at whiney sounding now, and deepened the sound noticeably, so it does seem quieter.

 

Yeah if it doesn't break on you it will be a great exhaust. As far as the piping goes, it is good, and should fit fine. Mandrel bent. THe only issues I have with the piping are the slip joints with the slits in the bigger tube... They tend to have small leaks. As far as flow goes, the word on the street is that the edelbrock muffler is good, but looking at it first hand, it didn't appear to be a very flow-oriented design. Then again I'm no expert.

 

Hooker is not that loud at all, at least the ones I have heard anyways. But as far as sound I honestly like Edelbrock cat back better.