Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

Hey Guys, for curiosity I wanted to see how many run the 80 series flowmaster and like the sound.I know there are better flowing and better sounding mufflers,I personally like the sound of the 80 series.I have one on mine with an Lt1 and Long tube headers.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

I have the Flowmaster 80 series muffler on mine. It definitely high lights the cam installed. It's a bit loud but I like it. It has a nice growl to it while cruising.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

It's also a 3" in with dual 2.5" out. Keep in mind that video recording from a phone doesn't do it justice. But you get the idea.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

I run the 80 series, and I don't care what anyone says, I love the sound.
Maybe it's more restrictive than other mufflers, but I still pull 117mph in the quarter mile.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

I run Flowmaster 80 series along with 3in exhaust and dual 2.5 in outlets with no cat. Sounds great.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

I had that muffler on my 87 T-Top with no cat.. 3” in 2.5” out

It was loud but I liked it.. never liked the Fox body Mustang Flowmaster sound, but on third gens the 80 series growled nice and had a throaty sound in low gears..

Sometimes I miss that sound.. it’s cool

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

Thanks for the input guys,I know the Flowmaster has gotten a bad rep from the 3rd/4th gen community but I still love the sound.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

I think it became too popular and people started hating on it because when I first heard an 80 series with no cat I loved it..

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

The bad rap comes from regular dyno testing showing they're terrible for performance.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

I had a feeling someone would say that.. do you want the 10hp they claim or awesome sounding exhaust?! Geez!

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

The bad rap actually comes from a dyno test that showed that it killed HP over the stock exhaust and I think it was something like 28hp down from another aftermarket setup.

Back in the day (I haven't checked "catalogs" for a long time, honestly I haven't bought anyone's cat back in a long time, I want what I want and I just build it), Flowmaster had 2 cat backs for our cars, the 80series and a performance cat back that had a single 3" tailpipe/muffler (I believe it was a 40 series but it could have been something like a 40deltaflow or something), even Flowmaster knew that the crossflow setup sucked but dual tailpipes and the sound of the 80series sold...

The funny thing is that you make any box about the size of the 80 series muffler, weld a single inlet and an outlet on both ends and it will sound a lot like the 80 series muffler. At one point I tried this with a piece of 3" tube that I took a 3" holesaw to one side of (I believe it was 3 or 4 holes all in the same side) a 2.5" tube that I took a 2.5" hole saw to (again I think this was 4 or 5 holes), then added a top and a bottom connecting the 2, and end plates boxing it in made out of a steel bookshelf I cut up, and I swear it sounded like an 80 series, probably flowed better also :waveman:

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

28hp down on what exactly? A 2500 hp car? I just don't see it being 28hp difference on a streetcar undoubtedly?

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

Search the back issues of car magazines for muffler shoot-outs. Flowmasters are consistently the poorest performing "performance" muffler. All the baffles that cancel noise in a Flowmaster muffler, are also restrictive. All the turns back and forth before the exhaust can exit the muffler, slow down velocity, and air flow. You'll get more power regardless what car or engine, by changing a Flowmaster muffler to a straight through muffler, or even a muffler with fewer obstructions. People go crazy looking for a full 3" mandrel bent catback, then run a Flowmaster that is far more restrictive than a few folds in the bends of an exhaust pipe.

I've got Flowmasters on my Mustang. Found the catback in like new condition for a third of what they cost new. Couldn't resist. I'd much rather prefer something like a Magnaflow or Dynomax Ultraflow, any straight through muffler without chambers, but who would throw out two brand new mufflers? Not me. :)

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

Meh, I've got plenty of old magazines with muffler shootouts. They are all so close to one another that you would never feel the difference. Might not even register at the strip.

Here's one off the internet comparing a bunch of mufflers on a Fox Mustang:
http://www.mustangandfords.com/parts...mparison-test/

I'll keep my Flowmaster, even if I'm down 5hp and 6ft/lbs....I just love the sound too much.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

It was something very stockish, in the 200some HP range.

You're not down just 5hp like a standard muffler design would be. Again, in more standard designs (like the mustang muffler, or single the 3" in/out that they used to offer for f-bodies) flowmasters can be OK in many applications, it's specifically the 80series crossflow f-body muffler (single in, an outlet on each end for dual tailpipes) that is atrociously bad.

Otherwise, there are some people that like the Flowmaster sound, others that hate it (I personally think it sounds OK, just a little loud at idle, but I hate the metallic sound they get at WOT and can't stand the drone they tend to make typically somewhere between 2000-3000rpm). Funny thing is that I think they sound great on 6cylinders like a lot of BMW's.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

Well dang Mark you really got me thinking Magnaflow if its a whole 20hp difference on a 2-300hp car. That's a good bit.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

In nearly 20 years, I don't think I've ever seen any actual proof of how bad the 80 series is.....whether it's back to back dyno sheets, or actual time slips.

Does anyone have any actual proof? I'd love to check it out.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

I'd start looking for a different muffler if you were making big power. For stock or close to stock setups, just get what you think sounds the best.

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

I have never had one but I have taken them off a few cars. Loud all the time and drone all day

Re: Do you have an 80 series Flowmaster on your 3rd Gen?
 

I have one on my 88. Put it on when I first put the car together probably 12 years ago. I liked how it sounded then and I still do, but as the years have gone I have grown more and more tired of the drone inside.

HP vs sound is really apples to oranges. Id rather lose 25 hp and to sound the way Id want it. It can be a trade off. In my typical work week I hear the car for hours, but I may only get on it a handful of times. But their is always a better way of doing something. I see myself changing my exhaust up in the next 5 years or so and I aint going with an 80.

If you really like the 80 sound, Id do what some others have already suggested and do a single entrance/exit muffler. Not the crossflow.