howdy guys...i am looking for some help from my fellow ontario f-body owners. i am attempting to run a short dual exhaust system on my 84 TA. i plan to run dual 2.5" mandrel bent pipe from my flowtech shorty headers (1.5" primaries) into mufflers followed but turn downs. i plan to dump the mufflers somewhere before the rear axle. i want it to be loud, so interior noise is not a concern. my questions are:

1. what mufflers to run? which will give the best performance?...i am looking at dynomax bullet race mufflers (these look good for ground clearance) and hooker aero chamber and max flow mufflers...any other suggestions

2. this setup will be on a 305 LG4 with a nice cam and flowtech shorty headrers with 1.5" primaries and a someother mods (stock heads though)...will i kill my low end torgue by going with this 2.5" dual setup? (i hope to have a 350 or 383 in the works by the end of the summer)

there is a sale this weekend at the local speed shop so want to know what mufflers to get by then so i can get them as cheap as possible. thanks again guys, your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Just some advice my friend.....

THose 1 1/2" primaries will be OK on a small cube 305......once you start gettin bigger & wanting more power, JUNK THEM...

Also, just curious on WHY you want to run true duals?

 

I grok the need for exhaust that can be heard. I think one of the sweetest sounds around is a hi-revving chevy sbc with a tuned exhaust. And a tuned exhaust is really what you are looking for.

IMHO: A dual exhaust, especially a short one that is not carefully planned will just make noise and probably lose you power under 3500rpm, backfiring and cussing all the way (been there and repaired that). Trust an old salt here, under 3500rpm is where you spend most of your day behind the wheel and also is where you should tune your daily driver for the street. Consider building your exhaust for up 300hp (pretty hot for an LG4) and average rpms under 3500 (even though you want to pull 6k rpms).

There are a ton of well tuned single combos out there by just as many vendors. There is also enough experience on the street that if you want to put together a tuned single you will find lots of useful advice.

Question, why a dual exhaust ? Stock LS1s do 13s with a single exhaust. If you are trying to make power it is easier to tune a single than a dual exhaust, not to mention 1/2 the cost.

RP.

 

thanks for the reply

yeah when i get a bigger motor i plan on running the hedman long tube heaers (part # 68460). they have 1 5/8" primaries.
but for right now i am wanting to run true duals to get a nice loud sound and some better performance and because i reallt want too (hehehe)

so do you guys think that the setup i mentioned in the early post will kill my low end torque or what?

 

hehhehe....i figured i would get lots of people wondering why i want duals....one reason is that i really just want to run them and i like the sound of a engine running duals.

right now i am leaning toward running 2 hooker aerochambers for a more "tuned" sound

any thoughts?

 

The best exhaust system I ever built was a 3 inch single with headers, mandrell bend and hi flow cats and muffler. It had the sound you are looking for. Beware of duals on the 3rd gens as you will have to make compromises with the design that would not be an issue with a single.

Headers and duals on a 305 will waste your bottom end torque which is what the 305 was designed for -- kind of at cross purposes here. I would rather put the bucks $$$ into a solid 3 inch inside diameter system with the right pieces than a dual setup.

Of course after you are done installing your duals I would be the first in line to want to hear them ! (grin).

RP.

 

hmmm.....that was what i was concerned about, wheter or not i would lose low end torque. right now i have a dynomax super turbo catback kit (2.5" intermediate pipe) and no cat.....i like the sound, but i want louder and a more "violent" sound, plus i think 2.5" single system is too restrictive.

i have yet to decide what to do...i know i will lose some ground clearance by going to a dual setup, but thats a sacrifice i am willing to make. i was talking to that place in BC (Canadian High Performance) that Stroked-Z recommended and they told me hooker aerochambers or maxflows are both 109.95. i think crappy tire has the aerochambers for 99.99....but i will have to check.

 

I wanted duals on my GTA when I first got it... butthen I say an Iroc with duals, and it looked like shlt! So I went for a 3" custom stainless mandrel bent system from y-pipe back, with a highflow cat and flowmaster muffler. Shaved a full second off my 1/4 ET with a bad ECM.

I have a crappy sound of my car as the opening sound of this webpage

http://home.cogeco.ca/~transamgta/

also.. go here https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/sounds/index.shtml

 

My car sounds like crap

 

Acceld-Z, you have dual exhuast on your car?

if so, do you have pictures?

 

No, I have a Flowmaster ForceII with no cats and a Borla 4" tip. It sounds like a Winston cup car. Most people that hear it, love it. I don't.

 

hmm....i see.

 

A very good exhaust shop can bend a set of duals for your car. It would need to follow the stock exhaust tunnel and exit into C4 'Vette style mufflers. Back in the day, Hooker sold a kit that did this. I know a guy with an '84 Z28 that has it.

 

are you saying route both exhaust pipes on the same side? That kind of defeats the real purpose of dual exhaust, because they will not be equal length anymore.

I don't really like the sound of my exhaust either.. i was aiming more toward a "tuned" sound, but flowmaster mufflers are just too agressive

 

A crossover or x-pipe would equalize the exhaust pulses in both tubes.

 

hmm...i would love to know if hooker still sold that kit.....i didnt see anything on their website. you wouldn't have a part number would you?

 

They have not sold it for years. It was a complete kit that came with full length headers.

 

wow...full length headers too.....that would be a kick *** kit

 

I've got duals on my 86 TA. I run the Headman Long tube headers and the pipes follow the original exhaust path and I've got 2 glasspacks that exit where the stock tips would exit on a factory exhasut. It looks very neat underneath the car and its tucked up pretty good. But, I absolutly hate it. I made a BIG mistake in putting the system on, and spent more on it than a single 3" style system costs. The exhaust shop used 2" pipes and welded the system up as a complete unit. I converted my car from a T5 to a TH350 last summer and the exhaust was the biggest PITA to work around since it had next to no movement at all in the system, and I couldn't take it off either. I couldn't finish the swap because the passenger side pipe runs so close to the trans I can't run the cooler lines off it to the rad. When it warms up a bit and I can get my car out of my parents garage, I'm cutting the whole system off with a sawzall and probably throwing on a stock exhaust. If your looking for a set of Headman long tubes, I'll sell you mine, and you can have the dual system as well.

That 2.5" system isn't the best, but unless you are planning on making some big horsepower, i'd leave it on until it rusts out. My old 85 Z28 with a 355 ran a 13.7@101 with that same exhaust.

 

i would definetly be interested in those hedman longtubes. how do they fit? any problems with clearance in the engine bay?

how much for them?

 

They fit ok for some cars. You have to raise the engine about 4" to fit the driverside, and they won't clear the big plastic Air Condition housing on the firewall. So, if you have A/C you'll have to get rid of it for it to fit on the passenger side. If you have a T5, you have to clearance the bellhousing to get the collector to fit, but they will fit ok with an auto tranny. Other than that, they fit good. Better plug clearance on these than the headman shorties I had on my 85, and I though those were pretty good. They have surface rust and I had to dimple the collector on the drivers side header (I had a T5 and had to do some clearance work). I paid $150 for them, but I'd probably let them go for $50

 

i am definetly interested in those. i dont have A/C. i have a 700r4 auto trans so i should be alright by the sounds of it. tell me when they are available and i will take em.

 

would you take my dynomax super turbo crossflow muffler on a trade for those headers? its less than a year old. just wondering.

 

I spoke with my friend with the Hooker exhaust last night and he said his exhaust uses a muffler with dual inlets and dual outlets. The headers collectors are angled into the exhaust tunnel and they then attach to the exhaust and travel back over the rear end on both sides. They then go into the muffler and exit in turn downs that look stock. He said the pipes are 2 1/4". What a waste of $$$.

 

I have a 3inch cat back with a DynoMax Ultra-flow muffler and I love it... Highly recommend it to anyone

 

hmmm......yeah i dont like the sound on that hooker system so much it uses dual in/out muffler and 2 1/4" pipe. thanks for the info.

 

I've been to car shows left and right and have never heard a camaro or firebird (thirdgen) sound as good as the nasty POS mustang. I don't like em...but damn do they sound nice.

 

The headers are on the car still. I won't be able to pull them until is starts to get nicer so I put the car outside to work on. Maybe in a couple of weeks. I'll let ya know when I can get around to pulling them off.

 

sounds good to me.....take your time. thanks