Exhaust Question

Which muffler would I get a deeper, throatier sound out of? A glasspack or just a performance muffler? I wanted to get dual pipes but I think that'd be a lil too difficult with the gas tank in the way on the left side. I have the V6 Vortec engine. Thanx!

Depends on how much you want to spend, and how often. We have a glasspack, and it is very deep (can set off car alarms just starting the truck), but we have replaced the muffler 2 times. There are also flowmaster and ones like them, but they are alot more. Ours was about 16 bucks for the muffler, 20 to put it on. Just remember that you get what you pay for-more money should lasst longer. Also check to see about any horse power gain you can get from the new exaust as that may make a difference in the sound.

You do get what you pay for. I put a Flowmaster 40 series on my 95 Noma about a year ago. It is has a deep sound at idle and SCREAMS at high rpm. But sounds great the whole time. When I had the muffler installed I also added a K&N filter so I'm not too sure what gave me the most gains, but there was a noticeable jump in performance, especially on acceloration. One thing to think about, and I wish I would have is, Will it be too loud? After long trips the constant droneing does get to you unless you keep your stereo bumping. And also, do the police hassle your for little things? In my area cops are horrable. I've had to fight 2 tickets for my fog lights and 1 for my exhaust. I've won every one of them because I knew cops on the force and they helped me, but it's all just stuff to think about. So let us know what you decide to get and how you like it. By the way, I think I payed around $70 for the muffler then just had a buddy weld and hang it.

Sweet thanx for the help...Do you know if cherry bombs are any good? I'll look at that flowmaster, I'm probably gonna end up getting that. The only prob with glasspacks though is that they're strait through, and my muffler is offset...whats a simple fix for this? thanx again for the help!

Oh and i read somewhere that replacing the stock piping after the muffler to three inches makes a big difference in the sound quality...what do you think? Is it legit? Thx.

My sonoma is a 97, and I dont think they changed too much on the between 96 and 97. You should be able to call some place like autozone and get a price on one for your style truck. We have had cherry bomb mufflers last longer than glasspacks, but we also live in Rochester NY. The winters kinda suck here and eat out exaust real quick.

I think the way that a three inch pipe off the muffler can help with sound is that when there is the stock exaust, it comes out 3-4 inches infront of the rear passanger tire. When you have that, you loose sound to the side. A three inch exaust pipe will bring you under the bed, and dirrectly back. That alows for better sound travel, because it is not restricted. Also, really consider a K&N filter or kit. The filter is around 40, and the kit about 275. They add about 20% horsepower, depending on which one you get. It really does help with sound, and throttle reponse.

Hope this helps some. And what ever you do, make sure it doesn't lower your back pressure.

Yeah I live in Wisconsin...I think I might just spend the extra money and get the flowmaster. Thanx for the help though!

Hey dtl379,
I was just wondering what you did with the exhaust pipe after the glasspack...did you leave it stock or change it? The 3.5" pipe didn't work on mine after all because I couldn't find anyone to make an adapter for me...it's on ebay right now if anyone is interested btw, my seller name is "popnoyl" ... but what i did was keep the stock pipe after the glasspack and cut the end off to make it straight. This isn't going to hurt backpressure or anything is it? I'm a noob at this stuff, so if i made a mistake i'd like to know asap. haha.

Ravin Z55, you will love it.