3.8 exhaust

So I have been losing sleep over what kind of exhaust to put on my 1996 3.8 v6 firebird. Of course I want the most hp gain i can get with a nice low tone to it. I was wondering if there are any suggestions from the peanut gallery or what you put on your 3.8... or any sites that offer a sound byte so I can hear it.....

Oh and while i am at it.... should i do the headers? (depends how many books i have to buy this semester)

Thanks dudes!

hit up the guys at www.firebirdv6.com
they should have some pointers

been there done that..... and i still don't know :banghead:

Give this site a try!! www.performancepeddler.com then click on Flowmaster badge then next page scroll down and click on Catback link,,then scroll down and click on Pontiac Catback and you should be able to find some info there,,also do a google search for 1996 Firebird performance exhaust. Good Luck!!

Go with magnaflow if your trying to stay within a reasonable price. Otherwise I'd suggest Borla if money is not an issue. here's a link to their site that has 2 sound clips.
http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/shopexd.asp?zone=American&id=270

Just whatever you do, stay away from flowbastards. They suck big time, and sound horrible on the V6's. As for headers, if you get some spare money, then get em. They're well worth it. Just be sure to get the RKSport ones and avoid the Pacesetter's.

You can find all this stuff pretty cheap if you check out eBay. There's always good deals going on there. Heck, that's where I got my Borla catback for $555. Which is an awesome deal since it retails at over $800.

You can find all this stuff pretty cheap if you check out eBay. There's always good deals going on there. Heck, that's where I got my Borla catback for $555. Which is an awesome deal since it retails at over $800.



How do you like your Borla catback? Sound/performance?

herd good thing about slp

Just whatever you do, stay away from flowbastards. They suck big time, and sound horrible on the V6's. As for headers, if you get some spare money, then get em. They're well worth it. Just be sure to get the RKSport ones and avoid the Pacesetter's.

Flowmasters are not that bad, im getting about 10-15 hp from mine on my 3.8 v6. I think the tone sounds good, and im very statisfied for the price i paid.

How do you like your Borla catback? Sound/performance?

I love it! Sitting at idle, you can easily mistake my car for a V8. And it sounds good up to about 3k rpm. From then on it gets the notorious high pitched noise that the V6's get. But even still, there's no better feeling you can get then to know that your riding first class.

Flowmasters are not that bad, im getting about 10-15 hp from mine on my 3.8 v6. I think the tone sounds good, and im very statisfied for the price i paid.

Got any dyno charts to prove that? Is it a cat-back or just the muffler and tips? It may sound good to you, but have you ever seen it cut open? It's nothing but restriction inside that muffler. Another reason why I chose Borla.. no restriction. They don't use cheap parts like Flowmaster does. So I may not have a really deep tone like I would like to have. But I'd rather sacrifice that any day for a nice flowing exhaust. If you research an do some study on Flowmaster, you will find out that their mufflers actually rob you of performance. That's why I always recommend Magnaflow if your trying to stay within a reasonable price.

Muffler and tips, no cat back, but for sure it is not robbing me of performance, it improved my top speed from 115 to 120(think thats what im goverened at now), and is doing well im lowering the engine temp. How much would a borla exhaust with cat back cost me? And no, never seen a flow master cut open.

and no, dont have the dyno charts. how much would a magna flow cost also, i know i could look it up just dont feel like shopping around atm.

Muffler and tips, no cat back, but for sure it is not robbing me of performance, it improved my top speed from 115 to 120(think thats what im goverened at now), and is doing well im lowering the engine temp. How much would a borla exhaust with cat back cost me? And no, never seen a flow master cut open.

Well what I meant by "robbing you of performance" was that yes, it will increase your performance.. but not as much as a better flowing exhaust would.

Here's what you would see inside of a Flowmaster:
http://www.justflowmaster.com/images/flowcut2.jpg

And here's what you would see inside of a Borla or Magnaflow muffler:
http://e30m3performance.com/installs/installs-2/exhaust/magnaflow_inside.jpg

See what I mean by "restrictive." Flowmaster's muffler looks like some kind of junkyard with all those metal plates in it. So yeah, your Flowmaster might have given you some extra HP, but you could get even more with a Magnaflow or Borla. See how straight and free flowing those are. They're not exactly the same, and that picture is actually one of a Magnaflow muffler. But the Borla does look very similiar.

As for the pricing on them. Well, if you don't prefer to use eBay, then I'd suggest www.byunspeed.com. Very nice site with low prices that already include the shipping fees.

how much of a hp increase should i expect from a magnaflow or a borla?

What type of RK sport headers do u recommend with the borla cat backs? (or is there just one option) I say RK sport cuz that's what has been highly reccomended.... if there's better please tell

the RKSport headers are notorious for leaking.. on firebirdv6.com they suggest a set by Clear Image Automotive, but they retail for about $110 more at around 600..

how much of a hp increase should i expect from a magnaflow or a borla?

Well if you get the entire cat back and get a high flow cat as well, then I'd say you could see up to 10-12hp. Companies always advertise higher gains, but often that's due to the fact that they're testing the exhausts out on a fuilly built up engine. So if you've got a stock engine, expect to get a little lower result in performance.

the RKSport headers are notorious for leaking.. on firebirdv6.com they suggest a set by Clear Image Automotive, but they retail for about $110 more at around 600..

Really? They still leak even if you get a different set of gaskets like Feel Pro's? I know I've read on different places that the RKSport headers for the 3.8 had alot of issues with them. But that they fixed them and now if you bought the newer ones they should work fine. Not sure if it's true as I haven't had any experience working on the 3.8. But that's just from what I've read.

putting a different set of gaskets on would pry be fine.. but my buddy justin had em on his 96 bird and he had a few problems with leaking, he finally just got pissed and traded it in for a talon..

lol, that's classic