stock muffler

[mike561]

heres the setup he's got, note you can hear the exhaust in this video better too http://youtube.com/watch?v=0ftUqFq9fqU

[silicon212]

There's a little 'belt whine' in there that's reminiscent of a Roots blower. If I didn't see the engine, but heard that, I might be thinking to myself that it has one of those older small B&M Roots blowers on it.

[PeteA216]

does the cat affect sound too? i plan on leaving that in place

I know from first hand experiene that yes, the cat does have a significant effect on how an exhaust sounds. With it, a flomaster muffler will sound almost stock, while without it (or with it hollowed like mine was) you will get a sound close to what you heard in the youtube video.

[mike561]

so basicly if i put a flowmaster on with the cat it wont really sound much different than the way it is stock right now?

[PeteA216]

Correct, unless you A) Hollow or remove the cat, or B) cut off the tailpipe (or if replacing the muffler, simply don't put the tail pipe back on) The reason the tailpipe affects the sound so much is because it's so long. What my girlfriends father did to make the flowmaster on his Regal sound no so stock is cut off the tailpipe and put a bigger pipe coming out behing the back wheel. The bigger pipe diameter helped to amplify the muffler's sound and shorter pipe length reduced the "muffle." Now it doesn't sound like a top fuel dragster, but it doesn't sound stock either.

[Blue Bowtie]

The sound clip I have is my '94 with cats installed, "H" pipe, two Flomaster 942443s, and stock resonators installed. It really doesn't sound anything like stock. My '96 SS is dead quiet by comparison.

[kmanracing24]

yes the cat does affect sound...it is also very restrictive. either keep it legal with a high flow cat or go the not so legal way and put straight pipe in place of it

[2001jettavr6]

the cat will make it louder also but you can get a cherry bomb muffler or two for about 20 bucks and no welding just get a hack saw cut off the old one or ones and get a clamp that they sell at auto zone with the cherry bombs (either muffler or glass pack) and clamp it on there. the glass pack is really loud and annoying the cherry bomb turbo II muffler which ran me about 20 bucks gave me a pretty crisp smooth sound on my 4.8 so id try that

[mike561]

ok, i'd like to try different things definetly, i diddnt know there was any way to do exhaust work without any welding needed. i could remove the cat since we dont have emmissions testing here in FL, but i dont want to have really strong fumes either. i think what ill try first is just taking the tailpipe off, and seeing first how it sounds with the stock everything still in place. ill probably get a tip to screw onto the cutoff part just so it points downward insead of blasting on the rear axle. then ill experiment around and go from there.

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by kmanracing24

yes the cat does affect sound...it is also very restrictive. either keep it legal with a high flow cat or go the not so legal way and put straight pipe in place of it

The cat is not highly restrictive. I don't know what it is with a lot of people who think it is; they must be stuck in the 70s. True, the old beaded cats were highly restrictive. Also true that the last year of those was 1978, when the 'tri-cats' were government-mandated (CO, HC and NOx) - ALL of those are high-flow monolithic honeycomb designs.

The cat is worth perhaps a 2HP and 2-3 lb. ft. loss - very little and really nothing to worry about, unless you're trying to race in Nextel Cup. Besides, all of us have to breathe the air the cars use - KEEP THE CATS ON. I'm by no means a tree hugger, but I don't want to breathe stinky, eye-watering air because your car produces ungodly amounts of HC. KEEP THE CATS ON.

One more thing - KEEP THE CATS ON. It's a $25,000 fine if you're discovered removing them. That's twenty-five thousand dollars in the form of a fine handed down by the Federal Department of Justice. Even if you live in Florida. Even if you live on a 10,000 acre plot in Montana.

Say it with me - today's cats aren't restrictive. There, better eh? KEEP THE CATS ON. 2HP is not worth $25,000.

Oh, and Mike? The turbo mufflers that 2001jettavr6 spoke of will definitely give your car a rumble, without resorting to highly restrictive glass packs. Just say NO to glass packs!

[PeteA216]

It's a $25,000 fine if you're discovered removing them. That's twenty-five thousand dollars in the form of a fine handed down by the Federal Department of Justice.

We must have idiots up here in NY... every mechanic I've ever spoken with regarding vehicle emissions all use the 20 year "rule" that once a vehicle is 20 years old or older, you no longer need any of the emissions, including the catalytic converter. I've seen so many early to late 80's vehicles pass inspection with pipes in the place of the cats... I quote the mechanic who recently inspected my Caprice: "As long as the car is safe to drive and the exhaust doesn't end directly underneith the passener area the car'll pass just fine. With a car this old we're more worried about things like the frame, brakes and steering." They're probably all risking thier jobs this way.

[Blue Bowtie]

Originally Posted by mike561

... i diddnt know there was any way to do exhaust work without any welding needed.

FWIW, my Flowmasters are clamped in place.

Originally Posted by silicon212

I'm by no means a tree hugger...

I would think not. How far do you have to drive to actually SEE a tree (one without palm fronds or cactus needles on it) ??

Originally Posted by mike561

...but im low on $$ right now but i want my exhaust to have a little more rumble

My advice would be to do exactly what you are doing - Research the possibilities, but don't spend any of what you don't have right now. Eventually, you'll either need to replace the exhaust anyway, or will hit the Lotto jackpot. In either case, if you know what you want when that occurs, you'll be that much more prepared.

[PeteA216]

My advice would be to do exactly what you are doing - Research the possibilities, but don't spend any of what you don't have right now. Eventually, you'll either need to replace the exhaust anyway, or will hit the Lotto jackpot. In either case, if you know what you want when that occurs, you'll be that much more prepared.

Agreed. But if you want immediate sound, completely legal and free, just chop the tailpipe. If you want put on a tip like you said to aim it downward, I've seen that before, just make sure the tip is a little oversized to keep and possibly amplify the rumble.

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by PeteA216

Agreed. But if you want immediate sound, completely legal and free, just chop the tailpipe. If you want put on a tip like you said to aim it downward, I've seen that before, just make sure the tip is a little oversized to keep and possibly amplify the rumble.

Just don't, please, for the love of God, put a fart can on it.

[PeteA216]

Just don't, please, for the love of God, put a fart can on it.

Based on what he expressed he likes it doesn't seem likely that Mike would do something that rediculous... but just for safe measure... NO FART MUFFLERS PLEASE! They're rediculous enough on compact cars, but I couldn't imagine one on a Caprice.