No Frills/Custom Exhaust Thread

[A34D4ME]

It seems that every exhaust post ends up being about which big money, name brand exhaust system looks and sounds the coolest.

So, I've decided to start a thread for us "no frills" / "no rice" types.

No thread jacking or "why my name brand is better" discussion please.

Please tell us about your custom exhaust system and how it turned out.

[YRUSOSLO]

I got my custom pipe done about 3yrs ago at a local good ol boy shop. 2.25 or 2.5" I can't remember which. They did the mandrel bend and attached it to a Flowmaster and it gives a nice deep rumble sound. It's loud and I like it. I just took it back recently to have them attach a new hanger and tighten it up since it was starting to drag. NO CHARGE! Go Henry!

[A34D4ME]

How does it rate on the butt dyno? Where is the muffler?

[emperor_lunchbox]

I saw a video a while back of a guy with a built NA KA with side exit exhaust. I think it was a mixture of custom bends (obviously) and a vibrant muffler.Also the custom exhausts by BRM sounds great.I dont know if my post is within the guidelines of the thread, but, here goes.

[240crawler]

Until my headers arrive, I am using a manifold back 2.25 with a flowmaster knockoff. it has a nice deep sound with no buzz. can really feel a difference above 3000. Milage improved as well, 1-2 mpg. No tickets for sound, unlike other ricers with straight core mufflers.

[A34D4ME]

You guys putting the muffler up front or in the rear? Straight through designs I take it?

I'm looking for a nice rumble that won't get me pulled over or invite dirty looks.

I try to tell these guys that the last thing they want to do is give a cop an excuse to pull you over at 2am on a saturday night but some people need to learn the hard way.

[YRUSOSLO]

There was a def. intheseat increase. Keep in mind that I have a header (only v8's and above have headerS) and a cone air filter. They did not put the resonator back on and I have the muffler sitting in the stock location. If you are trying to keep it cheap; keep it simple. I just gutted out a cat and will try that to see how it sounds and feels.

It is a nice low rumble that you can hear from a good ways off but it is not bumblebee rice. Cops don't pick on me at all. My other 240 that had a stock exhaust (very quiet) with a big whale fin got more attention from the popo.

Oh my total setup cost less than $300. When I'm ready to be a trailor queen or win shows for looks I might spend $600+ on a system.

[InsanityInc]

(only v8's and above have headerS)

Anything with more than one bank of cylinders has headerS. Meaning:

V4s (there are a few, usually ancient though)H4sV6sV8sV10sV12sVR6sW16s

all have headerS.

[emperor_lunchbox]

I think I read somewhere recently that a header is only called a header when the exhaust tubes are longer and reduce like 4-2-1, if it doesn't have those characteristics it is a manifold.I read that in an article from overboost.comI may be wrong, but it seems right, my Z28 doesnt have headers, it has 2 exhaust manifolds.

[eddiec]

i have had several different configurations on my exhaust in the last couple years. below is the first "edition'. consisted of a hi-flow cat after the header flange and a dynomaxx 4"x16" can, side exit. liked it kinda but a little loud. i eventually replaced the cat with another of the same muffler.

not being satisfied and considering it was not going to get much quieter, i put the whole setup on a diet and made it terminate after one muffler with a downturn after the drivers seat. this was per a/x sp rules. this was very loud. the sound echoing off the pavement was great at full throttle passing. but ended up netting a noise violation.

so i decided to be somewhat sensible and add a "name brand" muffler. i purchased a magnaflow str8t thru can 4"x12" (i think). anyway since it was time to get tags i put the cat back on and also the old dyomax muffler. the cat is flanged seperate for late removal followed by the dynomax and ending w/ the magnaflow beside the gas tank. i dont have many pics except for the crappy ones below. it looks brown because that is the new rustoleum color "anti-bling brown". the latest version has a fairly mellow sound at part throttle. but it does get hostile when opened up.



btw these were all done in 2.5" with mandrel bends used troughout. the cat is a hiflow magnaflow unit and the header is by hotshot.

[4felix20]

straight through 2.5 inch from the back to about halfway down the car, then widened to 3" all the way back. no cat, no muffler. the turbo made the difference, but it sounded very nice and low. also quiet enough to where nobody could here me pull up to the house except my dog. idle was low and rumbly...plus my idle was somewhere around 900rpm. when i got it to idle at around 600rpm it was ever lower and quieter. that's why i think just about any muffler will sound good on a KA-T.

whoops...sorry, forgot i was in the naturally aspirated section. if it means anything, i had the apex-i dual N1s for a long time and had plenty of compliments. a few from the big displacement guys too that said it sounded good. sounded great i thought.
Modified by 4felix20 at 6:22 AM 12/28/2005

[YRUSOSLO]

Oh relax, see the emoticon? I wasn't bustin balls, I was just messin. Go get laid and relieve some tension.

Eddie C.

You have a lot of time or you own a shop I'm glad you have it quiet now. As I was reading I was thinking about the absence of a resonator and how that could've helped, but, you got it worked out. I like that black.

[240crawler]

I am purchasing an OBX or similar on ebay. I want to go 3 inch all the way, no arguing, please. If I use a resonator up front with a Flowmaster 2 chamber in the rear, all piping with minimal bends, what kind of sound should I get. Also, I do not have a cat, as my state does not do inspections. With my current setup, it is fairly deep for a 4cyl, but I would like to go deeper. If you know of any mufflers with a deep sound under $150, I would be interested. I would also consider purchasing a used muffler of the same from someone on this board if shipping was reasonable.

[YRUSOSLO]

I would go with a cheap Flowmaster. I'm not sure about how much the resonator will tone it down. I imagine you will probably need it if you don't have a cat to keep the noise down to a tolerable rumble.

[InsanityInc]

Never buy flowmaster mufflers. They are louvred-coure and generally MORE restricting than the stock muffler.

Also, there is no special designation for what is a "header". A header and exhaust manifold are the same thing. Header is basically a slang term for any sort of aftermarket equal-length manifold.

[A34D4ME]

Gotta love a guy who's willing to experiment. I noticed you even wrapped your header too. I'm going to wrap the hell out of mine so all that heat goes out the back where it belongs - leave that chrome business for the trailer queens.

I don't imagine those Thrush type can mufflers would quiet it down much. Aren't those for off road use only?

Anyway, I'm thinking of putting an inexpensive straight through oval up front with a Thrush can further back if necessary - all 2.5"

Any thoughts, speculations.

[YRUSOSLO]

I just love it when people say NEVER do something! You just want to mess with me don't you? It's good enough for racers and they have more than one design.

This truck has a ka and seems to do just fine with one http://www.angelfire.com/or3/bozuzu/nissan.html

I know it improved my quartermile time so stop being a buzzkill. The design that I picked has a good flow believe me.

MORE restricting than the stock muffler.

Right that's why I can now stand 2.5-3 feet behind my lowley set up that you hate and the RESTRICTIVE flow is blowing my pantleg around at IDLE.

I don't claim to know everything but when I do something and it works I will give advice. This guy asked for it and I offered MY knowledge from first hand experience. It's people like you that make me stay in the background and afraid to help people when there is something that I say that they may actually use. You are such a wonderful knowitall so I will go and find your web page and see what build up you have. I'm sure you have a wonderful race car and can kill the 1/4mile on a NA/KA. I will put my Camaro up against your KA and see if you still put me down.

[TheOne]

i know of a local shop that could do me a catback exhaust 3" all the way back with a magnaflow for about $150, maybe a bit more if i add a resonator, so i may go that way, it shouldn't sound so bad if i add a resonator in there.............and sound even less whenever i get a turbocharger.

[YRUSOSLO]

Good luck with that 3" my shop guy said he couldn't fit one under their and it would be useless unless I was turboed. They are giving you a good price too.

[TheOne]

Good luck with that 3" my shop guy said he couldn't fit one under their and it would be useless unless I was turboed. They are giving you a good price too.

oh the shop can do it, they quoted my friend 3" catback with magnaflow muffler for ~$120-130, he didn't care if it didn't have a turbo, but that is without a resonator, i guess he'd add a couple to that.

the shop is pretty good @ doin exhausts, they did true duals on a 92 camaro my brother built an engine for.(355ci, long headers, cam, flat tops, blablabla)

[YRUSOSLO]

If they can do a dual exhaust for a '92 Camaro then they ARE good.

Good decision to drop the resonator I am glad I did

[93RPS13]

does anyone know any muffler with a low and deep sound...i dont want to get pull over

[A34D4ME]

That's the point of the thread. One thing that muffler manufacturers won't tell you is that size is going to be a key factor. This is why you only see those little 2" long pistol silencers in the movies.

I'm betting a good performance oval design up front will do a hell of a lot more than a can in the back.

[InsanityInc]

Right that's why I can now stand 2.5-3 feet behind my lowley set up that you hate and the RESTRICTIVE flow is blowing my pantleg around at IDLE.

Stock will do the same thing on any car. Also, putting a crappier muffler with larger piping will still improve power, just not nearly as much as if you had used a better muffler.

Quote »I don't claim to know everything but when I do something and it works I will give advice. This guy asked for it and I offered MY knowledge from first hand experience.[/quote] Your first hand experience is "it got better 1/4 times". Ok. That doesn't mean that louvred core mufflers don't suck, it just means that your aftermarket exhaust was better for your 5.7L engine than the stock one, which is really no surprise when you consider how tiny the stock pipes are.

Quote »You are such a wonderful knowitall so I will go and find your web page and see what build up you have. I'm sure you have a wonderful race car and can kill the 1/4mile on a NA/KA. I will put my Camaro up against your KA and see if you still put me down.[/quote]Huh? I would seriously hope that your car with a 5.7L engine could beat a 2.4L in a quarter mile race. However, buying a car that runs high 13s stock doesn't prove that you know anything about cars.

Quote »I'm betting a good performance oval design up front will do a hell of a lot more than a can in the back.[/quote]Very true. Canister mufflers do barely anything to reduce noise levels. My KA has a 3" with a magnaflow oval muffler and I've never even been harassed for the noise level of my car.

[GhostDriver]

just means that your aftermarket exhaust was better for your 5.7L engine than

Dude, I know it must seem like the world has been against you lately but still the 3rd gen. f-body V8s were 305s.

Good thread, I'm interested in something custom. However, I don't really trust the muffler shops in my area.

[YRUSOSLO]

You are like a gnat that just wont go away.

You said the my muffler was MORE restrictive MORE this is so not true it's not even funny. Try to read slower so you can comprehend.

A. I'm answering to a guy who asked for help and I've worked over this with my 240 and am giving an answer based on MY experience.

B. My 240sx received an increase in the 1/4 mile with my Flowmaster.

C. Flowmasters make all different kind of mufflers for your setup so their might be some more restrictive than stock but not mine.

D. My Camaro was a 305 like Ghostdriver said. Then it was a 350 then another 350 and now working on a 383.

E. Fine I'll put my 240sx up to yours for a grudge match NA(no) a NA(no). My Camaro 305 and my 240sx both put up 16.3 quartermiles so my original Camaro set up could've conceivably lost to your 240

To the other people on here who want to know what muffler to use. Go with things that are proven. I noticed Mr. selfproclaimed insane didn't bother to respond about the NA/KA racetruck that uses a Flowmaster. I have yet to read what he says is good IHO opinion.

I've seen someone suggested Magnaflow and I use Flowmaster.

As to the whole thing about an exhaust manifold vs. Header(S) I believe that a header has individual tubes equally distant running to the collector. The exhaust manifold dumps all the exhaust into one collective pipe which causes a difference in the way the air flows out the back. I mean dang look at the two of them side by side and if you think they are the same.......

[nismofly]

ive got a BRM with the dual tip muffler, looks stock

expensive yes, but its fairly quiet and sounds really nice

[dickie]

You are like a gnat that just wont go away.

You said the my muffler was MORE restrictive MORE this is so not true it's not even funny. Try to read slower so you can comprehend.

A. I'm answering to a guy who asked for help and I've worked over this with my 240 and am giving an answer based on MY experience.

B. My 240sx received an increase in the 1/4 mile with my Flowmaster.

C. Flowmasters make all different kind of mufflers for your setup so their might be some more restrictive than stock but not mine.

D. My Camaro was a 305 like Ghostdriver said. Then it was a 350 then another 350 and now working on a 383.

E. Fine I'll put my 240sx up to yours for a grudge match NA(no) a NA(no). My Camaro 305 and my 240sx both put up 16.3 quartermiles so my original Camaro set up could've conceivably lost to your 240

To the other people on here who want to know what muffler to use. Go with things that are proven. I noticed Mr. selfproclaimed insane didn't bother to respond about the NA/KA racetruck that uses a Flowmaster. I have yet to read what he says is good IHO opinion.

I've seen someone suggested Magnaflow and I use Flowmaster.

As to the whole thing about an exhaust manifold vs. Header(S) I believe that a header has individual tubes equally distant running to the collector. The exhaust manifold dumps all the exhaust into one collective pipe which causes a difference in the way the air flows out the back. I mean dang look at the two of them side by side and if you think they are the same.......

pls no drama whoring. you said yourself that the shop you take your car to said a 3" exhaust wont fit on your 240sx. thats wrong. just ask any of the n/a ka guys running 3" to prove it to you.

he also said it would be useless unless you were going turbo. as far as i know, a larger, less restrictive exhaust (like 3" over 2.5") can only INCREASE your performance, maybe only by a little in this application, but the principle remains... like it says in insaity's sig, "backpressure is never good." the only reason many people with street n/a applications choose 2.5" is becase 3" would be too loud for their cars.

im no expert, but i know enough that if the shop i took my car to told me these things i would consider taking it to another shop. plus, how is challenging anyone to a race going to prove anything? having a brain, i would want a much more subjective and controlled test to decide the matter. throwing out challenges to relieve your bruised ego is kinda immature and reminds me a lot of the backwoods folk; its a solution to any argument.

[YRUSOSLO]

pls no drama whoring. you said yourself that the shop you take your car to said a 3" exhaust wont fit on your 240sx. thats wrong. just ask any of the n/a ka guys running 3" to prove it to you.

Hey I never said they were state of the art top of the line muffler guys I said they were "good ol boys" I had them do it when I first bought the car and didn't know anything about imports. Once again "the guy asked about a cheap build and I answered". I now know a 3" can fit since I have been learning about the car for the past three years.

he also said it would be useless unless you were going turbo. as far as i know, a larger, less restrictive exhaust (like 3" over 2.5") can only INCREASE your performance, maybe only by a little in this application, but the principle remains... like it says in insaity's sig, "backpressure is never good." the only reason many people with street n/a applications choose 2.5" is becase 3" would be too loud for their cars.

Well if that's the way you feel but when a dyno test was done on third gen Camaro's vs. 4th Gen Camaro's this rule of thumb did not prove true for third gens.

im no expert,

So why are you jackin the thread to attack me? You sure do come off sounding like one.

how is challenging anyone to a race going to prove anything?

It's akin to put your money where your mouth is. I know everything blah blah blah you're stupid and I don't care what you did and it really worked I know that it really didn't blah blah blah.

I still haven't seen you or him recommend a muffler for the original poster just attack me. Whatever!

How's this for immature. Since I get lambasted and know absolutely nothing compared to you go ds who have not contributed positively to this post I will go back to not posting so as to not worry about being attacked for "hey I did this and it worked for me" Good job keep it up and noone need to bother posting but you two since noone else knows anything anyway.
Modified by YRUSOSLO at 12:32 AM 12/30/2005

[eddiec]

heres a pic of a flange i made for my upcoming frontier exhaust makeover. for the fronti i'm using a pacesetter header/manifold (whatever) followed by magnaflow univ cat - dynomax can after cat (same as 240 above) followed by a huge 6"x18" magnaflow can.

the flanges were cut from 3/8 plate and the part was cut w/ a wire edm machine. btw i use a lincoln elec. 110v mig welder w/ c25 gas.