EviLette Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 Okay, so all of my exhaust is totally STOCK at 157k. Well, maybe the mufflers have been replaced... they say GM on them, though, so I'm thinking that they are stock, too. Anyways, I want to modify my exhaust to give it more of a "muscle car" sound to it. I know that's like... damn near impossible, right? I love the sound of my stock exhaust, but I want something louder. Kinda like the flowmaster add where you hear the sound way before you see it... but a Flowmaster is more of an airy sound. I've had people tell me go with glasspaks or a cherry bomb. You guys have been through this, what is your recommendation, along with the pros and cons of various exhaust sytems? I don't know much about exhaust at all... not brands and stuff like that. If you need the information, it's a catback system. I'd love the eliminate the catalytic convertor (since they aren't required in the state of KS) but I don't think the underbody of the car would allow for straight pipes... so do I just blow out the contents of the convertor? ...or would that minimize too much back pressure and risk warping my valves? Quote
19902drlumina Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 well glasspacks and cherry bombs in some states are illegal. and for me i wouldnt go that way cause i never liked the sound kinda like a ricer go for a magnaflow or flowmaster 40delta series or 50 delta series. Quote
19902drlumina Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 well glasspacks and cherry bombs in some states are illegal. and for me i wouldnt go that way cause i never liked the sound kinda like a ricer go for a magnaflow or flowmaster 40delta series or 50 delta series. Quote
EviLette Posted February 12, 2006 Author Report Posted February 12, 2006 Not illegal here... otherwise it wouldn't be a consideration. I keep myself pretty up-to-date on what's legal and what's not... Underbody's are legal here as long as you can't see the bulbs... which means the only way for me to have them would be a larger flange around the mouldings at the bottom of my car... But in regards to exhaust, I'd always wanted to go with a flowmaster... for the name and for the performance... I just wasn't sure what was what in regards to the different types... I looked on Jegs today but I didn't know what would actually fit my car. Does flowmaster have their own website? You would think they would! Quote
TeeJay3800 Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 http://www.flowmastermufflers.com Best sounding muffler IMO. Especially on a 60° V-6. Quote
EviLette Posted February 12, 2006 Author Report Posted February 12, 2006 ...Is there any point to replacing more than just my muffler? Because my exhaust pipes are all pretty rusty, my convertor has a hole in it, and basically, the entire exhaust system needs replaced. We don't have a lot of snow here, but they use all salt on the roads... and since I've had the car its been driven through eight inches of water twice... unavoidable... but I really would like to replace more than just the muffler. Quote
TeeJay3800 Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 Replace the converter (Catco) and do 2.25 - 2.5" mandrel bent piping if possible. If you want to save money and your state doesn't have emissions testing, put a straight-pipe in place of the cat if you don't mind the sound. Quote
EviLette Posted February 12, 2006 Author Report Posted February 12, 2006 I want the sound and the power that the cat removes... no emissions testing... only on cars being brought in from out-of-state... And I've been looking on flowmaster... they seem to skip from 87 to 97 on the years of availability on the grand prix's... any ideas, then, on what the FUCK im supposed to do? lol Quote
TeeJay3800 Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 You can put any muffler on any car (for the most part). Flowmaster (or any company) does not make a complete exhaust system, you'll have to have a shop custom make one for you. I'd recommend the 30-series muffler, or if you want really loud, a 40-series. Quote
DaveFromColorado Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 here's a hint ... I pulled the catalytic converter off of my Z - and all it did really was drop my gas milage, I didn't notice that much of an increase in power, in fact, I think I lost a little off the low end due to the loss of the scavenging effect in the cylinders from the light backpressure and crappy stock manifolds. if I were in yer shoes, I'd take this chance to replace the whole exhaust system with a good stainless 2.5" setup from the engine back, run a high flowing catalytic converter (for smog reasons, whether or not the states test for them is different from whether or not it's illegal - it's illegal to have a car built after 1972 with no catalytic converter used on public roadways) and some good flowmaster mufflers. --Dave. Quote
EviLette Posted February 12, 2006 Author Report Posted February 12, 2006 So new headers off the engine too. YAY. haha. So where would I track down an exhaust system like that? Or just go to my local auto parts store, tell them the specifications and have them get everything but the mufflers for me? Quote
TeeJay3800 Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 Yes, it's illegal to run without a cat, but that doesn't matter since the state can't do anything about it. One car running without a cat won't make much of a difference on the environment. Fortunately 95% or more of passenger vehicles have converters so my car not having one is not a big deal to me. You might loose a little bit of low end without a cat, but not much. Logically it would help your top end a little. The only reason I took mine off was because even with a 2-chamber Flowmaster, it still wasn't loud enough for me. Taking the cat off solved that problem, lol. Quote
digitaloutsider Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 http://www.flowmastermufflers.com Best sounding muffler IMO. Especially on a 60° V-6. This is where, IMHO, I'm going to absolutely 100% disagree. Flowmasters are raspy, and 60° V6's are some of the raspiest around. Unless you like this godawful sound, look into Magnaflow or Borla. Quote
DaveFromColorado Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 in most cases, the catalytic converters don't do anything helpful for the environment, since they were never designed properly ... either way, I don't run one on ANY of my cars, so I'm not so worried about it, but when handing out advise, I like to make sure people are educated in the in's and outs of the legalities of the issues. Local police (if they want to be assholes) can impound your vehicle until such time that it is made roadworthy. That being said - you could go to almost any exhaust shop and have 'em bend something up for ya ... with 2.5" exhaust, you can get away with crush bends, as you won't lose that* much performance, since the exhaust itself is already overkill for the motor. --Dave. Quote
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 http://www.flowmastermufflers.com Best sounding muffler IMO. Especially on a 60° V-6. This is where, IMHO, I'm going to absolutely 100% disagree. Flowmasters are raspy, and 60° V6's are some of the raspiest around. Unless you like this godawful sound, look into Magnaflow or Borla. (at least from the videos I've heard). It definatly woun't give you a "V8" kinda sound... Magnaflow is what I'd put on if I had the money. My 1988 GP had original exhaust (including mufflers) when I junked it less than 2 years ago. The whole underside of the car was very rusty though. Are you sure your exhaust is really that bad, not just surface rust? They may 'look' rusty, but unless they have holes and leaking exhaust I would just leave it be. You're best bet for a 3.1 is just to change the mufflers to ones that sound the way you want and call it a day. Check the "0-60 videos" thread in the "whatever" section, as there may be some 3.1 footage with aftermarket mufflers... Quote
patgizz Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 nothing sounded better than stock on my 3.1 or 3.4 - the flowmaster sounded like complete ass and was raspy. best after market sound i got out of it was a catco converter and a summit racing turbo muffler, a tad louder than stock at idle, quite a bit when you get on it, and not raspy at all. Quote
NeonKnight Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 i have dual 2 chamber flows on my lumina (1991 3.1) sounds really nice at idle, and really loud and powerful around 2500 rpm. otherwise its not very loud, althoguh crusing on the freeway sounds great, and when you get the car going they have a nice amount of exhaust being pushed out and makes a decent sound. they will not make your car sound like a V8, or a ricer. they are just about right. but it matters what you like. Quote
ToroToro Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 Well, when I tried one of the Flowmaster Delta Flow 40 Series mufflers that I bought for my 442 on my Cutlass, I'd have to say it sounded terrible. It actually made the car louder and raspier ( inside and out ) then it is with just a straight pipe off the resonator... :? Someone should really start an "official" exhaust sound clip thread or something though. Quote
patgizz Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 FYI dave its 1975 or 76. not 72. and only if it came from one from the factory. Quote
EviLette Posted February 12, 2006 Author Report Posted February 12, 2006 I like loudness... as long as it's not raspy and foul... but pure exhaust/engine sound is what I want... There's something undeniably sexy about driving down a deserted paved country road in the middle of nowhere at two o clock in the morning doing eighty, shutting the radio off, and just listening to that exhaust rumbling under you. *pauses for a moment of reflection.* I will have to double check my piping.... I hadn't thought there were any leaks in the actual piping, but as it is stock, and came originally from (i believe) new jersey, where the air is extremely SALTY, there's no way to know for sure without really looking... My mufflers have holes in them.... I will have to start doing some price checking... needs a new cat... I can't think of anybody I know with a muffler shop right off-hand to set me up with a missing cat. convertor... but I've had friends that took the mufflers off their cars for a minute, reved the engine off, blew out the convertor, then simply killed the engine so it didn't have a chance to suck cold air back up onto the engine... but I always thought that was kinda stupid to do, all the shit inside of those things. My exhaust is 2 1/2 pipe all the way... I can work with just knowing that... I wasn't sure... You guys are such great help. Quote
ToroToro Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 2 1/2??? I'm pretty sure factory is 2 1/4...and it gets even smaller than that in some spots. Quote
EviLette Posted February 12, 2006 Author Report Posted February 12, 2006 ...make up your minds lol! Quote
ToroToro Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 Well, everyone was just saying that 2.5 would be the best way to go. Factory is 2.25.... Quote
EviLette Posted February 12, 2006 Author Report Posted February 12, 2006 oh.... okay... well I don't know diddly squat about exhaust... I assume that, if the piping is the correct size to mate to the muffler, that everything should slide right together and clamp on... but I've never messed with exhaust on any car I've owned... so I honestly don't know much about it. ....So I'm not quite sure what to buy when I purchase a muffler... basically... if I replace the piping go with a 2.5 inch, if I do NOT replace the piping, then it's 2.25 that i need to buy mufflers for... Gah. I'm confusing myself. I need to read back through this thread a couple times. I did see that it can change sizes in various places, so I think what I"ll do is replace everything with 2.5, starting with the catalytic convertor... new mufflers, new piping... dip my exhaust tips in chrome while I'm at it. Quote
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 keep in mind you can usually get adapters for different sized mufflers (ie 2.5" muffler to 2.25" pipe). Although if I were you I'd try to find ones that are stock size, so that they are easy to put on and keep it looking stock with the factory tips. Quote
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