Muffler sound vs performance

Headers are on. Exhaust goes on tomorrow. My mechanic recommended against an H pipe, saying it would decrease torque and not make that much difference in sound, so for now at least it will be 2" duals to turbo mufflers. Sounds pretty sweet with no exhaust though, but too loud. Video to come once it is all done.

Your mechanic is wrong.

It'll probably be OK though. I'm sure it'll still sound good.

Drove home the long way today from the shop. New exhaust sounds great! 2" duals without the H pipe (for now). "Intimidator" turbo mufflers (full ovals, not just fart cans), and turn-downs just at the rear valence (no GT valence). A quiet rumble at idle and a nice low growl heavy on the throttle. No crackle at all. With light throttle it's not very loud at all. This will make cruising with the family more comfortable but still fun for solo trips. It sounds way better under load than just revving it in neutral. I'm very happy with it. I hope to get video tomorrow after I coach soccer and cut the grass.

I tossed my Flowmaster 50s in favor of generic turbo mufflers. To me, a much better overall exhaust note. I didn't notice any noticeable change in power.

But as you've found out...exhaust is a personal thing. Some people like flowmasters. I didn't. I hated the sound. I don't mind loud, but the note coming from dual 50s just didn't appeal to me.

Glad you enjoy your new exhaust. The other thing I did was to add dynamat to the floors in the car and trunk. Cut down on exhaust noise, but you could still hear it. My favorite part, due to the combination of gears, transmission, power, and exhaust, I have virtually no notice exhaust noise in the car at highway speeds. Makes highway trips more pleasant. However, it still has a nice note coming from the car if you are behind it. (yes, I drove a chase car while my wife drove it down the highway just so I could hear it).

That's one thing I have enjoyed. If I want it to be quiet, I just go easy on the throttle and it's pretty tame. But if I get into it it sounds real nice. I had a S197 behind me on the way home that sounded pretty good. We both punched it going under a long bridge. It was pretty sweet. I think we scared a homeless guy though. LOL :rolflmao: