nychevyguy

Hey guys i have a 1988 iroc-z with a 305 tbi. i am looking to up grade to a stainless steel 3inch system.i like the sound of the flowmaster that is on there when i purchased the car (i think it is a flowmaster because of the sticker that was on the rear window) how to tell?? i would like to remove the cat and install y pipe if i do will the check engine light come on. any help ,or ideas, would be much appreciated or anything i should know before i start looking (best place to buy)..thanks

Ron U.S.M.C.

I have the 17234 Aluminized CAT Back with a Magnaflow CAT and love it.
I have had it for over 6 years without rust.



Link to Summit Racing = http://www.summitracing.com/search/y...rder=Ascending
When I use Summit they never charge me tax or shipping (ground).
Once a oversized handling fee of $10.00. I use them all the time.


Here it is with the tips as I prefer ,cut back.

sheikss

Do not use chokemaster, it is one of the worst flowing crossflow mufflers. If you want flow and sound use a single in/single out muffler.
I like the dynomax and magnaflow mufflers.

paul_huryk

Magnaflow makes some great systems (most in 409 stainless), including one to fit your TBI car.

In terms of y-pipe and cat - Magnaflow makes a high flow cat and y-pipe for TPI cars (or ones with TPI manifolds 86+) - but TBI won't work due to manifold differences.

nychevyguy

t

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

Um...Magnaflow's catback will work just fine with the TBI system, as long as he gets headers/y-pipe combo or gets his factory y-pipe modded a bit to bolt up. Will cost like an extra $20 on top of the catback to have it matched up either way since evern the header/y-pipe combo doesn't always match up perfect.

I personally have Hooker 2055 headers with Y-pipe and a magnaflow catback. Nearly identical to what Ron is running except magnaflow. Its quieter at idle than the Flowmasters, but really lets you know it when you get on it.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mp...t/model/camaro

Blue_Thunder

iTrader: (1)

If your looking for a unique sound I just ordered Mad Hammers (GMMG) chambered exhaust. Its all stainless steel as well for a reasonable price. I just bought mine for $675 with the tips.

Ron U.S.M.C.

I need to say this......


I will admit that the 80 Series is dated/will not flow as well as some of the others out there ,but the "Flowmaster American Thunder CAT Back" that has it does flow better than a stock unit and is a true 3in CAT back. It is "absolutely" fine for a car that is a DD that is used to have some fun. Trust me, I have fun with mine all the time and the CAT back I have "does not" hold me back.

The Flowmaster or Chokemaster among other things its called at times is a Classic and has a Classic Muscle car sound and that's what I love about it.

It has its place in the Third Gen. World just like a "Built 10 Bolt" does. "On My Car".

Phenom-1

There's no other Exhaust as Iconic & Cool as the b/Flowmaster/b sound. Mine has the 80s Series 3" Catback w/ 3" tips with an angle cut and the stock dual cats, and I don't plan on changing a thing.

Naturally since it's the bigger 350 TPI combined with the 3" Exhaust it will have a Deeper / Louder tone overall from idle to acceleration than it will with the 305s but it still makes you giddy as F*** from ear to ear.


From the sound of a calm but rumbling beast at Idle...

To the sound of some Revs (albeit not a smooth idle / running rough) but still Ominous sounding

To the sound of takeoff...

sheikss

I really need to learn how to post vids.

sheikss

Don't forget about the hooker muffler either. It sounds better in my opinion and destroys flowmaster in the performance department. If your deadset on crapmaster do a single in/out muffler. It will sound a million times better. A buddy of mine mocked up a borla style system using a single in single out 40 series and it sounded way better than the crossflow muffler.

luvofjah

iTrader: (2)

Flowmaster does make a 1 in 1 out system that flows very well...
Force II I think it's called... mine came with a Race 30 series muffler (I've had it for years)... Not quite as loud as the Thunder series, but flows better and sounds great...

Also, it has a short pipe, so it does not extend out from the bottom of the car... something else I prefer...

midias

You dont understand the POWER of the NY salt filled winter. Never get aluminized here. Stainless is the only way and even that rots out.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

That's part of the reason I park mine for the winter.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

The Hooker Aerochamber if simply a fantastic muffler with amazing sound. I ran one for 6 years until my exhaust rusted off and I replaced it with the Magnaflow.

midias

Same, I once made the mistake of building an aluminized exhaust on my daily driver. Second winter it broke in 3 places due to rust.

SR71BLKBRD

iTrader: (1)

Not a single Borla mention???? I have a Borla on my 91 and before the build it was a stock 350 with a Borla catback. The sound IMO was top notch. very little drone which is what drove me to keep it. For a stock motor with SLP shortys it sounded pretty mean and snappy. I was very interested in the gmmg but I was worried of drone seeing as its a chambered tube. I plan on keeping the borla for my 383 Stealth ram build with long tubes. with the meaty cam additional cubic inch and long tubes im hoping for a terror. Not to mention it will have a cutout. Im also trying to torment my Dbag neighbors but w/e.

nychevyguy

thank you Ron and everyone for all your help..I think im going with the flowmaster cat back i like the sound of the flowmaster , its not a daily driver, never driven in the snow<salt> will post vid when installed this spring...eventually replace cat ...

Phenom-1

Winter? What is that? LOL

Los Angeles Guy mid 70s to 80 degrees here today.

Phenom-1

I just click on the youtube video's share button, gives me an option for twitter and such, I just copy the link url and then paste it here on my comment, simple.

Ron U.S.M.C.

I agree the Hooker Aerochamber has an amazing sound and would be my next choice.

sheikss

I need to learn how to compress, post to youtube, all that. I don't do social media sites like facebook, myspace, etc.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

I've heard them all on our cars over the years. The Flowmaster American Thunder 80 series catback has gotta be the most popular exhaust in terms of sales. I had one on my car for several years. It was deep sounding and a bit intimidating. A little bit of drone, though nothing as bad some aftermarket truck exhausts. The downside to me was that after going to several car shows every summer, I got tired of having the exact same exhaust sound as every other 60's/70's muscle car. And of the 10 of us or so that had 3rd gens, about 70% had the same Flowmaster setup.

Hooker Aerochamber make great daily driver exhausts. Because they really do manage to be quiet at idle and low RPM's around town, but then crank up the volume when you get on it.

Borla have their share of fans for good measure. They were probably the first all stainless steel catback. Never were cheap to buy. And they definitely sound different to all the other brands. I mostly like them. But they aren't the be all end all of exhaust sounds to me. Value wise, they rarely seem to make sense. As most people run the full bypass plate and simply leave it like that. Leaving you with essentially a $700 cutout. But a nice looking cutout.


Ah yes. The answer above is the gold standard of exhaust sound. And they look at good as they sound. My car with the GMMG with a catalytic converter is louder than my car was with the Flowmaster catback without a catalytic converter. (I measured with a dB gauge). In fact, the GMMG is the same dB at 4000 RPM as the Flowmaster was at 5000 RPM.

The GMMG has zero drone. None. And a more 3 dimensional sound. The Flowmaster sounds the same at all RPM's. Just louder as you press the pedal. The GMMG on the other hand has a deeper even more intimidating sound at idle, that progressively changes as you reach around 3000 RPM. Once you pass 3000, it unleashes the beast and you get a mixture of big block muscle car and Italian V12 mixed in with each other.

Stainless steel and a jewel to look at.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

Are there any good videos of this exhaust and how it sounds?

RamIt

Raspy, or I'm just too old.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

That sound reminds me of a Borla.

I have flowmasters in my 67 Camaro and I can't stand how they drone at highway speeds, anything at 45mph or more when I just cruise. Drives me nuts.

That said, this doesn't sound terrible and when my magnaflow quits or rusts out, I may try it.

Blue_Thunder

iTrader: (1)

Idle and WOT, I love it. The sound is so unique and it will definitely turn heads.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

That's nice. Love the sound.

PAFORM350

Always been a fan of flowmaster. Had them on nearly every third gen I have owned

Phenom-1

I've never liked the GMMG because when you Rev it and it roars it sounds to me too much like the Dukes of Hazzard '69 Hemi Charger and it sounds cool an everything but I don't want the F-body sounding like a Charger, it should have it's own Distinct Sound and tone. And I've always repated the Roar of the F-body to be the sound and rumble of the Flowmaster, and in the 3rd gen case the 80s series.

Now, For some reason this Formula with GMMG sounded a little different and better to me than the Yellow Camaro with GMMG did in the video below. Wonder why? Was it the sound quality? wind? or perhaps a different engine?


I definitely like the fast paced idle on this one, though take off is a little raspy leaning towards obnoxious for me.


Now with the Flowmaster I recognize the Sound of the heart like beating Monster lurking within just rumbling calmly at idle of the F-Body every time you hear the engine turn the sound is reflected on the smooth tone of the exhaust, I don't know how to describe it in words... It's sounds like hoha, hoha, hoha, hoha hoha, hoha at idle, it definitely gives away the fact that it's powerful in an intimidating sort of way, and to my ears it sounds like a music note on a 350.

luvofjah

iTrader: (2)

Gotta take into account the reverberated sound...

The Yellow one is almost fully in a garage, with structures, metal ramp, etc... for the sound to keep bouncing off of and be heard again and again...

The Red one... is out on a big open road... with the only thing out there was pretty much the softer road (than metal ramp)

I think it's a great option, I have the Force II 3" Flowmaster, 1 in 1 out, that flows really well, and it's quite a bit quieter at idle than my neighbors 305 TPI with headers & with Flowmasters 1 in 2 out (I have a 305 TPI with headers too).

I like that (with mine and the GMMG) the pipes don't stick out or are barely visible...

dmccain

iTrader: (2)

Ive had several 3rd gens and have had more exhaust systems put on them than I can probably recall. Borla is #1 hands down. I like flowmaster that's what im running now but magnaflow may sound a little better. For the $ Summits muffler for our application makes a pretty nice tune also.

Manic Z

iTrader: (1)

I may be biased as I run the 80 series, but absolutely love it! Been running it for almost 15 years now. No rust.
I don't have any videos though. But I always dig this one on youtube....

Phenom-1

That one's nice especially when it sounds mildly cammed.

ledman66

iTrader: (2)

Haha I am glad you posted this...I have the same car...88 IROC 305 TBI and was just wondering what exhaust to get, as it is tax time and I am finally getting a refund this year, so I want, and need a new exhaust system

I just want a good sound, and not worried too much about drone, but I want a more aggressive sound than the stock setup

I was looking at this setup
http://www.jegs.com/i/Dynomax/289/38512/10002/-1

Or this one
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/wl...t/model/camaro

formula forever

My car is the red formula in the above video. At the time of that video it had the stock manifolds on the car. Now it has headers and duel y pipe. It sounds very tuff with headers and a gmmg. I have been running this exhaust on my formula for many years now and I could not be happier with the sound. it is very loud at wide open throttle.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

http://www.ls1sounds.com/GMMG/GMMG_before-after.mpeg (stock vs GMMG)

http://www.ls1sounds.com/GMMG/GMMG_J...6-idle-rev.WMV (this car is angry)

Most of the demos on it are on 4th gens. I really need to get a Go Pro one of these days. My videos are taken on a 13 year old digital camera. Here's one of mine:

http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/...t/MOV02686.mp4

GMMG exhausts always sound better with a cat. Doesn't matter if it's 3rd gen or 4th gen. Because there is essentially nothing muffling the sound inside the muffler other than the spiral loops inside the pipe. The muffler changes the sound. But it's the cat that actually smooths the sound.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

I have an '88 T/A with 305 TBI. I too was considering the VT series, but when you starting Googling, you will find people complaining about the valve bouncing or rattling at idle, creating an audible ringing or tapping/rattling sound. The VT got some design enhancements to improve this, but I'm not convinced the problem could not still occur. So I scratched it off my list. There are YouTube videos of it making noise, too.

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...omax+vt+rattle

Most of these videos are of smaller cars, with smaller engines. So I'm not sure if lack of flow / pressure aggravates the condition or what.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

That sounds really good, but my wife wouldn't like it. The plus side, I'd always get to go somewhere alone...

ledman66

iTrader: (2)

OK< well those sound terrible...dynomax scratched off the list now...so I am still at a loss of what to get.

I am leaning towards this hooker system now...any thoughts anyone? Any cheaper any where else? Any discount codes for summit racing?

With the exhaust kit and installation I am looking at spending around $500 if I can find someone to install it for me for less than $200...I do not have the means or a workspace or know enuff about exhaust to do it myself...

midias

The obx system is not to expensive and sounds good. I would search craigslist I found a bunch there for friends both magnaflow and flowmaster

ledman66

iTrader: (2)

ahh CL, I forgot about that!
lol...whats the obx system?
I was going to go with flowmasters...but allot of negative stuff here about them has me second guessing it

midias

It is a magnaflow clone.

Here is a link to it and a review

http://m.ebay.com/itm/131413758641?_mwBanner=1

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/exhaust/704702-obx-stainless.html

ledman66

iTrader: (2)

ok, cool thanks for the links...I guess he got a shop to fit the y pipe to the cat and the price is good too
I like the way the pipes come out the end, nice and big.

I am really liking the hooker setup I was just watching some videos on you tube. this is actually the one I would need, it's $369
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ho...t/model/camaro

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

yes, that VT series muffler, with the active valve, was a disappointment to me. Dynomax as a brand has a good reputation, and I would not hesitate to buy one of their other products. Just not a VT item.

midias

I have liked the way their super turbo sounds on almost every car.

ledman66

iTrader: (2)

Anyone have any experience with this system, called the Maximizer?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Maximizer-Bl...42b7f1&vxp=mtr

RamIt

That thing looks just like the OBX catback but made out of mild steel instead.
Not sure I would buy this one over the OBX.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

It's not stainless steel, I wouldn't get it. lol You'll be replacing it in two-four years if you do.

ledman66

iTrader: (2)

Didn't notice that

And yeah, I don't want to replace it in 2 years!! lol..


Thanks again guys, I have decided to go with either the OBX or the Hooker cat back as after I pay tax and shipping on the OBX I can get the Hooker cat back from summit for a few bucks more with no tax and free shipping, and hooker is a name I know and trust.

ALTHOUGH...I found this on Amazon, same magnaflow system I see everywhere for $590 but allot cheaper than everywhere else by $176?? wow