Mufflers…..Highest flow, least noise?

[Gearbanger 101]

I want to buy the quietest, most reasonably priced, best flowing muffler I can find (but enough to support 400-420fwhp). Everything I’ve found thus far tells me it’s the 3-chamber Flowmasters (2 1/2 model 942551), but I’ve head from others that they don’t flow enough cfm for my needs. Anyone know the particular flow specs on these baby’s?

 

[1tirefire]

don't you mean rwhp?
3 chamber flows, steeda, bassani quiet thunder and magnaflow

 

[Gearbanger 101]

don't you mean rwhp?
3 chamber flows, steeda, bassani quiet thunder and magnaflow

Nope, I mean fly-wheel horsepower. 340-350rwhp sucking through at 4R70W Automatic transmission. The Steeda's will more than likely be priced through the roof, but how do the Magnaflows stack up for quiet compared to the 50-series Flows?

 

[Jay99]

most reading I have done points toward spintech or borla type straight through mufflers.
flowmasters are more for noise imho. I run a borla cat back and it sounds good. no drone and can always talk to other people in the car when i drive.
I looked through my saved stack of articles and i guess i didnt save my muffler shoot-out from mustang 5.0.

I do remember the highest horsepower gains came from the warlocks with the cap removed making it straight throuhg but appearantly its real loud. they made the cap removable for track runs..
http://www.carreview.com/Exhaust/Mufflers/Flowtech/PRD_2103_2872crx.aspx

second and third place were spintech and borla's flowmasters were at the bottom for gains with some instances actually costing horsepower.

 

[NightLife]

Keep in mind although enough flow potential is mandatory, noise suppression is my number one concern. For those who don’t know, 50-series Flowmasters are much quieter than the 40-series and most other mufflers on the market for that matter. So not all Flows are noisy. I was just unsure if they flowed enough CFM for my set up and if not, what muffler does, that has similar noise suppressing characteristics.

why do you want so much noise supression? high flowing exhaust arent going to be all that quiet....

 

[Gearbanger 101]

most reading I have done points toward spintech or borla type straight through mufflers.
flowmasters are more for noise imho. I run a borla cat back and it sounds good. no drone and can always talk to other people in the car when i drive.
I looked through my saved stack of articles and i guess i didnt save my muffler shoot-out from mustang 5.0.

I do remember the highest horsepower gains came from the warlocks with the cap removed making it straight throuhg but appearantly its real loud. they made the cap removable for track runs..
http://www.carreview.com/Exhaust/Mufflers/Flowtech/PRD_2103_2872crx.aspx

second and third place were spintech and borla's flowmasters were at the bottom for gains with some instances actually costing horsepower.

Keep in mind although enough flow potential is mandatory, noise suppression is my number one concern. For those who don’t know, 50-series Flowmasters are much quieter than the 40-series and most other mufflers on the market for that matter. So not all Flows are noisy. I was just unsure if they flowed enough CFM for my set up and if not, what muffler does, that has similar noise suppressing characteristics.

 

[Jay99]

. My first suggestion is to give Flowmaster tech support a call (800/544-4761).

spintech1-888-550-spin
http://www.spintechmufflers.com/spintech/spintechindex.asp

Borla 877.GO.BORLA - 877.462.6752
http://www.borla.com/welcome/

ask them cause the only actual specs i could find were all dimensions.

I did extensive research I am fully aware of the flowmaster line and what each series offers. I am just pointing out that most people get them for noise only where i live and im sure most flowmaster owners here couldnt even tell you what series they had on their car! (so far its about 1 in 4 for whom ive asked)

I remember in the article that for instance the spintech muffler as it is designed creates a scavenging effect in the exhaust resulting in a higher flow capacity for higher horsepower gains and handling. basically the borla, warlock, and spintech's were all said to handle whatever you could throw at them. (warlock only with straight through cap removed)

quietest mufflers in the test were the borla and spintech if i remember correctly.

I hope this helps you

 

[Red35th]

What about Magnaflows. Not the Magnapacks (now discontinued). They are straight through, but quieter.

Never head them in person, just what I've heard.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

why do you want so much noise supression? high flowing exhaust arent going to be all that quiet....

Cause I'm sick of a loud exhaust note. I want quiet. I want to be able to talk to my passengers without raising my voice, I want to not have to stay above a certain RPM to avoid the annoying aftermarket drone and most of all, I want to hear the sound of my Blower whine over the exhaust note when I stand on it!

I had Mac Flowpaths on my previous Mustang (which sound nearly identical to 40-series Flows) and although they sounded nice at idle and when I was getting on it, the drone and constant interior cabin noise drove me nuts and I was sick of every ricer thinking I was trying to race them at the lights. I'm way past the "impressing my buddies with a loud exhaust" stage. I'd ideally want it to sound as close to stock as possible if I knew I could get enough flow.

 

[Jay99]

yeah the higher end racing mufflers i know have extreme flow but I can only imagine the sound.

I wish I had the answer for you. if you lived near sac or rancho I would take you for a ride in mine to compare the borla's.

infact see if there are any mustang clubs hanging out in your area and see if you can go. ask around and see if you can get a feel for their setup?? most clubs i know have always been pretty cool and people seem more then happy to do those things.

I honestly wish i had the answer for you.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Guess I'll have to do a little more checking too. I found this....

http://exhaustsoundclips.com/cfm.pdf

....that compares a few flow figures (Flowmaster didn't fare all that well BTW), but give no rating for sound control.

 

[CATMACH]

www.Mach1review.com did a comparison between Magnaflow, SLP, and Bassani. The Magnaflow made the best power and was the quietest. Even with an off road pipe, the Magnaflows are not very loud.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

I honestly wish i had the answer for you.

Hey, no stress Jay. I appreciate the info yourself and the others were able to put together thus far. I knew this question was going to end up being kind of a wide open debate so I'm impressed that I got even this many responses at this time of night. Got a lot of spare time on the graveyard shift.

 

[Jay99]

I have never heard anyone complain about magnaflows. of the research I did I would have gotten a magnaflow catback had I not gone for the borla. great value for the money


Red35th is right about they're quality and sound. I have one friend with magnaflows but cant really compare them since i have a 4.6 and he has a 5.0

with that in mind if you had only 2 choices

I am stuck between buying a bassani x-pipe with cats and the magnaflow with cats.

which one and where would be the cheapest place??

sorry edited this since I was stuck on cat back in my mind

 

[Gearbanger 101]

II am stuck between buying a bassani x-pipe with cats and the magnaflow with cats.

which one and where would be the cheapest place??

Funny you should ask......
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7926289455&category=33629
This was one of the cheapest I could find.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Also...keep in mind guys, this isn't for a Mustang, it's for a Mercury Cougar. So my system is going to have to be custom.

 

[banditmwp]

www.Mach1review.com did a comparison between Magnaflow, SLP, and Bassani. The Magnaflow made the best power and was the quietest. Even with an off road pipe, the Magnaflows are not very loud.

IMO, magnaflows + off road pipe =

I think you'd really like the Borla ProXS series of mufflers

 

[Red03Mustang]

I think you should go with magnaflow. When I had it it wasn't loud at all. Cruising was actually quiter than stock on my GT! When you step on it you hear them.

Magnaflow has the most unique sound to me. Even though I have MAC, I think a great combo would be magnaflow with some high-flow cats on an X pipe. That would be louder of course.

I think Magnaflow rates higher in HP and quieter at the same time from most things I've seen.

 

[decoy562]

Get the magnaflows. Good deep sound, but not too loud.

 

[Premium Speed]

Bassani Quiet Thunder