Sidepipe Muffler for Hooker?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 449
Likes: 0
From: Boulder CO
Sidepipe Muffler for Hooker?
I've done a forum search and pretty much have come down to either the JCL Spiral Turbos or Hooker Maxflows for my soon to be installed Hooker headers and sidepipes. Since the Spiral Turbos are a little more than twice as expensive as the Hookers, I'd be interested in hearing (no pun intended) opinions on which way to go.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Last edited by alanbl; Mar 6, 2007 at 11:16 AM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 449
Likes: 0
From: Boulder CO
I saw a couple of posts about them and I seem to recall that some comments were that they sounded "tinny." Thanks for the reminder, I'll do some more research. Or, hopefully someone who is using them will respond.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
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From: Columbia Missouri
They have some WAV files on their website so you can hear the exhaust. Not great quality but it gives you a good idea.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 393
Likes: 3
From: Dallas, TX
Ive had hooker inserts and the sweet thunder inserts, I strongly prefer the sweet thunders, I think they sound awesome, I tried open pipes for a while but ran into legality issues, for the money the sweet thunders are hard to beat in my opinion. good luck with whatever you decide.
-alex
-alex
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 5,202
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From: cincinnati ohio
St. Jude Donor '09
Sound 
is a very subjective thing, but for what it's worth I've tried the original Hooker glasspack (sounded good, but poor performance), the Spiral Baffled icon 
(didn't like the sound), a couple fabbed up glass packs with one made from a chambered muffler which is similar to the Sweet Thunder(great sound but a bit too loud).
At present I have the new Hooker Max Flow muffler which has a 2 1/2" perforated core. So far I think it sounds the best with a deep tone, not objectionally loud, and as far as I can tell flows plenty for my little 6-71 blown smallblock
is a very subjective thing, but for what it's worth I've tried the original Hooker glasspack (sounded good, but poor performance), the Spiral Baffled icon (didn't like the sound), a couple fabbed up glass packs with one made from a chambered muffler which is similar to the Sweet Thunder(great sound but a bit too loud).At present I have the new Hooker Max Flow muffler which has a 2 1/2" perforated core. So far I think it sounds the best with a deep tone, not objectionally loud, and as far as I can tell flows plenty for my little 6-71 blown smallblock
Team Owner
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 20,715
Likes: 25
From: Sorrento Italy
well, mufflers on side pipes are crucial if you've got more then 400/450hp under the hood...in this case nothing will do but a race open through muffler, any other thing will be restrictive over about 5.000 rpms...
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2005
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From: Boulder CO
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 5,202
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From: cincinnati ohio
St. Jude Donor '09
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: Syracuse NY
This is the SweetThunder 2 1/2" insert. If anyone has a picture of the Hooker Max-flows I like to see it to compare the two.
Here's a video of my cold-blooded girl, I should've warmed her up before tapeing:o
I drive by cops all the time with no problem.
Here's a video of my cold-blooded girl, I should've warmed her up before tapeing:o
I drive by cops all the time with no problem.
Last edited by DZRick; Mar 6, 2007 at 08:44 PM.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 393
Likes: 3
From: Dallas, TX
the sweet thunders really are not that loud as for cops i wouldnt worry at all unless they are total dicks and you rev like your in an indy car everywhere you go, i worried when i had open pipes but passed probably a dozen cops, i would just stab the clutch and let her drop to idle, i dont know whether or not any of them could tell about the exhaust or not but i didnt get any tickets. I felt like i had ran out of time and would get a ticket soon the sweet thunder 2.5in side cannons were the solution for me.
-alex
-alex
Le Mans Master
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Posts: 5,447
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From: Syracuse NY
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,674
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From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
[QUOTE=DZRick;1559256667]This is the SweetThunder 2 1/2" insert. If anyone has a picture of the Hooker Max-flows I like to see it to compare the two.
QUOTE]The hooker max flows are 2 1/2 straight through with small holes in the inner pipe, baffling material then the outer pipe. There is no restriction in the 2 1/2 inch tube. They don't give up much if any power.
QUOTE]The hooker max flows are 2 1/2 straight through with small holes in the inner pipe, baffling material then the outer pipe. There is no restriction in the 2 1/2 inch tube. They don't give up much if any power.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: Syracuse NY
[QUOTE=63mako;1559259597]
Thanks mako, It wasn't 2 weeks after I bought my SweetThunders that I first heard about the new Maxflows. I'm happy with these but it would've been nice to have more options when I was shopping.
This is the SweetThunder 2 1/2" insert. If anyone has a picture of the Hooker Max-flows I like to see it to compare the two.
QUOTE]The hooker max flows are 2 1/2 straight through with small holes in the inner pipe, baffling material then the outer pipe. There is no restriction in the 2 1/2 inch tube. They don't give up much if any power.
QUOTE]The hooker max flows are 2 1/2 straight through with small holes in the inner pipe, baffling material then the outer pipe. There is no restriction in the 2 1/2 inch tube. They don't give up much if any power.Thanks mako, It wasn't 2 weeks after I bought my SweetThunders that I first heard about the new Maxflows. I'm happy with these but it would've been nice to have more options when I was shopping.
Race Director
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From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,286
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From: San Jose California
I tried a number of different mufflers for my Hooker sidepipes behing my factory L88. The JCL's were the best for power and sound. I made 483rwhp with open Hookers and 477rwhp with the JCL's.
You can "tune" the JCL's to your liking by removing the end cap on the center tube. You can simply drill a hole through the cap to get something in between. The sound is more glasspack like without the cap, but still much, much quieter than open pipes while under full throttle.
One of the issues in judging sound is that it depends on the engine. My 12:1 compression, long cammed 427 made for much more bite than a relatively lazy 8.5:1 compression motor with a small cam. At full throttle, the sound was like sticking an ice pick into your ear if you didn't have ear protection. The dyno operator had done many mustangs and vipers, but they weren't running the compression and duration of my motor. He admitted that it took him to a much higher threshhold of pain!
You get what you pay for. JCL has done the engineering for you and you are getting a well built piece. You may be able to build one yourself for less, but your wages will be considerably less than what a baby sitter is generally paid on a per hour basis.
Chuck
You can "tune" the JCL's to your liking by removing the end cap on the center tube. You can simply drill a hole through the cap to get something in between. The sound is more glasspack like without the cap, but still much, much quieter than open pipes while under full throttle.
One of the issues in judging sound is that it depends on the engine. My 12:1 compression, long cammed 427 made for much more bite than a relatively lazy 8.5:1 compression motor with a small cam. At full throttle, the sound was like sticking an ice pick into your ear if you didn't have ear protection. The dyno operator had done many mustangs and vipers, but they weren't running the compression and duration of my motor. He admitted that it took him to a much higher threshhold of pain!
You get what you pay for. JCL has done the engineering for you and you are getting a well built piece. You may be able to build one yourself for less, but your wages will be considerably less than what a baby sitter is generally paid on a per hour basis.
Chuck
Team Owner
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 20,715
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From: Sorrento Italy
)
Last edited by panic; Mar 7, 2007 at 12:54 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: Watkinsville, GA and Glen Cove, NY
I can talk from some level of experience here. On my 615 horsepower 502 the least restrictive muffler by far was the JCL baffles, however mine are uncapped and cut. I tried Hooker glasspacks and reverse flows as well as a 2.5 inch glasspack made by Loback which looked very similar to a Max Flow Hooker that I have seen although the Loback was shorter. All this was done either on a chassis dyno or an engine dyno when the motor was redone.
Now I have to agree with everything Chuck said above. Every motor will have different results in the sound department. My baffles sounded way different when my 502 was hydraulic cammed and 8.5 to 1 compression, to now with a big solid cam and 10 to 1 compression.
Also in my experience, 2.5 inch inlet outlet posed a severe restriction on a 600 hp motor, with the above mentioned Loback mufflers. I do not doubt ZL1power's results, I just have not seen the same. In fact, I witnessed a dyno test where on a 650 hp 540 there was restriction until 3.5 inch pipes were used. In my research everyone told me I needed at least the equivalent of a 3 inch exhaust to not choke off my motor. The best way for me was the JCL baffles and believe me when I tell you I researched this stuff extensively.
Bill
Now I have to agree with everything Chuck said above. Every motor will have different results in the sound department. My baffles sounded way different when my 502 was hydraulic cammed and 8.5 to 1 compression, to now with a big solid cam and 10 to 1 compression.
Also in my experience, 2.5 inch inlet outlet posed a severe restriction on a 600 hp motor, with the above mentioned Loback mufflers. I do not doubt ZL1power's results, I just have not seen the same. In fact, I witnessed a dyno test where on a 650 hp 540 there was restriction until 3.5 inch pipes were used. In my research everyone told me I needed at least the equivalent of a 3 inch exhaust to not choke off my motor. The best way for me was the JCL baffles and believe me when I tell you I researched this stuff extensively.
Bill
Last edited by 69ttop502; Mar 7, 2007 at 08:58 AM.