another vote for flowmasters. love mine and wouldn't run anything else, except maybe borla if they weren't so much $$$.
as for power increase, with any muffler you choose you might get a measurable increase on the dyno but seat of the pants, i seriously doubt you could feel it. anything you think you feel would more likely be your ears telling you the car is faster than your butt feeling it. just my .02 :cheers:

 

Flowmaster 40's. Gives you the side pipe sound without the chance of side pipe burn and side pipe sound in your ear. They do get a little tinny when reving though. I also get nothing but good feed back and my neighbors don't complain which tells me a lot. I allows get a mini woody when I hear it idle. :D

 

I think his comment was just poking fun of what Bamavette said. Bamavette did say that "only the hardcore use flowmasters". And how do we know that Inferno's knowledge is next to nill? He has less posts? Because of the fact that he "has less knowledge", he's not allowed to make a satirical comment?

Anyways, sidepipes and flowmasters exist in the same world as far as mufflers go. They exist for an image, not for performance. (Save racing side pipes that point straight out from below the engine compartment, as was used in the 60's). The noise on flowmasters is good, although in a lot of cases it can be excessive. I am more interested in performance than noise, and would rather not be as loud as hell (I drive the car 5-7 days a week). As such, I like the Dynomax Super Turbos and Ultra Flos a lot better.
One thing to note regarding mufflers is that there is no magic muffler which will make your car sound like a hot rod. You need a well prepped engine(cam, heads, intake) and a proper exhaust system in front of it for a car that sounds like a race car. There's an 81 corvette around here that has a hellish sounding 383. Chuck Harmon's L-88 takes no prisoners at full song. You can hear nothing but the car as you cruise down the freeway. My car sounds awesome for all of a few milliseconds, then all you can hear is the engine fan at warp speed. :(
-Steve

 

I consider myself "hardcore". I do like the looks of "some" sidepipes, if they are done right.

I would never cut anybody down, if they have different taste than me. Sidepipes are just not for me.

 

I put flowmasters on a 1990 Vette conv & loved the sound a nice mellow exhaust burble & not to loud............

 

"I am a believer in flowmasters. Love that sound. They are not for everyone, probally only us hardcore." -Bamavettes.
^--- And this, however, is not insulting? Not cutting in to people? I don't think there are any hostile intentions here, but is it fair to call one jibe hostile and another not?
I have nothing against Bamavettes, he has an awesome car and a great track record here, I just don't think we should be unfairly cutting into Inferno. (Maybe I am missing something here?)
-Steve
*edit to remove sig*


[Modified by Pacin'California, 10:40 AM 6/10/2002]

 

hmmm... when i put my flowmasters on, it was because the tests that i saw showed them to have equal or better flow than anything else that was currently available. the really cool sound was just a bonus.just a quick note on that comment. of course a muffler can make a car sound like a hot rod! that's how almost all the muffler manufacturers started anyway. why do you think you see kids putting the coffee cans on their civics? at least they think it sounds hot rodded. i can't tell you how many people have asked me what i've done to my L-81 and can't believe it when i tell them the internals are bone stock. runs like it but doesn't sound like it.
steve, i'm not trying to flame you but it sounds like you have some type of vendeta against flowmasters and sidepipes :confused:

 

Basically, LOUD exhaust is not for everyone VS. You’re a STUPID BUBBA.
Hmmm… Steve, I don't think that the intent of these comments are comparable. The bottom line is that inferno's comment to bamavettes was foolish regardless of his post count and inferno-vette is the one who brought up the intelligence issue. :yesnod:

I'm sorry that all of this has offended you Steve. :rolleyes:

 

My apologies. I didn't read inferno's post clearly enough.
Yeah, the "bubba" and "smart enough" comment was over the line.
Guess I was just in a fighting mood this morning.

BTW, flowmasters do not make every car sound like a hot rod. I've got a friend with a V6 'maro with flowmasters, as well as an HT4100 pumping its exhaust through said exhaust. They both brag about flows, but they sound nothing like some of the cars I've heard with flows or other exhaust.
Clutchdust, your car is beautiful and I in no way meant to insult your decision. The numbers I've seen usually put flowmasters second to other mufflers, but perhaps something has changed between the time I last looked into mufflers(a year or two ago) and now. I'm sure the exhaust sounds good through the stock L-81(especially with the true dual exhaust and headers). However, the vette's I've heard with manifolds and 2-1-2 in place do not sound all that hot with flows.
In answer to Justin's question, yes the car will sound good with duals and headers and flows.
I apologize for coming out offended, and I also apologize for going to the defense of inferno-vette. Did not notice his wording.
I read Bama's post as "those who have flows are hardcore; those who do not, are not."
Again, sorry.
-Steve

 

My coworker has Flowmasters on his truck, they sound really kewl.

 

http://www.vettefinders.com/registries/shinobi/cam.mpg
^-- video of my friend's Camaro w/ 2-chamber flows.
V6, btw. But it definitely sounds like a hot rod.

 

It's cool.
I have NO DOUBT that 98% of us would get along GREAT person to person. Being limited to text only cuts out a big portion of our communication ability. The emoticons do help. :yesnod: :)

 

:)
Get some pics/vids/sounds of that 80 up. You're living the dream right there. It sounds wicked.
-Steve

 

Steve, I would like to do an audio clip to post. I'll have to see if I can borrow a digital camcorder sometime. As far as pics, I'm hoping for the paint-fairy to show up before I post any. :lol:
After seeing a few of your video clips, I hope to get some tips from you. It appears that you have the process nailed. :cool:
I have rebuilt just about everything on the bottom side. Time to start working on the topside side! :yesnod:
Paint, weatherstrip, carpet, seatcovers, and wheels. By the time I get those items done. . . It will probably be time to start on the bottom side again :crazy:
I'll just keep tweakin' on the bottom side while waiting for paint.

 

steve, :cheers: all is well. as for my flowmasters, they are five years old. at that time, they were typically in the top three in the magazine tests, generally second or third. i just figured with the price difference between my flowmasters (~$60/each vs. $200+ for borla), i figured i could find another 5 or 10 hp. :smash:
BTW, i've seen people put flowmasters on civics and preludes, not even flowmasters can make some cars sound like hotrods. :lol:
:D :cheers: :yesnod: :) :jester :flag <--gettin happy with the emoticons!


[Modified by clutchdust, 4:46 PM 6/11/2002]