I am new to this forum, just bought a 1980 Corvette. I am looking to put side pipes on it. I have seen a lot of posts on the subject but I wanted to get some updated info. I am looking at Dougs, Hookers, Patriot and OBX. looking to more understand the inserts/baffles. I dont want it to loud but I realize side pipes have some noise. So my question is what are you guys and gals using?

 

Perhaps in your state/jurisdiction you have free rein on exhaust mods ... maybe Not ... new guy post an approx locale in your public profile ... welcome aboard

 

Since you may be concerned with noise level, look at the smaller inside diameter Sweet Thunder and Classic Chambered Exhaust Vette Pack.

 

Louder the better, as far as advice, I guess I just disqualified myself!

 

Former sidepipe car driver here. I would get Dougs and STS baffles plus add the center tube caps. Dougs are thicker so we would hope they would last longer before rusting out. The STS baffles are the best flowing and tolerable noise levels. The added caps wil help with the sound levels without hurting pdrformance much. STS do cost more because they are worth it.

All that said, under car exhaust makes more power.

 

I am from Montana, so not worried about the mods. What I am trying to figure out is can a person put the baffles and caps in, then if I want to change, can I do that? I am a older guy (60 years young), My son is 26 and most likely would want to make it louder someday. Also I thought that side pipes would give it more horsepower? Also will side pipes help with the heat issue inside the car? My son thinks we should go with Dougs...This is a awesome forum by the way !!!

 

I'll put another recommendation in for Dougs Headers/Pipes (stainless steel if you're concerned about longevity) and the Classic Chambered Exhaust VettePack. I installed that combo a few months back on my 76 with a 383, and the exhaust note is very tolerable when cruising, no problem carrying on a conversation with a passenger. When you get on the throttle/hard accelerations, it is as loud as I could ever want it.

 

sidepipes typically make less....you can run with no baffles to help but it will be real loud. Lots.
I dig the look, on a c3 thats what its all about

 

With the outlet less than three feet from your ear....sidepipes are always bad *** for the first 60 miles and after that it starts to invade your soul.......but a low compression 350 probably won't bark too bad no matter what you use for an insert.

Jebby

 

Mostly, sidepipes are just cool. But they can be loud as Jebby stated because they are close to your ears. But to me and a lot others that doesn't matter, they are just too cool to care. The subject of the inserts is one that gets beaten to death here and it is very difficult to compare apples to apples. Sound is subjective. The good thing is you can change out the inserts fairly easily for around $200 if you want to. I have Doug's pipes in black which goes with the red and black scheme. If I were to go silver, I would get the ceramic coated, that's a good option. I got mine from Summit. Originally I had Doug's middle of the road 'loudness' inserts and they sounded great but I wanted louder and better flow so I went to STS spiral baffles. Very different sounds. The Doug's glasspack type are deep and mellos, the STS are sharp and crisp/raspy. I like them both. I also installed 'caps' in mine at the rear end per this thread:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...s-one-way.html

Without the caps they were a little too loud. I don't have shields on mine and we are careful getting in and out and have never burned ourselves. I tell my wife 'watch the pipes', and she says 'I know... I know'.. lol.

Good luck!

 

I got just installed Doug's on my 80. I had a standard style magnaflow on there first and it was wayyyyy too quiet. So I said 'screw it' and bought Doug's with the loudest baffles they had. Frankly I'd still turn up the sound a bit. They have a cool low rumble at idle and really open up at full throttle. They're a pain to get on, but I got them ceramic coated so I think that added enough material to be annoying during install.

 

Wow, awesome info so far...I have GOT to get my son to see this.

 

Make sure to coat the joint that the tubes slip on the header with anti sieze compound. If you ever have to seperate them you will thank me.if you don't you will remember I told you and know why.
as Harley guys say, loud pipes save lives.

 

I went with Doug's ceramic coated headers/side pipes with their middle-ground muffler and it's perfect for me. Docile at cruise, good and snarly on the hammer. I have not heard any others to compare.

 

I did Patriots on mine - I would not suggest it if you have the budget for Dougs or Hookers.. I did Patriots because I was on a budget... heres the thing with Patriots that is not made abundently clear when you order them - they are meant to be mounted BELOW your rocker panels, not BESIDE like hookers or dougs - which in my opinion looks completely stupid. Why would you want them mounted below? So - I couldnt accept that - and we did a bunch of fab work for new mounts and some cutting and mounted them in a better location - to do this, youll need to be pretty handy with a welder! All in - i have maybe $400 in this whole setup, sounds freaking great, I got to choose exactly where i wanted everything mounted - but it took me a good while to do and a lot of custom work.

 

The sound level and tone are completely subjective, so you'll likely get 100 different opinions. I have the Hooker Super Comps with STS baffles. They are loud but I don't care. The STS baffles were open and while the car ran well, it sounded "lazy". I installed the caps back in the baffles and the car sounded totally different. Much crisper sounding exhaust. The Butt Dyno said we may have lost 17.3 HP on the top end, so I drilled the caps to 5/8" and found my happy medium. Better exhaust tone and still pulls string to 6300rpm.

 

If you just want the sound/performance of sidepipes, consider chambered, underbody exhaust system. Stainless Works sells a great system. I installed on a 1969 L46 and it got compliments and lady friends never complained about burnt legs.

 

Awesome info, I looks like Dougs and STS baffles and center tube caps.are what I might do. I want to thank everyone who responded to my questions. To virginiavette78, thanks for the Patriot info. You did a great job on the mod to raise them up. I am not to good at welding and would have a tough time with Patriots.
Thanks everybody !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

By the way, who would you reccomend to buy from?

 

I hear the Dougs are good, so can't comment on that. I have run 2 sets of Hookers. 1

First a steel/chrome version, keeping rust at bay on a car I drive a lot was a chore. Second set was Stainless, and I like them a lot more, so I would consider springing for a good set of SS headers/tubes.

I've run 3 different mufflers, but with 3 different engines, so hard to compare noise levels, but here goes:

First set was Hooker's middle of the road glass pack with a very mild 355 and vortec heads - it sounded aggressive but not overly loud at idle. You could definitely hear me coming if you were outside. It was a good, tolerable noise level for most.

Second was a set of STS baffles with a 383 stroker/AFR heads - basically stepped the noise up a notch at idle; at driving speeds, Not quiet but good, aggressive sound no matter what speed.

Last was a set of Hooker's Max Flow mufflers with my 427 stroker. One person compared my car's sound to a Harley - When I drive into the office and park in the garage under my workplace, people can hear me on the floor above.

My .02 - If you are running a mild 350ish build, and want a quieter ride, try the reverse flow inserts first. If that not aggressive enough, try stepping up to the mid-level choices, you won't be disappointed. Any larger will be overkill for a mild engine, and if you are concerned about too much noise, I believe the STS baffles and Max flow options will be too loud. I prefer the loud, aggressive sound with a large cubic inch engine, so I'm sticking to my Max Flows for the time being.