When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
C6 Corvette ZR1 & Z06General info about GM’s Corvette Supercar, LS9 Corvette Technical Info, Performance Upgrades, Suspension Setup for Street or Track
FWI, .025-.028" wire would be the wire of choice. .030 is a little thick for the low amperage but as you know will do the job if that's all you got. Also Columbia river has some of the cheapest mandrel bends out there. Might be more cost effective going through Amazon if you only get a piece or two though with shipping. Just throwing it out there if anyone else is going to do this same job.
What wire did you use? ER-?
Turned out great. Eager to see the HP increase numbers!
Last edited by jasonz28camaro; 11-18-2015 at 11:44 PM.
The OP is right when he said it was hard to find a tight 3" radius bend on a 3" od pipe. I just looked at Columbia River and they too do not offer the tight radius, nor a 60 deg bend
Thanks! I'll have a quality draft "how to" completed over the weekend. I got some welding tips to include from another member.
I'm headed back to the dyno on Monday afternoon. Same dyno. Hoping for some gains, I'll be sure to post up a video and some dyno graphs for before/after the 3" Muffler Mod.
The OP is right when he said it was hard to find a tight 3" radius bend on a 3" od pipe. I just looked at Columbia River and they too do not offer the tight radius, nor a 60 deg bend
I had a hard time finding the bends, ultimately found some on Amazon for a fair price. Columbia River was my first look, then poured through Summit and Jegs, no dice. 60 degree bends seem far more scarce than 45's.
Thanks! I'll have a quality draft "how to" completed over the weekend. I got some welding tips to include from another member.
I'm headed back to the dyno on Monday afternoon. Same dyno. Hoping for some gains, I'll be sure to post up a video and some dyno graphs for before/after the 3" Muffler Mod.
I'm interested to see the results...I'm sure there's some HP to be had there.
You have the welding precision of a Tijuana plastic surgeon...but you're still WAY better than me. I took the easy route and bought B&B fusions with and "old school" M2W switch.
I'm interested to see the results...I'm sure there's some HP to be had there.
You have the welding precision of a Tijuana plastic surgeon...but you're still WAY better than me. I took the easy route and bought B&B fusions with and "old school" M2W switch.
They aren't pretty welds, that's for sure. Never been to TJ, but I wouldn't get a nose job there, and I've been warned to never eat the banana, whatever that means....kidding. I need to do plenty of grinding to hide the bad welding evidence. One note: welding 16 gauge sheet steel is not easy with a 110v craftsman welder with fluxcore wire! Need a better wire feed with proper gas shielding, less spatter, cleaner penetration. One day I'll force myself to spend a few weeks practicing on the TIG, and my MIG abilities need some attention as well.
Real welding is to Beautiful Welding as Missionary Marital Sex is to ****. Our sense for what is "realistic" becomes defined by a standard that few can achieve, and most fall short of. But, like all car guys, I like the latter of both, but accept the former of both.
I got some ideas to do with the tips, itll be a lot of work but i think the end result will be good
I check all my local fabricators and pipe shops around here and couldnt find any of these bends. i know i can make them out of 90s but this project doesnt need any more work, its hard enough.
I have had the BB fusions and the quiet part broke on me, so i did the muffler mod on the stockers and it worked great for a while, but now i have a buzzing sound in the mufflers in the drone area. its bugging the **** out of me, so fukit, 3" mod here i come
I finished up the welding today. Man, I salute the fabricators who specialize in sheetmetal work. They must have the patience of an Oak tree.
The great news, NO HEADACHES! Everything went together and fit like planned.
Exhaust tone: Sounds identical to the B&B Fusion, judging by the sound clips on the internet. Slightly more noise than stock with the baffles closed, sounds like a modded Z now. Open mode is just as ungodly as one might expect 3" straight pipes to be, sounds good! The closed mode increased noise surprised me, right after I fired it up I got out to make sure the baffles were closed, they were, its just got some rumble now. Tons more popping on decal, sounds amazing. I'll post up a video soon. I had to slave this afternoon to finish the car so that I can drive it tomorrow to work. No more midnight welding for this guy, I'm sure my neighbors will be happy, they probably thought I was Dr Frankenstein with all my welding with the garage door open.
I'll draft the How To over the weekend. I have lots of pictures to incorporate.
Cost was $200 in parts, $50 in MIG wire, brushes, drill bits, cutting wheels, etc.
Total labor was about 15 hours I would say. Probably 5 of that was just getting the sheetmetal back on the can, but I'm a perfectionist, and I refused to narrow the center section so it took me inching my way forwards with successive tack welds to get it back on. A reasonable person could get it done in 2 hours, the sheetmetal that is.
Nice write up. Thanks for sharing. I was thinking about this a week ago when I just modded my second C6Z's mufflers. It doesn't look bad at all but I'm curious as to the gains now. This would be identical to the ZR1 cans now.
I looking at your nice pictures on the floor of that very nice kitchen. In some places actions like that in the kitchen would have one drawn and quartered.
Nice write up. Thanks for sharing. I was thinking about this a week ago when I just modded my second C6Z's mufflers. It doesn't look bad at all but I'm curious as to the gains now. This would be identical to the ZR1 cans now.
Thanks for the comments. I believe the ZR1 cans are non-perforated, all sizes remain the same as the Z06. My modifications would still outflow the ZR1 cans.
As to the gains, here they are. 4 rwhp and 12 rwtq peak to peak. The graph shows a solid gain through the midrange about 10 rwhp.
Comparing the average numbers would be interesting, if I can get my hands on the raw data I will make the average numbers and report back.
Same dyno. Same temps. ECT 190, Oil 170. Colder day today, but the CF changed to adjust for it.
My mandrel bends should be here tomorrow, still waiting on the valves
Sweet. Here is an example of the powerpoint slides I'm throwing together for the how to. Looking like 140 pages or so. I'll post them all here in JPEG form, and might be able to email it. It's big, about 55mb.
You're going to LOVE the sound. I have driven my car like 1000 miles since the mod, can't stop listening to the symphony of the exhaust sounds.
Thanks for the comments. I believe the ZR1 cans are non-perforated, all sizes remain the same as the Z06. My modifications would still outflow the ZR1 cans.
As to the gains, here they are. 4 rwhp and 12 rwtq peak to peak. The graph shows a solid gain through the midrange about 10 rwhp.
Comparing the average numbers would be interesting, if I can get my hands on the raw data I will make the average numbers and report back.
Same dyno. Same temps. ECT 190, Oil 170. Colder day today, but the CF changed to adjust for it.
You are correct, the ZR1 cans are the same as the 2011 & up Z06 cans with the 3" over-axle pipe that necks down at the can. Both Z cans are internally the same as the 2008 & up NPP mufflers...non-perforated.
Congratulations! At $20/lb-ft, that is incredible value! Of course it omits the 15 hours of labor, but hey, it's a learning experience and justification for buying all that welding gear. I am thinking I should buy a welder and plasma cutter for just this reason! Did you use a plasma cutter for the cuts? Did you put your car on a lift to R2 the mufflers? Did you have to drop the cradle? Cheers!
11-18-2015, 11:24 PM
I took the easy route and bought B&B fusions with and "old school" M2W switch. 
