Has anyone in the Forum installed the Flowmaster American Thunder Exhaust Kit on their C6 (Part #s 17427 or 17416)? How does it sound, and any noticeable increase in HP or Torque? Also, how hard was it to install? Highway droaning excessive, or OK?

Your input will be greatly appreciated. I have a 100% stock 06 C6 A6 Z51 Coupe. My best quarter mile has been 12.96 sec @ 111.5 MPH.

I had great results with Flowmaster mufflers on my two 69 Camaro Street Racer rides( one with a 345 HP ZZ3 and the second with ZZ502 Big Block)

Thanks, Andy Clifton

 

Do a search there is tons of info on them. Some complaints about the drone, really depends on the car,tranny and rear gear. Cant beat it for the price!

 

I really love mine.I have the stock"H" pipe,cats and exhaust manifolds and notice no drone.My car is a F55,MN6.The system is easy to install,especially if you have a lift.I had plenty of adjustment to move the mufflers in and out to set the tips in relation to the rear diffuser.

 

I ordered mine from Summit yesterday, Love the sound. I talked to many users installed the Flowmaster.. they told me there's no HP gain.
Thanks!

 

I had the FlowMaster, dual tips, on my car for 1 hour. Loved the look (now have Corsa Sport duals), loved the sound, loved the price. The drone, thought was insane! On my 6-speed car, the hum inside the car at cruise was unbearable. You could not carry on a conversation, and the radio had to be cranked up. After an hour ride, my ears rang for the rest of the day. Removed them and returned them the same day. My car was equipped with headers, x-pipe and hiflow cats and I think that contributed to the drone. Good luck.

 

Please don't tell me the American Thunder drone too my new Flowmaster's coming on the way
P.S: Car is A6 with American Racing Headers.

 

I have the FM quad tips on my 2006 C6 A6. I love the sound, and the look is pretty good too. Perfect low rumble with not obnoxious chatter, and a nice burbble of decelration. I had a decent amount of drone between 1500 to 2000 rpm, but I installed the Corsa H pipe from the A6 kit and the drone is tamed perfectly. The sound is a little more muffled with the H-pipe, but still nice. The install was not bad, I did it with rhino ramps and raised the back end. I actually did the install twice, once with stock H-pipe and once with the Corsa H-pipe. First time, I would say was about 4 hours and second was about 2. It is more a matter of getting the old system off than putting the new one on. By the way, no need to cut the old system, just wiggle it until it comes off. Disconnect the Hpipe at the Headers first and work your way back. Then reassemble in the opposite order. I would suggest getting an air-ratchet if to save you arm in the cramped quarters.

By the way, I had a couple of issues with the overaxle pipe clearance, and Flowmaster has been nothing short of excellent about helping me out. If anything, me not having time to try some of their suggestions and provide them with pics was about the ony thing that slowed them down...great customer service from Mark.

 

I couldn't be happier with the system

 

For two years now I've read these postings about drone and what systems have it and what systems don't have it. If you ask 100 people what drone is, you will get 100 different responses. DRONE IS IN THE EAR OF THE BEHOLDER.

I have the Flowmaster dual tip system on my car and I love it! As far as I'm concerned, I have no drone. I've never had anyone riding in my car make a comment about 'drone' coming from the exhaust system.

I've read many owner's say that the FM drone is terrible and I'm always in amazement that they can make such comments BUT I understand that they are conveying their perceptions.

The bottom line is that YOU are the only one who can make the decision about whether or not there is a drone.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Your best bet is to hear a car in person with the various systems installed BEFORE you buy your own. Try to get a ride in the car so that you can get a good sense of the sound of the system under driving conditions.

I'm sure you're aware that every exhaust system on the planet has been accused of having 'Drone'. Let's not forget about the minor differences between cars. The same system on a car with a 6-speed will sound different than a car with an A4 or A6 transmission. And what about cars with X-pipes, headers, or different rear end gear ratios? All of these variations will have an effect on the sound of the exhaust sound so making a general statement that a system has drone seems out of place to me.

I'm really glad I didn't let the comments about drone stop me from buying the FM system. It works for me. If you'd care to see what I wrote over a year ago about the FM system, click this link.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...18&forum_id=74

 

I intalled the quad tip system about 2 months ago with the rest of the stock exhaust. I loved the sound of it!!! About two weeks ago I installed B&B headers and removed the cats...Now it is loud!!! It still sounds good though...sounds like old school muscle. So whatever the setup (completely stock or w/ headers) I love the sound of the Flows.

 

The Flowmasters sound even better once they get some miles on them!

 

I just got mine installed and love them. I'm not sure what drone is but I dont give a damn, they sound so nice. I also have the LG headers setup.

 

I ended up having a mix-n-match ‘system’ built with off-the-shelf components.

Details are in several threads I have started, but Executive Summary - System:

Car: 2007 A6 Coupe.

Flowmaster Quad Tips ( Model # 17427 ) installed. I appreciated the much deeper tone, but found the drone & the general volume to be ( way ) too much, for me.

I did as a fellow forum member suggested ( thanks Mike ! )and purchased the Corsa H-pipe w/dual resonators ( PN: 14166 ) & had it installed a couple of months ago.

Result:

The H-pipe has essentially eliminated any drone in the RPM range critical to me: 70 – 80 MPH cruise ( = 1550 to 1750 ), where I spend a lot of my highway travel time. Traveling at this speed is now a pleasure.

There is still a bit of what I’ll call ‘drone’ in the 63 - 68 MPH range. Not nearly as loud \ noticeable as before - but clearly present. I have found that I can easily tolerate this. By 70 MPH, the drone is ‘gone’. By this ( and the reason I say ‘essentially’ above ) I mean that the faint exhaust hum that remains blends unobtrusively with the other ambient noise – primarily road & wind noise. Quite pleasant – no issue, for me.

Let me try to define \ describe how drone manifested itself to MY ears in THIS circumstance:

If you were settled in & listening to a flute or a harp solo - and someone else on the stage with a Tuba started to blow a single, low note – you might still be able to hear the flute that you were hearing before, but your enjoyment would be substantially reduced by that overlay of the loud, low, single tone.

Alternatively, in the car \ motor realm, if you had an exhaust note you liked, but had an alternator bearing screaming or a belt squealing in sync with engine speed RPM, again I’d expect you would no longer enjoy the exhaust note – that is still there & still the same volume.

To me, this is analogous to the issue of drone for me in my C6. Meaning: The Flowmasters allow much more of the deeper & distinctly V8 tones I wanted to hear when I changed the exhaust. But also, simultaneously, they generated what I found to be a harsh, discordant note - something I found very obnoxious. This was apparent on acceleration and at almost any steady throttle opening.

The Corsa H-pipe reduced the overall volume, but only a moderate amount. It is clearly still louder than stock. ( As I wanted. ) But it is in no way obnoxiously loud.

The H-pipe eliminated any issues with the drone in the highway cruising speed range I really cared most about.

The H-pipe reduced the drone on general acceleration to the point that it is almost no longer noticeable. And much more enjoyable. To me.

The distinctly V8 nature of the exhaust note is now quite apparent & relatively ‘pure’ under most conditions. More melodic and harmonious, rather than discordant or dissonant or grating?

Hard to describe, and ( clearly ) people hear differently & are (in-)sensitive to different frequencies & volumes of exhaust tone.

So again I will offer a ride to anyone in or near the Atlanta area. . .

If you do want to arrange a ride, please PM me.

- Ray
Happier & happier C6 driver . . .

 

Best place to get the FM and price? I seen them on ebay for $357.00 plus 20.00 shipping.

Do the tips change the sound at all? Or is just a matter of looks from the 2 large 4" tips to the small 4 2.5" tips?

 

You're totally right!! thanks for the info!

 

Anyone tried installing FM's with LT American Racing Headers? fit or NOT?

 

: any one

 

I respectfully disagree about not being able to judge what "drone" is. You can scientifically measure it just like plotting the frequency response of an audio speaker. If you graphed a car's interior while in motion, (6th gear, 1500rpm) that truly "drones", you would have a decibel spike in the 60-90 hertz range that you would readily see.

 

Fm's quad tip, 6MN, Z51, and only other thing is the k & n intake...love them, perfect sounding.

 

My VY Z51 Coupe with manual 6 speed is being built next week and I already ordered the same exhaust and thought about the K&N double filter.

Video clips sound great. Any drone on highway speeds?

Thanks!