74 LS4....I want sidepipes! BUT!!!
 

How bad will it sound? All stock motor with 60,000 miles. Pretty tame to you guys' standards. But , I don't need any more than what I've got, HP wise..The car runs quite well for an old geezer. BUT, I want sidepipes, I think the car needs and deserves them. I pulled the mufflers off and it sounded like an old farm truck that bottomed out in the field and ripped off the whole exhaust. Mufflers went immediately back on. Will headers and sidepipes sound much different??
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IDK how the LS4 will sound but here is mine with the L48 or L46 whatever the least desirable 350 engine is (IDK Chevy numbers make my head hurt) with stock exhaust manifolds. I do have a roller cam and 10:1 pistons so that may change the note a bit. I love mine, always wanted sidepipes on a Corvette.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-roadster.html

Side pipes and quiet are not a combination you can get!
Just sayin'

I have a 427 and it is quite loud with factory BB pipes!
Driving is quite tolerable however when I get on it, everybody knows!


Scott

When I purchased my '74 small block L48 It had a after market intake manifold, Holley carb and chrome Hooker header side pipes, Very hot, very loud and when you were stopped at the light and the wind was right you got exhausted. but after sayin all this they were cool :thumbs: (especially @ WOT)

Now 20 years later, I have same motor with high lift roller cam stock exhaust manifolds with a 2-1/2" Dynomax chrome turbo mufflers out the back and they are almost the same loudness and I receive a lot of compliments on the sound.
Also, My brother has a '69 big block roadster (427) running the factory side pipe set up, mine is louder than his @ idle but on the highway I cannot hear his over mine.

If your not interested in HP, then reverse flow muffler inside the side pipe maybe your answer if you want something quieter.

I had sidepipes on mine..... for one season.... couldn’t stand it. The drone was hideous and the smell of exhaust gases was overwhelming. Looks great tho

Scott, that's what I'm talkin about! The cam is what does the magic. NICE!!!

What I'm thinking is that without a cam and the "lump",these would be horrible.

I'm helping a club member this weekend with the use of my lift, to put headers and pipes on. But he has a pro built 383 stroker. He's been building this 73 for quite some time and is ready to have fun in it. We'll do the break-in Sunday and with around 20 minutes of run time I think I'll have a clue if I want to do this or not.

Pretty sure I've answered my own question....Loud is ok, but sounding like an old farm truck isn't.

Thanks guys.

i burn my leg everytime i get out.
never use my radio
though my wife is next to me, i can't hear anything she says

So you added them on purpose?? :cheers:

hahahahahahahaha

I have the best? of both worlds: stock mufflers out the ass end and electric cut-outs funneling straight pipes through my side covers. Fun to show off, but it does sound like a farm truck with no mufflers.
I originally had "factory" side pipes only and much prefer the stock mufflers for traveling.

I love my sidepipes. They are loud and look cool.

:party: Maybe that's what I'll do....cutouts, no headers. Where's the muffler shop?

I can't hear my wife in the living room let alone in any of the vettes:bigears

VF your car will look so stunning with side pipes , I have had side pipes for about 12 yrs now , and yes you can get a quick lesson with a burn , I did, lol and it only takes one time . But love the look and the sound . I have the Max Flow inserts .

Love your car !
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...739da15a42.jpg

Thanks Scottred.....just what I needed.....an enabler. JK. Your car is awesome and the pipes top it off. I feel the darker colored cars need something.....like a little more chrome. OK I'm giving away my age, but us old guys need CHROME! At least somewhere.

inserts will reduce the sound? How can you control the sound?

I think you're gonna get a love/hate bag ov responses here.

I had sidepipes on my Stage 1 Buick, and i've seen a hundred ov 'em on Corvettes, and i have never once heard one i liked the sound ov. If you make enough power, and run no muffler they can sound mean... but not good. Thats my opinion anyways. I'm a serious exhaust geek, and i like crossovers... true (well-designed) X-pipes specifically (paired with certain style mufflers). Until someone figures out a way to use an X-pipe with those Hooker-style sidepipes, i'm out.

For a while there i DID fantasize about a C3 with those cool sidepipes, and after some seriously warped brainstorming, i did actually figure out a way to run a true X and have my cake and eat it too... but though they may have looked right, they'd not be a true sidepipe. I skipped the idea. It was going to be a lot ov fancy fabrication anyways. I have since decided i love that thin, waisted midsection, and that rocker line... and cool as those Hookers look, the sidepipe just messes with that. I DO intend on running a side-exit exhaust on my C3 though... But thats another story... . . . .

I got a kick out of your comment, "I think the car needs and deserves them." Pretty funny and I love the logic. :iagree:

Heck, as we get older we lose some hearing range anyway. So, 10-years from now your side pipes will sound just like your under car exhaust sounds today.

Update
 

I HATE SIDEPIPES!!

Not really, but this was a hard install. The only things that lined up where they were supposed to be were the header bolts thank goodness. Everything else was re-inventing the wheel. The slots in the rocker/frame were not equal from side to side but the pipes were. Create new slots! Headers were 3/4 of an inch lower on the driver side than the pass. ? Engine sits level, all new motor mounts......don't know, but the passenger side had to be cut at the pinch weld and almost had to butcher the rocker trim. The driver side just dropped into place. This job was a BEAR. Not something I want to do again soon.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...0b02cc5fb1.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...02fe61940f.jpg
Driver side hangs low.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...700a71c859.jpg
Passenger side pinch weld and the trim had to be notched a bunch.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...7e97bda363.jpg
All in all, not a very good job. He is happy so that what counts.
We'll fire it up in the morning and see if it works for him ( and my ears). Not sure why he got such restrictive muffler inserts with a blower motor.
I guess I'll see tomorrow if I really want sidepipes or not. No way would I do black on the blue car.

Question: I don't want to berate the header company he used, but are there top of the line, fit perfect first time makers? The quality of these were very good. Fit perfect up to the heads. From the collector back nightmare.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...f58c90f8e5.jpg

My wife loves my sidepipes so they stay. Running the STS baffles with center capped on 496 big block. Sounds great when cursing, can talk and listen to the radio. Stomp on it and it roars. 413 rear wheel hp on dyno and guy who tuned it said I was leaving 50 hp on the table with these mufflers. Could remove the center caps but I think I have a good balance of power and sound now.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...9137826673.jpg
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