Pretty sure I want Flowmasters but....

[JohnRXL]

Been doing a fair bit of reading and you tube vids for sound bits on different flowmaster mufflers but still can't decide which flowmasters I like the best ,
Super 44 - Two Chamber Mufflers ,
Original 40 Series - Two Chamber Mufflers or
Super 40 - Two Chamber Mufflers
which one are most here running?

My set up is shorty headers, true duals with x-pipe, two cats, 2.5" to mid section down to 2.25" to the tailpipes.
Approx. 10:1 compression
The rest is in my sig.

Looking for aggressive sound without being to raspy.

[SierraDan]

The deepest of those would be the Super 40, it's got a 5" diameter case, the other's are 4" and wider means deeper, just like bigger piping.

[jbt56]

Yep, the Super 40 will have the most bass to the tone. The Super 44 and the Original 40 will have a slightly more aggressive tone, and would be slightly louder, too. As far as the sound differences, though, it's like looking at 3 fire engines, and deciding which is more red, or less red than the others. Side note: Both of the Super mufflers outperform the Original by about 20-25%.
Running duals, make sure you run an H pipe (or an X, for a quieter, smoother sound) for better sound quality and performance.

[bigk20chevy]

i got the original 40's on my Blazer, My Truck, and Camaro and love all of them i wouldnt change it for the world

[04SilveradoMykk]

My vote is Super 40, it's been my favorite so far.

Here is my flowmaster sounds video on my truck, yes it's a NBS... but it's a carbed 350ci

[slimshock191]

i have long tubes true duals and original 40s on my 95 k1500 all 2 1/2 in piping sounds amazin but i also have a 5 speed trans so mine might sound a lil nastier lol

[Mr. Chevy]

I just watched your video yesterday, that's pretty cool your a member here too, I didn't know that. Anyways, I like your truck with the super 40s, but then when you mentioned the internal rattle, it turned me off because I just ran true dual dumped Red Hot Glasspacks, they had way to much bass and resonation. So Im looking at the super 44s with turn downs, hows the sound change with turn downs and no turndowns? and do you have cats?

[04SilveradoMykk]

I like your truck with the super 40s, but then when you mentioned the internal rattle, it turned me off

I think that was just an isolated incident.

[lt63]

true dual super 44

[bradthomashines]

just cut my flowmaster 10 series off my truck for performance reasons. down low the truck was awesome in torque but once the pedal was to the floor the mufflers were choking it around 45-50mph . so if your looking for performance id look into borla,magnaflow

[lt63]

just cut my flowmaster 10 series off my truck for performance reasons. down low the truck was awesome in torque but once the pedal was to the floor the mufflers were choking it around 45-50mph . so if your looking for performance id look into borla,magnaflow

i think you have bigger problems than your muffler.

have you checked your cats

[bradthomashines]

i think you have bigger problems than your muffler.

have you checked your cats

lol what cats?? i originally had a flowmaster on my truck when i bought it. i wanted it to be louder so i cut it off instantly noticed a loss of lower RPM trq but at WOT it was much more powerful. so then i went and had the cats cut and ran straight pipes opened it up even more at WOT had the truck tuned with the straight pipe exhaust and it was a beast. THEN after i installed the LPP long tubes i had the exhaust ran with flowmaster 10 series and i gained alot of low RPM torque back but once i punched it and it started to get into the upper RPM i could tell it was suffering bad so i went and had the flowmaster 10's removed and back to straight pipes and am much more happy with the performance and its not even retuned yet :). you don't have to take my word for it just go look at some flow charts of the flowmasters everyone knows they arent the best flowing mufflers around.

[lt63]

Suffering bad?

Its not because you have flowmaster 10 series mufflers, you might have some other issues with your truck.

[bradthomashines]

Suffering bad?

Its not because you have flowmaster 10 series mufflers, you might have some other issues with your truck.

lol no not at all. the engine is a big air pump. the faster the air is moved through the engine the more HP you will acheive but by moving air fast through the engine you sacrafice trq. the longer the air stays inthe combustion chamber the more torque is created. by moving the air fast the air doesnt stay in the chamber as long thus sacrificing torque. with the flowmaster 10's on my truck the air flow was slowed down due to the muffler hence the extra torque i felt in the lower RPM's BUT by gaining the torque down low with the flowmasters i sacraficed HP in the upper RPM so when i punched it with the mufflers on from a dead stop it felt good but slowed down in the upper RPM's once i cut the mufflers off the lower RPM trq is still there (which is why i went with 2 1/4" piping) just not as much as it was but in the upper RPMs it continues to gain speed much faster than it did with the mufflers. nothing is wrong with my truck its just the power is distributed in a different manner with and without the mufflers and i prefer without the mufflers. now had i gone with a higher flower muffler than maybe it would have been better balanced with a faster flow of air through the muffler but with the flowmaster it just felt like in the upper RPM it wasn't letting my truck breathe as much as it needed to.

[lt63]

ok well you described it as suffering bad which i would think of running bad sputtering, etc

[94_c/1500]

Been doing a fair bit of reading and you tube vids for sound bits on different flowmaster mufflers but still can't decide which flowmasters I like the best ,
Super 44 - Two Chamber Mufflers ,
Original 40 Series - Two Chamber Mufflers or
Super 40 - Two Chamber Mufflers
which one are most here running?

My set up is shorty headers, true duals with x-pipe, two cats, 2.5" to mid section down to 2.25" to the tailpipes.
Approx. 10:1 compression
The rest is in my sig.

Looking for aggressive sound without being to raspy.

I'd say the regular 40s, but the Super 40s have a nice deep tone and remain loud. Personally, I think I'm done with Flowmasters. For the price of one, you can buy 2 Cherry Bomb glasspacks. Flowmasters are nice mufflers and have a nice sound, but I like the sound of glasspacks too, so I'd rather cheap out and still have something I like.

[bradthomashines]

ok well you described it as suffering bad which i would think of running bad sputtering, etc

no i just mean suffering from the mufflers as a power killer. do some research most people are against flowmaster for the simple fact that they flow the worst out of pretty much every other muffler on the market.

[94_c/1500]

no i just mean suffering from the mufflers as a power killer. do some research most people are against flowmaster for the simple fact that they flow the worst out of pretty much every other muffler on the market.

Alot of people are against alot of different things for different reasons. Alot of people hate Chevys, dosn't mean they are bad.

[bradthomashines]

Alot of people are against alot of different things for different reasons. Alot of people hate Chevys, dosn't mean they are bad.

true but when you have evidence from a flow chart to prove it it makes all the difference in the world. if you were trying to get maximum flow from your cylinder heads and you went to a company that laid two sets of heads in front of you pointed to one set and says these flow pretty good and showed you the flow bench paper work and then showed you the other set and said these flow 5x better and showed you the flow bench paperwork which would you choose?

[94_c/1500]

true but when you have evidence from a flow chart to prove it it makes all the difference in the world. if you were trying to get maximum flow from your cylinder heads and you went to a company that laid two sets of heads in front of you pointed to one set and says these flow pretty good and showed you the flow bench paper work and then showed you the other set and said these flow 5x better and showed you the flow bench paperwork which would you choose?

That's not a good comparison because if you have a less powerful motor, you'd go with the lesser flowing heads.
I really don't know which is better, the only way and I mean the only way to know which is better is to have the perfect exhaust setup for each muffler and try each muffler you want or no mufflers at all. Then compare results, flow numbers with mufflers don't mean much.

[bradthomashines]

That's not a good comparison because if you have a less powerful motor, you'd go with the lesser flowing heads.
I really don't know which is better, the only way and I mean the only way to know which is better is to have the perfect exhaust setup for each muffler and try each muffler you want or no mufflers at all. Then compare results, flow numbers with mufflers don't mean much.

if you were to take a stock truck with stock everything cut the stock muffler off and throw on a flowmaster it will gain some performance due to the fact that the flowmaster flows better than the restrictive stock muffler. but if you take that same truck and an even better flowing muffler it will have an even better power increase bottom line.

[lt63]

Your one of those people that flock to something everyone says online and takes it as gospel. Sorry to say but there is a lot of bull$hit out there.


Lets wait for the flowmaster rep to come in this thread.

[94_c/1500]

Your one of those people that flock to something everyone says online and takes it as gospel. Sorry to say but there is a lot of bull$hit out there.


Lets wait for the flowmaster rep to come in this thread.

He already did, post #3.

[lt63]

Well i mean now that brad is trashing flowmaster.

jbt will set him straight.

[bradthomashines]

Well i mean now that brad is trashing flowmaster.

jbt will set him straight.

man im not trashing flowmaster im just saying my experience and what seems to be everyone elsles experience with them and the numbers dont lie when it comes to a flow chart just google one.

[lt63]

Flow chart dont mean anything when it comes to mufflers.

[bradthomashines]

Flow chart dont mean anything when it comes to mufflers.

oh it don't well give me a very thorough explanation as to why the flow of a muffler means absolutely nothing i can't wait to read this :)

[bradthomashines]

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/5-0l-talk/26600-muffler-shootout.html

one of the many muffler flow test/dyno test conducted which is one of the reason alot of people say the very thing i said from the get go and experienced first hand on my own truck. is flowmaster a bad muffler? no I've also heard people complain about the quality of their flowmaster rotting out etc.. but im not commenting on that becuase i have no experience with that sort of thing and flowmaster but i can speak in the performance category

[ZF6LLY]

on my 6.0 i have 2 super 40s and i love them great sound and no drone
o yea i have 3 inch piping

[SierraDan]

Look at this, on a dyno the Flowmaster is on par with the other mufflers, not a big difference and wouldn't be noticable on the street: http://www.qsl.net/st0f/mufflers.htm

And here is another test done on a car at the strip, one Flowmaster doesn't do so hot but the other does, I think one is a standard style and the other is a Delta Flow: http://www.pontiacstreetperformance.com/psp/exhaust.html

[shakesvho]

I always use flowmaster and had no type of problems, and I like the sound

[94_c/1500]

Look at this, on a dyno the Flowmaster is on par with the other mufflers, not a big difference and wouldn't be noticable on the street: http://www.qsl.net/st0f/mufflers.htm

And here is another test done on a car at the strip, one Flowmaster doesn't do so hot but the other does, I think one is a standard style and the other is a Delta Flow: http://www.pontiacstreetperformance.com/psp/exhaust.html

I'm not sure I can believe the first link you posted, look at the differences between open exhaust and the open Warlocks. Dosn't even say which Flowmaster they used.

[bradthomashines]

Look at this, on a dyno the Flowmaster is on par with the other mufflers, not a big difference and wouldn't be noticable on the street: http://www.qsl.net/st0f/mufflers.htm

And here is another test done on a car at the strip, one Flowmaster doesn't do so hot but the other does, I think one is a standard style and the other is a Delta Flow: http://www.pontiacstreetperformance.com/psp/exhaust.html

you basically proved my point with both of those post. in both of the post flowmaster wouldnt be the best choice for performance. I agree from diff. cars to diff. engines results will vary but in my personal experience my straight pipes gave me much more power where i wanted it than the flowmasters and i beleive had i went with a magnaflow or borla or dynomax bullets i would have an even better power curve.

[bradthomashines]

Look at this, on a dyno the Flowmaster is on par with the other mufflers, not a big difference and wouldn't be noticable on the street: http://www.qsl.net/st0f/mufflers.htm

And here is another test done on a car at the strip, one Flowmaster doesn't do so hot but the other does, I think one is a standard style and the other is a Delta Flow: http://www.pontiacstreetperformance.com/psp/exhaust.html

you basically proved my point with both of those post. in both of the post flowmaster wouldnt be the best choice for performance. I agree from diff. cars to diff. engines results will vary but in my personal experience my straight pipes gave me much more power where i wanted it than the flowmasters and i beleive had i went with a magnaflow or borla or dynomax bullets i would have an even better power curve.

[adam728]

you basically proved my point with both of those post. in both of the post flowmaster wouldnt be the best choice for performance. I agree from diff. cars to diff. engines results will vary but in my personal experience my straight pipes gave me much more power where i wanted it than the flowmasters and i beleive had i went with a magnaflow or borla or dynomax bullets i would have an even better power curve.

How did you walk away from those links feeling it supported your claims? The Flowmaster made more than 4 more hp at peak than the straight pipes did, and low end was about equal. That sure doesn't sound like it's getting choked off like you claim.

Of course, then look at the Borla, which made 17 ft-lbs more down low, and 4-8 hp more up top.

I won't argue that Flowmaster's are the end-all-be-all of performance mufflers. But I will argue that your information is flawed. The whole "how fast an engine can pump air" is WAY over simplified, velocities and pulse timing (both intake and exhaust) are the keys to making power. If it were just about flow than you should hog out the cylinder head ports as large as humanly possible and run 6" dual exhaust.

[94_c/1500]

I don't claim to be an expert on which muffler is best, but that test is flawed.

[StreetFreak]

Brad, if you put flowmasters on that truck I will come cut them off and throw them away while you sleep. Go with a good muffler and you wont regret it. Magnaflow, Borla, Corsa, or Cherry Bomb vortex would be good choices

[94_c/1500]

The Vortex is said to be one of the quietest Cherry Bombs, I wouldn't buy it.

[StreetFreak]

Theyre not quiet at all when they are broken in. Great sounding muffler that makes good torque and hp

[brutal]

The Vortex is said to be one of the quietest Cherry Bombs, I couldnt afford it.

fixed :lol:


Brad, we havent met yet but i have LT headers, 2.5 inch duals and a magnaflow DI/DO 18 inch muffler, if you wanna meet up and hear it, im down. Hunter has the same muffler, but shorty headers and stock pipes

on the tobic of no-flows, there restrictive, rot out, rattle, and everyone and there mother has one. i love my magnaflow, and as far as performence, its a stright threw muffler, no restriction

[94_c/1500]

fixed :lol:


Brad, we havent met yet but i have LT headers, 2.5 inch duals and a magnaflow DI/DO 18 inch muffler, if you wanna meet up and hear it, im down. Hunter has the same muffler, but shorty headers and stock pipes

on the tobic of no-flows, there restrictive, rot out, rattle, and everyone and there mother has one. i love my magnaflow, and as far as performence, its a stright threw muffler, no restriction

I think you mean magnoflows, right? We could go on about this pitty BS all day, I'm stopping now before we get banned. I guess I'll be the better person.

[brutal]

wow, your a dumbass.
how can a muffler that you can see stright through be restrictive?

[bradthomashines]

How did you walk away from those links feeling it supported your claims? The Flowmaster made more than 4 more hp at peak than the straight pipes did, and low end was about equal. That sure doesn't sound like it's getting choked off like you claim.

Of course, then look at the Borla, which made 17 ft-lbs more down low, and 4-8 hp more up top.

I won't argue that Flowmaster's are the end-all-be-all of performance mufflers. But I will argue that your information is flawed. The whole "how fast an engine can pump air" is WAY over simplified, velocities and pulse timing (both intake and exhaust) are the keys to making power. If it were just about flow than you should hog out the cylinder head ports as large as humanly possible and run 6" dual exhaust.

oh im sorry i didnt know superchargers/turbos weren't meant to force more air into the engines and port work,cams,larger valves etc. meant to allow more air to escape and at a faster pace hmm silly me. of course the applications i listed were in the extreme category for mods to move air through more effiecienty but lets look at some of the basic mods such as a CAI? k&n drop in filter? larger intake tube? larger throttle body? cam to keep valves open longer? tuning? headers? hmm all of which in some way shape or form either allow more air into the engine or more air out of the engine?

[bradthomashines]

wow, your a dumbass.
how can a muffler that you can see stright through be restrictive?

I'd love to hear it because im thinking about getting a straight through magnaflow or some dynomax bullets.

[brutal]

do it:read: mean tone, no loss in flow

[bradthomashines]

do it:read: mean tone, no loss in flow

sounds like me! but flow doesnt mean anything right adam728? lol

[brutal]

ever heard hunters truck?

[StreetFreak]

Correct haha

me and james are both running the 18" di do magnaflow. The design is basically a preferated x pipe. Been a great muffler

[brutal]

:word:

[SierraDan]

oh im sorry i didnt know superchargers/turbos weren't meant to force more air into the engines and port work,cams,larger valves etc. meant to allow more air to escape and at a faster pace hmm silly me. of course the applications i listed were in the extreme category for mods to move air through more effiecienty but lets look at some of the basic mods such as a CAI? k&n drop in filter? larger intake tube? larger throttle body? cam to keep valves open longer? tuning? headers? hmm all of which in some way shape or form either allow more air into the engine or more air out of the engine?
He means an engine is different than a flowbench, the two aren't the same. On a flowbench where a lot of companies test mufflers, it's not a completely acurate test because they don't take into account the fact that and engine doesn't produce a steady airstream out of it's exhaust like a flowbench does, a dyno test or street/track test should be used for best testing results. For accurate measuring, test the mufflers on a car, not an air pump machine.

[adam728]

He means an engine is different than a flowbench, the two aren't the same. On a flowbench where a lot of companies test mufflers, it's not a completely acurate test because they don't take into account the fact that and engine doesn't produce a steady airstream out of it's exhaust like a flowbench does, a dyno test or street/track test should be used for best testing results. For accurate measuring, test the mufflers on a car, not an air pump machine.

Thank you, and yes. An engine is far from a steady airflow. Harmonics play a huge roll in many aspects of an engine. Air has mass, and properly timing harmonics can use the momentum of that mass to ram air into or pull air out of an engine. There's entire books written about exhaust theories, negative pressure waves, tuned lengths/diameters/rpm levels, etc. Simply saying "It flows more on a bench" does not mean it's better or will make more power.

For the record I am a fan of straight-through designs over baffled mufflers. But straight-through doesn't mean zero resitance. There's still boundry layers, turbulence, eddies, etc that can effect flow.

[jordankaden81]

i vote supper 40...... as far as the truck bogging down, i had the same problem with my truck. i cut the dual thrush welded off and went with glasspacks to see if it was the mufflers and i havent had one single bogging issue since the change.