03 ss monte carlo exhaust system
 

Hi im new to the forum. Im looking to put an exhaust system in my 03 ss monte carlo. What kind of set up and what brand do you guys recommend? Something that sounds deep, Im also thinking of putting in a cold air intake. I appriciate your help.

When it comes to exhaust what sounds good to one person may sound terrible to another. Your best bet would be to spend a little time over at youtube listening to exhaust clips of 3.8 Monte Carlos and see if any of them are to your liking. ;) I'm still running my stock mufflers but replaced the resonator with a Magnaflow glasspack and like the way it sounds.

Yea i guess thats true. Thats what im going to do. Thanks for the advice.

Also change your USERCP settings to show all threads instead of just threads that are 1 month old, then head over to the intake/exhaust section.

We have A TON of information over there.

No problem. Let us know what you decide on and post up some pics of your Monte if you get a chance. :thumbsup:

search, search and search some more!

after you do that if you still have questions, then ask, there's a lot of threads on this asking basically what you're asking, personally I would go with magnaflow for the best tone with the least rasp. Don't do anything too dramatic especially with the 3800, it will sound like crap

Get a downpipe with u-bend delete if you get a whole new system

once you get into the higher rpm's u will have a raspy sound no matter what you do with mufflers, resonators, downpipes, headers, catalytic converters etc..... are cars with the 3800 engine is almost impossible to get good sound out of.....

lol... no, ROFLMAO.:rotfl: Tuff 6 - 2008 Street Commodores Skid Pan Day - YouTube
i guess it depends on whether or not you care for the sound of anything but a v8 with a big cam... oh wait no it doesn't Cammed Gtp 600/601 lift cam - YouTube

I am NOT insulting anyone, i'm just trying to put it out there that you can do whatever you want with the exhaust, as long as you have basic understanding on how the engine makes a sound, and depending upon how it's piped it can have a wide variety of sounds. the crazy cam that sound big block-ish aside the 3.8 is tough to make sound like a v8, but it can be done.

i am not here to argue either but i am just speaking from experience as well that no stock gm 3800 engine has a good sounding exhaust in HIGHER rpms. if you have a video of a stock car in higher rpms and it still sounds good then i will be proven wrong but that one video is at idle and in both videos the cars are very built engines so it has nothing to do with my statement fyi. it is cammed head work etc which makes a difference in sound right there.... just saying... my monte is a turbo car with ported heads, cam, etc running open downpipe and it sounds OK not great in the HIGHER rpms. but i will say the best sounding gm 3800 cars are the turbo cars with open downpipe in the HIGHER rpms but they still dont sound like a huge built v8! only at idle can you get these cars to sound decent IMO.

i completely agree that off idle it will never sound like a v8, but you can get damn nice sound out of these, it's ALL in the way it's piped

why true dual and length matching is important:
V6 Camaro Magnaflow - YouTube stock engine
V6 Camaro true duals - YouTube *cammed*
V6 Camaro Exhaust vid - YouTube stock engine
V6 Camaro flyby - YouTube stock engine
V6 Camaro Exhaust - YouTube stock engine

and i still haven't found the one i was looking for :(

ever sat down and actaully thought about what actually causes the rasp/ what it actually is? I have, and that's why i'm not backing down on this.

I been looking at youtube and i have come a couple that i like how they sound. But im still looking not ready to make a decision yet.

My Camaro sounds like trash.

It's not fair to compare the sound of a 3800 Camaro to the sound of a 3800 Monte Carlo. Same goes for the 3800 Grand Prix. The Grand Prix and Camaro sound way deeper than the Monte and I have no idea why. My brothers '02 Grand prix GT has the EXACT same exhaust set up as mine u-bend and res and cat and everything, and yet you turn his on and it gives a deep growl and it's fairly loud. Turn mine on and all it does is queef -_-

the 97-03 prix gt and 00-05 monte ss have the same exact engine/exhaust combo from the factory with different tailpipe spacing and tips, so one thing or another is different between your setups. possibly one of you put the mufflers or resonator in backward, which happens alot actually

the camaro's sound like junk from the factory just like the monte's/imapla's/prix's/regal's the only difference is that you can do a length matched true dual setup without meaning to do exactly that because the engine sits the proper direction 98 Camaro 3.8 Liter Stock Exhaust - YouTube

Mine has an aftermarket exhaust from the previous owner. It's so bad, but I don't feel like putting any money into changing it, since this car isn't my money pit.

I remember owning my 2003 Monte Carlo SS and badly wanting to add an aftermarket exhaust system to it, to make it sound meaner, more aggressive, louder, and intimidating. Looking back on it now, I am so glad I didn't. 90% of 3800's with aftermarket exhaust systems sound really bad, and like complete trash in WOT. And the 10% that do sound good are usually cammed, turbo'd, or are on a 3800 Camaro. It's really not worth it to try and make your car sound more aggressive, because in the end after you do put one of these systems on, you'll most likely be the laughing stock of everyone else on the road. The sound of a 3800 with one of the aftermarket cat-backs doesn't intimidate people, it doesn't make them impressed, instead it gives them something to laugh at. It's not easy making a V6 sound like a V8, and I know that's what most people are going for.

Adding a downpipe and CAI will add a little bit more volume to the exhaust note without making it obnoxiously loud, raspy, and ricer sounding.

Your best bet it to use that money in performance modifications. A car that will be truly impressive and admirable is a sleeper. A car that surprises a driver of a V8 powered car because the sleeper is so quiet and unassuming, no one would really look at one of these 3800 Monte Carlo's and expect for it to be fast.

A CAI, L67 conversion, smaller Supercharger pulley, downpipe, better tires, shift kit, and a Stall for the transmission would put your car in V8 territory, killing any stock Mustang GT from 2004 and prior, and suprising a few other cars. In my opinion, that would be your best option.

Also, just to add to what causes the rasp from these engines, I believe it's mostly due to the Y-pipe exhaust. If you were to get a set of true dual exhaust, with an H-pipe or X-pipe you would reduce and eliminate almost all of your rasp, completely.

close, very close, it's actually the difference in distance the sound has to travel from each bank of cylinders, the only way to eliminate this would be a true dual setup: front cylinders out the passenger side and rear out the driver side, along with a good pair of resonators, the reason h and xpipes work on RWD cars is because their engines are the correct direction and are naturally length matched with a true dual setup

an h pipe could be placed very close to the outlet behind the bumper but not before

:rotfl::thumbsup::congrats: hahahaha i wish, but sadly it is impossible to get these to sound like a v8 at high rpms... unless you can get ahold of Mr. Potter

i'm not saying v8 sound is possible, just that you can make the fwd 3.8 sound beautiful in its own way with a little custom exhaust work

Apparently none of you have listened to a grand prix gt, both of my brothers grand prix gt's sound great with the stock exhaust, funny because my older brothers 02 grand prix gt has the exact same exhaust as mine and his sounds entirely different. You can't hear the monte carlo ss at idle.

Oh and 03l67ss what moron would put them in backwards? My brothers hasn't been touched, and I dont think my exhaust has either. It sounds terrible though. Like, I like my car until I realise it makes as much noise as a prius. The engine makes noise obviously, but like I said when the car is idling I can't here it at all, and the exhaust barely get's any louder when you rev it.

I have heard the Grand Prix GT's in stock form with stock exhaust, and for the 3800 V6, that's about as good as they sound. And even that exhaust note is a little debatable. With this engine, the quieter it is, the better. They do not sound good at WOT with an aftermarket exhaust system. Only way it'll sound mean is with a turbocharger, a supercharger whine, or maybe a Cam, but I haven't heard a cammed 3800 in a long time.

Maybe it has something to do with the mufflers? If you look up the exhaust system for both cars they use the same resonator but different part numbers are shown for the mufflers. Unless the hangers are different (and that's the reason for different part numbers) why would they offer a different muffler when they could have coverage with 2 parts instead of 4?

Correction you have not heard my monte's mufflers.. You say they can't sound good, but then again all of your opinions on sounding good I have found to be debatable, the video I posted of the monte with summit racing glasspacks i thought sounded good.

Idk maybe.. but 03l67ss over here is saying they are the same.

even the supercharged cars at WOT dont sound the greatest, the best sounding 3800 is a cammed turbo car. i run my stage 5 turbo cam cartuning kit open dp (way to loud for a daily driver) and its one of the best i have heard so far. but even a cammed turbo car running through the whole exhaust dont sound that great..... thats just the nature of the 3800 they really sound like crap stock engine with aftermarket exhaust, although the more you do to the engine the better it will sound.

I'm uploading a video of my exhaust right now.

my turbo monte, stage 5 turbo cam, ported heads, intercooled cartuning turbo kit, open dp, and a whole lot more....

walk around video:

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/...2897485012.jpg

40mph-90mph pull:

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/...2881709014.jpg

drive by:

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/...2881728806.jpg

The video:

2000 Monte Carlo SS - Exhaust - YouTube

Sounds good at low rpms, raspy at higher... I guess Ill upload a video of mine tomorrow since everyone else is lol. I have an old video but I didnt rev it much...

2002 Monte Carlo SS ZZP Downpipe, No Muffler - YouTube

Your car is the best sounding one I have heard, although I haven't heard it moving or anything, you were the one that made me wanna do straight pipes. I believe yours are true duals too, looks like you have an H pipe.

And, actually it sounds awful, I know you could hear it on the camera, but in person you can't tell my car is on.

Thanks! Wish it was TRUE Duals! Single pipe converting to y-pipe, I had a custom intake (no longer have), zzp downpipe with high flow cat, resonator delete, and muffler delete... My next mod is most likely gonna be a front plog and 3 inch exhaust then ill be done with the exhaust... Im gonna get a better video tomorrow with some high reving and maybe even a drive-by if my neighbors arent p!$$ed by then :rotfl:

You're one of my favorite guys on the monte forum cause you actually like the way your car sounds with straight pipes.. lol. I don't get why people are so against an exhaust that cackels and stuff, my friend has a srt-4 stage 3 turbo with 3 in straight pipe side exit and that thing is loud as a mofo, and when it cackels it shoots fireballs at you lol. I personally like the pure sound of an engine flowing through straight pipes :P Like I've always said though I love the way yours sounds. Mine... not so much.

Right! It doesnt take much to get it sounding like that... If you can hang online for a few minutes I just shot the video of my exhuast and revs and some stunts :P

Straight pipes are a way to get the purest and truest sound of the car, I would know, I basically have straight pipes on my Camaro.

Okay cool. Only reason I haven't done straight pipes is my pre-trial diverson that ends 9/11.

Muffler's are like make-up. They hide the true demon inside.

:rotfl:

Very true! So to all the folks out here viewing this thread, if you have a Honda please dont try to make it sound like a v6 or v8. If you have a v6 dont try and make it sound like a v8, be different... I truly believe that with a plog and 3 inch exhaust that this car can sound nice, even though you will lose a lot of low end... I have 34 minutes until my new exhaust video is published on Youtube, for some reason it was 450mb lol.

Correct!!! That truck in my video sounded badazz! I had a 351W and the exhaust dumped right at the cabin with no cats no resonators no mufflers or anything! Everytime I drove it around the block neighbors were mad! The bad part about it was that im not use to driving a stick and the truck was a stick. The only way I can drive a standard good was if I was going fast, so guess how I drove it around the block lol (Kids in school). It sat in that spot for 4 months until I sold it for $500...

LOL. That's so ghetto.

And we are live! I have some rasp also but o well lol.

2002 Monte Carlo ss Exhaust - YouTube