Opinion Needed: Aftermarket Mufflers on Stock Exhaust?
Aftermarket Mufflers on Stock Exhaust?
Been inquiring about giving my ‘04 Jr. Edition SS a more aggressive sound. 3.8L V6 w/ supercharger. I’ve been reading a lot saying that changing the muffler itself will not be enough to change the sound significantly, and I need to replace my entire exhaust. I’m not quite ready to replace the exhaust, but I’m interested in the Flowmaster Super 40s, and have watched multiple videos of them on V6 engines sounding pretty damn good. Will these mufflers change the sound? Please give me a little insight, thank you guys!
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,159
From: Coal City,Il
The resonator and cat take out a ton of noise. Changing the mufflers alone will give you a tiny bit more sound but not much. If you delete the cat and res AND change the mufflers youll get a lot louder but these cars have a HUGE problem with being raspy, the louder they get. Idle sounds great. Mid to high RPM sounds like a tin can. There are solutions..
Aftermarket glasspack in place of the res/cat in addition to the flowmasters would be tolerable but still raspy.
What I did was the glasspack in place of res/cat, thrush turbo mufflers, and custom T-Pipe to replace the stock Y-Pipe. That T-pipe eliminated the remaining rasp..
Oh, and look up u-bend delete. You wont have any power gain whatsoever without doing that and even that doesnt add much.
Doing my setup but with the flowmasters instead sounds like what you want. Itll be louder and sound decent. The mufflers I use are a bit on the quiet side.
Ultimately tho, changing the mufflers alone will give you a little more sound with minimal rasp. So... Its a starting point.
Aftermarket glasspack in place of the res/cat in addition to the flowmasters would be tolerable but still raspy.
What I did was the glasspack in place of res/cat, thrush turbo mufflers, and custom T-Pipe to replace the stock Y-Pipe. That T-pipe eliminated the remaining rasp..
Oh, and look up u-bend delete. You wont have any power gain whatsoever without doing that and even that doesnt add much.
Doing my setup but with the flowmasters instead sounds like what you want. Itll be louder and sound decent. The mufflers I use are a bit on the quiet side.
Ultimately tho, changing the mufflers alone will give you a little more sound with minimal rasp. So... Its a starting point.
The resonator and cat take out a ton of noise. Changing the mufflers alone will give you a tiny bit more sound but not much. If you delete the cat and res AND change the mufflers youll get a lot louder but these cars have a HUGE problem with being raspy, the louder they get. Idle sounds great. Mid to high RPM sounds like a tin can. There are solutions..
Aftermarket glasspack in place of the res/cat in addition to the flowmasters would be tolerable but still raspy.
What I did was the glasspack in place of res/cat, thrush turbo mufflers, and custom T-Pipe to replace the stock Y-Pipe. That T-pipe eliminated the remaining rasp..
Oh, and look up u-bend delete. You wont have any power gain whatsoever without doing that and even that doesnt add much.
Doing my setup but with the flowmasters instead sounds like what you want. Itll be louder and sound decent. The mufflers I use are a bit on the quiet side.
Ultimately tho, changing the mufflers alone will give you a little more sound with minimal rasp. So... Its a starting point.
Aftermarket glasspack in place of the res/cat in addition to the flowmasters would be tolerable but still raspy.
What I did was the glasspack in place of res/cat, thrush turbo mufflers, and custom T-Pipe to replace the stock Y-Pipe. That T-pipe eliminated the remaining rasp..
Oh, and look up u-bend delete. You wont have any power gain whatsoever without doing that and even that doesnt add much.
Doing my setup but with the flowmasters instead sounds like what you want. Itll be louder and sound decent. The mufflers I use are a bit on the quiet side.
Ultimately tho, changing the mufflers alone will give you a little more sound with minimal rasp. So... Its a starting point.
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,159
From: Coal City,Il
Resonator, no problems.
As for the catalytic converter, you might have difficulty finding a shop thatll remove it and if you have vehicle checks in your state youll fail. There are high flow aftermarket cats but theyre expensive.
You can take what I said to a shop and ask, "what can you guys do?" You might get lucky and theyll remove the cat. I believe it may be illegal tho. So big name stores absolutely wont do it. Some smaller shops will.
If removing the cat is something they wont do, replace the resonator with a glasspack and swap mufflers. Deleting the u-bend adds a little bit of sound but if youre having someone else do the work its gonna get pricey. The o2 sensor is in there and theyll have to weld in a bung. BUT you can just remove that o2 sensor and deal with the check engine light or buy a canned PCM with that code removed.
Spend some more time on YT tho and try to get more references before you decide anything. Look up anything with the supercharged 3800, grand prix, impala, whatever. Know tho, the superchaged 3800s will have different results than NA 3800s. Theyre quite similar but still can be quite different.
As for the catalytic converter, you might have difficulty finding a shop thatll remove it and if you have vehicle checks in your state youll fail. There are high flow aftermarket cats but theyre expensive.
You can take what I said to a shop and ask, "what can you guys do?" You might get lucky and theyll remove the cat. I believe it may be illegal tho. So big name stores absolutely wont do it. Some smaller shops will.
If removing the cat is something they wont do, replace the resonator with a glasspack and swap mufflers. Deleting the u-bend adds a little bit of sound but if youre having someone else do the work its gonna get pricey. The o2 sensor is in there and theyll have to weld in a bung. BUT you can just remove that o2 sensor and deal with the check engine light or buy a canned PCM with that code removed.
Spend some more time on YT tho and try to get more references before you decide anything. Look up anything with the supercharged 3800, grand prix, impala, whatever. Know tho, the superchaged 3800s will have different results than NA 3800s. Theyre quite similar but still can be quite different.
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 6,465
IMO besides an all out build (or a stock setup that was rusted out), I'd never suggest replacing the whole exhaust anyways. There's really no power to be had by changing to slightly larger piping and its generally very expensive for a full exhaust system replacement.
Also IMO, I wouldnt suggest touching the cat either, especially on a fairly stock car. No doubt it changes the sound, but its the only exhaust component where removing it is actually bad for the environment and can cause fines. As mentioned above, most big shops won't touch it because it's not worth the risk of a several thousand dollar fine for a $50 job (cutting out the cat and welding in straight pipe). Don't get me wrong, I'm no hardcore environmentalist, but I also don't like the idea of every modder hacking their cat off their stock car 'because it sounds cool'.
Personally, I'd just stick to replacing the muffler and removing or replacing the resonator. Id just take it down to the local muffler shop and see what suggestions they've got. If you're curious how much impact the stock mufflers have, have them fire the car up for a few revs after they cut them off. I think they're a bit more impactful than you may be thinking.
I do certainly agree with the above advice though- the 3800 is generally a very bad / raspy sounding engine, especially the louder exhaust you get. Figuring out generally what you like on YouTube or from local 3800 members cars is a good idea. There are certain setups that are more tolerable than others. But you definitely need to come to terms that its never going to sound great, that in general others people will generally dislike the sound, and that it'll never sound like a v8 (not that you implied this, its just a common request in exhaust threads).
Also IMO, I wouldnt suggest touching the cat either, especially on a fairly stock car. No doubt it changes the sound, but its the only exhaust component where removing it is actually bad for the environment and can cause fines. As mentioned above, most big shops won't touch it because it's not worth the risk of a several thousand dollar fine for a $50 job (cutting out the cat and welding in straight pipe). Don't get me wrong, I'm no hardcore environmentalist, but I also don't like the idea of every modder hacking their cat off their stock car 'because it sounds cool'.
Personally, I'd just stick to replacing the muffler and removing or replacing the resonator. Id just take it down to the local muffler shop and see what suggestions they've got. If you're curious how much impact the stock mufflers have, have them fire the car up for a few revs after they cut them off. I think they're a bit more impactful than you may be thinking.
I do certainly agree with the above advice though- the 3800 is generally a very bad / raspy sounding engine, especially the louder exhaust you get. Figuring out generally what you like on YouTube or from local 3800 members cars is a good idea. There are certain setups that are more tolerable than others. But you definitely need to come to terms that its never going to sound great, that in general others people will generally dislike the sound, and that it'll never sound like a v8 (not that you implied this, its just a common request in exhaust threads).
Last edited by bumpin96monte; Oct 21, 2020 at 09:49 AM.
Resonator, no problems.
As for the catalytic converter, you might have difficulty finding a shop thatll remove it and if you have vehicle checks in your state youll fail. There are high flow aftermarket cats but theyre expensive.
You can take what I said to a shop and ask, "what can you guys do?" You might get lucky and theyll remove the cat. I believe it may be illegal tho. So big name stores absolutely wont do it. Some smaller shops will.
If removing the cat is something they wont do, replace the resonator with a glasspack and swap mufflers. Deleting the u-bend adds a little bit of sound but if youre having someone else do the work its gonna get pricey. The o2 sensor is in there and theyll have to weld in a bung. BUT you can just remove that o2 sensor and deal with the check engine light or buy a canned PCM with that code removed.
Spend some more time on YT tho and try to get more references before you decide anything. Look up anything with the supercharged 3800, grand prix, impala, whatever. Know tho, the superchaged 3800s will have different results than NA 3800s. Theyre quite similar but still can be quite different.
As for the catalytic converter, you might have difficulty finding a shop thatll remove it and if you have vehicle checks in your state youll fail. There are high flow aftermarket cats but theyre expensive.
You can take what I said to a shop and ask, "what can you guys do?" You might get lucky and theyll remove the cat. I believe it may be illegal tho. So big name stores absolutely wont do it. Some smaller shops will.
If removing the cat is something they wont do, replace the resonator with a glasspack and swap mufflers. Deleting the u-bend adds a little bit of sound but if youre having someone else do the work its gonna get pricey. The o2 sensor is in there and theyll have to weld in a bung. BUT you can just remove that o2 sensor and deal with the check engine light or buy a canned PCM with that code removed.
Spend some more time on YT tho and try to get more references before you decide anything. Look up anything with the supercharged 3800, grand prix, impala, whatever. Know tho, the superchaged 3800s will have different results than NA 3800s. Theyre quite similar but still can be quite different.
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,159
From: Coal City,Il
The difference between the raspy mufflers and the more mild ones are the way theyre built. The flowmaster 40s have an open "walled" interior where as something like the thrush turbo are chambered with insulating material packed within. Just for better understanding.
Hes right about swapping the resonator not having much of an impact. Its more of an added personality to the tone of it.
Ive also had the 40s on my car and got real tired of it the first day. Same with thrush welded (i think theyre called). Then ive tried a ton of no name mufflers as well as stock mufflers from other cars. Ultimately settled with the turbo mufflers as you know already.
Yea, I can definitely get a video. Later probably. Gives me a reason to go beat on my car a little.
Hes right about swapping the resonator not having much of an impact. Its more of an added personality to the tone of it.
Ive also had the 40s on my car and got real tired of it the first day. Same with thrush welded (i think theyre called). Then ive tried a ton of no name mufflers as well as stock mufflers from other cars. Ultimately settled with the turbo mufflers as you know already.
Yea, I can definitely get a video. Later probably. Gives me a reason to go beat on my car a little.
My experience:
Stock exhaust, had stock muffler cut off and had a Flowmaster Deltaflow 40 installed. Made it MUCH louder with no tip on the end of the muffler. Later on had resonator removed, heard no change in exhaust sound. The biggest difference in loudness is actually the exhaust tip. I bolted a smaller dual exhaust tip on and it made the car VERY quiet. Took the tip off and bolted on a larger 3.5" tip and the loudness returned. A lot of people don't like the sound of these cars with aftermarket mufflers. I personally like my 3800 with single exhaust, Flowmaster Deltaflow 40.
Stock exhaust, had stock muffler cut off and had a Flowmaster Deltaflow 40 installed. Made it MUCH louder with no tip on the end of the muffler. Later on had resonator removed, heard no change in exhaust sound. The biggest difference in loudness is actually the exhaust tip. I bolted a smaller dual exhaust tip on and it made the car VERY quiet. Took the tip off and bolted on a larger 3.5" tip and the loudness returned. A lot of people don't like the sound of these cars with aftermarket mufflers. I personally like my 3800 with single exhaust, Flowmaster Deltaflow 40.
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