Aftermarket Universal Exhausts--Cautions

[XyodaOwner]

Just tried 3 exhaust flavors and want to caution those thinking about the same. 1> Straight pipe....very nice if you like the racetrack ricerocket sound and never want to hear your radio at anything but idle. 2> AeroTurbine, Finished Tip version....awesome looks on this straight through muffler with it's massive exit, but again, it is LOUD on full throttle. very much like an F1 car; fairly prominent resonance at constant 2,000 rpm; but fairly quiet at other cruise speeds. 3> AeroTurbine with stock resonator....tones down resonance around 2K rpm and quiets the muffler slightly; keeps the F1/RickyRacer tone.

btw, when running straight or just an exhaust with no resonator, be careful of mounting the exhaust can too close to the body...the straight exhaust path and the ulev status make for a very hot exhaust...read that as melt paint or bumper. also, the stock resonator is pretty interesting construction for OEM; it's a straight-thru design, very much like an aftermarket motorcycle can.

finally, this setup does NOT produce the V8 sound some are looking for...don't think there's going to be anyway to make a vtec sound like a pushrod, but the best bet would likely be a turbo-style canister, not a straight-thru.

[colorider]

^ Welcome to the forum and thanks for the info on exhaust options. Notice you are in Colorado - where did you go to try the different set-ups?

:)

[Waterbug]

XyodaOwner wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")
...don't think there's going to be anyway to make a vtec sound like a pushrod, but the best bet would likely be a turbo-style canister, not a straight-thru.


Making a Vtec sound like a pushrod is kinda like buying the cheapest speakers you can find, to make your CD player sound like AM radio. :)

[XyodaOwner]

Custom muffler place at the SW corner of Coldfacts & Kipling. As for the crack about the V8 pushrod sound....ain't that the truth.

[colorider]

XyodaOwner wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")Custom muffler place at the SW corner of Coldfacts & Kipling. As for the crack about the V8 pushrod sound....ain't that the truth.

Just curious. Lakewood Muffler is a pretty decent place for custom duals, although I don't know if they have done any RidgeLines yet.

[XyodaOwner]

After driving with the AeroFlow for awhile, I decided to send it back to the Chevy it came off of....too much ricerocket resonance, even with the stock resonator. Colorider...took your advice and went to Lakewood Muffler. Nice work and a nice price. Installed a 24" Magnaflow 12286 and went with 2.5" pipe all the way (stock starts at 2.5 and necks to 2.25, then 2.0). This is a much better setup...quieter, but no discernible backpressure. Sound is lower, much more V8-like, particularly with the combined noise of the AFE intake. BTW, Magnaflow is planning full SS 2.5" exhaust, and sound clips can be heard here...

http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/shopexd.asp?zone=Trucks&id=1171

the sound i now have is very similar, and the cost was $250, but no SS pipes..just aluminized & painted steel.

[colorider]

XyodaOwner wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")After driving with the AeroFlow for awhile, I decided to send it back to the Chevy it came off of....too much ricerocket resonance, even with the stock resonator. Colorider...took your advice and went to Lakewood Muffler. Nice work and a nice price. Installed a 24" Magnaflow 12286 and went with 2.5" pipe all the way (stock starts at 2.5 and necks to 2.25, then 2.0). This is a much better setup...quieter, but no discernible backpressure. Sound is lower, much more V8-like, particularly with the combined noise of the AFE intake. BTW, Magnaflow is planning full SS 2.5" exhaust, and sound clips can be heard here...

http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/shopexd.asp?zone=Trucks&id=1171

the sound i now have is very similar, and the cost was $250, but no SS pipes..just aluminized & painted steel.

Cool - not bad at all!!! They do GREAT work IMHO.

[XyodaOwner]

agreed. i should have mentioned that the Magnaflow factory replacement exhaust will run $700 or so. also, i put the 24" magnaflow at the factory resonator location....some vehicles are sensitive to placement of resonators. since the magnaflow is similar in construction to the factory resonator, i figured why chance locating it at the rear?

[Boxsky]

If the OEM resonator is very similiar to the Magnaflow why bother swapping it out. The tubing is not that restrictive and the biggest bang would be swapping out the muffler alone.

It's like putting on a AFE, K&N filter set up put not polishing the intake You get hp gains by taking the most restrictive part out at a lot cheaper costs. What will the tubing give you a 1/2hp over OEM?