moondance

Was thinking of putting a new muffler on the Z since it has the stock one still there. I want loud and good flow for sure. I was thinking either magnaflow or hooker. Which one of these two would be best for the sound and performance?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HOK-21729HKR/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MPE-12267/

Thanks for the advice.

94QuasarZ

Magnaflow is always a good choice for performance as it is one of the best-flowing mufflers out there. They're made of stainless steel so rust isn't an issue with them either, they're pretty tame behind stock manifolds though. Hooker sounds great but they've been known to rust after a little while. If this is the setup you plan on sticking with for a while, I'd go with Magnaflow, you can always doctor it up to sound better/louder as you go (gut/delete the cat, LTs, etc.). If you just want her to sound a little louder for now and plan on changing it again down the road sometime, then I'd go with hooker.

Youtube is always a good place to look to hear exhaust notes, but check out http://www.ls1sounds.com as well. There are a lot of different setups for our cars on there and it should help tremendously with your search. Also, it discusses various other mods that you may be considering for your beast. It's a pretty informative website.

It all depends on what kind of sound you're looking for and how long you plan to keep the setup. Hope this helps, good luck with your choice.

Cheers

moondance

Plan on it being this way a while. Cant afford LT cam and tune like I would like to have. I like it lound and mean sounding for sure. Thought about even maybe a cherry bomb lol

94QuasarZ

A cherry bomb would def scream on an LS1 Hooker sounds it's your muffler of choice then. If your car is a DD or is driven in elements at all, I'd highly recommend getting some sort of ceramic coating or something on it because they are known to rust pretty easily. Borla mufflers sound pretty nice too so that'd be another one to look into if you haven't already. They're a lot less expensive than an entire borla catback. You could also glasspack the magnaflow to really wake it up.

moondance

I tried looking for sound clips of a cherry bomb on a stock ls1 but cant find any lol. Guess its not too popular. I do have a 3" cutout on it atm too so it will just be that much louder with something other than a stock muffler. Almost thought about dumping the exhaust at the axle but didnt want fumes in the cab.

94QuasarZ

Well if you have a cutout, I'd def go with the magnaflow. It wakes up when you get on the throttle but will all the more with a cutout. Furthermore, it's a great-flowing performance muffler and I def think you'd be happy with the results. If you get serious about dumping your exhaust, check out dynomax bullets. Those seem to be popular a choice with that setup.

moondance

Im sure it would sound awesome if I dumped it and only had a single bullet but there is no way for me to guarantee there would be no fumes in the cab. The car is definitely my DD and sometimes the kids are in it too.

Guess Ill just go with the Magnaflow. Bit more expensive than the others but if it sounds better then I gotta go that way. If i had unlimited funds it would sound old school all the way lope and all lol

94QuasarZ

Sounds to me like magnaflow is your best option. You might check out the SLP Loud Mouth series, those are one of my faves to go with stock manifolds as they sound great with them. You'll have a nice muscle car note most of the time, but when you really wanna get loud and proud you can uncork her with that cutout. The LM1 is the louder and deeper of the two, the LM2 is the more "grown-up" version of the two, but still has a nice roar to it compared to most other mufflers. They're actually more like resonators because they're smaller, but with stock manifolds, they sound great.

94QuasarZ

You and me both brother

moondance

Went with the magnaflow. Seems like it was the best option for what money I had.

bluz28

The magnaflow will be a nice improvement over stock, enjoy!

94QuasarZ

Nice choice, moondance, enjoy the sound and the gains in addition to the versatility of the muffler. It sounds good in just about any form.

Cheers