My brother in law wants a cat back for his 86 trans am and I wasn't sure what he should get. It is a 305 auto. he wants shorties later on but for now he has stock pipes with a flowmaster and screw on crome tips looks like sh*t but it's how he bought it. if you have pics of how the tailpipes look that would be perfect.

 

For looks I would go with a magnaflow system, stainless all the way.
For sound I would go with a Flowmaster American Thunder system.
Overall I would go with Flowmaster, I just love the sound.
though if I could afford one, I would go with GMMG, but that's just me lol.

 

GMMG with a cat. Can't beat the looks or the sound. The whole thing is stainless steel.

I took off a Flowmaster American Thunder catback when I put this on. The Flowmaster with no cat was slightly quieter than the GMMG with cat at idle. Zero drone on the highway and when you put your foot down, it really howls. 4000 RPM with the GMMG is the same decibels as 5000 RPM with the Flowmaster.

I hate tin can systems that are nothing but loud. The GMMG has a nice smooth sound. Half big block, half Ferrari. It's like having a lion in your back seat.

 

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man that looks sick I really like that is there any sound clips by any chance?

 

ditto, sound clips would be awesome please!!

 

Not insured right now. I'll take some clips some day and post them up here for you.

 

I've got a 92 TA with a 406 and I am strongly leaning towards this system just because it is so beautiful and looks beautiful on a beautiful car like yours...
tho I don't know if I want to spend $800 on it tho...

 

thats exactly where I am standing. The car was only 1600 when he bought it and it's just a 305 quadra junk

 

think it would be worth it on a 406?

 

If you're looking for a cheaper system that's good, the Flowmaster American Thunder is pretty much the standard classic muscle car sound. I like the Hooker catback as well. Good price. Good performance. The Hooker has the benefit of being quiet when you want it to and loud when you want it to.

 

I have the Flowmaster American Thunder system on my Camaro already and I love it, tho I was just searching my options...
Can you clarify on the Hooker systems about loud and quiet when u want them to be?

 

Sure. Friend of mine used to have a 94 LT1 with short headers, no cat, and the Hooker catback. People used to bug him about it being loud. Hey I thought I heard a garbage truck going down the road....then I realized it was Dave romping the gas in his Z28....

I went for a ride in it, and at idle and just doing 30 mph, it was quieter than my GTA with stock manifolds, no cat, Flowmaster American Thunder. I was surprised. Especially with his car being an LT1 which was louder than my L98 assuming all things are equal. When he stomped the gas though, that thing got loud quick.

If I were driving a long tube no cat car, I'd probably run Hooker because it still has an aftermarket sound. But it's not ridiculously loud. (Unless you want it to)

• Basically the Flowmaster is loud all the time.
• The Hooker is loud when you want it to be.
• The GMMG gives a 3 dimensional sound. Big block rumble at low RPM, more Ferrari'ish at higher RPM.
• Corsa is like a GMMG lite. Nice tips, not so nice price.
• I've never really been a Borla fan. They sound good (to me) with a cat and one of the restrictor plates in. With no cat and bypassed muffler, I don't like them.

 

If you're running a 406 in a nice Trans Am, just do it right the first time and put in the GMMG. After I put it in, I got WAY more glances while pulling into car shows. People mouthing the words "holy ____" as I rumble by. Video cameras can't really capture how deep the tone is. When somebody pulls your car into a shop to change the tires, change the oil, whatever, it makes a completely dominating sound. The Flowmaster was close. It was loud. But the GMMG is more ground shaking.

As a matter of fact, after putting the GMMG in at a Midas shop, I revved it up a few times to see how it sounded. The manager opened the door about 15 seconds later and said "you guys know you're rattling the glass in here?" Everybody smiled at that point. Even after years of having the Flowmaster, I was like a kid in a candy store on the drive home.

Some more comparisons.

305 GTA with headers, no cat, Flowmaster AT....quieter than my 350 GTA with manifolds, no cat, Flowmaster AT

350 GTA with headers, no cat, Dynomax...quieter than my 350 GTA with manifolds, no cat, Flowmaster.

So judging from the above it seems like headers make quiet mufflers a tiny bit louder. But they make loud muffers really really loud. Cubic inches also play a role. All 3 of our GTA's are 1989's.

I go back and forth with do I want headers. The GMMG already is like having a lion in the back seat. You can control it's low intimidating growl (low RPM) or roar (mash the gas). Headers should make it just that much more crazy.

http://ls1sounds.com/GMMG/GMMG_before-after.mpeg (download this, 25 MB)

The videos that sold me on the system were these two:
http://www.midwestfbodymeet.com/media/josh01ws6vid1.mpg
http://www.midwestfbodymeet.com/media/josh01ws6vid2.mpg

Particularly the 1st video above. The way it sounds at the end.

 

hey gord if you want someone to come over and record the sound I have the equipment?

 

wow, yeah your right I'm definitely leaning towards gmmg now. I mean I love my flowmaster on my LT1 (Mid-length headers, no cat, then flowmaster american thunder cat-back) its pretty loud al the time and has an awesome rumble, but man this gmmg is a different monster.
on the first clip, before and after, what was the exhaust system beforehand and the Gmmg was the after one right?