I have seen soooo many dyno runs with F-Bodies running Flowmaster exhausts and not a one of them has made a single horsepower more than stock. In some cases they actually make less horsepower. If all you are conserned with is how the muffle sounds then by all means buy a Flowmaster if you like the sound. Don't expect any performance gains from a Flowmaster exhaust system. I own and operate a high performance shop in South Florida and attest to the old addage "Flows don't Flow".

 

Hmmm, not to discredit you, but it can also be stated that everyones experience my differ on this..

If not, please explain my LT1 car...
Lemme see.. I had:

now here is where it gets fun...

First dyno run on my LT1 was with stock y-pipe and stock I-pipe to a flowmaster 80 series AT muffler.
=250HP 270rwtq on dyno

Added
Borla Y-pipe and the little non helping Force II and got 270RWHP and 296rwtq... hmm I had no idea that the y-pipe was such a power getter..
Look, my purpose on this board is to share knowledge and experiences.. You stated yours and here is my own first hand knowledge. I just like to let those people who read posts to be fully informed before they go off believing just one persons word.. Its really just a fact finding mission.. I would also bet that most of the flowmasters you have seen are going to be dual outs.. when single 3" out performs that... In either case.. I have seen first hand the power gains.. I think that 20RWHP for a y-pipe and catback are very good.

Incidentally the car was hooked up and run on the dyno by the same people both times. Also of note.. on the first run, the car was warm, having been driven for a bit.. On the second run, the car was cooled but the intake temp was at 103degrees.. It was super hot outside that day.

Car spun a bearing before the heads and RR could be dynoed.


So, if possible.. could you please explain how my y-pipe gave me a whopping 20rwhp and 26rwtq?

 

*sigh*

I think this is a case of just continuing to perpetuate things that have been going around for years. I've noticed that one supposedly informed person/magazine writer/etc. says something that gets read by 100 others that then start telling 1000 others and soon enough, it becomes gospel. Things like "needing backpressure" and "open headers lose power over a good system" and "if 2.75 inch system is good and a 3 inch is better than a 3.5 inch must be better yet"... stuff just keeps going and going and going until people formulate certain beliefs that just won't die.

Does Flowmaster *really* suck? I don't know. And I guess it doesn't matter enough that I would care... the price was right, the sound was great, and since I didn't "feel" any real power swing up or down, the money that it cost me was worth every penny just to know that everytime I get on the gas I get listen to the engine roar. Maybe I'll go with something "better" later on. But for now, I'm fine.

So what's my point? Keep an open mind, guys... despite what you've been hearing for years, the world might not be flat after all.

 

Not going to get into the Flowmaster vs et al debate ... I've got my own opinions on what works and doesn't. Besides with the the Mufflex should see some gain. Particularly with a ORP Y-pipe.

But my question is, given your no dremmel caveat, why are you not going with the FIPK or the Volant? The FIPK in particular has repeatedly been shown to put down 5-10 rwhp more than just a lid.

The price of the Holly filter is more likely going to be $50 and then throw in the cost of the cleaning kit you'll be close to $200 or more. It's only $60 or $70 to make the stretch to a FIPK, which includes the cleaning kit.

Look at it this way ... say you get 12 rwhp (high side) from the lid you cost per rwhp is going to be $17. You get 18 rwhp (low side) from a FIPK, your cost per rwhp for the 6 additional rwhp is only $10 per.

 

Which one looks better?

Which one is easier to clean?

For me the answer is Holley powershot and the carbon fiber look lid from whisper.

If the FIPK is the one I have seen online, its uses the conical filter. I HATE CONES.. as far as cleaning goes... UGH.. Really hated cleaning my SLP ones..

My Porsche has the Large K&N filter and its alot easier.. My choice for the holley is mainly a fitment issue..
A cleaning kit is down the line. It shouldnt be something you have to buy day 1 right? (I say shouldnt because I havent gotten to where the Holley filter is on my must buy now list, so I dont know if they require one to condition it first)

In any case, I think the noremal lid look looks closer to stock than the FIPK. I like my car to look somewhat stock.. Heck, If someone made a stock lid that was ever so slightly modified I would go that route.. I dont see why I would need any more than what I have listed to get into the 12's.. Heck, the tires alone are going to be putting me damn close..

Thanks for the advise though.. Just that it isnt my cup-o-tea

 

A friend of mine who has a cobra told me when i was looking to get a muffler for my car to try a magnaflow, and how great they sound. It suck so bad I went back out and bought the 80 series flowmaster and the sound is like music to my ears. Now this is funny, this older man who works @ the hospital that I work @ new me when I had my RS with flowmaster, and when I bought my new Z told me how much he missed the music coming out of the exhaust when I came into the parking lot, and what was wronge with this one. So yesterday when I pulled into the parking lot he didn't even shut his door before he ran up and said now thats music to my ears......... P.S that mangaflow now is sitting in a dumpster.

 

well, i have to throw in my .02 here.my 94 Z28 dynoed 260 rwhp and 302 ft. lbs.(sae corrected) with just a FIPK and hollowed cat and ran a best of 13.5@102 at englishtown.then one day after a little mishap with a curb i was forced to put a flowmaster on till i could get the corsa that i wanted and heres my results, 13.7@99mph in colder less humid weather.now i dont know if this helps at all but i wouldnt put a flowmaster on a go-ped.also on my 89 RS i picked up 2 tenths cosistantly when i went from flowmaster to borla.i just wish i could have gotten the 94 on the dyno with the flowmaster on there would like to see how much i actually lost from the Slowmasters

 

just wondering, but is this guy that told you all this a friend or a sales rep or what? sounds like a good sales pitch to me, just like any company should have. so they arent winning the CFM war, so we pick apart he competition, citing 'pulsing', price, and material used. call up Corsa, or Borla, or anyone else and theyll give you their shpiel (sp) on why theres is better. id take it with a grain of salt. not saying what the guy said isnt true, it very well could be, but when have you heard of a company blatently telling you the reasons that they are NOT the one that YOU should buy.....just my .02
brian

 

actually I already knew alot of the stuff.. But when he says it as well.. kinda confirms it.. He even stated that he has seen some of the flowmaster SS mufflers crack/break apart..
At first, you could tell that he thought I was a ricer or someone.. he started talking about turbos and imports.. then when he asked me what kind of car, his tone and attitude changed to that of a more friendly persona. Sure I take it with a grain of salt.. But again.. my results seem to be right on with what he had stated..
Also of note, WHY WOULD MUFFLEX USE A FLOWMASTER IF ITS BAD ON THEIR 3.5" - 4" exhausts?

 

-magnaflows do not suck. i ran one on my z28 before the flowmaster and it sounded great. but its a v8-not a v6.
it did, however support the biz about ss cracking, as that muffler had started to crack when i took it off.
-flowmasters dont seem to suck either. my car ~280 rwhp/328 rwtq with the catback/cai/hypertech chip. i was also running 8.90@ 81mph in the 1/8, which is what most of the LS1s were running.
-im now running a mufflex 4" exhaust w/flowmaster and it does quite well.
-its hard for me to believe that a muffler at the rear of the car can have any kind of "scavenging" effect because of the baffles inside.
jeremy

 

another reason for borla, can be made to one exit and 2 tips, satisfies hp nuts, and looks. You can't escape it phsyco borla is just the shiznit . Anyways, flows do drone, at least the 2 chambers i had in my GT did, at around 2000 rpms. They are the loudest street legal muffler at idle, but get quiter with rpm's, when compared to others like flowpath. I have always found SS to be better in my area b/c i live on the beach in a little island called port aransas. If i didn't have stainless steal i would probably have to replace my exhaust every 2 years. I would recomend, looking into other muffler techs. Of course flowmaster would tell you they are the best, but what would a dynomax rep say. Don't just rely on one companies expertees.

 

Hahah, actually I was bored at work and called them.. I am not changing my exhaust anytime soon.. I dont have an overwhelming desire to do so.. I love the quiet sound of the exhaust.. I prefer the 30 series because it was not loud at idle.. it was super silent.. it was deep though so you would feel it more than hear it.. Now, have you heard that flowmaster? Exactly.. Most people havent.. Looks? I think the borlas dont look good.. Why? Cause I personally dont like two tips out the rear.. I like 1 single pipe.. but I am not like most people.. not at all... Borla to me is the $600 cutout.. I have heard the fully open borla on the dyno and its alot of noise.. it isnt pretty sounding at all.. at least not to me..
again, most of this was just to share some info I had heard.. and my own personal experiences.. they arent selling me on the product.. I know what I want and will buy.. but they are confirming information I had already been told..

 

A larger y-pipe over stock is 10-15rwhp right there easy. So i would say your changing to a larger i-pipe and Flowmaster muffler gained you what..........5rwhp? I dynoed 10rwhp less with my cutout capped. Thats all the proof i need. Of course the Flowmaster tech is gonna make a really legit reply to your question, its his job. They sound good but dont Flow well. Been proved over and over on the dyno not cfm.

 

LOL, I'm throwing my $0.02 in also....8.6@83mph....Only mods are a K&N FIPK, and Flowmaster AT.

 

i have flowmasters on 2 of my camaros, and SLP on the other 2 camaros.

i am an engineer, however ive never dealt much with mufflers. however i DO understand about R&D.

i am in firm belief that flowmaster has spent MILLIONS of dollars on R&D. and im sure there were TEAMS of engineers over the years, adding up to hundreds of people working on that project.

R&D is a science!
They did this because they wanted to build the best product.

so for the one guy in this thread that talked about how flow master is wrong, ill ask you how much actual time and millions of dollars you have spent with your team of engineers reseaching your response, or are you just theroizing all of your statement from other peoples R&D?

not to start a flame, jsut want you to think about some of the responses and where they come from before you spend money