I am getting ready to put a new exhaust on my 93 z28. The shop says I already have 3 inch pipes so he just wants to put a muffler (flowmaster) on it. I would like to know (since this would be the best place for camaro experienced advice) what could I do to make my car sound nice and deep with some muscle (without breaking my wallet too much). Brands, types, tips, or other components? Any info is helpful.

 

If you want a good loud sound for cheap a Flowmaster 40 series and a straight pipe in place of the cat should do the trick. It only flows slightly better than a stock muffler though but the sound is nice and deep. If you plan on modding your car beyond exhaust I'd go with something better like a GMMG or Borla catback but they are about 700 bucks. BTW, if your exhaust is stock its not 3 inch, its 2 3/4 in the I-pipe. Hooker and Magnaflow are good free-flowing exhausts but are too quiet, IMO. LS1sounds.com has links to LT1 exhaust clips you can browse.

 

Ive got a Magnaflow cat-back with a gutted cat and its not quiet, its much louder than my friends ls1 SS with a borla cat-back but his cat is not removed or gutted.

 

go ahead and tell them to make 3" true duals.....and then stick flowmaster 40 series on it, or some 1 chambers, that'll be nice, loud, and deep

 

I'm not real experienced in the exhaust area. How would I go about putting a straight pipe or gutting the cat. Would I have to find a shop that would do it for me or would I have to do it myself. If so how, and what tools would I need.


Also if I went with getting true duals would that further improve my sound, performance, or both.

 

definitley improve the sounds....makes a lot prettier note then just single exhuast.
as for performance, when you start modding the car a little, it will make a big difference in how well the car breathes, so in short, both

 

2 1/2" or 3" true duals with either flow 40's, dynomax bullets, moroso spiral flows, or sweet thunders will get you what you want. YOU HAVE TO LOSE THE CATBACK to get the true muscle sound.

 

But How would I go about putting a straight pipe or gutting the cat. Would I have to find a shop that would do it for me or would I have to do it myself. If so how, and what tools would I need.

 

Do not "gut" the cat. That would create a hollow chamber right under the passenger seat and the drone from that will be annoying. If you have emmisions checks in your area the cat has to stay though. Some shops will not remove the cat for legal reasons so you'll have to call around and make sure you say its a "track only" car. I would'nt do this yourself unless you are a good welder..it should be less than 100 dollars.

 

I vote for an electric cutout.

 

2 1/2" -3" true duals w/dynomax super turbos have a nice deep tone w/o the drone.

 

My 3" true duals are dumped with single chamber (10 series) flowmaster mufflers.

1) I do not care who you are - these are not "too loud" or obnoxious at all.

2) It turns heads everywhere and I have gotten countless compliments about the car sounding exactly like an old school 60's muscle car.

3) The HP gain is quite significant when coupled to LT headers.

4) My shop welding in old cats with a pipe through them so that might be why the sound is so robust.

5) Parts & labor were only $400.

On a side note you will definitely be dissapointed (or at least will be cheating yourself) if you only swap the muffler. It will change the tone yeah, but not all that much. Do it right the first time.

 

Idaho LT1's idea about an electric cutout is the easiest and cost effective way to solve your problem! I recently installed a Random cat, Corsa 3" S.S. exhaust, the sound was great and the engeneering on the system was very good. Problem is, the neighbors complaints and the Sound Police encouraged me to turn down the sound. I installed a 18" long Moroso Spiral flow muffler in place of a section of the 3" pipe ,there is about 5" of clearence to do this. It quited it down a bit, the throbbing noise that you are subjected to in side the car is a little less, but it makes listening to the stereo almost impossible.

 

Interior noise did not get any worse when going from mild Y-pipe catback to full-on 3" true dual WITH dumps at the diff.

Rattling did increase, as things within my console tending to chatter more, however it is TOTALLY worth it.

For the record - all of these things (cutouts as well) are technically illegal. So just be forewarned that inspections may get more difficult if not impossible to pass (especially on OBDII cars)

My car for example, is OBDI and is just a "visual" inspection. So, visually, yes, my cats are still there - just not functional . However technically even that is illegal because they are in different locations from the factory due to the LT headers.

Just food for thought... hate to see you go to all this trouble and then end up having to rework the car for the sake of the government.