I just recently bought my car back from the guy who fixed it and he put a 3" Flowmaster cat-back on the car. I have heard numerous times that the Flowmaster cat-backs are horrible for our cars. Would it be worth it for me to spend $300+ for a different cat-back or should I just keep the Flowmaster? I'm curious because I've heard rumors that the Flowmaster will actually hurt performance. What do ya think? Also, if you think I should spend the $$$ for a different brand, what do you suggest? Thanks,
FLeX

 

SLOWMASTER

CHOKEMASTER

I had that crap on when i bought my car too, took it off in a week, put hooker on NEVER LOOKED BACK

FLOWMASTER SUCKS!!

 

I have never had Flowmaster but I do have Hooker and it sounds sweeet. Even better with LT's

 

I've heard the Hooker before. Actually, if you cut the stock exhaust off from just behind the axle it will sound damn close to the Hooker. Now that I think of it I was actually getting ready to order the Hooker cat-back because it looks so much better than with one pipe turned down. But then I wrecked it, this friend of mine bought it, fixed it, and put the Flowmaster on it. I think I will go ahead and swap it out for the Hooker because I loved the way the car sounded when I had the back section of the exhaust off. Thanks for mentioning the Hooker because I had totally forgotten about it.

 

The whole 2 or 3 rwhp you might gain for a different cat back isnt worth it in my opinion. Flows are better than stock... I dont know why everyone is so anti flow.

 

Yea flowmaster doesnt flow well at all...had that single outlet 3 inch exhaust on my 97, One it was pretty quiet just cruising and second I didnt gain crap (this was before it was known that blowmasters sucked)....I dont think you'll gain a whole lot more from another catback Id put my money towards other mods and after that throw on a 30 dollar cut out and your good to go

 

i would like to see actual dyno numbers from flowmasters vs. other catbacks... I honestly doubt that there is a HUGE difference between the 2... just because one catback is louder than another doesnt mean that it flows better and provides more HP.... For the money, i doubt that a $600 catback is worth it over a $250 flowmaster.... just throw a $30 cutout on your car, gain more HP and it sounds alot better

 

If you like the way it sounds, keep it. If you don't like the way it sounds, change it. Do not change it under the belief that you'll pick up any appreciable power - it is debatable, and if any decrease existed, it is so negligible it doesn't matter. You'll see far greater performace gains by removing weight from your car.

 

When I had the Flowmaster 80 series it performed better that the
Edelbrock and much better than stock. As stated above, go with
what sounds the best. I currently have an Ultraflow, which cost me
5rwhp over the Flowmaster race mufflers, but the race mufflers were
too loud.

 

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=300279

Check out simples post (three down)

Personally, if you like the sound and dont plan to go to much past stock, i would leave it. I love my magnaflow though

 

I have yet to see anyone present any "facts" about FLowmaster system not flowing well or costing signifigant power.... all ya gonna hear is "this guy said so & I read it on the internet" etc... no facts. Just another internet bandwagon to ride out

The magizine article referenced above...

In the dyno test The FM made 369.5 HP The OPEN Warlok...(not an apples to apples comparison) made 374.2 HP (closed the Warlok was 366.3) The highest closed muffler was 373.7. Thats only just over a 1% difference. Now look at the DB readings, compare & ask yourself which "series" FM was used for the test ? Of course the quietest one What that test shows is that quieter mufflers will usually cost a couple HP over the loud ones. Now thats a ground-breaking development So of you want to pick up that HUGE 4.2 HP ( on a ~370RWHP car maybe 2.4 on the average bolt on car)) go for the Bassani.

One important thing not covered in that test.... peak numbers were only mentioned.... What is the real story with average power output throughout the RPM band? ... some of the systems that cost a couple HP up top may have been making more power at the low end.

All that test tells me is to pick the exhaust that sounds the best to you.

Unless of course youre talking about a turbo car... where any muffler of that type will cost some power, not just FM's

Basically, weather or not the Flowmaster is right for you depends on how loud you want your car to be & personal preference of what tone you like.

Probably the same people who claim to "feel" a huge difference when getting rid of a FM also will tell you that a Tornado and an air foil really make big power gains

 

I think alot of concern is due to the price. They are cheaper so they must be crap right?

 

I think you're right. Also, a lot of this seems to be fueled by the 'Flowmaster backlash' crowd - everyone's got them and many uninformed folks associate the flowmaster sound with incresed power (blame effective marketing). The reality is that they are no worse than any other 'muffled' cat back or muffler, but obviously don't compare to a cut-out or open Borla-type system.

People simply like the sound, and more power to them (no pun intended) if they do. I have Flowmaster Super 40's on my Chevelle, and I'm biased, but it really sounds bad-*** and it gets many compliments all day. When I had it on my Z28, it too got compliments and I'd still have it if it too had an adjustible bypass.

 

That is a very good point, I wonder if flowmaster will every try something like that... or does borla have petents on the idea?

 

It is really down to personal preference as far as I understand. Flowmasters are very popular, rather inexpensive, and give a noticeable gain. I don't understand why everyone seems to think that they are junk. When it comes to an aftermarket cat-back muffled system, I don't think you're going to see any noticeable gains from one to the other. The only difference seems to be cost and sound. If you like the sound of the Flowmaster system that's on there now then keep it, if you don't like the sound then change it but be aware that if you decide to switch it out for a different basic cat-back muffled system then you probably won't see any noticeable performance changes.