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Loudness Battle: Hooker vs. Flowmaster 80

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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 08:45 PM
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Default Loudness Battle: Hooker vs. Flowmaster 80

I currently have the 3" Flowmaster 80 series cat-back on my car with the stock manifolds and cat. I had a 3" cutout, but that was too loud for my tastes. I really like the Hooker look, but the only time I've heard one was on a cammed LT/ORY LS1 car. It sounded mean as hell, but of course anything does at that point. So which would be louder and have an overall better tone/sound, my Flowmaster or the Hooker?
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 08:49 PM
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flowmaster flows like ****. hooker will flowb etter and is tame when you wnt it and loud when you want it
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 08:50 PM
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Ive had hooker and a few others.Hooker was the quietest.I liked the sound too.Real smooth.If you want a quit muffler go with the hooker it will also be better on power than FlowBaster
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 08:51 PM
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to me flowmasters sound good, but 'Tainted' is right, they don't flow very well at all!
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 08:52 PM
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the taint knows all...ok so not all but a lot for his age
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 08:54 PM
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I mainly wanted to see if there'd be any signifigant change in volume and/or tone with the Hooker compared to the Flowmaster...
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 09:00 PM
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there will be
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 09:03 PM
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hooker sounds better
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 09:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Tainted
there will be
i mean how so... which will have a lower tone and which will be the louder of the two?
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 09:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Out1aw
i mean how so... which will have a lower tone and which will be the louder of the two?
The Flowmaster 80 Series is louder at idle and WOT.
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 10:26 PM
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The flowmaster is an overall louder cat-back than the Hooker, but the Hooker out-performs it. The Hooker is just a tad louder than stock if you are running manifolds and cats. It is pretty tame, so make sure this is what you want before you buy the Hooker unless you are planning LT's, cam, ect.
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Old Jan 18, 2007 | 10:42 PM
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The Flowmaster is much louder. My buddy has had both on his LT ORY car. Even on that set-up, the Hooker was quiet in normal driving. It sounded good at WOT. He felt an increase in low-end torque with the Hooker.

He likes the sound of the Flowmaster better, so he reinstalled it. I think it's too loud.
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Old Jan 19, 2007 | 12:53 AM
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hooker is quite with lts and ory...until you put the loud pedal to the floor flowmaster is lounder all the way around. when i had stock manis and cats i couldnt even hear that bitch
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Old Jan 19, 2007 | 05:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Out1aw
i mean how so... which will have a lower tone and which will be the louder of the two?
What sounds better is simply a matter of personal preference (nothing more; nothing less).

Since you have an LT1, this isn't the best forum to ask since nearly 99% of the guys who post in this forum have LS1's. Now, I used to have the Hooker cat-back on my old otherwise stock (except for CAI) '95 Z28 and really liked it. Very quiet at idle, sounded good on acceleration (but still tame enough), and very smooth at WOT (not what I would call loud; but refined). Sounded great when revved up!

However, I personally think Flowmaster 80 series is deeper/lower toned and is noticeably louder at idle, cruise, and WOT on an LT1. When I get another LT1, I'll probably go with this cat-back and just stick a 3" cutout on it. Also what I think you should do, unless your muffler needs replaced...
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Old Jan 19, 2007 | 06:31 PM
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I like my LT'S+ORY+CUTOUT+5year old Flowmaster....I don't care about 3-5 hp...
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Old Jan 19, 2007 | 06:53 PM
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With my current HP, The difference between Flowmaster and Open Cutout was 32RWHP. Thats quite a bit. So I just run open all the time.
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Old Jan 19, 2007 | 07:12 PM
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ive got an 80 series flowmaster and i think it sounds good but yup of i heard of how well it flows but oh well ill be getting my h pipe setup tommorow
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Old Jan 19, 2007 | 07:34 PM
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i had the flowmaster catback with mac mids and ory with motor that was not stock. that exhaust is loud but sounds like a tin can at mid crusing throttle. i would go with hooker (mellow but still a nice tone). i went to a LM setup with a dynomax proflow muffler so we will see how good it really sounds.
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Old Jan 20, 2007 | 07:58 AM
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Flowmasters sound really good on LT1s and will be louder than the Hooker. Granted, the Flowmaster will not flow as well but will sound alot better imo.
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Old Jan 20, 2007 | 11:08 PM
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Does anybody have actual flow data on FM's and Hooker muffler? I'm curious to see what the difference is.
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