Stock Exhaust Muffler Removed Vs. Loudmouth? Anyone Tried This?
07-14-2007, 06:17 PM
#1
Stock Exhaust Muffler Removed Vs. Loudmouth? Anyone Tried This? Hi everyone...
I have a bone stock 30th Anniversary Trans Am. I also have a 2006 SSR 6 speed with the LS2.
When I purchased the SSR, the exhaust was TOO quiet. I installed a Flowmaster Super 40 where the stock muffler was (like the Trans Am, it has two cats into a Y-pipe). The Super 40 was TERRIBLE. I was expecting LOUD; what I got was loud INSIDE RESONANCE while it was still quiet outside; it wasn't that much louder than stock, and had a muffled sound as if you put pillows in the tailpipes. There was no raspiness. Since Flowmaster advertised this as their loudest muffler, I figured the cats on the SSR must really be quieting down the exhaust.
So, I went to another installer and had a custom Y pipe made and installed in place of the muffler; basically it is wide open after the two cats but it exits at the rear. The sound is PERFECT. It gurgles, it pops when you want it to, and it is AMAZINGLY QUIET comparitively (for no muffler) when you just put-put around. Cruising at 70 is quiet due to the 6 speed. But, when you get on it, it SLAMS. PERFECT sounding exhaust. It's like a canon shot...but quiet under normal driving. And, it has none of the obtrusively annoying resonance that the Flowmaster seemed to add. When I did the muffler delete, I tried various mufflers at the shop...and all of the supposed "loud" mufflers ADDED more interior resonance than no muffler at all! Even race mufflers...they hurt the sound OUTSIDE the vehicle while adding interior resonance. The open pipe after the cats was definitely the way to go for the LS2 in the SSR. So...
Again, my Trans Am is stock. I have been wanting to do the same thing to this car that I did on my SSR; i.e., simply remove the muffler and have a y-pipe system fabricated to exit out the rear and look stock. I don't want a cut-out, as I don't want the sound exiting underneath the car and resonating more inside. I know the muffler delete works well on the LS2 in the SSR, but how quieting are the cats on the LS1? Will they muffle the sound similar to the way the cats do on my LS2 in the SSR? I was surprised at how tame the LS2 was with no muffler (I mean in comparison to REAL open exhaust, which is deafening) which must be due to the quieting qualities of the SSR cats. If I do a simple muffler delete on the Trans Am, I don't want it to resonate like crazy...and, for a point of reference, the LS2 in the SSR definitely does NOT resonate badly inside with NO muffler.
This brings me to the Loudmouth, which is basically open pipe after the cats with a resonator. However...how does this "resonator" sound compare with just having open pipes which exit out the rear as I've done in the SSR? Going by my experience above, any time I added a muffler to my LS2 system for comparison it ADDED interior resonance. Would the resonator in the Loudmouth system probably do the same? In other words, would I get LESS interior resonance with straight pipe rather than use the resonator? That has been my experience on an LS2, but I don't know about an LS1 in an F-body. Has anyone tried this or compared the sound of the Loudmouth system to an F-body with a straight pipe that exits at the REAR (not under it like a cut-out)?
I've checked out LS1sounds.com but I can't find anyone who has compared a Loudmouth to open pipes with stock cats that exits at the rear, nor can I find a comparison of interior resonance of the Loudmouth vs. straight pipes to the rear interior resonance. I know the Loudmouth is known FOR resonating badly in the car. I'm wondering if it will be MUCH less (as it was with my SSR) by eliminating the resonator and running straight pipe after the cats.
Thanks again everyone! Really looking forward to your responses!
Sincerely,
Jeff
I have a bone stock 30th Anniversary Trans Am. I also have a 2006 SSR 6 speed with the LS2.
When I purchased the SSR, the exhaust was TOO quiet. I installed a Flowmaster Super 40 where the stock muffler was (like the Trans Am, it has two cats into a Y-pipe). The Super 40 was TERRIBLE. I was expecting LOUD; what I got was loud INSIDE RESONANCE while it was still quiet outside; it wasn't that much louder than stock, and had a muffled sound as if you put pillows in the tailpipes. There was no raspiness. Since Flowmaster advertised this as their loudest muffler, I figured the cats on the SSR must really be quieting down the exhaust.
So, I went to another installer and had a custom Y pipe made and installed in place of the muffler; basically it is wide open after the two cats but it exits at the rear. The sound is PERFECT. It gurgles, it pops when you want it to, and it is AMAZINGLY QUIET comparitively (for no muffler) when you just put-put around. Cruising at 70 is quiet due to the 6 speed. But, when you get on it, it SLAMS. PERFECT sounding exhaust. It's like a canon shot...but quiet under normal driving. And, it has none of the obtrusively annoying resonance that the Flowmaster seemed to add. When I did the muffler delete, I tried various mufflers at the shop...and all of the supposed "loud" mufflers ADDED more interior resonance than no muffler at all! Even race mufflers...they hurt the sound OUTSIDE the vehicle while adding interior resonance. The open pipe after the cats was definitely the way to go for the LS2 in the SSR. So...
Again, my Trans Am is stock. I have been wanting to do the same thing to this car that I did on my SSR; i.e., simply remove the muffler and have a y-pipe system fabricated to exit out the rear and look stock. I don't want a cut-out, as I don't want the sound exiting underneath the car and resonating more inside. I know the muffler delete works well on the LS2 in the SSR, but how quieting are the cats on the LS1? Will they muffle the sound similar to the way the cats do on my LS2 in the SSR? I was surprised at how tame the LS2 was with no muffler (I mean in comparison to REAL open exhaust, which is deafening) which must be due to the quieting qualities of the SSR cats. If I do a simple muffler delete on the Trans Am, I don't want it to resonate like crazy...and, for a point of reference, the LS2 in the SSR definitely does NOT resonate badly inside with NO muffler.
This brings me to the Loudmouth, which is basically open pipe after the cats with a resonator. However...how does this "resonator" sound compare with just having open pipes which exit out the rear as I've done in the SSR? Going by my experience above, any time I added a muffler to my LS2 system for comparison it ADDED interior resonance. Would the resonator in the Loudmouth system probably do the same? In other words, would I get LESS interior resonance with straight pipe rather than use the resonator? That has been my experience on an LS2, but I don't know about an LS1 in an F-body. Has anyone tried this or compared the sound of the Loudmouth system to an F-body with a straight pipe that exits at the REAR (not under it like a cut-out)?
I've checked out LS1sounds.com but I can't find anyone who has compared a Loudmouth to open pipes with stock cats that exits at the rear, nor can I find a comparison of interior resonance of the Loudmouth vs. straight pipes to the rear interior resonance. I know the Loudmouth is known FOR resonating badly in the car. I'm wondering if it will be MUCH less (as it was with my SSR) by eliminating the resonator and running straight pipe after the cats.
Thanks again everyone! Really looking forward to your responses!
Sincerely,
Jeff
Last edited by ggoat!!!; 07-14-2007 at 06:24 PM.
07-14-2007, 07:45 PM
#2
12 Second Club
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Hereford,Lubbock
Posts: 1,689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i got a buddy with an 02 Z, he removed his muffler and ran a straight pipe after the cats and had it y out again after the axle into SLP tips...looks and sounds just like a LM1.
07-16-2007, 09:39 AM
#3
Teching In
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We have been working on a muffler replacement section that i think sounds better than the SLP loudmouth. Here are a few pics:
Here is a sound clip. I didn't get a high rev or a drive by yet, the battery on my camera died.
Here is a sound clip. I didn't get a high rev or a drive by yet, the battery on my camera died.
Last edited by MShepherd; 07-16-2007 at 09:52 AM.
07-16-2007, 10:46 AM
#4
MShepard...
Yes! That is what I want to do...but with more normal rear tips. Is this something you made for yourself, or something that will be marketed? Also, did you compare the sound of this to the Loudmouth by any chance? How is the interior resonance? The sound in the clip sounds very, very similar to my SSR's LS2 with a similar open pipe setup.
THanks,
Jeff
Yes! That is what I want to do...but with more normal rear tips. Is this something you made for yourself, or something that will be marketed? Also, did you compare the sound of this to the Loudmouth by any chance? How is the interior resonance? The sound in the clip sounds very, very similar to my SSR's LS2 with a similar open pipe setup.
THanks,
Jeff
07-16-2007, 01:53 PM
#5
11 Second Club
iTrader: (7)
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Posts: 412
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by MShepherd
We have been working on a muffler replacement section that i think sounds better than the SLP loudmouth. Here are a few pics:
Here is a sound clip. I didn't get a high rev or a drive by yet, the battery on my camera died.
Here is a sound clip. I didn't get a high rev or a drive by yet, the battery on my camera died.
that looks f'n amazing.
07-16-2007, 03:49 PM
#6
Staging Lane
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Texas
Posts: 74
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
a buddy came over this weekend with a muffler and resonator delete with only the LM1 resonators . it was tolerable at idle but pretty loud with alot of drone at highway speed
sounds great outside the car i just couldnt take it for daily driving
sounds great outside the car i just couldnt take it for daily driving
07-17-2007, 02:30 AM
#7
deadlift...
Was his car an automatic or 6 speed? The 6 speed in my SSR cruises at such low RPM that it isn't a problem at all; the 6 speed in the Trans Am should be about the same. The automatic cars cruise at a much higher RPM when compared at the same speed as an M6 which will drastically add to the interior drone...
BTW, by my experience that I listed above, a lot of mufflers and resonators ADD to the drone inside the vehicle. I find they are like an amplifier for that hollow low bass muffler sound in the vehicle. The SSR did it terribly when I had the Flowmaster Super 40 on it, as well as all the other race/loud mufflers I tried. The loudest outside with the LEAST amount of interior drone was with no muffler or resonator at all (of course I was only comparing supposedly LOUD mufflers).
Was his car an automatic or 6 speed? The 6 speed in my SSR cruises at such low RPM that it isn't a problem at all; the 6 speed in the Trans Am should be about the same. The automatic cars cruise at a much higher RPM when compared at the same speed as an M6 which will drastically add to the interior drone...
BTW, by my experience that I listed above, a lot of mufflers and resonators ADD to the drone inside the vehicle. I find they are like an amplifier for that hollow low bass muffler sound in the vehicle. The SSR did it terribly when I had the Flowmaster Super 40 on it, as well as all the other race/loud mufflers I tried. The loudest outside with the LEAST amount of interior drone was with no muffler or resonator at all (of course I was only comparing supposedly LOUD mufflers).
