Alright, I think I have asked this question before but didn't explain it right. I have a 94 Z28 with LT headers and the matching Y-pipe. (3inches) The Y-pipe connects to the stock I-pipe which is smaller than 3 inches. If I replace the I-pipe with a 3inch I-pipe will I gain any power? My muffler is an 80 series flowmaster with the stock tips. (I like those) I want to keep the flowmaster because I don't feel like putting any money into a new muffler when the flowmaster already sounds good. So, do you think I would gain any power, or would it not be worth it. I don't think it would be expensive at all.

I really don't feel like getting a cut-out, but where would it "cut" anyway? I was just curious.

I'm not going to go that route though. It's too loud and I don't go to the track enough.

 

If it is smaller, it is a reduction, there for a loss in flow. The more flow in your exhaust, the more power. I have a 3" factory cat, with 3" stainless exhaust into a Dynomax Bullet that drops in front of the rear. It sounds awesome, and real throaty. Alot more base than the Flowmaster 40 series that I had, and more power. I lost power with the Flowmaster.

 

You'll gain more power by ditching the flowmaster than if you just changed the intermediate pipe from the current 2 3/4 up to a 3".

Also the cutout is placed best before the axle right under the backseat.

Paul

 

Not to be a jerk, but why would you put LT headers and y-pipe on and keep the stock I-pipe and stock size muffler? You definitely want a 3" cat-back setup to go with the headers and y-pipe. You can get some stock style tips to put on any cat-back system you want.

 

Well, when I got the car it had a flowmaster on it. So, I decided to get some LT headers and the matching Y-pipe not really knowing if the exaust had been touched. (except the flowmaster) So, what do you think I should do? Should I make the I-pipe 3inches and get a different muffler? Maybe I'll get a dynomax muffler and make the I-pipe 3inches.

What is a good muffler for the price, with a noticable gain over the flowmaster? I guess if I change the size of the I-pipe, it won't fit on my flowmaster, will it?

By the way, the car ran an 8.4 in the 1/8 with that exhaust and an intake. So, I think I did something right. It can't be that restrictive.

 

wrong. it is quite possible to change size and retain the same flow (look up Bernoulli's principle). a change in pipe size will translate to a change in velocity, not flow. the same amount can flow past, just at a different speed. if you go to a smaller pipe, the velocity is obviously higher to maintain the same flow.

your idea of "the more flow in your exhaust, the more power" is also wrong, even if your first comment about flow actually had been correct. if your statements were correct then that would mean that the bigger the piping, the more power you could make. why not have 12" I-pipe or even an infinitely big one so that you could make infinite power?? please don't say that you need backpressure, because that's also wrong.

it's about "tuning" the exhaust to get the best effects. and just because you make more peak power, doesn't mean you will be faster. certain changes in exhaust correlate to certain changes in the power curve. there's plenty of information available out there on this subject so i'm not going to do a write up.

i'm not saying that you are wrong in telling him that he'd make more power, just that your explanation is.

you can pick up some peak power for sure by going to the 3" i-pipe, but i'm not going to say that you will have even a noticeable gain with it on the track. really, you have more to gain by going with a decent catback than just swapping out the intermediate pipe.

 

Even putting the stock muffler back on, which although it’s quiet actually doesn’t flow badly…

I’ve run a 13.003@107 (8.2 1/8) in my basically stock, ’97 WS6 through the stock exhaust (the only thing done to it is gears and I used an HPP+ to move the rev limiter so I wasn’t hitting it through the traps). At the time I had the exhaust setup with the muffler/tailpipe assembly flanged in so I could just pull out 3 bolts and remove it all and was never able to document any increase in speed doing so, even with the roughly 30# loss in weight.

 

how about you just buy the hooker cat back out of summit. sounds good, looks good, and is a full 3 inch cat back system with a good muffler

 

another vote for hooker catback! tips are nice too, but u could always just throw the stock tips on there....whatever u do, get rid of the flowmaster!

 

So far, it sounds like I should just ditch the flowmaster and get something else. It seems like the I-pipe really doesn't matter too much. What kind of muffler should I get that an exhaust shop would have? Dynomax? Are turbo mufflers good, glass packs? Any ideas? I want to go over to the exhaust shop wed and get it done. Apparently this flowmaster sucks *****...

 

I have an exhaust shop on the south side of chicago. I would personally recommend the dynomax ultraflo welded series or my favorite, magnaflo. For the quality,flow and price of the muffler, you can't beat it. Just my .02

 

I’ve never heard a hooker aerochamber setup that I didn’t like (I just put one on my truck), and in most cases they flow almost as much as their maxflow, dynomax’s ultraflow welded and about the same as the magnaflows (magnaflows are a funny animal, I’ve seen them flow in the same range as some of the other straight through mufflers and I’ve seen them flow a little less, just like sometimes they sound great and sometimes they sound a little wimpy).

If you’re paying someone to put it on you might find that between the extra labor you’re going to be really close price wise with getting the whole hooker setup as you will be with just swapping the muffler, and for that matter, their stuff is pretty much a very simple bolt on, the hardest part will be getting what’s on there now off.

 

What's wrong with keeping my Y-pipe and getting a dynomax ultraflo muffler? Wouldn't that give me some power and save some money? It seems like everyone is saying I should just ditch my Y-pipe and buy a whole catback for 300+ dollars. I thought the matching Y-pipe for my LT's was a good choice...Will getting rid of the Y-pipe and replacing with a catback be worth it for the money? I would need the car tuned again as well.