There is almost always a Flowmaster question floating around here so I thought I would share some hard evidence on the subject. Jonathan, our shipping manager, picked up a used 2000 SS a few days ago and of course he could not possibly restrain himself from modding it. The car was completely stock except for a Flowmaster Catback. We did the usual lid and free mods first and then decided to do a back to back comparison of the Flowdisaster and the Borla. NO other changes were made and dynos were at the same part of the day in near identical conditions. Notice how much cleaner the top end is!!

Here are the results:

 

Ha, thank for the info, blowmaster really does suck. I hope all of the newbies see this

 

damn, im happy to see that (because my crapmaster is getting replaced real soon)!!!

 

mine too

 

thats it!, im getting gmmg next paycheck!!!

 

Thanks for those results.

Now we need a header shootout.

 

i just replaced the flowmaster that came on my car with Borla

 

Well there are 4 different models of Flowmasters and it all depends on which one you get.... the catback sucks no doubt but the 10 seires are nice....especially two of them in a true dual setup....

 

Well, I had Borla on my 95 and my last 99 Z, and people acted as if they didn't make that much power. My ***. Gee, if you went from stock to Borla, that should be worth more than from flowmaster to Borla shouldn't it? Borla's 18 rwhp claim may be conservative then. Boy, you can't judge that exhaust stuff by looking at it can you. Trying to buy a 3rd used Borla, just need to make the plates.

 

Yeah I'm tired of seeing all the negative results on the flowmasters when they show their regular mufflers. Why doesnt anyone test their 10 series mufflers. Thats a much more comparable muffler.

BTW, what plate was used with the Borla, because the Borla has a built in cutout and using any open plate gives an advantage over any muffler.

 

would anyone happen to have any results for Hooker's?

 

Sorry but I would have to disagree with that. With all of the dyno testing we have done, we've seen no real advantage with the open plate on a bolt-on car. In fact my wife's TA made 4 more horsepower with full plate over the open plate. Her car would run within hundredths at the track and we tested on 3 different occasions and could see NO difference. On a high horsepower car yes there is an advantage but that's about it.


Paul

 

I would expect very similar results. The Hooker is a great flowing catback.


Paul

 

in the flowmasters defense it does sound good :shrug:.

which btw i dumped when i went to a real exhuast setup

 

Yes it is, probably one of the best. On the dyno vs. a cutout, my Hooker catback only lost 3 rwhp. Thats right, THREE. I will NEVER sell my Hooker...

Oh yeah, Slowmasters suck. I have been telling everybody that for years...


Josh

 

So, if the Borla muffler flows as good as if the plate is fully open(i.e. cutout), then you would still save $300+ by buying the flowmaster and a cutout for the same performance. I'm with jrp, the flowmaster catback does sound nice even if it doesnt flow well. But most catbacks sound like crap compared to duals anyway

 

i have a flow and i dont care if the flow sucks, i love the sound....i have heard many other peoples exhaust and nothing sounds meaner than my car. if anyone had sound clips of a good sounding exhaust with a nice rumble to it let me know. other wise im stickin with flowmaster. like stated, flowmaster makes other mufflers that may flow good too. the guy that had my car before me swore when he put the flow on it had more pull. power is good but there is nothing better than a nice roar of a v8 and the only thing close i heard was a clut out with stock cats. havent heard one other cat back yet that didnt make the nasty guggling sound that sounds weak. but like i said if anyone has any sound clips or anything of some other muffle that sounds good let me know. i dont think i have heard hookers yet....

 

I had to double check the chart to makes sure I wasn't reading two different scales!!!!

Well that's just great. I hope that all who like the sound of their "Flows" are willing to give up 30 horses at 6k.

I thought that the Flowmasters had "exclusive" baffles and wave propagation crap. So how is it that the 10 series is a significantly different design than the cat back mufflers? And so it restricts the gas flow less. Am I wrong?

Hey, if you like the sound then go for it......but the sound will go with the view...........of my tail lights.

 

Damn it That is alot of power that is needed at the top end Do you think that putting in a cut out would have the same results?

 

Wow, thats not even funny!

Thanks for posting the comparo!