Vroom
Un-Moderator
There may be some people out there with Gen 3s that are wondering if they should install some aftermarket mufflers on their car. They're probably wondering which brand is the best bang for the buck, and they've more than likely heard about Flowmasters from fellow members. They're probably also wondering if they should remove the resonator and/or 3rd cat, or leave it all in there. Well, here is my review of my recently installed (as of 5-18-04) Flowmasters, with the resonator removed.
I got two Flowmaster 40 series (2.25" offset inlet/offset outlet #42443) off of ebay (Performance Peddler was the name of the seller) shipped to my door for $98 and some change. This is the best price that I, and several members I've heard from, have found for these mufflers. Quick shipping, too.
I then brought them to an installer to have them welded on. He welded some extra pipe before the inlet and after the outlet because these mufflers are actually shorter than the factory mufflers. I also had him "flare" (enlarge) the inlets of the stock tips a bit so that he could weld them back on for the "sleeper" look. Plus, the stock tips just look good with the bumper cutouts.
He fired the car up and that's when the smile came on my face. He then said that if I wanted a little bit more sound, he could remove the resonator and replace it with some 2.5" pipe. I was hesitant because I didn't want to void my aftermarket warranty, but he said that he'd never had a problem with it. He told me that he wouldn't remove the 3rd cat because technically it is illegal to remove anything before the 3rd cat. I was fine with that because that sure as heck would void my warranty.
He fired up the car again with the resonator replaced with the 2.5" pipe and said that he noticed a little sound increase. I couldn't really tell at the moment, but oh well.
It came time to ring up the price and it would have been about $80 for the total installation, but he charged me $25 for the piece of pipe he used in place of the resonator, so the price ended up being about $105. That bumps my total price for buying the mufflers and having them installed with the resonater taken out: $205. Not too bad, but be sure to check if it'll cost you extra to have the resonator replaced.
After driving the car for almost a week now, I have mixed feelings. There definitely needed to be a change from the stock silent mufflers. I'm thinking that if I was going to do it all over again, I would have left the resonater in, because of the extra cost and the fact that MY CAR IS PRETTY DANG LOUD now.
Now, the sound is not a bad thing at all. It's REALLY bassy, meaning it has a very low tone. The mufflers are most noticable at idle and low RPMs and they tend to lose volume in the higher RPMs. Which brings me to my next mod: a K&N panel filter and a porterized intake setup to let those secondaries yell when they open up.
But back on topic, I'm actually starting to get used to the loudness of my mufflers. I think it's just when I start it up in the garage that it seems too loud because it gets amplified. Every one of my friends that I've showed it to have loved the sound. One of them keeps asking me to fire it up.
I do also get plenty of looks from pedestrians and drivers, so if that's what you're after, then go with these mufflers and have the resonator removed! But if you want to be able to drive your baby around, then you might just want to leave the resonator in. I'm just hoping the cops don't take much notice to the volume of my exhaust... they haven't so far.
Hope this review is helpful to some!
EDIT: I'll try to have some sound files up and maybe some photos or video clips eventually.
I got two Flowmaster 40 series (2.25" offset inlet/offset outlet #42443) off of ebay (Performance Peddler was the name of the seller) shipped to my door for $98 and some change. This is the best price that I, and several members I've heard from, have found for these mufflers. Quick shipping, too.
I then brought them to an installer to have them welded on. He welded some extra pipe before the inlet and after the outlet because these mufflers are actually shorter than the factory mufflers. I also had him "flare" (enlarge) the inlets of the stock tips a bit so that he could weld them back on for the "sleeper" look. Plus, the stock tips just look good with the bumper cutouts.
He fired the car up and that's when the smile came on my face. He then said that if I wanted a little bit more sound, he could remove the resonator and replace it with some 2.5" pipe. I was hesitant because I didn't want to void my aftermarket warranty, but he said that he'd never had a problem with it. He told me that he wouldn't remove the 3rd cat because technically it is illegal to remove anything before the 3rd cat. I was fine with that because that sure as heck would void my warranty.
He fired up the car again with the resonator replaced with the 2.5" pipe and said that he noticed a little sound increase. I couldn't really tell at the moment, but oh well.
It came time to ring up the price and it would have been about $80 for the total installation, but he charged me $25 for the piece of pipe he used in place of the resonator, so the price ended up being about $105. That bumps my total price for buying the mufflers and having them installed with the resonater taken out: $205. Not too bad, but be sure to check if it'll cost you extra to have the resonator replaced.
After driving the car for almost a week now, I have mixed feelings. There definitely needed to be a change from the stock silent mufflers. I'm thinking that if I was going to do it all over again, I would have left the resonater in, because of the extra cost and the fact that MY CAR IS PRETTY DANG LOUD now.
Now, the sound is not a bad thing at all. It's REALLY bassy, meaning it has a very low tone. The mufflers are most noticable at idle and low RPMs and they tend to lose volume in the higher RPMs. Which brings me to my next mod: a K&N panel filter and a porterized intake setup to let those secondaries yell when they open up.
But back on topic, I'm actually starting to get used to the loudness of my mufflers. I think it's just when I start it up in the garage that it seems too loud because it gets amplified. Every one of my friends that I've showed it to have loved the sound. One of them keeps asking me to fire it up.
I do also get plenty of looks from pedestrians and drivers, so if that's what you're after, then go with these mufflers and have the resonator removed! But if you want to be able to drive your baby around, then you might just want to leave the resonator in. I'm just hoping the cops don't take much notice to the volume of my exhaust... they haven't so far.
Hope this review is helpful to some!
EDIT: I'll try to have some sound files up and maybe some photos or video clips eventually.
