Big Block Muffler SHOOTOUT!

[savatreatabvr]

My 1973 C20 454 longbed is in need of a 3" muffler, as far as I know the one on it right now is the original factory muffler and it's sounding a bit loud and burned out. I'd like to go with something aftermarket and quite so I did some research and found plenty of options. Now I'm wondering is a $24 muffler as quite as a $100 muffler? I listed a few below to get everyone's opinion on what's best?

Trush Glasspack/Muffler: $24.99


Flowmaster/50 Series Delta Flow Muffler: $104.99


MagnaFlow/XL Muffler: $64.99


Walker Exhaust/Universal Installer Turbo Muffler: $34.99


Flowmaster/40 Series Delta Force Race Muffler: $129.99


Thrush Welded/Universal Muffler: $39.99


It's almost like choosing SPARK PLUGS, there are so many da-n choices!!!

[Your41Plague12]

None of those choices will be quiet. Those are all performance-oriented mufflers. They may add a few more horsepower but will be significantly louder than the stock muffler. I ran te thrush welded mufflers on my truck and loved them, but they were very loud and aggressive sounding. They would definitely wake up the neighbors.

[mongoose]

the turbo would probably be the quietest.. tho like said, all those will be somewhat loud.. price has nothing to do with db levels.

[dieseldawg142]

your pic of the FM delta flow 50 is wrong i believe, i have them on my big block crew with 3" duals & they don't look like that. but they are LOUD, especially when your on the throttle or going up a big hill. also had the magnaflow xl's on the crew prior to the FM's. they were just as LOUD as the FM's, but they only lasted about 4 yrs before falling apart.
glasspacks were like magnets & drew the cops to me, have never used the walker, have heard good about the thrush welded
i have a new set of FM big block 70's that i will prob. be putting on the crew soon. as mentioned, these mufflers are loud, nice at first, but after awhile it's not so fun anymore.

[b a king]

flowmaster does make a muffler for motor home .a friend has them they sound great,not toooooo loud.it's not much bigger either.stay away from glass packs. smaller pipes will be less noise. also location of muffler make a big difference also. good luck!!

[dieseldawg142]

Originally Posted by b a king

flowmaster does make a muffler for motor home .a friend has them they sound great,not toooooo loud.it's not much bigger either.stay away from glass packs. smaller pipes will be less noise. also location of muffler make a big difference also. good luck!!

yeah, 3" pipes will be a bit louder
sounds like he has the 50's big block. i looked at them too, but they didn't come in 3" I/O. i have a 70 series cat back in my step(dd) with stock everything else & it has a nice mellow rumble to it. my crew has headers & almost 7ft of strait 3" pipe with no bends to the mufflers, delta flow 50's, and did i mention it's LOUD. with the "louder" pipes & headers, i'm hoping the quieter 70's i picked up will give me a nice compromise
savatree, dont go by the sound bite vids the manufactors put out, or by utube vids of someone's truck idling & blipping the throttle, if possible go for a ride in a similar equipped truck, & go up a few long hills(dont need to be steep), THAT will tell you if your ready to live with one of these mufflers on a day to day basis

[b a king]

also don't put bigger tips on them. I have read but don't know how tru it is.if you use the same size tips that turn down, turn them toward each other at about 45 degrees instead, that will really help with the resonance.but I guess that depends on how close they are to each other

[Cherub]

I had dual 3" with magnaflow 24" mufflers it was fairly quiet. let me find a vid.

[rs74]

I came across this same thing many years back. I had some old burnt out turbos. Went to autozone or somewhere and bought some $20 universal turbos and was quite suprised how quiet they were. I was running a small block with headers and the mufflers dumped at the rearend with turn downs. It was actually quite quiet.

[savatreatabvr]

I was also wondering, performance wise how aftermarket mufflers compare to stock factory mufflers? I've heard not enough back pressure or to much back pressure hurts performance, do these aftermarket mufflers come with spec sheets to compare to stock factory mufflers? I see a lot of used diesel mufflers on Craigslist that are the same shape and size of my stock factory muffler, can I use a 4" diesel muffler reduced down to 3" pipe on my 454?

[dieseldawg142]

Originally Posted by savatreatabvr

I was also wondering, performance wise how aftermarket mufflers compare to stock factory mufflers? I've heard not enough back pressure or to much back pressure hurts performance, do these aftermarket mufflers come with spec sheets to compare to stock factory mufflers? I see a lot of used diesel mufflers on Craigslist that are the same shape and size of my stock factory muffler, can I use a 4" diesel muffler reduced down to 3" pipe on my 454?

on a stock motor, there prob wouldn't be enough of a difference to notice, but it sure will sound like it. it takes at least 25-30 horse to actually feel a diff in your vehicle, thats alot of power to pull out of a stock motor with just a muffler change.
i wouldn't worry 'bout performance, buy for the sound you like best, it's why we usually change them. by the time i get the 70's on the crew, it will be the 4th set of "performance" mufflers & i have not noticed one bit of diff in power between them, just trying to find that sweet spot for sound
too bad your so far away, soon as it warms up outside i'll be pulling 2 like new 3" delta 50's out of my truck

[Jake Wade]

Flowmaster 70 series is fairly quiet. Dynomax Super Hemi Turbos are quiet also.

[68Timber]

Dynomax Super Turbo mufflers are a good compromise, they flow good without being too loud.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Depends on how strong the motor is and how the exhaust is setup

My friend went from a 305 to a 454 and his thrush welded series got quieter

My friend went from flowbastard 44s to purple hornies glass packs. It got quieter...this is just my findings. It seems the construction of the muffler will make the biggest difference. Then how the motor is built will change the flow through a muffler.

there was a test on mufflers in a "ford" forum that found that there was a 8hp difference between no/worst mufflers and the best.
Personally I would buy in to spin techs design. When I got their mufflers I picked up the box with one hand and it dropped on my foot. Those things are built like tanks! I can imagine the sheet metal that magnaslow and flowbastard uses would vibrate and resonate making the toilet sounds one typically hears.

[savatreatabvr]

Originally Posted by dieseldawg142

on a stock motor, there prob wouldn't be enough of a difference to notice, but it sure will sound like it. it takes at least 25-30 horse to actually feel a diff in your vehicle, thats alot of power to pull out of a stock motor with just a muffler change.
i wouldn't worry 'bout performance, buy for the sound you like best, it's why we usually change them. by the time i get the 70's on the crew, it will be the 4th set of "performance" mufflers & i have not noticed one bit of diff in power between them, just trying to find that sweet spot for sound
too bad your so far away, soon as it warms up outside i'll be pulling 2 like new 3" delta 50's out of my truck

Excellent advise!!! Definitely way to far but shipping is just the cost of a stamp right? Lol!

[cory d]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

I can imagine the sheet metal that magnaslow and flowbastard uses would vibrate and resonate making the toilet sounds one typically hears.

flowmasters do sound like toilets. never thought of that.

[dieseldawg142]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

Depends on how strong the motor is and how the exhaust is setup

My friend went from a 305 to a 454 and his thrush welded series got quieter

My friend went from flowbastard 44s to purple hornies glass packs. It got quieter...this is just my findings. It seems the construction of the muffler will make the biggest difference. Then how the motor is built will change the flow through a muffler.

there was a test on mufflers in a "ford" forum that found that there was a 8hp difference between no/worst mufflers and the best.
Personally I would buy in to spin techs design. When I got their mufflers I picked up the box with one hand and it dropped on my foot. Those things are built like tanks! I can imagine the sheet metal that magnaslow and flowbastard uses would vibrate and resonate making the toilet sounds one typically hears.

wow! surprised it took you this long to comment
another thread on your fav muffler,lol!
i think we all know how much you like your spin techs, & how much you love FM's, but if your gonna slag them, it should be for sound & not how their built. 16 gauge is a far cry from sheet metal, i've had a FM last 14 yrs on a dd, so you aint going to convince me there built crappy. baffling & flow give muffs most of their sound, some like their sound, some dont. sound is subjective to everyone. i happen to like the sound from the 1st muffler in the Hot ROD hall of fame!

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by dieseldawg142

wow! surprised it took you this long to comment
another thread on your fav muffler,lol!
i think we all know how much you like your spin techs, & how much you love FM's, but if your gonna slag them, it should be for sound & not how their built. 16 gauge is a far cry from sheet metal, i've had a FM last 14 yrs on a dd, so you aint going to convince me there built crappy. baffling & flow give muffs most of their sound, some like their sound, some dont. sound is subjective to everyone. i happen to like the sound from the 1st muffler in the Hot ROD hall of fame!

Maybe they are 16g on yours. I know some like flow masters and that's fine but between the mufflers I've tried and my friends have tried spin tech truly impressed me. Both sound wise and constructi

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by dieseldawg142

wow! surprised it took you this long to comment
another thread on your fav muffler,lol!
i think we all know how much you like your spin techs, & how much you love FM's, but if your gonna slag them, it should be for sound & not how their built. 16 gauge is a far cry from sheet metal, i've had a FM last 14 yrs on a dd, so you aint going to convince me there built crappy. baffling & flow give muffs most of their sound, some like their sound, some dont. sound is subjective to everyone. i happen to like the sound from the 1st muffler in the Hot ROD hall of fame!

Haha yes.
Maybe they are 16g on yours being that they are older but the mufflers that they make now arent what got them into the hall of fame. I know some like flow masters and magnaflow and that's fine both do the job the same. but between the mufflers I've tried and my friends have tried spin tech truly impressed me. Both sound wise and construction. Seems like most mufflers are 18g metal anymore. When we pulled my friends 44s they felt like Campbell's soup cans lol. We never liked the sound of them. They just never sounded natural for what a v8 would be normally. After hearing the clean sound in this vid and on my truck when I bought them I was sold for life. And the fact they can build anything for any car..easy win in my book.

http://youtu.be/tSsmd2KbV38

[dieseldawg142]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

Haha yes.
Maybe they are 16g on yours being that they are older but the mufflers that they make now arent what got them into the hall of fame. I know some like flow masters and magnaflow and that's fine both do the job the same. but between the mufflers I've tried and my friends have tried spin tech truly impressed me. Both sound wise and construction. Seems like most mufflers are 18g metal anymore. When we pulled my friends 44s they felt like Campbell's soup cans lol. We never liked the sound of them. They just never sounded natural for what a v8 would be normally. After hearing the clean sound in this vid and on my truck when I bought them I was sold for life. And the fact they can build anything for any car..easy win in my book.

http://youtu.be/tSsmd2KbV38

never owned spintecs or known anyone who has, so i wont comment on them. do you have a vid of that chevelle rolling down the road?
sitting there idling dont sound a whole lot different than my crew(other than that real lopey cam), would like to hear how they sound at speed.
i bought my first set of FM's in the early '90's, have had 6 sets since (on diff trucks) & every set i bought has been 16g.
the FM 70's i just got last week are 16g & weigh a ton

almost 30 lbs a muff!
when i was younger i always had loud-er vehicles, i dont know why i'm even commenting here on these mufflers, i'm taking them out of my truck for quieter old-er man mufflers

[KQQL IT]

I have a pair of 70 series on my pile. 3" to the roll pan. No H pipe and a rowdy small block.
Nobody has said it was too loud.
Runs 12.00 thru them.

[zaccaglin]

I have a pair of Thrush Welded on my rig and love them. Used to have a Flow 40 on an old dodge and it was screaming loud compared to the pair of Thrush on my Burb.

[78maliburat]

4 in pipe w bullets................ Full exhaust

[meatwagon83]

i have fm 44s on my dually, its loud, i think 70s would be pretty quiet compared to mine

[savatreatabvr]

Originally Posted by dieseldawg142

wow! surprised it took you this long to comment
another thread on your fav muffler,lol!
i think we all know how much you like your spin techs, & how much you love FM's, but if your gonna slag them, it should be for sound & not how their built. 16 gauge is a far cry from sheet metal, i've had a FM last 14 yrs on a dd, so you aint going to convince me there built crappy. baffling & flow give muffs most of their sound, some like their sound, some dont. sound is subjective to everyone. i happen to like the sound from the 1st muffler in the Hot ROD hall of fame!

Hey dieseldawg142, ("another thread on your fav muffler,lol!") there are things some of us don't know much about, so posting threads on this forum asking questions about what we don't know much about helps us understand what we don't know much about! GET IT, GOT IT?