Exhaust suggestions?

[Confederate1969]

What kinds of exhaust set ups are you all running? I am particularly interested in mufflers that you all use. The original owner had glass packs. Those have long since disappeared and I'm not even sure what kind of mufflers are on it now. I would certainly like an exhaust system that can both help my HP and provide a good sound as well. What have been your good and bad experiences? As a side note, I do have a set of Hooker headers already.

 

[mcmopar]

When I was planning my build I spent a lot of time researching mufflers and looking at comparison tests. During my time on the net 2 mufflers in particular were pulling down some very good flow numbers: Dynomax Ultraflow mufflers and Magnaflow mufflers. The design of these two mufflers is basically the same; a straight through design with 2 different kinds of metal mesh fibers inside - sort of like a glass pack but much more durable.
The tests I saw all showed these 2 mufflers outflowing most all the street type mufflers they competed against. Flowmasters weren't even close, losing by as much as 2:1 in flow capacity in some cases.
Mopar Muscle did a muffler comparison on their 67 GTX test mule with a very healthy 440 between Magnaflows and a set of well used Dynomax Hemi Super Turbos that had been on the car for some time. The exhaust system was 3" in dia. and utilized a full system to the rear of the car. The car was timed in the 1/4 mile with both exhaust systems on the same day and the results showed an improvement of .15 sec just by switching to the Magnaflows. The Magnaflows were a bit louder than the Hemi Super Turbos but they said it was liveable.
I had installed a 3" dia. tti system on my road runner using the Magnaflows (before this article came out) because I had wanted to set my car up to take to the track now and then and I did not want to use Race Readies for an open exhaust nor did I want to uncork the headers at the track. I've been very pleased with the results as they sound very healthy but are not so loud that I can't listen to my stereo while cruising. I even drove the car up to Columbus and back from Orlando back in '05 for the Road Runner tribute at the 'Nats and loved every minute of that music coming from those mufflers! It definitely commands attention at every stoplight when I drive it around town!
If you want a more mellow sound for cruising and are not so concerned about all out performance then either the 3 chamber Flowmasters or a set of the Dynomax Hemi Super Turbos are the way to go. For a good econo muffler I even like the oval shaped Cherry Bomb turbos. I ran them on my '71 Charger SE 440 (2-1/4" system with stock exhaust manifolds) and they sounded really good but did tend to reverberate a bit too much for my taste at 40 mph (3.55 gears, 245-60R/14 tires). Flowmaster, Dynomax (Ultraflow or Hemi Super Turbo) or Magnaflow will definitely give the car some authoritative rumble and adequate flow capacities for street use.

 

[Basketcase]

I've never been a fan of headers. I had a '68 Charger R/T, 440 4 speed for 18 years. had headers when I bought it. Can be a pain to keep from burning the plug wires. Then the starter died. 2 1/2 hour job, that normally woud take 20 minutes. then there's the gaskets that seemed to need constant replacing. A buddy and I bought a '69 Charger R/T parts car. It still had the factory H Pipe. I torched off the headers, and put on the H Pipe. Plain ol Cherry Bombs. got lots of compliments on the sound. Noisy inside though. Never bothered to hook u a radio. Loved the sound. Had the same H Pipe and CBs on the road runner that burned.
My yellow car has Headman Headers. About a month after I got the car, the starter died. After I got the car blocked up, I just layed there dreading what was to come next. It was a good thing my torches went up with the garage. After unbolting the headers, I was getting ready to unbolt the motor mount, when I noticed if I pulled out one of the studs(has studs instead of header bolts) I could get some more clearance. I unbolted the starter, took out the stud, moved the header, and the starter fell out. I don't know if it's because the 383 sits lower than the 440, or these are better designed headers.
When I was having timing issues, I blew up both mufflers. I took it to the exhaust shop, and they put on "Flow Master" knock offs. Nice and quite inside, and nice sound outside.
Another thing I never liked about headers was they are always rusty, and the collectors hang down too low and hit stuff. But now you can get them ceramic coated. and they look great. I've heard nothing but good about TTi headers, as far as fit,looks, and ease of install.
Big and the others can tell you more about the performance end of things.

 

[dobie]

Right now I have the stock HP manifolds and a pair of Flowmaster Super 40's. If I ever get around to the other motor, I'll switch to my headers which I bought a few years ago and had Jet-Hot coated.

 

[Plymouthfan]

TTI's from the motor to the exhaust tips.... 2.5" with H pipe, cutout's and Dynomax Super Turbo's. I took off my Flowmasters after several years. I never liked the "droning" sound at certain rpm's.

To this day I totally regret not putting on a 3" system! The sound difference between 2.5" and 3" is night and day!!!

Also, a bit of advise. I'll never hang another exhaust system myself again! It was a royal PITA laying on my back wrestling with those pipes. It took ALL day to get that sucker hooked up! Afterwards I ended up having to take it to an exhaust shop to have them tweak it anyways. It was hitting the floorboards in a couple places and I needed to loosen it up and use a prybar to tweak it, which I couldn't do with jackstands. Took the exhaust shop an hour to straighten it out and weld in my cutouts and cost me $90.... well worth it IMHO.

 

[Big John]

I've had headers on cars before and you gotta be willing to put up with a little bit of nonsense to gain a bit of performance. They came off the Roadrunner a long time ago and I may or may not put some back on.

Anyway... I think you want a minimum of 2 1/2" with a H pipe. Better yet is a X pipe and next step up is 3" pipe. Headers are an individual choice, but don't go with the cheapest set. I've read good things about the TTI's.

Mufflers? I had Turbos on mine and I still have to make a decision for the next exhaust. It will have an X pipe though. I don't like the Flowmaster sound. Too many 5.0 Mustangs with Flowmasters around here. I'll probably do a 3" pipe.

BTW, the drone from glass packs gets old fast, especially on the highway and there is no performance advantage over a stock muffler.

 

[mcmopar]

tti headers are very expensive but you get what you pay for with them. I installed mine back in '03. I had a buddy of mine helping out and at first I couldn't get the driver's side up into place. The instructions state that the engine may need to be raised up about 3" or so. We tried to put them up without raising the engine. I removed the spark plugs but left the exhaust manifold studs in the heads becasue they were long enough to fit the header flange.
We put the car up on jack stands all the way around to gain some clearance to put the headers in from underneath. Well, after a few minutes of trying to get the driver's side in I told my buddy Jerry that it didn't seem it was going to work because I was hitting the pitman arm. He yelped out "Oh - wait a minute!" and proceeded to turn the steering wheel in order to get the pitman arm to pivot out of the way. As soon as he did that the header went right up into place just as nice as you please! Being a 4 speed car we didn't have to mess around with any automatic transmission linkages or anything like that. We then went over to the passenger side, turned the wheel to get the idler arm out of the way and BOOM right up it went. Jerry was amazed because he had just installed a set of Hooker Competition Plus headers (that he picked up at a swap meet for $25 including reducers!) on his 66 Coronet and he fought them a good long time. We didn't have to ding one header pipe on the tti's. We then proceeded to install the entire 3" dia. tti system and it went smoothly.
Later on when I had to replace some driveline parts due to a mishap at the dragstrip I dropped the headers and head pipes to get access to the parts I needed to replace and put it all back up by myself. It really was easy. Prior to installing the tti system I had tried 2 sets of Hedman Hedders but neither of them would fit. After consulting with one of the engineers at Hedman it was determined that they were built wrong on their jig. It was frustrating to say the least. I had no problems installing the tti's and have had zero issues with them in terms of leakage or anything like that. The gaskets they provide are top notch and the extra thick flanges don't warp or bend. Highly recommended if you are going to go the header route.
If you want to stick with manifolds they also offer full mandrel bent exhaust systems in 2-1/2" or 3" dia. that hook up to your manifolds. Its a ton better than those factory pre-bent systems that you can get from the parts houses. Yes, its more expensive but again - you definitely get what you pay for and they can be installed in a day or less by yourself.

 

[Confederate1969]

Thanks for the advice fellahs.

 

[John69RR]

I've been running headers on mine since the early 90's. I started with the 1-7/8 Hooker's. Very good header, no leaks and no real issues. Presently I have the 2"Hooker Super Comps with a 2.5" exhaust, "H" pipe and 40 Series (42543) Flowmasters. These are the 2 chamber mufflers. A little loud....maybe, but cruising is OK. Headers can be a PIA, especially when it comes to starters. The S/C are OK except the passenger side drops lower than the drivers side and I had to ding one of the pipes to clear the suspension. Need to be careful over RR tracks. Here is a link to a sound bite of my car.
http://s293.photobucket.com/albums/mm70 ... GA2002.flv

 

[Basketcase]

yeah baby! :drive:

 

[Roadcuda]

Me likey! It's the sound the other guy hears as you pull away!

 

[69bbeep]

sweet music to my ears! :banana:

 

[Plymouthfan]

Sounds good John! :worship:

My only issue with my TTI headers I have is it's slightly hitting my idler arm. I need to shift the engine about a 1/4" up on the passenger side.

 

[mcmopar]

Sounds good John! :worship:

My only issue with my TTI headers I have is it's slightly hitting my idler arm. I need to shift the engine about a 1/4" up on the passenger side.

What condition are your engine mounts in? I used new biscuits from Autozone when I put mine together and so far 5 yrs later everything is still good.

 

[John69RR]

Thanks guys. I've read something similar to that about TTi's also. The engine mounts need to be "perfect".

 

[Plymouthfan]

Sounds good John! :worship:

My only issue with my TTI headers I have is it's slightly hitting my idler arm. I need to shift the engine about a 1/4" up on the passenger side.

What condition are your engine mounts in? I used new biscuits from Autozone when I put mine together and so far 5 yrs later everything is still good.

Brand new Schumacher Poly Loc's :brickwall: For what they charge for those mounts, they should be self leveling!

 

[george68hemirr]

my vote for TTI headers to tailpipes to correct tips all sold thru TTI and go with the 40 series flowmasters...3 inch pipes....you will not be sorry....pricey but worth the money

 

[Plymouthfan]

If you're going with TTI's PM me... I bought from a guy who sells them cheaper than TTI. I think I saved a least $50 on the headers and maybe the same on the exhaust.

 

[toms69rr]

Any sound clips out there?
I am looking to put a new one on mine.
Thinking 2.5 with H pipe. running manifolds.
Looking for something nice while driving the car.
Not real resonating,but still sounds good when I put my foot in it

 

[1BADBIRD]

There are some real good ones on youtube.com There is an orange RR on there that sounds awsome. :cheers: