Hoo-ray! I killed the dreaded drone!

BRBuzz151 · Feb 6, 2007

Hey ya'll. I'm so happy I just have to share it. I finally killed the dreaded flowmaster drone inside the cab of my '93 Bronk.:chili:

I had swapped out my original 302 exhaust in 2004 with a Catco Y pipe to a single in dual out flowmaster 40 with 12" tips. Sounded great but the drone was killing me! I even had rubber mounted hangars, floor matting under the carpet, U-clamps above the muffler and the stereo on 11 and it was just too much on the highway. Luckily, there was a rust spot starting on the bottom of that 40 so it was an excuse to tear into it.

I searched all over for sound clips and opinions and finally replaced that Catco setup with a stainless Bassani Y pipe converter (#50150B3) and the 40 flowbastard to a Hooker Aerochamber 3" in dual 2.5" out muffler. (#21518HKR) FYI, I have Hooker shorty headers and this new setup required Bassani flange reducers (#150501) It was a hassle free fit with no leaks.

The sound is AWESOME. Actually louder and deeper at idle than the flow with a much better tuned sound and it revs faster to boot. I ran it through all RPMs and the best thing is that it drones ZERO in the cab. Let me repeat, it drones ZERO in the cab. :rockon I can actually hear the stereo and my girlfriend talking!!! The inside cruise sound is nearly like the stock exhaust with a gentle rumble. When I get on it, it screams like a frikkin' banshee.

For those who aren't familar with aerochambers, they have a resonant tuning chamber just inside, but you can still see through the assembly. While making my decision, I read this muffler test http://www.broaderperformance.com/muffler_flow_tests.htm and it shows that the aerochamber makes nearly 3 times the flow of a flowmaster. Also, this soundclip on a chebby truck helped me make the decision. http://video.performancetrucks.net/search/hooker+flowmaster/0/9a8ea517-a1ba-4482-ab78-504856b05bcf.htm It sounds a whole lot better on my truck though.

And....it's 100% legal, and.....I sold my old parts to my neighbor who has a 91 and bought beer. Man, could this day get any better?

I know flowmasters are king arond here, but I just thought I'd share my two cents. I got the muffler from summit and the y pipe from performance peddler. Before someone gigs me on no pics, there are plenty of pics on here of those parts I mentioned. Hope this helps somebody make a decision. Later.--Buzz :beer

junedick · Feb 6, 2007

interesting....I haven't ordered my Magnaflow muffler yet. Would it be possible to get you to record a sound clip? It would be much appreciated. :beer

Hopper · Feb 6, 2007

Flowmasters bring teh gay, good work.

I like my Magnaflow 3" in/out junedick. I don't like the turn down, but the rest of the exhaust is pretty cool.

junedick · Feb 6, 2007

Hopper said:
I like my Magnaflow 3" in/out junedick. I don't like the turn down, but the rest of the exhaust is pretty cool.

Thanks Hopper :thumbup

Hopper · Feb 6, 2007

If I had a sound clip, I'd post it...

I should get one someday; there aren't too many people running this muffler.

biggies92bronco · Feb 7, 2007

Ill be running one soon. do you have a 5x8 oval style? and if so what length is it?

BRBuzz151 · Feb 6, 2007

Technologically poor

I'll try to if I can, but I don't have anything handy that can record a real good sound. The clip I put in my first post was the closest thing that I could find which compared the flowmaster and the aerochamber on the same truck. To put it in words, the overall difference is that it is now louder down low but with a deeper and "cleaner" engine sound at idle without a tinny rasp. It is 99% quieter through cruise inside but listening to it drive by it sounds like it has racing headers. When you got WOT, it screams and revs like nothing else--much different than the flowbastard which sounded powerful, but almost like a pound of cats and gravel being spun in a blender. It now sounds like a very powerful, well tuned engine. I'm very pleased. Alot of it had to do with the bigger Y pipe, I'm sure. FYI, I did run dual magnaflows for a short period way back. They sounded to me more like something from a high revving car and had their share of popping and droned about 2/3 of what the flowmaster did but that particular set-up was ******* engineered and all wrong for a Bronk. I like the hooker much more. Plus it's rather cheaper than magnaflow and built like a brick. --Buzz

Mr. Death · Feb 6, 2007

Your tempting me to convert. I like the way the hooker sounded over the flowmaster on that Chevy.

Sixlitre · Feb 7, 2007

How much was the hooker buzz ?

Sixlitre

Dawgfan · Feb 7, 2007

Man, that sound bit would be great if you can get it. I have been toying with the idea of swapping over. I have 2 1/2 true duals off the manifolds with 2 Flow 40's and no cats. Sounds great when you get on it, but the highway drone is insane! And the sound at idle isn't even that impressive. And after over $300 worth of DynaMat/FatMat over the entire interior, I swear it got worse! You can't hear a single rattle or vibration anymore, but the exhaust echoe is still crazy at anything above idle!

BRBuzz151 · Feb 7, 2007

Sixlitre, summit normal price is $71. I got it on sale just after Christmas and I think I paid a total of $78 Fedex shipping and all. Pretty good deal. They're not stainless like the high end Magnaflow, but they are well coated with black heat resistant paint and are HEAVILY put together. I was impressed just by holding it in my hand in comparison to the FM. You can see the resonant tuning chamber and the guts on their website. For my money, I think the design looks more durable longterm than what is basically a glorified glasspack in some of the magnaflows. I went and just did some driving tonight, listening to the engine sound the way an engine should. This will defineately go down as my best mod ever.--Buzz

Project Lazarus · Feb 7, 2007

For my money, I think the design looks more durable longterm than what is basically a glorified glasspack in some of the magnaflows.

That's all a Magnaflow is....glasspack in a turbo muffler body. I love the Magnaflows on my 250 but it's just not the sound I'm looking for. When/if I have the exhaust redone it'll be Hooker Aerochambers. Wish I could comment on the drone but my mufflers aren't under my cab, however FWIW between the 150 and 250 (both of which are sporting Magnaflows) there is very little to drone.

BRBuzz151 · Feb 7, 2007

Well after the first 24 hours, I've burned a half tank of gas just listening to this sucker purr. My only two concerns are (1) It is now so quiet in the cab @ cruise that I can hear some new rattles in the trim panels I have to fix and most importantly (2) that my beautiful stainless Y pipe is an odd purple color! Bassani tech when pressed admits that their stainless will in fact tarnish quite a bit in the first week or so, but they think I am generating too much heat/running too rich.

The truck is a 302, stock heads/intake, K&N, timing bumped to 13, MSD ignition/Coil/distributor, FMS 9mm wires, Fresh tune-up, new filters/pcv, seafoam x 1 month, 87 octane gas. Hooker shorties, Bassani Y w/cat + air pump intact & working, No pinging, no exhaust odors, no codes, O2 sensor 1 year old and in good shape, vacuum is good, fuel pressure is spec, this one is a head scratcher. I recall that my catco also turned purplish so this might be just my truck and I can't change the color back now, but I want to dig into this further to make sure I'm not dogging out my truck. Anybody have ideas?

The short story though is that I love my new exhaust and would reccomend it to anyone. I'll never run another flowmaster on another vehicle again.

Sixlitre · Feb 7, 2007

I'm thrilled for ya Buzz

now borrow Flander's camcorder and get us a soundbite !

Sixlitre

Hopper · Feb 7, 2007

My Bassani Y looks almost just like it did when I got it IIRC; I haven't looked at it in a while though...

Ditto on the Maggy being a glorified glasspack. IDK how well it will age, but it sounds good right now.

BRBuzz151 · Feb 7, 2007

Okay....

Okay, once up on a rack in good daylight, it seems my stainless steel Y is not really purple at all, but sort of a bronzed color in small areas near bends. When they saw it, Bassani said this was normal as did my ford expert mechanic who did a run through on the codes and systems for me. My exhaust is quite hot, due to the working thermactor and air pump which, along with the hot msd box, helps to ignite exiting gas longer which causes a hotter exhaust. This is typical I'm told to late model trucks of this type at my elevation. The mixture is correct and the o2 sensor is good so I'm still happy.

Sixlitre, I feel bad asking Flanders for his vidcam since I still have his TV tray, chainsaw, weedwacker, window unit and family bible. (Also my kid and his friend trashed his rumpus room and Beetles memorabilia) But I'll see if I can get a good clip with a lap top mike. Haha.

Moral of this story: Flowmaster=gay Magnaflow= "cha-ching" meh! Hooker=bad to the bone.

Buzz

junedick · Feb 14, 2007

Not to bring back an old thread, but I bought and installed this muffler. Everything already said is true. Great sound, excellent construction, and the best price of the mufflers that most choose between (magnaflow, flowmaster, etc...). It's only been 24 hours so I am sure there is a little more opening up for it, but it is already better than expected. One word of advise, I would get the offset inlet/center outlet unless you don't mind turning it a little and letting it hang a little bit below the frame rail. It is a little wider than the magnaflow I originally planned to buy. I will get a clip of it this weekend and post it up!

Any suggestions on placement angle of the camera when I get the clip?

PS- thanks for the recommendation Buzz :beer

Sixlitre · Feb 14, 2007

Upwind of the pipe

lookin' forward to the clip !

Sixlitre

junedick · Feb 17, 2007

Here's a clip. I've only put about 50 miles on the entire exhaust. I left the lens cap on because there's nothing special to see plus it has been raining all afternoon/evening. The camera was on the tailpipe exit side but it's out in the open (nothing for the sound to bounce off of). It's a good deep tone with a full sound. I dig it.

Anyway, here's what Summit shorties, Magnaflow Y-pipe and cat, Hooker Aero Chamber muffler (thanks for the recommendation Buzz), and the infamous 3" single mandrel bent tailpipe (nice find Sixlitre) sounds like on a 302. :rockon

exhaust clip

I can get a better one someday, but this should suffice for now.

Oh, and the total cost was right around 500 dollars including 70 bucks for good gaskets and stage 8 locking bolts for the headers. I don't think 500 for every exhaust part being brand new and mandrel bent is too bad.

topfisherman · Feb 17, 2007

Wow, that sounds really good. I need a new muffler for emissions, I may just have to pick up one of those.

junedick · Feb 17, 2007

I just wanted to add that I can't hear the exhaust over my IROKS while cruising unless I listen for it. I can hear it while accelerating and while sitting at idle.

BRBuzz151 · Feb 18, 2007

Yay!

Awesome! I'm glad someone else got some use out of this set-up. I don't have quicktime on my box but I'm sure your set-up and mine sound similar despite my 3" into 2.5" split rear. (Yours might even sound meaner I'll have to download QT to see) The main thing I wanted to get across was that they sound aggressive without the gawd awful drone and I'm glad you got the same results. Okay everybody, now there's two informed votes and audio.

As a bonus, the improved flow has apparently improved my MPG noticeably. I haven't done the math yet but swapping out the Y and the flowbastard has already saved me nearly a quarter tank per week with my regular mixed driving and there is overall less rpm at highway cruise and the revs at low end are night and day from the old muffler. The seat of the pants-o-meter is also registering some mighty fine readings. I'm gonna run it about 30 days (about 4-5 fill-ups average) and see what my overall number is. There's nothing finer than mods that work....:chili:

Sixlitre · Feb 18, 2007

This "IS" good news indeed

I'm lookin' for a 2 1/2" universal muffler that I could slap on the Town Car. You think it'd be too loud for a Lincoln ?

I was over that the Hooker website (not that one, the other one);

http://www.holley.com/division/Hooker.asp

and I noticed the areochamber is advertised as "Maximum flow" and the Turbo was advertised as "Tuned flow".

Which is the quieter muffler ?

Sixlitre

BroncoWY · Feb 18, 2007

I tried a Flowtech Afterburner through chamber muffler which is similar to the Hooker. I only bought it because it was available through the partsamerica website and by going over a certain amount qualified my order for free shipping. WAY too loud with the drone inside -- even in town driving.

So I put a Summit 3" in/out turbo for $19...sounds fine. The Maremont 3" pipe fits fine with no modification

Sixlitre · Feb 18, 2007

BroncoWY said:
The Maremont 3" pipe fits fine with no modification

Is that because you needed the extra length before the axle after all ?

Sixlitre

BRBuzz151 · Feb 18, 2007

Max flow

The only town car I had experience with was my best friend's dad's car and the only sound from it was the ungodly sucking sound when he kicked in the rear secondaries. Otherwise, he liked the exhaust stock and quiet. The muffler I almost put on the Bronco was a Hooker Max Flow. It does not have the resonant tuning chamber and is strictly a straight through design like the dynomax. The max flow, according to the muffler test in my first post, flowed the same as a straight pipe and was several decibels quieter at idle than the aerochamber. According to Hooker tech support, the max flow is more for cars with big blocks and or lotsa mods, i.e. hot stangs so it might be up your alley. Good luck.--Buzz

SigEpBlue · Feb 18, 2007

Hey junedick, does it resonate in the cab at all when you're cruising around, say 60-75mph? I really dig the idle rumble, but could you get a recording of you going from stop to that range at medium throttle, inside while driving? I know, I'm a PITA. :toothless That's the range my Blowmaster 50-series would drone terribly at, ~2k rpm, and after about 3 hours of driving across the state (hell, even to class in the morning!) it got real irritating. I've got a NAPA 3-inch in/out on there right now, and it's all right but not aggressive. If I take 'er up to ~4-5k range, you can hear more from the engine compartment and air intake than the exhaust. Kinda has a sleeper quality to it, but I liked scaring people in little plastic cars more.

BroncoWY: Yeah man, ain't that a great pipe for a great price?!?

The best thing to do for the hangers is to get creative with rubber hanger straps and a hammer, IMHO, if you don't have access to a welder. Mine's been hanging that way since summer, but I'm going to change things once the winter breaks. Stupid thing taps the fuel tank shield once in a great while. :doh0715:

junedick · Feb 18, 2007

SigEpBlue said:
Hey junedick, does it resonate in the cab at all when you're cruising around, say 60-75mph? I really dig the idle rumble, but could you get a recording of you going from stop to that range at medium throttle, inside while driving? I know, I'm a PITA. :toothless That's the range my Blowmaster 50-series would drone terribly at, ~2k rpm, and after about 3 hours of driving across the state (hell, even to class in the morning!) it got real irritating. I've got a NAPA 3-inch in/out on there right now, and it's all right but not aggressive. If I take 'er up to ~4-5k range, you can hear more from the engine compartment and air intake than the exhaust. Kinda has a sleeper quality to it, but I liked scaring people in little plastic cars more.

I can get you a clip, but probably not until tomorrow. I will tell you know that you probably won't be able to make out the sound from the exhaust (at cruising speeds) over my tires (IROKS). I'm sure that there is a little bit of drone, but I think that it won't be too overbearing. Also, unlike your exhaust that you described, you definitely hear it during acceleration. :rockon

Maybe I can talk my wife in to holding the camera for a drive-by clip too. :thumbup

SSgtTEX · Feb 18, 2007

sounded real good at idle june, however I just wasnt really impressed with the sound as you revved it up some.

I dunno, maybe I just have never noticed the drone or anything from the flowmasters that are under my truck. I like the way mine sounds. it is fairly quiet at idle, but does still have a rumble, but getting up on it it will roar.

for comparison here is my set up

351W
Hedman Headers shorty
true dual 2 1/2" exhaust pipe
dual flowmaster 40s
ends in apporx 2 18" 3" tips

a sound clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbK-oxi4J4M
and one of the truck under load
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1Apg7VojBs

I dont know, maybe in person it might persude differently, but for me I dont really see a good justification to convert.

junedick · Feb 18, 2007

I didn't change out aftermarket exhausts, this is my first change from the stock set up. I wouldn't swap my muffler in if I already had what you have in yours, especially if you don't have much drone. You are probably in the same boat that I'm in where your tires make more noise than your exhaust at cruise. :toothless

It's all very close. I have compared mine already to a 40, 50, and 60 series Flowmasters (on similarly equipped vehicles) and they all have their individual qualities. I wanted something different from the other 90% (exaggerating) of aftermarket exhausts and for the price and interior sound, this was PERFECT for my personal preference. :thumbup

I didn't rev above 3k rpms either, it will definitely roar!

SSgtTEX · Feb 18, 2007

yeah my tires sound like a Cessna 152 taking off to me haha...but it could also be the fact I drive it once every couple months if it is lucky

Hoo-ray! I killed the dreaded drone!

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