How much of a better sound would I be getting if I just replaced the muffler? Would it be better (sounding/performance) to just do a custom cat-back? Should I just run a muffler and let it cut off right after it? Any ideas, suggestions, and those with experience are very welcome.

 

dumps (or cut offs) are just noise, They lead to rust issues, they reverberate off everything and are just annoying in general. They also tend to have zero tone, its just loud.

You won't see any appreciable gain with just a muffler, you may feel a little with a full cat back.

Sound? Pick a brand.

my truck with a Corsa DB black:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-PGyyLUcdc

another liter truck with glasspacks and dumps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL5qi...eature=related

The terrible flowmaster 40 series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQCsm...eature=related

straight pipes (plays to my inner hillbilly):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQJpd...eature=related

Nothing is going to sound the same as you can tell.

 

Terrible flowmaster 40 series ive never met a 40 series I didnt like...However, it does sound really bad on his...But judging by the way the motor sounded when he turned it off, its the trucks fault.

 

I've never heard a 40 series that I liked. The ONLY flowmaster application I've heard that I liked was ironically an NSX. So yes, That terrible 40 series sound.

 

I gotta agree with dplummer. I've never heard a flowmaster on a v8 that I didn't like. Of all the videos on youtube I don't think you could have picked a worse representation of flowmaster.

 

So just replacing the muffler will do the sound part, right?

 

yup.

 

First one that pulled up. I think they sound like total crap, but then again I'm also tired of everyone having the same muffler....flowmaster 40 series...or super 40s now. All they do is create noise, they have horrific flow numbers.

 

Where can you find these flow numbers??? I will be putting an exhaust on my truck this next summer and want to get my money's worth. I had a flowmaster 40 on my 4.2 and liked it a lot...Just noise though, my cousin just put it on his 5.4 and he said he noticed a little more pull along with great sound.

 

http://www.broaderperformance.com/mu...flow_tests.htm
http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...lowmaster.html
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=263014
http://www.exhaustsoundclips.com/cfm.pdf


Heck there are after market converters that rate higher than the 40 series. Like I've said all along. If you want just loud? Like glasspacks, flowmasters are fine. If you want performance? Go elsewhere.

Conversely, Just because a Pro Bullet can flow over 2K cfm, that doesn't mean a stock F150 needs one. Also with those charts, I suspect there is a difference in numbers from chart to chart based on inlet and outlet diameter.