Need advise on exhaust systems

I had an muffler put on to replaced the old tin can full or other tin cans muffler that was on and I almost want my broken muffler back. Forums said Magnaflow was decent for low rumble and not high end bark. The origional ower cutt out the cats and combined with this Magnaflow it sounds like a teenager peelin out of the high school parking lot with his ten dollar fart can on a honda. My VX now makes me want to gouge my eyes out now. I'm looking for quite and maybe a little low rumble but mostly quite. Can someone please point me in the right direction?

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Originally Posted by Vinnybin

I had an muffler put on to replaced the old tin can full or other tin cans muffler that was on and I almost want my broken muffler back. Forums said Magnaflow was decent for low rumble and not high end bark. The origional ower cutt out the cats and combined with this Magnaflow it sounds like a teenager peelin out of the high school parking lot with his ten dollar fart can on a honda. My VX now makes me want to gouge my eyes out now. I'm looking for quite and maybe a little low rumble but mostly quite. Can someone please point me in the right direction?

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Flowmaster 40. Watch some of my youtube videos for a sound cut.

x2 on the Flowmaster 40.

Although I have the Flowmaster Super 44 which is louder/growlier ..

...the Flowmaster 40 is a nice tone if you want/like it quieter.

Jo

The OEM system sounds nice if new and ressonant. Meaning not rusty and dull sounding.

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Originally Posted by Vinnybin

I had an muffler put on to replaced the old tin can full or other tin cans muffler that was on and I almost want my broken muffler back. Forums said Magnaflow was decent for low rumble and not high end bark. The origional ower cutt out the cats and combined with this Magnaflow it sounds like a teenager peelin out of the high school parking lot with his ten dollar fart can on a honda. My VX now makes me want to gouge my eyes out now. I'm looking for quite and maybe a little low rumble but mostly quite. Can someone please point me in the right direction?

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First...put the cats back in. They help a lot. Then, if still too loud, find out if an exhaust shop can find room to install glass packs in your existing system.

If that doesn't make you happy, just get an OEM muffler and consider it a lesson. It's possible that a Walker Quiet flow 3 or dynomax would make you happy too.

I'm guessing that a flowmaster won't cut it -- based on your description. Six cylinder engines just don't sound that great with louder than factor muffler systems. That's assuming you have an ear for V8's and really hate fart-can Hondas. (like me).

I highly recommend the DynoMax - Turbo (Part #17733, w/2.5" inlet & outlet). I just had this muffler installed on my VX with a dual tip and it has a nice quiet low rumble without being obnoxious. Not ricey or coffee can sounding. Here's a link:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/wlk-17733/overview/

:bgwb:

I purchased the Magnaflow 11225 - (Satin Stainless Steel 2.25" Oval Muffler)

It sounds great. Throaty when you start it up, then it kinda goes away until you step on it.

This is my third muffler. When I bought my VX it had a powervault 2 installed and sounded VERY loud. Especially when cruising down the highway. My second was quiet, but not stainless steel so it rotted away. Then I got this one and am VERY happy with the results. Highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000COWU7A

I had a Borla Turbo (40658) installed with new Walker cats and all new pipes from the manifolds back. System looks great. Sounds great when started up or at low idle parking lot cruising. I went this route based on some of the feedback here.

However, I HATE the sound and volume under heavy acceleration and during freeway driving. It's incredibly loud and droning in the cabin, especially under heavy throttle at lower RPMs (below 3.5-4K).

It's a very small muffler compared to stock. I am going to replace it as soon as I can with something quieter, and have been looking into the Dynomax VTs which claim a 'drone free' performance.

Anyone here have experience with the VT series, or the larger Dynomax universals on the VX?

Thanks for the responses. After reviewing recommendations I am going with the walker quiet flow 3, glass packs and cats. My next question has to do with damage control. Obviously I made a mistake with lack of experience in VX and cars in general. I would like go know the logistics in how to undue what I did. 120 for a weld job from a backyard welder(welds look really nice regardless of sound). So now I have a muffler I hate that I am almost certain I cannot return to Oriley. How do I get rid of a new 80 dollar muffler? Should I cutt it off and craigslist it? Which glass packs are tried and true? Where shall I find appropriate cats? Which method of installation should be done? 120 2 welds and after the 2 sound interventions are purchased is 4 welds for cats, 4 welds for glass packs and two more for muffler. At his origional price that makes 1200$ for weld and no parts. Good lord, I might just park it by the border and buy a different VX with the insurance money(currently living in El Paso). I'm sure those Mexican fellows would love that SUV.

you buy the muffler and any decent shop should be able to install it for less then $75 - had a bad cat replaced for $125 parts and labor

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Originally Posted by evillecutter

you buy the muffler and any decent shop should be able to install it for less then $75 - had a bad cat replaced for $125 parts and labor

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what cat did you replace it with? OEM or Aftermarket?

It seems that I have to change my muffler also due to corrosion. I don't know much about mechanics, so I have to ask a basic question:

When you replace the muffler, Do you also replace the cat converter /pipes? How do you determine if you need a new cat?

Any benefits (or not) from having a dual exhaust?

Thanks,

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Originally Posted by Vinnybin

Thanks for the responses. After reviewing recommendations I am going with the walker quiet flow 3, glass packs and cats. My next question has to do with damage control. Obviously I made a mistake with lack of experience in VX and cars in general. I would like go know the logistics in how to undue what I did. 120 for a weld job from a backyard welder(welds look really nice regardless of sound). So now I have a muffler I hate that I am almost certain I cannot return to Oriley. How do I get rid of a new 80 dollar muffler? Should I cutt it off and craigslist it? Which glass packs are tried and true? Where shall I find appropriate cats? Which method of installation should be done? 120 2 welds and after the 2 sound interventions are purchased is 4 welds for cats, 4 welds for glass packs and two more for muffler. At his origional price that makes 1200$ for weld and no parts. Good lord, I might just park it by the border and buy a different VX with the insurance money(currently living in El Paso). I'm sure those Mexican fellows would love that SUV.

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Find a picture (in here) of a stock converter. Show the picture to a local shop. My shop said they knew what kind they were -- just by my description. (I gather there aren't many with a triangular shaped "cylindrical" converters -- with ODB2 compliance.)

Interestingly, I'd wonder if/how codes were handled with the original removal? Certainly, you could do universal bullet cats -- if codes weren't an issue...and I'm betting that would cost less.

Finding a place to install a glass pack might not be necessary. You could, instead, install a resonated tip. Getting the tailpipe beyond the rear of the vehicle helps with sound reduction. Of course, there's a fine line between sticking out too far (bust a shin) and not going far enough. The beauty of those clamp-on resonated tips is their adjustability.

I don't think you have a question about the Walker, which means the final question is about installation costs. In general, I would expect to pay about $60/hr for installation. Replacement of converters and the muffler shouldn't take a welder much longer than a couple of hours. But, I don't know if/what remains of the O2 sensor bungs -- or if that's an issue.

If $120 was the price for a single weld-on muffler (sans the muffler itself) you overpaid for that first installation. I had a center converter cut out and replaced with straight pipe (on my Corvette this weekend). It cost me $40. It probably would have been $30 but I took awhile to decide what to do -- in lieu of a converter failure after only 3 months!

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Originally Posted by JAMAS

what cat did you replace it with? OEM or Aftermarket?

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aftermarket - i asked the guy if it was an odd cat and he said no very common he had it on his shelf

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Originally Posted by VXD959

It seems that I have to change my muffler also due to corrosion. I don't know much about mechanics, so I have to ask a basic question:

When you replace the muffler, Do you also replace the cat converter /pipes? How do you determine if you need a new cat?

Any benefits (or not) from having a dual exhaust?

Thanks,

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you do not have to have new catalitic converters if you want to replace your muffler - might have guys take a look at them while they are down there but you will get a check engine if one of those go out - many will argue back and forth about dual exhaust and in some cases im sure it would help hp and air flow, but the vx was designed with one so unless you want to spend a lot more money i would leave it the way it is

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Originally Posted by evillecutter

aftermarket - i asked the guy if it was an odd cat and he said no very common he had it on his shelf

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which side did you replace?

drivers side i think - aren't they the same?

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Originally Posted by evillecutter

drivers side i think - aren't they the same?

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I don't believe so. I think they are really close, but a little different for fitment.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da.../Picture_4.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da.../Picture_5.jpg

Vette, could you tell me which walker I should grab? Amazon has about twenty. The facts I know are; it's a 2 inch pipe; the OEM muffler is center center; most all length mufflers should fit. Perhaps Walker might have tested one of their mufflers on a VX for sound quality?

Vette, could you tell me which walker I should grab? Amazon has about twenty. The facts I know are; it's a 2 inch pipe; the OEM muffler is center center; most all length mufflers should fit. Perhaps Walker might have tested one of their mufflers on a VX for sound quality? Also is there a system of cutting mufflers and attaching them with clamps that might be a little less expensive? I'm sure it would be unsightly but not to many people look under there.

Vinny,

Back in the day, my old Dodge had a ... 'modular' (yeah, that's the word we'll use) exhaust system. I'd pieced it together so many times with clamped on pipes & parts that it was the epitome of uber-ugly.

It worked for a while but the happiest day of my life was when I took it in and had a professional rebuild everything and weld it all together. I just got tired of fixing exhaust leaks.

I'd recommend that you find some Mom-N-Pop shop that'll do the work for you at a reasonable price & get it done right.

Thats my $.02 ... & I want change.:)

Tom

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Originally Posted by tom4bren

Vinny,

I'd recommend that you find some Mom-N-Pop shop that'll do the work for you at a reasonable price & get it done right.

Thats my $.02 ... & I want change.:)

Tom

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x2

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Originally Posted by JAMAS

I don't believe so. I think they are really close, but a little different for fitment.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da.../Picture_4.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da.../Picture_5.jpg

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dont know if i got the right one or not but it has been working good for about a year and no cel - did you cut your heat shields off?

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Originally Posted by 89Vette

First...put the cats back in. They help a lot. Then, if still too loud, find out if an exhaust shop can find room to install glass packs in your existing system.

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X2! Get some cats put back on and re-evaluate. If you wanted to start fresh you could get a '98 Trooper exhaust setup. I have one that runs a single cat with the cross-over before the cats. This guys on CL is selling a dual cat setup that looks just like ours from an '02 Trooper. He's asking too much but the picture may help.

http://images.craigslist.org/3E13Ke3...12fdf61a72.jpg

http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/3733244582.html

has anyone installed the new flowmaster 10 on the VX?

hello---have a 2000 vx with factory exhaust...trying to find a taiIpipe that will work with dynomax part num 17734 that is easy to find locally....HELP!

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Originally Posted by kellyfrancis1

hello---have a 2000 vx with factory exhaust...trying to find a taiIpipe that will work with dynomax part num 17734 that is easy to find locally....HELP!

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If the stock tailpipe can't be reused or modified, any good exhaust person should be able to fabricate a replacement, either from scratch, or by modifying another existing stock application a little.

If you're wanting to maintain the stock stainless tip section, those can usually be cut off and reused with the replacement part your exhaust person ends up using.

The time has come for me too.

Not worried about the sound level, and would actually prefer something with more of a growl. My tires are already pretty loud.

First, looks like the Flow 44 is the way to go? Dont want to mess with performance or mpg just for sound though.

Second, how much is this job? Muffler + 1-2 hours labor?

I have the Flowmaster Super 44...

...and I love it.

Good growl..mellows a bit with age.

I went with one in/two out...
...then dual pipes to either side at rear with dual tips.

Cant remember the exact cost..in the $400 region IIRC...
...for muffler and custom pipe work plus dual tips.

Jo

Nice. How long have you had them?

$400 range sounds fair for duals.

Cross my fingers my VX doesnt blow before that. Eating oil faster and faster.

I have had this set up for about 6 years...

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Originally Posted by JHarris1385

Nice. How long have you had them?

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....and its still rock solid despite many Moabs etc.
( well OK..a crushed rear tail pipe..but thats my bad :cool: )

The diamond plate option is worth it if you abuse your VX off road :p
Mines taken a few good hits and stood up really well.


jo