Exhaust for offroad

[staticfusion]

ive always been wondering, what does everyone do as exhaust mods for offraoding? would it be better to get a system? leave it stock? get some armor the for the resonator? please help me out

[teebes]

You sure do post alot

Most of us have simply cut off our resonators - they are low hanging fruit. As for mufflers, there are plenty out there that allow a tad more flow. I know some folks were on the OS where trying to get headers fabbed up, but ehhh.

Plenty of reading around these parts (build threads) along w/ the other site to keep you busy for a week or two

[staticfusion]

haha sorry for posting alot, trying to make 20 posts so i can get the decal :p anyway, ill look more into it on build threads, thanks for the help teebes

[teebes]

Ahh, the old 'will post for decals' dilemma

Good time to start a build thread and 'wish list'

[staticfusion]

yea haha, gotta do some more research before i get there
i ahve the 20, not i jsut hope i can get some decals :p

[Philberto]

Yeah, pretty much we don't do anything extra to the exhaust... not exactly a high-priority item for offroading. Just hacking off the resonator works pretty well.

[staticfusion]

k, jsut hack off the resonator, add a 3" pipe til the end and add a chrome tip?
is 3" right?

[Philberto]

The traditional amount of pipe has been whatever is necessary to make it back to where the tip was before you hacked off the resonator... the idea being to direct the exhaust out from under the vehicle. You can really direct it wherever you like... straight out back, out to the side, down.... use your imagination.

[HARDTRAILZ]

I orginally just hacked off the resonator, but then the factory muffler was looking kinda rusty and weak on the one edge, I took it out and added a Hooker Aerochamber Muffler and new pipe to a 3.5 in tip and it sounds better and seems to be a bit quicker on the butt dyno. A 5.3 v8 ext cant catch me now. It is a bit louder inside, but sounds kinda of like a indy car at wot.

[Gordinho80]

Right now, I'm rolling factory muffler with a hacked off resonator.

[MrSmithsTB]

Lost the res, threw I 90deg pipe and a stainless tip in place. Replaced the muffler with a Dynomax. The muffler sounds good, but it is starting to rattle after two years of salt air.

[irishboy02]

I have the magnaflow dual kit, for now. Sounds great IMO and looked perfect when my truck was lowered. Now that im lifted, i dont want to loose the sound and look of dual. Clearance and angles hasnt been an issue for me yet, however i might wind up cuttin the 2 res and putting 2 straight tip 3"ers...i have many ideas...just a matter of the money now

[Zero]

ive only cut off the resonator, and went with a 3" pipe back to a 3.5" ss rolled tip.

[bgwolfpack]

I orginally just hacked off the resonator, but then the factory muffler was looking kinda rusty and weak on the one edge, I took it out and added a Hooker Aerochamber Muffler and new pipe to a 3.5 in tip and it sounds better and seems to be a bit quicker on the butt dyno. A 5.3 v8 ext cant catch me now. It is a bit louder inside, but sounds kinda of like a indy car at wot.

HARDTRAILZ, so you would do this again? I like the fact you posted this up. I searched them and didn't find a whole lot. Can you enlighten us more on this muffler?
The big question I have with non stock is the lessening of torque when climbing at low revs.

[HARDTRAILZ]

Enlighten...mmmmm..I aint that bright but I can tell you what I think of the set up.

I had the stock for a very short time then hacked off the res where it cam over the axle. Looked better, but noticed no real difference. The did the Hooker set-up, which is...cut off all stock about 6 inched behind cat and o2 sensor, then 2.5 in pipe and the Hooker Aerochamber muffler and then a custom bend over the axle and angled out of rear corner w a 3.5 tip.

I picked the aerochamber for the fact that it is not supposed to change sound over time(it has sounded the same since the end of the first week, i think it had to burn in a little) and the Hooker name has been around a long time, so I thought it would be decent quality, as well as a good price. I didnt like the flowmaster sound and a full custom was overpriced to me. I went back and forth with Magnaflow and this and I am happy where I am.

The sound is good. At just the right rpm it will drone, but I dont think it is bad at all. Sounds like an old Indy car kinda. Not too loud, cackles a bit when revved in nuetral.

Driving...seemed to free up some power. Felt better driving, hard to explain, but seemed smoother power delivery. It had at least the same torque off the line, if not more. Upper rpms was louder but not much power difference. Torque may have stayed solid due to the 2.5 versus 2.75 pipe keeping some backpressure due to higher flowing muffler. It does feel quicker overall and I would honestly say minimal benefit torque wise for offroad, but definitely didn't hurt it. The program from pcmforless did much more for freeing up bottom end torque.

Would I do it again or recommend it...Yes.

What I found...
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Improve your exhaust flow by 23%!
Hooker Aero Chamber mufflers use a unique step principle, similar to that which is currently popular in racing header designs. The aerodynamically designed chambers flow 23 percent better and produce more horsepower and torque than the most popular high performance brand.
-----
Has dyno charts on box, and even shows where its not the best, but overall it was tops on the 4 charts all together, I thought. I will try and snap a pic of it this weekend.

[bgwolfpack]

Thank you HARDTRAILZ.

I've done all that looking on the os and never came to a consensus for this mod, but an endorsement from you holds water. This isn't a mod I'm going to do tomorrow, many others needed first. In time this sounds like a good Feeling mod.

Oh I've read your posts and seen your work, you are a bright star.

[cbbryan]

I have the magnaflow cat back dual system and I love it. It sounds good especially at low RPMs (1600-1800 @55mph) it is loud. It gets quieter as yoou drive at highway speeds. I did lose some low end torque though. Initiall when I put my K&N CAI I could spin tires with out trying it seemed, but after the MagnaFlow it revs up before the power ever makes it to the wheels. I believe this is due to the loss in back pressure. I know it has 4" tips and I think it has 3" piping from the cat all the way to the tips. Over all I'm impressed though.

Don't try to power brake it to show off you power and sound because you can't power break it with magnaflow and k&n CAI because the engine will bog down and you won't even spin a tire.

I had some guys ask me if it was a diesel yesterday and I thought that was kinda funny.

[bgwolfpack]

cbbryan, That is probably a good set up for wheeling. The lack of torque may be a good thing.
Have you checked your engine oil level lately? I come from a time when diesels sounded like rattle traps.

[cbbryan]

Yeah I don't think I have ever had any problems offroad aside from ground clearance.

Just checked the oil level; it's full and not dark. I have about 3K more before the next change.

[A-Train]

hey cbbryan...

How much was your catback system...and what really is the best system to go with if you want to dual your exhaust?...
I've been wanting a better way to dual my exhaust besides goin with magna flows which i dont like that much...