Exhaust advice needed...

[hworksinc]

Well my muffler finally bit the dust, and I decided (after reading through the forums) to install a Flowmaster 50 and a new tailpipe. I had planned to get a nicer Borla muffler, but didn't have time to order one as I'll be traveling for the next few weeks. All was well and good driving around town (very nice sound on idle, mild acceleration, and cruising, very LOUD on hard acceleration), then yesterday I drove on the expressway, and was treated to a deafening droning noise. One of my passengers mentioned that the trunk deck was vibrating significantly. It seems that the Flowmaster 50 is resonating in a very nasty way between 2400 and 2600 RPM's which happens to coincide with cruising at 70 MPH.

I have to do something about this since I spend so much time on the expressway traveling, and would to prefer to a) not go deaf and b) not loose my mind from the droning. I was wondering if reinstalling the factory tailpipe with resonator will resolve the issue, and if doing so would completely eliminate any performance advantage from the new muffler. Ideally I'd like to preserve the sound at idle - it sounds so good now...

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

i love my 40 series flows on my sport

 

[99ExploratorySUV]

Reinstalling the resonator could help some, as this device aids in muffling to an extent. However, it might just be the nature of the muffler itself as the 50 series is going to be a little bit louder. If it's not to hard/expensive for you to do so, you should try putting the resonator back in first. It shouldn't affect performance at all really. Its the stock muffler itself that's the most restrictive part of the exhaust... restriction is what makes it so quiet to begin with. However, if you get the resonator on and find that it's still too unbearable, perhaps you might try a different muffler. Hopefully you won't have to. If you do, you can't go wrong with a 70 series. Nice rumbly idle, mellow tone, but noooo drone. I've had no complaints from mine. And I kept the stock resonator too. I have a video of it if you wanna hear it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7aoq1JhQdg I hope that the cheaper route does the trick for you though, cuz it would suck to have to get a different muffler. And another solution thats unrelated to the exhaust would be installing a dynamat, or any other sound deadening material underneath the carpet of the trunk area. It could only help, and would probably be cheaper than swapping in a new muffler.

 

[hworksinc]

I'm going to try putting the resonator back on today (and double check for leaks). I expected more noise from the flowmaster system, but nothing like this... I just don't understand how it's only happening in a narrow RPM band while cruising. I'll keep the 70 series in mind as a backup - thankfully the flowmasters arent too expensive. Time to borrow my uncle's welder again...

 

[wyochimneysweep]

i got thurst turbo mufflers and drone is trebbile to but next year i'll be putting on something quite for hunting once again

 

[1996explorerxlt]

hworksinc - Just wondering, do you have a V6 or a V8 engine?

 

[hworksinc]

I've got the V6 SOHC.

I didn't have time to swap the stock tailpipe/resonator before leaving on a trip yesterday - weird thing is that the droning got quieter the longer I was driving. Dunno if I'm going deaf or the muffler is "breaking in" or something - have to see how it is once I'm done with my ~1500 mile trip.

 

[gijoecam]

The general consensus on the Flow50 from people that have installed it is that on a Sport, it'll drone without a resonator. On a 4-door, it's a mixed bag without the resonator... some drone, some don't. Most with a resonator do not.

FWIW, I have a Sport with a flow50 DI/SO, and the stock tailpipe with resonator. I get a very slight bit of drone between 79 and 81, but seldom drive that fast anymore, so it's not an issue for me.

-Joe

 

[X~FACTOR]

Is there an aftermarket resonator that would work well with Flomaster?

 

[hworksinc]

Well I finally got the stock resonator and tailpipe back on the other day. No more drone, but also no more sweet rumble at idle... Oh well, at least I can use my cell phone again (with headset of course ) and it still sounds better than the stock muffler...

 

[techieman33]

Must be the v6 as I have very little drone. Is your tail pipe going out all the way past the end of the bumper?