Matthew Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 (edited) I've run up a search, and come up with not much. What exactly is the difference between a glass pack and a flowmaster muffler, for example? My buddy has a glass pack on his V8 Tundra and I liked the sound because it wasn't too loud. Should I expect the same results on my V6? Also, if I were to go with a glass pack, how much louder than a flowmaster should I expect it to be? Edited January 3, 2006 by Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 A glass pack is pretty much a straight pipe with a little sound deadener. Flowmaster is a little closer to a traditional muffler, but high flowing and tuned for a nice sound. I've heard a glasspack on a Pathy (Jim) and it was pretty burly, mostly mid ranged sound and loud. I've got a Flowmaster 40 and its medium-low in sound output like its trying to be a mini-Mustang at low RPM's(although way louder than stock). It has a nice low rumble at idle and low RPM's and is pretty loud up high. I'd probably go with the Flowmaster just to be a bit civilized around town, but the glasspack would be just fine as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted January 2, 2006 Author Share Posted January 2, 2006 I will probably just go with a flowmaster 50 series SUV. If anyone knows, what kind of sound are we talking about with this specific muffler. (By the way Mr. Pickles, I hope you are cheering for Alexander's school, the Crimson Tide, in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2nd) -bounce- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 "What kind of sound" isn't really an adequate question unless you're in person. One can say "it sounds great" or "it rumbles" but that's about it. You're gonna need to find someone with a similar exhaust or another way to answer, or you're gonna have to trust it and jump in. As for the Crimson Tide, sorry, I don't venture too much into college ball aside from the Huskies and Pac 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorgan4 Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 (edited) Look in the r50 section from a few months back: I posted a video of my 2000 Pathfinder with a flowmaster 40 series. Theres a chance it was on AC's board, but I think it was here. I'll search for it. EDIT: Found the post. In real life it's not as "ricey" as it sounds in the video, it's pretty deep but the mic on these cameras really doesn't pick that up. You really have to turn the speakers up to hear the it at idle. Edited January 2, 2006 by tmorgan4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 Damn, what ever happened to performance as opposed to sounds nice ?? Sounds are nice, but when $ is concerned, gimme action and a whisper any day !! It's funny to hear people wanting rumble out of a 150 HP 3.0L V6 !! My superbike puts out 140 and all you hear is engine whine under 6000 RPM... That said, of equal diameter, a glass pack would probably have the same flow, if not better than a Magnaflow, etc... That definitely isn't the restrictive part of the exhaust either !!! B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 From what I'm reading, magnaflows are quieter in the cab than flowmasters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 (edited) I will probably just go with a flowmaster 50 series SUV. If anyone knows, what kind of sound are we talking about with this specific muffler. (By the way Mr. Pickles, I hope you are cheering for Alexander's school, the Crimson Tide, in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2nd) -bounce- i have a 50 series flowmaster with the thorley headers and a hf cat.... it has a quiet rumble at idle... higher up (over 1500 rpm) it has a nice throaty sound (not quiet but not super loud) and if you hit 3000-3200rpm then shift it has this wicked turbo sound to it and it rumbles down when you take yer foot off the gas.. i love mine.. quiet enuff to be polite.. and not drive you crazy on the freeway.. it is audible with the stereo off.. but not enuff to be annoying! loud enuff to get looks... but not from the police -bounce- Edited January 3, 2006 by Slick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 from all that i've heard, flowmasters generally sound better than magnaflows (read: louder) but magnaflows might squeeze out that extra bit of power that the flowmasters are just turning into noise... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshea Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 I am running double glasspacks right now, one in place of my stcok muffler and the second in place of the cat. it may not have been the best of choices for exuast but its loud. When its revved around 2 or 3000 rpms it sound good, much louder and deeper than stock and when you really put the pedal down it sounds a little like a rice burner but it's loud. The only thing i would want to change is when the engine is coming down and coughs a little probably because of the so little amount of backpressure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 (edited) Glasspack: A single straight pipe with holes punched in it, wrapped in fiberGLASS, all inside a tubular casing. The fiberglass packing "absorbs" the noise. Very low flow resistance, but the exhaust spends very little time in it so it does not absorb much sound. Cheap ones use cheap, short fiber fiberglass that falls apart and blows out the tailpipe rather quickly, making them totally useless as sound absorbers after a short time. Rarely last over 25K miles. "Turbo" style muffler: First appeared on Corvair turbo models, hence the name. Basically a three pass glass pack. Three perforated pipes inside a fiberglass packed enclosure. Exhaust flows into one pipe, then reverses and flows forward through pipe number two, and then back out number three. Just a scosche more restriction than a glasspack, but since the gasses spend more time inside the muffler, more noise is absorbed by the packing. Since they are going to cost more to make anyway, most manufacturers also use better fiberglass that won't blow out as fast as the super cheap glasspacks. Flowmaster or other less grossly overpriced alternatives to the "chambered" design: An all steel construction that relies strictly on sound pressure wave reflection and cancelation. Uses lots of chambers or reflecting walls. The sound waves hit obstructions, bounce back, and some frequencies cancel themselves out. No fiberglass to blow out, but must be perfectly designed to the specific engine to be fully effective. If not perfectly designed for the specific engine (and I've yet to find one that was!), they will really resonate and be INCREDIBLY LOUD and IRRITATING at specific rpm/throttle settings. Do NOT use in tow vehicles unless you wanna be deaf... But if you get lucky and the one you get resonates only at rpm/throttle positions you rarely use, they are very durable (last until they rust out) and very low restriction. OEM style mufflers: Use various chambers, tubes, and damping materials to reflect/cancel AND absorb sound. Basically a combination of flowmaster and turbo muffler technologies. Far and away the quietest, but some (well, almost all...) are not very well designed (thank the dammm beancounters!) and severely restrict flow. Others, like on modern motorcycles, flow EXTREMELY well and are still very quiet. So that's it. Basically only two technologies in common practice: Sound cancelation, or absorption. Now active noise cancelation, woo hoo! Edited January 4, 2006 by mws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelmanLS1 Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 Now are you looking for something that rips or something that rumbles? Different mufflers will make different sounds but you already knew that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted January 4, 2006 Author Share Posted January 4, 2006 Now are you looking for something that rips or something that rumbles? Different mufflers will make different sounds but you already knew that. In response to the question, what I am interested in is something that rumbles, but is not loud, and at the same time, sounds nice. What I actually figured out today was that on his Tundra, he has a glass pack, as well as dual exhaust. His is not too loud at all, which is really what I am looking for. I guess what I'm asking is if I put dual exhaust and a glass pack on my 3.5L V6, would my Pathfinder sound similar to his truck's V8? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 (edited) the answer is NO. I tried to replicate the sound of my Iroc camaro (V-8) to my 92 S-10 pickup.. and lemme tell you.. $560 i got reaaaaaaaal damn close to it..with twin pipes flowmaster delta 3 muffler and HF cat.. sounded real gooood, quiet, with that low grumbling rumble and deep throaty sound upon acceleration. As with my S-10, i wanted to produce that soudn with the pathy. I did not quite succed to reach that awesome sound but i got real close. I installed the thorley headers, HF cat, flowmaster 50 series muffler comin out down under the back tire (see pic)... she has a nice rumble on start up and low (under 2800rpm) rpm shift changes.. over 3,000rpm she gets that wicked higher rumble and when i shift she gurggles/rumbles with the rpm drop and sounds turbo charged!! it's pretty cool. It's not loud so as to be annoying, but yes, people will hear it and they will look. it is quiet enuff on the freeway so as not to drive you crazy. if i had the devices i would video it driving down the road and at idle so you can hear it. i love it. no ricer sounds here! -bounce- oh yeah! and 2.5" pipe all the way through Edited January 4, 2006 by Slick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 Slick is right. Ain't no way to make a V6 sound like a V8.... They aren't the same. 95% of people find V8's (90 degree crank versions) to have a deep, throaty rumble. And 90% find V6's to sound like caa caa. Either quiet caa caa, or loud caa caa. But caa caa all the same. It's the timing of the exhaust pulses. A set up like Slicks will sound better than a stock V6, but unless you change the crankshaft and power pulse timing, there just isn't ANY way to make it sound as nice as a V8. Well, you can put on a really quiet exhaust with a loud stereo and a CD of V8 sounds... All engine configurations have different sounds, and some of us can ID an engine configuration (and sometimes even the manufacturer!) just by the sound. V-Twins almost always sound gorgeous. The closer to 90 degree, the better! I-4's are almost always obnoxious. But verrrrry purposeful at 10,000 rpm and up. V-4's with 180 cranks are incredibly flat sounding. V-4's with 360 cranks sound like 90 degree V8's and rumbly. Boxer 4's usually just sound flatulent, although Porsches sound like really nasty flatulence! V6's are just borrrring. 60 degree V6's are the absolute worst. I6's are almost as boring as V6's V8's with 90 cranks (US) are deep and rumbly, V8's with 180 cranks (Ferrari) are viciously raspy. V-10s are different V-12's are divine. V-16's are like hyper frantic V8's Radial engines are just flat amazing! After that, exhaust valve timing has a significant impact on sound. A Ducati desmo will always sound different than a spring v-twin as the valves can be opened and closed much faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 And as long as you're looking for recommendations, I went with a 2.5" Dynomax converter, Dynomax 17733 muffler (2.5" core) and 2.5" pipe. A deeper,richer sound and only moderately louder than stock but much higher flow. Sounds very similar to the sound track on that new 350Z commercial at high rpm, but deeper tone at lower rpm. Not a head turner sound, but nice. If you need to turn heads (and not the "what the heII is that obnoxious noise?" kind of head turner, you need a V8 to play. I have been using Dynomax (by Walker) Super Turbo mufflers on just about every project I've done over the last 20 years. Consistently excellent quality, high flow, nice sound, and an excellent value. The 17733 was $40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 yep, 2.25" is also an entirely viable choice, all the exhaust shops i've talked to, and a few techs at summit racing have recommended 2.25" over 2.5"... 2.5" will get you a few more top-end hp, but at the expense of a little more get up and go and torque at lower rpm, which you pick up with 2.25" pipes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshea Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 my opinion is that is your looking for something loud go for the glasspack it's cheap and effective but if you want a good sounding low rumble go with something like a flowmaster 40 series muffler and if you have the money maybe headers but thats just my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 The Flowmasters don't even have to be all that expensive. I had a local shop install a 40 series, plus a chrome tip (no comments!) and some new hangers for like $100. Not too bad really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filthy Luker Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Real men use Supertrapp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 (edited) Real men buy mufflers from a company that's most known for its headlights! now if this doesn't just say "performance" then i really don't know what does vroom vroom! -thnkboutit- in all seriousness, i asked some guy at summit racing what he thought in the magnaflow vs. flowmaster debate and he says: "As much as I like Flowmaster, for you, I would suggest the Magnaflows instead. Also, stay with 2 1/4" pipe so you don't kill all the bottom end torque." Edited January 5, 2006 by statikuz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 I agree that 2.25" is optimal size for stock or near stock engines. I'm not planning to remain stock... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelmanLS1 Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 I would definately recommend 2.25" pipes. The fact is that our little 3.0 (or in your case 3.3, right?) V6 is small and outfitting it with huge pipes isn't going to change that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 welp.. i run 2.5" pipe and gained HP....... when i ordered originally the borla system.. summit knew i was in CA.. then i get it and it says NOT legal in CA... wtf ever... i spent almost $700 between my thorleys, and having a brand new HF cat, and Flowmaster 50 series run through 2.5" pipe (I installed the headers0... it was soooooooooooooooo worth it!! -bounce- -bounce- zoom zoom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 (edited) I'll probably end up going with a flowmaster dual exhaust , so I can get more power, and better mpg. Edited January 20, 2006 by Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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