Detailed review, with pics. Muffler Delete on my 1SS/LS3
 

Just had a local muffler shop cut off my jerry can's.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/camaro...7935/MDBC5.jpg

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/camaro...7935/MDAC5.jpg

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/camaro...935/MD2AC5.jpg

Total Cost 108.00 with labor.
Time: 1 hour

Initial impression.... was jaw dropping. THIS is how my car should sound. My friend who drives a full bolt on (minus LT's) GT500 was also picking his jaw up off the ground.

Basically the entire shop, plus anyone who was waiting for their cars came to listen. Everyone was impressed. I had the tech rev it up to about 4k and it sounds nice and throaty, with a slight pop as the RPM's fall.

The shop employees asked me if they would hear my car as I drove off... I happily obliged them. Pulling onto a 55mph road I let it rip and WOW the car sounds like an animal. I had expected it to sound rough and raspy. Not the case. It growled up to 5k rpm, shifted to 2nd, got on it again and still roaring. Hopefully they got an earful, because working on the car seemed to be the highlight of their day.

I had a 60 mile drive home, both highway and some in town driving. On 55mph highways I hover around 63 mph. (slightly over 2k rpm in 5th gear) The in cabin sound was slightly louder than normal, but not unpleasant. I bought this car for a total experience and that includes the sound. At interstate speeds (cruise set to 75mph, 6th gear, slightly above 1500 RPM) I could not discern any difference from the sound of the stock mufflers in comparison to my muffler delete. VERY impressed. Oh, and no drone to report as of yet.

Decel popping:
Yes, there is significant decel popping, especially in town when there is a large amount of stop and go. I actually enjoy the rough popping sound, it reminds me of an old school hotrod however I can see how some folks would be annoyed by it.

I have a feeling my fiancee will hate the decel popping so I will likely do what I can to avoid it when she is in the car (which is not that often.)

The best part of this mod is the sound under hard acceleration, startup, and idle. It just sounds mean. Not obnoxiously loud, but definitely mean. The plus side: At low rpms (I.e. driving down my street at 1 AM, or highway cruising) the car purrs like a kitten, and is not offensive in any way.

Appearance:
I will post pictures a bit later. Things to note: They did a very nice, clean job with the cuts and welds. They took their time and double checked the fitment and placement. It was obvious to me that they cared about what they were doing. I had them use the stock tips, and they look great. Even better: No more unsightly "gas can" mufflers visible behind my diffuser. Now just clean pipe and suspension. I LOVE IT.

Weight savings: probably about 40lbs.

HP/TQ increase? I don't have access to a dyno, nor am I inclined to visit one until I do further modifications.

Butt Dyno: Completely anectdoal, and means nothing to anyone but me really........it felt faster LOL probably my ears playing tricks on my perception of speed, but hey, I don't drag race, nor street race. If I percieve it to be faster......good enough for me. For now.

The downsides:
It may not pass inspection in NYS. However I did leave the resonators intact, as well as the rest of the exhaust from the axle forward. I have heard that the resonators can "qualify" as a muffler. However it seems to be a stretch. We will see how it goes in a year or so when I have to go for inspection. In the meantime, I did save my stock mufflers just in case.

The decel pop definitely isn't for everyone. I don't mind it. At some point (when my warranty goes poof and I do a tune/LT's) I plan on doing a catback anyway.

Yes, it was inexpensive. I know it's a thirty thousand dollar car. However at this time, it seemed stupid for me to drop 500 to 1000 dollars on an exhaust when all I wanted was the exact sound that I got for 100.00 Save the lectures :) Would I like a Borla ATAK catback? Or a SW chambered Catback? Sure! But my 3 kids want lot's of toys, and my fiancee wants our house remodeled. As far as bang for your buck goes, this mod is amazing, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to improve the sound of their SS.

+1

This is the best bang for the buck mod. I love the fact that its loud when you want it and quiet when cruising.

:word:

This was a huge selling point for me. I get to choose when I want to unleash the sound. I live in a quiet neighborhood and I return home from work fairly late. I didn't want to become a nuisance to my neighbors.

Now what mod to do next? :) Vararam CAI or maybe an x-pipe? Hmmm....

Yea i live in a culdesac and my neighbor is the captain of police so i try to be some what quiet lol. I actually bought my car with the muffler delete and was suprised when he first started it up. I am doing a roto-fab CAI next and maybe an x-pipe down the road.

my lady is getting me hockey stripes for my birthday so technically that is my next mod. Xpipe will be cheaper but im really loving the idea of the vararam now that they worked out the low rpm issues.

Cool! I'm glad you like it..I think the popping on decel is sweet

Thanks to the OP for this extensive review of the muffler delete. I have recently been wavering on whether to do the muffler delete or get the Flowmaster AT Cat back. You have sold me on doing the muffler delete and with doing that, I can also go ahead and order my CAI Intake.

Cool set up. I have been calling around shops tryin to get this done myself, nobody really seems to be any help with doing it, and nobody has a mandrel bender. So I just got a good deal on SLP Loudmouth

Updated, with pics.

How about a video so we can hear how they sound?
Thanks.

i will try to post up a vid but they dont do it justice. there is a great vid with a black SS on youtube. i will try to find it later.

:thumbup:I think the Muffler delete sounds great. Just like you the sound I wanted at a great price. Spend a few minutes painting your pipes black from the axle back and you won't see anything underneath, just your exhaust tips.

I hadn't thought about doing that, although I do like the look of the exhaust piping along with the rear suspension. Beats the hell out of those gas cans.

A friend was with me and he couldn't believe how big those stock mufflers were. They now rest peacefully in my shed, in case I need them to pass state inspection.

This is NOT my car. However I have probably watched EVERY video on youtube of an LS3 Camaro with a muffler delete. Out of all of them, this one most accurately depicts the sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRJ6rGGzErU

I had a can of High Temp VHT paint in Aluminum color. I used to blend in the colors of the two metals. Worked great and took me about 5 min to do.


LOL....waste of space. You'll end up tossing them.

Before you pay to put those back on you should add a resonated X-pipe. That will be your muffler and give you just a little performance.
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64964

Ahhh Caverman! I've been looking for your thread about your setup since yesterday! Thank you for posting it up!

I am strongly considering the resonated X-Pipe. I didn't get aftermarket tips, but the ones you use do look sharp. I planned on doing this as a step by step process, essentially following your build. I will Re-Read it and shoot any questions your way if you don't mind?

:word: always happy to toss out some suggestions.

Once I switched over to headers and the 3" Magnaflow exhaust I sold mine to a guy with a 2LT for $300. Sounded alot better than I thought it would on a V6. They need the resonated x-pipe to keep if from sounding like a ricer.

Muffler delete on a V6 is no good. Muffler delete with resonated x-pipe on a V6 :thumbsup:.

[QUOTE=Stone★ColdNuts;3176525]Just had a local muffler shop cut off my jerry can's.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/camaro...7935/MDAC5.jpg

Question: Is the replacement pipe used a strait pipe, or did they had to bend it with a mandrel to weld your original tips?
Do you know what's the size of pipe and its lenght?
thanks
mike

looks good

[QUOTE=Mikamaro;3180028]It was 2.5 inch pipe to match the rest of the exhaust as far as I know. Stainless steel, not sure what grade. It started out as straight pipe, but they bent it to fit.

Welcome to the club! :headbang: One thing you NEED to do... stand about 5 feet directly behind your car, then have your fiance(or a buddy) get in and fire it up, after you pick your jaw off the ground have them rev it up to 3-4k a couple of times....I just had my wife do this a couple weeks ago, I almost needed to change my pants after, it was AWESOME!!!! :chevy:

Throw an xpipe on it and it will deepin the popping a little :)

Good review on this, thanks for all the info. Is there anything that decreases the popping ???

A resonoated X-pipe from Magnaflow will help a little. Won't get rid of it but should tame it down some.

I will likely do the resonated x-pipe within the next few weeks. I will update when it is finished.

So far, so good with the setup though.

if you are a manual car you can simply push the clutch in / take it out of gear and this will eliminate 99% of the pops. the other 1% me get help from an x-pipe...

if your an auto a tune will eliminate the pop

i love my muffler delete.... :headbang: