Is the factory exhaust good enough to use?

[Partick]

Originally Posted by caverman

I have a local muffler shop that says he will do a muffler delete, use my factory tips, and install a Magnaflow X-Pipe for $350. For the first few years I only plan on doing an exhaust, CAI, and maybe a tune for my performance mods. I already have plans for another handful of non-performance mods (shifter, tint, AAC lights, springs, stripes, etc) so I have plenty of other places to be putting extra $$$.

The question is….how bad is the rest of the factory exhaust system? I hear some say the factory exhaust is actually very good and flows well. It’s just not very loud. Then I hear other people try to talk up their aftermarket cat-back systems (ex: Magnaflow Comp or SOLO Mach X) by saying the factory exhaust has several crimps in it and their mandrel bent systems will be much better. Otherwise, IMO, those systems are basically the same…..a muffler delete with an X-Pipe.

If I go with the local muffler shop’s exhaust do you think the remaining factory system will be bad enough to justify spending the extra $400 - $500? After all, that will cover the cost of my shifter or AAC lights.

My gut feeling is…Yes….the aftermarket cat-backs would be better but until I start doing things like adding LT headers or maybe a Cam I won’t really notice a difference. Go with the local shop and use the extra money on my other mods. I should still get a small increase in HP (guessing 15 rwhp) but maybe not as much as the 3rd party cat-back systems (roughly 20 rwhp).

What is your take?

BTW: This will be my daily driver (although I work from home and only put about 7k a year on my cars). I will have more fun goosing it from stop light to stop light or maybe catching the occasional Mustang/Challenger on the street. I’ll probably go to the track a couple times a year just for fun but not to be super serious.

I had my local muffler shop pull the stock mufflers and resonators, install an X pipe and 4" Magnaflow mufflers for $450 and I am very pleased with the difference. He used as much of the stock piping as possible to keep the cost down. Sounds great, and under hard acceleration does seem to flow a little better the the stock set up did. This is a daily driver for me as well.

[caverman]

So does anyone have a pic of what the resenators are? Are they just used for sound? Is it worth removing them?

Hey ToeMoe.....any sound clips/video by chance? Where did you get yours done? For $200 savings it might be worth taking a small trip up North. OKC is about 3.5 hrs away. Maybe worth doing a small road trip. After all....$200 will pay for my tint job.

[toehead93]

Like most have said the resonators and mufflers are the big pinch points, replacing them will make the most gains. Replacing the remaining pipes with mandrel bends is just to squeeze the last few ounces out of the exhaust, it's kind of like putting water in the soap bottle when it's almost empty.

[SGOS252382]

The biggest issue with the stock mufflers is the look (big and ugly) along with their weight. Trust me, they're heavy.
The LS3 mufflers are pretty much straight through in design so they should flow pretty well.

The L99 mufflers (look identical on the outside) are very different on the inside. They have crazy piping going all different directions. There's definately power to be made by getting rid of the stock mufflers on the L99.

[Johnny1]

If I was to buy an aftermarket X pipe for the 2SS LS3 Camaro I have on order and have it welded in in place of the factory H pipe and resonator would I need it in 2.5 or 3 inch. I've aleady ordered the axle back Borla with mufflers. One other question. I assume under that wide covered metal part about half way down on the exhaust is where the resonator and H pipe are. If I wanted to keep the H pipe and just put the axle back Borla part on with mufflers can I still get to the resonator to have it cut out without doing anything to the H pipe? Thanks

[Doc]

The Zoomers setup I got has 3" pipes and with installation it was around $1,400 so these other solutions above will definitely cost less. I liked the tuned sound and performance of the Zoomers so it was worth it to me to get it.

[Johnny1]

Still looking for answer on above posted question on factory exhaust. Any one? Thank you

[SGOS252382]

Originally Posted by Johnny1

Still looking for answer on above posted question on factory exhaust. Any one? Thank you

Catbacks are truely overrated (hp wise). What you're planning to do will work just fine.
You might give up a couple rwhp, but not enough to really matter.

[patriotpa]

Ain't broke. Don't fix it. GM spent a huge amount of time and effort to get the Camaro to sound right. No nasty resonances. No droning. Nice, solid, powerful sound without being brash and annoying.

Do you really think a mom&pop shop can do better then Chevrolet?

[JJG2SS]

Interesting to read all these responses, had mine 3 months now and have wanted to do something to beef up the rumble since the day i got it.

[Mr_Draco]

Originally Posted by caverman

So does anyone have a pic of what the resenators are? Are they just used for sound? Is it worth removing them?

The best I can do.

For the L99 the resonator is the orange big box like figure. On the LS3 it is the orange tubes after the "H" pipe.

Their use on both cars is to reduce the noise and drone in the cabin.

[14pilot]

Same thoughts here caverman. Looking for a low initial cost and with noticable results. The direction I'm thinking about currently is:

For performance, catbacks and/or axle backs won't get me anything except lighter in the wallet. Best bang for the buck I see available is down tubes to delete the cats. If you haven't already seen it, search "ADM down pipes" for some good test result info. I'm waiting for down pipe prices to come down to about $199 before I jump in.

For sound, doing a rear mufflers delete for about $150 at a local muffler shop. Drops weight too.

Factory cat back pipes are fine. I'm not worried about a few kinks. I doubt I'd see any measurable improvement for a mandrel bent cat back system. I don't race and don't care about dyno bragging rights. Just want louder and a good horsepower per dollar return.

Maybe an X-pipe sometime after the above. Then a year or so from now, when prices come down to reasonable, shorties or maybe long tubes. Leaning towards shorties currently.

[Johnny1]

Thanks Mr_Draco that helped a bunch

[myold88]

I have Magnaflow axlebacks I bought ready to install on my A6 L99 SS, but I am now leary of the droaning/vibration many posts have warned about. Has anyone found a way to minimize this droaning ?. I don't want to do an engine tune that would void my engine warranty. Any thoughts would be appreciated.