Fed up with Loudmouth 2 drone/rasp !!

[speedyWS6]

Hi Guys...,

Forgive me if i am going over familiar ground with this question, and i have to say i HAVE read all i can find here regarding Loudmouth 2 versus magnaflow / Borla / Flowmaster and so on !

In another recent post i got some great info regarding my cat situation and have since ordered , recieved and fitted some very good fitting high flow cats from Race parts Direct which had the metallic content over the ceramic.

Anyhow...these being fitted have really not helped the rasp/drone any and i guess i am now looking to replace the Loudmouth 2 for a (much) quieter and more mellow sounding item. I did about 100 miles yesterday and i just ended up hating the noise at 1600-2000 RPM, until i backed off of the gas!!

To clarify...the car came to me with SLP LT's / SLP Y / and the LM2. As i have seen here , a lot of you guys have some thoughts on SLP stuff, but these are having to remain as funds / time would not allow a changeover to anything else!!!

OK... so knowing the set up....what muffler would fit AND be MUCH more mellow and deep as opposed to an 18" long bean can rasping away!!??

Magnaflow seem to rise to the top with the "mellow" remarks, Borla come across as too expensive...

It's a minefield Help me out here guys with some honest thoughts on what i should spend my money on!!

Thanks as always

Trev... )

[xmarkx]

sweet thunder

[ls1camino]

I've got an entire exhaust setup for sale...Pacesetter Long Tubes, Pacesetter Off-Road Y-Pipe, Hooker Aeroflow Catback. It sounded great all around and idled real nice. I had an electric cutout installed and it was nice to have open for the track and closed for cruising.

[Mike0202]

Magnaflow sounds very mean and deep. My other favorite is gmmg, but it is a bit raspy with long tubes. Nothing like the lm's though.

[Mr. Luos]

The SLP LT's are more of a problem than the catback.

Even the Magnaflow (which I recommend) will be raspy with them.

[blue02Z]

Slp is just bad bad bad. I have lt's ory and magnaflow. Love it

[speedyWS6]

Guys...,

Thanks for all of the help so far!

Specifically to Mr. Luos..... I pretty much get that you are not keen on SLP LT's but exactly why i wonder!? I know the ground clearance can be something to be mindful of, but i drive mine daily all over and haven't scraped anything yet. But maybe it is the fit or sound...i don't know

But as i said.... funds will not stretch to anything further than hopefully a more succesful LM2 replacement right now!

As you are keen on the Magnaflow, just how would it compare like for like with a LM2

Thanks for all of the posts so far and keep the thoughts coming!!

Trev.... )

[Mr. Luos]

I hate the loudmouth series catbacks.
I hate SLP as a whole.
Crappy old designs....and WAY overpriced.
Having a rep from there call me a liar pushed it over the edge....

The design of the longtubes is horrid. Although fitment isn't too much of a problem.
Clearance isn't just bad....it is terrible. I have more lowered with Kooks than I did with SLP LT's at stock height.
Plus, the collectors seem to create rasp. A lot of it.

[blue02Z]

luos! Yep my slp maf quit on me randomly, glad I kept my stocker. Also to the OP magnaflow isn't super expensive. U can get a magnapack and swap it out with lm resonator

[Mike0202]

The SLP LT's are more of a problem than the catback.

Even the Magnaflow (which I recommend) will be raspy with them.

jw why would there headers be the reason for rasp?

[Mr. Luos]

jw why would there headers be the reason for rasp?

Long ass tubes. Too many bends creating distortion.
Bad collectors.

[Mike0202]

Long ass tubes. Too many bends creating distortion.
Bad collectors.

Yeah but they add 41rwh

[Mr. Luos]

Yeah but they add 41rwh

Yeah.....right....okay....almost....

Forgot that SLP tends to REALLY bloat their claims

[Mike0202]

Yeah.....right....okay....almost....

Forgot that SLP tends to REALLY bloat their claims

I think they got their results and doubled the number

[speedyWS6]

Ok Guys...,

I get the drift about the thoughts on SLP...but....as i said swapping isn't an option, so it is what it is, for now at least!

After LOADS of reading and listening i see you are really sold on Magnaflow Mr. Luos, as it seems loads of others also are, for their lower more mellow tone and so here is a question ... I figure part # 14619 would be the one i am after (6" dia), but these are also available in 4" dia and so what would in you guys opinion be the best bet for drone free driving as i seem to recall someone on here saying the 6" is a tad better!??

Also... would a 6" physically fit where my present LM2 (damn thing) is situated??

Why isn't life simple,eh??

Thanks in advance!

Trev )

[Too Fast]

I've got an entire exhaust setup for sale...Pacesetter Long Tubes, Pacesetter Off-Road Y-Pipe, Hooker Aeroflow Catback. It sounded great all around and idled real nice. I had an electric cutout installed and it was nice to have open for the track and closed for cruising.

I like the sound of my Aerochamber. I have Hooker LTs/ORY, and I thought it was too quiet until I followed my car one day, sounded great. Quiet enough at idle, but louder as you get on it. But if you need a cat-back, I've heard a lot of good things about the Magnaflow. All I did was put a that muffler and some 1970 GTO cloned tips on the otherwise stock cat-back stuff.

OP, I understand what you're saying about the droan, no way I could live with it either!

[Firebirdjones]

The tubes on the SLP headers are long because they are tuned length style headers, not many others on the market that have that feature. That's what creates the low ground clearance issues. To keep the collectors in a reasonable area, you have to go somewhere with the tubes. They don't have anything to do with rasp,,,,,at all.
Any time you take a V8 and funnel the exhaust down to a Y-pipe and run it through a single 3 inch pipe the length of the car,,,you are going to create some sort of rasp when running a low restriction muffler. Just no way around it short of sticking a very large muffler on the end of it to muffle any sound.

The only single pipe systems I've ever used that didn't create rasp and sounded like a deep V8 should, is when I stepped up to the 4 inch I-pipe and muffler. It's either that or go with a real dual system.

Sticking with a 3 inch single system will give you varying amounts of rasp depending on what you go with. It's all personal preference and what you are willing to deal with on a day in day out basis.

I still run the factory SLP dual/dual systems on both of our SS's, and I find it to be docile enough, even for a vert with the top down. Doesn't bother my wife so that's saying something Both have headers and off road Y's, and she daily drives it without issues. You can get a bit of rasp out of it, but you have to start getting aggressive with the throttle, and at wide open throttle it seems to go away. As long as you drive civilized with it, it's quiet with a mild V8 rumble, just the way an exhaust should act.
To me it acts much like the Magnaflows that alot of people use.

[Mr. Luos]

They don't have anything to do with rasp,,,,,at all.

I am gonna have to respectfully disagree.

I have heard other longtubes with similar y-pipe merges along with the loudmouth and they weren't NEARLY as raspy as mine was.
On other cars of course.

Funny how those tuned length headers still don't produce more power than say a set of ARH or Kooks.
Those SLP headers are plain out crap. Not only do they hang low as hell....they were starting to rust out after a year on a fair weather car.

[Firebirdjones]

Don't know why that is, I've heard a dozen or so 4th gens with SLP headers and they didn't sound any more raspy than anything else I've heard. It really came down to the catback exhaust itself. We spent countless money and time testing various catbacks (about 12 to be exact) on a particular car with very interesting results.

As far as power goes, if a tuned length header is made correctly for a given combination, they will always make more power through the rpm range than say,,,a header that has varying length primary tubes. That's been known since the super stock days of the 60's.

That's not to say that SLP did it right,,,,I can't say for sure. But if you find a good set made properly to compliment the power band of a given LS engine, they will out perform your kooks. Too many variables in header design to get into here, tube length just touches the surface.

But to say they are crap because they hang low is a catch 22. Like I mentioned, you aren't going to get tuned length headers that tuck up nicely, it's just a fact of life, especially on a 4th gen where space is limited.
Try a race style header, tuned length primary tubes with say,,,a 2 inch tube and a 3.5 inch or 4 inch collector. It's not going to be a ground clearance queen. Especially a 4th gen, probably require a tubular K-member just to gain more header room.
On a 4th gen??? These things are low even at stock ride height. Like Orion says, you can't even fit mouse farts under there. Even a typical 3 inch Ypipe very close to the floor is only 2-3 inches off the ground, and it'll catch on a speed bump if you aren't carefull. Why do you think GM designed the factory systems the way they did? We are dealing with a car that just doesn't have much room,,,at all.

I'd say if the original poster isn't currently having ground clearance issues with his SLP headers, there is no reason to remove them. He needs to change the catback to get the sound he is looking for.

[Mr. Luos]

I am more tearing into SLP's design than an actual tuned length header.