Shop put WRONG muffler on

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I think you will be very happy with the super turbo. I've noticed some mpg gains on the highway and the sound can't be beat. Its a tad louder than stock but has a much better tone. I've installed them on two friends vehicles and they like them as well.

The flowmasters are meant to be loud. Even their "quietest" muffler is still fairly loud when under hard acceleration. They are also quite expensive at well over $100 sometimes $150.

I've also found that flowmasters sound "tinny" after awhile. I've seen a few where the welds rust out inside and they have an annoying rattle since the baffles are now loose.
 
The odd thing is that he charged me only $60 for the muffler but $60 for a tailpipe that is maybe 2 feet long. It would make more sense to be $95 and $25. That makes me think the muffler was a leftover in his shop, although it does look new or nearly new. That and it is a 2.5" inlet/outlet and he put it on a 2" pipe with a lot of welding to fill the gap.

I called back and tangled with him said it was unacceptable to have to wait till week after next to get the muffler I asked for installed. I said I asked for a Dynomax and got a dragstrip muffler. He claims he gave me exactly what I asked for, has my letter stating it too. My sheet (or letter, whatever) said I wanted a Dynomax muffler and that I was open to suggestions on other brands. Did he call me with suggestions? No. It said I want to open it up a bit and get a nice tone, but do not want a rice sound, no drone and not too loud. He is either ignoring that or he can't read.
 
Originally Posted By: TallPaul


What I found out on one of the web sites for these mufflers is that the drone is vibration in the muffler case.


It is probably louder inside your vehicle than outside. Your cab acts like a bass resonance camber.
 
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
That and it is a 2.5" inlet/outlet and he put it on a 2" pipe with a lot of welding to fill the gap.


Correction. I inspected it tonight and the muffler he put on is actually 2.25 inlet and outlet. I see why. The pipe he had to connect to was 1.875 OD but on an angle, maybe 30 degrees, downward, so if he put a 2" the muffler would have stuck out the bottom a lot. So he did well in that and made a nice solid connection. Still, a FM40 when my writeup said no drone!
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
I think you will be very happy with the super turbo. I've noticed some mpg gains on the highway and the sound can't be beat. Its a tad louder than stock but has a much better tone. I've installed them on two friends vehicles and they like them as well.


I just fired up the Aerostar 3.0 with it's Dynomax Super Turbo a while ago and it is not too loud, not too quiet, and a nice tone. And none of that low frequency sound torture that is characteristic of the FM 40. What is the deal, why do the parts stores typically only carry FM40 and FM44 and never seem to have the quieter FM60 and 70?

Odd thing with my Ranger: it has a 2.5" OD pipe out of the cat and then connects to this 1.875" OD pipe. I know the Gibson cat back continues that 2.5" pipe all the way, but I am afraid that is too big and stayed with the smaller pipe to ensure good bottom end power.
 
Originally Posted By: Bgallagher
Gotta agree with most of the guys. If you want a car that sounds cooler, but a cooler car.


Yeah pretty much.

I recommend a V8 truck of some sort, or a diesel.

Spend your modification money on buying a better truck.
 
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Originally Posted By: stephen9666
It's strange that this thread has turned into a thread bashing the OP's choice of vehicle as being not cool enough. Especially because it seems some people are bashing him over the sound of a muffler he didn't choose.

Anyway, I hope the OP can get this taken care of in a timely fashion. I wouldn't be happy in his situation. But, I think it could be difficult getting the shop to fix this. Hopefully it isn't, though.


Nothing wrong with the OP's truck, the Ranger is a great little pickup. If taken for what it is, a fuel efficient cheap to run handy little truck.

But what does a louder muffler add to this truck? Its never going to be fast, so does noise equal speed?
 
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
But what does a louder muffler add to this truck? Its never going to be fast, so does noise equal speed?
There are two reasons I prefer the Dynomax muffler. 1) I like to hear the engine exhaust note, which is not the same as wanting it loud, and 2) it could help power and/or mileage given that most stock exhausts, particularly the muffler, are not very efficient. Oh, and I do like the look of the side exit in front of the tire. The Flowmaster 40 is too loud for any car, muscle car or whatever.
 
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
No resonator, was removed with stock muffler. I don't plan on resonator with the Dynomax either.




Well then, it's still going to sound like [censored] off bumble bees. A good resonator will mellow out the sound, make it cleaner, and practically eliminate all drone at part throttle. That's why the best performance exhaust systems are designed with one. It won't sacrifice any performance, but makes it sound much better.
 
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I must say the Ranger split bench seat is not that great. I like the bucket in the '92 Aerostar the best.

Two cats so not sure the resonator is all that necessary. Also the Dynomax Super Turbo has the stuffing to mellow the sound. Some say the stuffing goes away somehow over time, but the one on the Aerostar is still mellow after 7 years.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Make it quieter? No. That muffler will get LOUDER when it breaks in. I had a pair of them on my '87 GT T-Top and it was INSANELY LOUD. Sounded like the 4-horsemen were coming for you when you went WOT.


And explain how a flowmaster 'breaks in' and gets louder? There are nothing but baffles inside. Use and 'breaking in' doesn't change this.
 
No need to "explain" break in on an exhaust, it's well known to almost any experienced hot rodder.

Many cars come from the factory with what people think are super quiet pipes only to develop quite a a different tone as they age out a bit. The same thing happens with cobbled together exhausts at the muffler shop. If the exhaust is already loud the difference may be subtle, but in example my car was quiet as a mouse when new but has quite a bark now when I get on it.
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
It's strange that this thread has turned into a thread bashing the OP's choice of vehicle as being not cool enough. Especially because it seems some people are bashing him over the sound of a muffler he didn't choose.

Anyway, I hope the OP can get this taken care of in a timely fashion. I wouldn't be happy in his situation. But, I think it could be difficult getting the shop to fix this. Hopefully it isn't, though.


What's really strange is I am not so sure the people doing the bashing have anything that actually sounds better! Most vehicles these days have the exhaust note of a vacuum cleaner.

I don't see anything wrong with opening up the exhaust on an older truck, and I think the OP has a good reason to complain. A Dynomax Super Turbo would sound a lot better on this truck than a FM 40 series. My 2.5L Ranger with Dynomax exhaust got a number of compliments on the sound. One guy with a Frontier asked me if it was supercharged.
crackmeup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
No need to "explain" break in on an exhaust, it's well known to almost any experienced hot rodder.

Many cars come from the factory with what people think are super quiet pipes only to develop quite a a different tone as they age out a bit. The same thing happens with cobbled together exhausts at the muffler shop. If the exhaust is already loud the difference may be subtle, but in example my car was quiet as a mouse when new but has quite a bark now when I get on it.


Oh i understand that most exhausts do change tune with age and use, but not a flowmaster. There is no packing, just metal vanes that don't change with use.
 
Originally Posted By: bvance554
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
No need to "explain" break in on an exhaust, it's well known to almost any experienced hot rodder.

Many cars come from the factory with what people think are super quiet pipes only to develop quite a a different tone as they age out a bit. The same thing happens with cobbled together exhausts at the muffler shop. If the exhaust is already loud the difference may be subtle, but in example my car was quiet as a mouse when new but has quite a bark now when I get on it.


Oh i understand that most exhausts do change tune with age and use, but not a flowmaster. There is no packing, just metal vanes that don't change with use.


But they do. Through the heat cycling I can only assume that the baffles distort and this effects the volume of the muffler. I've had them on two cars now and over time they DO get louder.

Is it as dramatic a change as experienced on a Magnaflow? No. But it is still very noticeable.
 
^^^Absolutely. My car has a 27/8 inch factory duals, x-pipe, a huge suitcase muffler, and then 2 resonators near the outlets.

Not a spec of fiberglass in it anywhere. Yet it is much louder at full throttle than when we got it in August 05.

I had the same issue on my Healy Replica when I had some nice Turbo-style mufflers (no packing) put on it with a crossover pipe. I honestly thought it was a bit too quiet, but it only took a few months to develop a much 'firmer' more authoritative tone.

It's all very personal, everyone is different. But I love a sleeper. And remember if everyone makes their car loud then what are you going to do?
 
What about carbon buildup inside the flowmaster? Won't that affect sound?

I do know that it gets a lot louder when the engine is good and hot.
 
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