Finally got my Flowmaster tails from Summit on. Pics included (dont want to get kicked off the forum! :D )
I can NOT believe how much these calmed the sound of the car down. Now, honestly, with the dumps, I LOVED the sound of these 8 yr old 40 series on acceleration. But the drone at about 1000 rpm was absolutely deafening. Awful. I was disappointed because I couldn't actually hear the rumble of each cylinder over the rice-rockety sound of that drone. THAT right there was almost enough to aggravate me. The very thing I hate with such a fiery passion....is the very thing my own, mean-ass true American muscle-machine sounds like. Poo.
So, now, around town its SO much more pleasant to drive. Maintaining 30 or 40 mph its almost inaudible. But get on it, and you hear em alright! Its tough to describe. Still loud but not crazy like the dumps were. I mean looking back the noise those made really was utterly insane.
Now, of course, the drone has moved up to about 2000 rpms. But it is also so very far less intense than before. I like it there. Under moderate acceleration it kicks in there and enhances the sound in a way that I like, kinda giving people the impression I'm taking off real hard and rocketing off. My entire interior no longer shakes like the car is running on bad gas. At 2000 rpm in Overdrive I do about 75 mph. Highest limit is on I-87. 65 mph. Most people ignore it and typical speeds, if you want to keep up with everyone, are abut 70-75, maybe a little more. Im fine with keeping it at 70 though. How much time am I gonna gain really? And, 5-over seems to be a good rule to stick to, I always have, and though I've never passed a radar-ing cop doing that, I figure thats not too crazy. I just dont like getting run over, thats the only reason I dont stay between 65 and 70 on I-87. But, back to my point, I can stay out of the drone-zone on long trips without any inconvenience.
The two angle-cutoff pipes at the back of my car looks KILLER to me. Obviously they dont reach the back, and I'll get some nice shiny tips that look just like that, the smallest amount bigger than the actual pipe I can possibly get, but for now this is fine. Stand back about 15 feet and you cant miss 'em. I'm happy.
For Pete's sake guys don't run dumps unless you actually want to annoy people and yourself, or you just don't mind the sound somehow. With tails, a catless h pipe and the loudest-blasting of Flowmasters, this thing is pretty mean but not unreasonable for practical everyday driving. Can't wait to go to work tomorrow morning, after two days of the car on jackstands, driving mom's '02 Explorer has been awful. GREAT suv, but jeez it's so boring compared with my Cougar. EVERYTHING's boring compared with my Cougar. God my friends must think I'm insane for loving a 20-year old car that really is awful loose and rattly compared with a modern car so much. My mom drove my car once recently and she compared it with the Explorer "I thought it was gonna fall apart!"
My friend has an '05 Escape. The manual says "Do NOT use differentials as a jacking point." Oh MAN I love my antiquated live-axle. I just LOVE it. I throw the jack under the pumpkin, dont even have to line it up too precisely, and just pumpin' like crazy.
Oops I'm friggin awful I gotta watch it Im sure I do the same thing talking to people, I probably almost put em to sleep!
Pauly
those come up so short!
Congrats man! Get those tails lengthened! You'll love the stainless tips too...they're the only thing I've really splurged on with this car and I'm glad I did. And I'm the same as you; I get the drone at 1500rpm, which is 70mph in OD or 45mph in D, which are the two speeds I drive most :D . It's really deep and I love when it's like that.
I also stick to 5 over most of the time. I've even had cops behind me while I was cruisin 7-8 over and they didnt pay any attention. I've had several cops behind me while I was doin 5 over; same story.
Are those the $100 aluminized ones? I may be ordering those this weekend.
And yeah, dumps suck.
The difference between dumps and tailpipes from behind the car is audibly unnoticable, it's not like you're changing the exhaust note, the reason it seems so much louder from inside the car is because all that sound resonates off the ground and right back up at your floor pans....ever drive over a draw bridge with an expanded steel deck...I have, the car becomes cadillac quiet until you hit pavement again. Ever park on thick grass, gravel, dirt, or sand? It'll sound quieter because they absorb sound significantly more than pavement.
I've always said that tail-pipes were for cooches, but now I live in a small town of a-hole cops and as loud as my car is now(1 3/4" f/l headers, Mac pro-chamber, flowmaster 40's), I'd like to have shiny chrome tips sticking out so they don't think it's an exhaust leak...I've been hassled before with my 'Bird, even threatened that it would be impounded...WTF?!
Enjoy your new-found interior quietness...lol.
-Don
I think there is a sound/volume difference between dumps and tailpipes, just because of that extra length of pipe. But that's just my opinion.
I know that when my car had dumps for a short while, it had this bassy booming on deceleration that drove me nuts, and I don't think it was necessarily from the sound resonating off the ground. With the tailpipes you can barely hear it inside the car.
I assume those are the Flowmaster tails (which I have)?
Have any problems with the passenger side tailpipe being against the gas tank? I did on my car, but then I think my ler placement is a little screwed up.
What kind of tails are those? Just add tips, you dont need to lenthen them. Tips will weld right on there. If 12" tips wont fit, get 18". 18" will make it sound deeper too
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=FLO%2D15804&N=700+4294923429+4294820497+400238+4294806721+115&autoview=sku
Right there.
Ill likely be going back there today or tomorrow to order some tips. The local NAPA less than pleased me with its selection of tips. HOW SURPRISING!
@ Red LX---
Yes youre absolutely right i got the same thing letting off the gas and "engine braking", I could really hear that a lot. Personally I think that more tubing does = quieter. The whole bouncing off the ground thing is surely a big part of it too but I think it is extra metal it has to travel through and thus it les it just a bit more.
18" tips are right about what you need. However it's hard to find tips in that length that are less than 3.5" diameter.
I used 12" long, 3" polished stainless tips (from Summit, the ones that are angle cut with a rolled edge...they look good, and youcan't beat the price on them either) and a short pipe extension. Also, my tips are slipped on, and held in place with one sheetmetal screw (drilled through the tip and pipe and ran the screw in)...just in case I want to remove or change them out some day. I never thought it was a good idea to make tips completely unremovable.
I just saw some tips the other day that were 18" long, stainless steel, and were 2 1/2" in/3" out. But I'll be ed if I can remember where I saw them.
BTW out of curiosity, what'd you do with the hanger on the passenger side tailpipe also? Almost looks like you kept it. Mine washiznitting the fuel filler neck.
I'll take those upper control arms. :D
I used the polished stainless Flowmaster tails & their 3" diameter, 13" long polished stainless tips ( http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=FLO%2D15362&N=700+0&autoview=sku )
The tails and tips look great, though even the 13" long tip just barely lines up with the angle of the rear bumper:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e360/Domeskull/DSCF0581.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e360/Domeskull/Coug_275-50-15.jpg)
I had a shop spot weld the tips on 4 places as they are supporting the tailpipes - I welded the support tabs to the tips.
Cougar5.0 Looking good !!
Sick88Tbird, I too have traveled over an open grated steel bridge out in Oregon in a car that had dumps. I almost paniced because I thought the car had died. I saw the tach moving, but didn't hear the engine running at all. I just had a pair of cherry bombs connected to the collectors with turn downs angled 45 degrees outward.
John
BTW, I have the old 18" long, 2 1/4" lers with flow pipes (that are kinda stuck in there) and stubs of the tailpipes too. These are the welded ones (non-stainless) that I painted with engine glossy. Anyway, $20 + shipping ($20-$40) if anyone wants them before I throw them into the dump metal pile.
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e360/Domeskull/DSCF0982.jpg)
How do they sound? I just got brand new summit lers for mine but might put my new on the Vic and these on mine. PM sent
I cut the hangers off both pipes. Im gonna use a universal hanger on both sides--somehow :hick:. Got bailing wire holding both tails up right now, even more:hick: but its thin, you cant see it, the lers hung actually hold the tails just fine but I wanted to take the load off em still so I tightened the bailing wire pretty good. Like I said I'm gonna get some universal ones and do that. Actually with the original driver's side hanegr I can probably use that with a universal hanger and pipe clamp somehow.
Now I'm pretty glad I had a shop make my tails so I didnt have to worry about length issues. Small details like that bug the outta me. But nonetheless, it still looks good :) .
looks good but what's with the 10 holes?
The reason you can barely hear it from inside is BECAUSE the tailpipes channel the sound out to the back of the car instead of reasonating it all underneath your car, not because extra pipe length makes the whole exhaust note quieter...it's only quieter from inside the car.
No, it's quieter outside the car too...
This thing used to absolutely scream at WOT/high RPM's with dumps, and I know it's not as loud now. Least it doesn't seem like it to me.