[Mark-Star]

Hi guys- the 1976 Firebird with a 400 & manual 4 speed will be going through some restoration/ changes and I was thinking about changing the exhaust system. Maybe something new that is a little louder or some added depth in tone. I love the way it sounds now with the original muffler/ exhaust system ( apparently Pontiac had tweaked it pretty well with the original sound) but not sure how much longer those pipes can last. Wanted to know your ideas on changing the exhaust, pros & cons. Go louder or keep it mellow? Does the louder muffler get old on long trips.......like- shouting- What'd you say? to your companion the whole trip would.
Anyway, does anyone have an exhaust system, that sounds killer, specifically with a Firebird 400 that they would recommend ? Is there a preference for Dynomax or Magnaflow or Thrush or some other brand? Does one sound better on a Firebird 400 over the other or is noise just noise?

[Formulajones]

The level of noise is all personal preference. I think as we get older that changes as well. I have 2 cars here that are still very aggressive sounding. One of which my wife drives every day. She gets compliments all the time but I'll tell you it does get annoying on long rides inside the car. My father on the other hand runs a 3" dual setup with a pair of race muffers and Dr. Gas X-pipe. The brand of mufflers escapes me at the moment, but I do know they are out of business now. That car sounds fantastic and surprisingly there is no drone and is very comfortable inside. He's had tons of compliments and even comments that they've never heard a Pontiac that has sounded like that before. I think the entire system including size, X or H pipes, should be taken into consideration as it has an effect on the end result too.

Also, on a weekend toy, it's not a big deal, when you're tired of it, just park it. If you drive yours more frequently then you might want to take that into consideration.

I've had (and still have) alot of systems. Flowmaster crossflow setups and dual muffler systems, Magnaflow, Pypes, SLP Loudmouth, Edelbrock, Banks, Mufflex, Dynomax, and a couple with stock stuff as well.

My favorite for the last few years on the F-bodies has been the Pypes crossflow setup with 2 1/2" pipes and X-pipe. They only sell this setup with their "Racepro" muffler but it's very mellow, no drone and very comfortable in the car on long cruises, however it does have a nice burble at idle and cruise. Yet when you open it up it will make a little noise. Best part is you get the ground clearance needed with the crossflow mounted in the stock location and none of that ugly "mufflers hanging down" syndrome that you see so many F-bodies with. This particular system picked the car up nearly 3 tenths and 4 mph over the stock Garner system that was on the car. So the crossflow setups nowadays work very well. Another benefit is that it's not expensive at about ~$500 and is all stainless steel. Hard to beat the price for what you get.

Matter of fact I've become so accustomed to the noise level of the Pypes setup, I've changed a couple of other cars with dual muffler systems over to Pypes Racepro and Streetpro dual mufflers to tone them down a bit.

My next favorite choice that ties with the Pypes sound levels are the Dynomax Super Turbo's (not the welded case versions which are louder) The Dynomax Super Turbo's also have a nice mellow sound that isn't too much louder than stock, yet they have excellent flow characteristics. A very popular choice among the Pure Stock and FAST racers.

I'd suggest if possible hitting a local cruise night or show and listen to various cars and ask questions, since sound levels can be a very subjective thing that not everyone agrees on and are too difficult to describe over the internet.

[Mark-Star]

I saw another link that spoke highly of the Pypes exhaust system on these type cars. You gave lots of firsthand knowledge from experience. I will consider your information and thank you for the insight! That is what I was looking for.

[Don 79 TA]

i've had various exhaust setups on multiple cars
each is unique
i have used various flowmasters (to me such a beefie muffler)
also hooker mufflers, super comps i think they were
i loved those on my 78/79 TA and on a van i had
at the time they were so dang cheap and flowed nice
take a look at torqtech
they make some nice bolt in kits

honestly as mentioned before this will all be subjective and personal preference
your setup, tune, etc, all play a part as well

i had a friend who had the dynomax setup with the stock setup on a HO TA and sounded VERY impressive indeed. have also heard it on other cars, and not so impressive
same goes for pypes setups

[77 TRASHCAN]

My brother has the Flowmaster part number 17104 (I think...) it has the transverse mounted muffler. My buddy started building the car in the late 80's. He like the iea of that muffler, not having to worry about dragging one off any where.
Sound cool too, not a sound like we are used to hearing from flowmaster mufflers.

[Formulajones]

I ran the Force II flowmaster system on my bird for years before I switched over to the Pypes setup.

Flowmaster used to sell 2 systems, the Force II (that I ran) and the American Thunder that I also had on an X-body. Both transverse mufflers but the American thunder was much louder. You could say obnoxiously loud and drone just about everywhere.

Unfortunately the ForceII is no longer made by flowmaster. I liked it, no drone, mild tone, good sound. So I saved it for a possible F or X body build later down the road. I made the switch on the firebird from the ForceII over to Pypes because I had been running the Pypes system on another X-body and loved it. I also wanted to try the "X" cross over on the bird and experiment with a couple other things.

In the end the Pypes setup is slightly more mellow than the Flowmaster ForceII system I had on the car, just a tad quieter.

[jonmachota78]

Its just hard to beat a pypes system with dual Race Pros and X pype. The x pype gives it a wicked growl and very affordable. Easy install. Overall my pypes system exceeded my expectations i would do it again

[sphynx88]

I have the 2.5 x-pipe system from pypes with Race Pros and custom headers. I love it.

[rtanner]

age 35-50 for me 3 chamber flowmasters, at 55 my 30 year old nephews think ive lost my mind, for pulling flows off all my 5.0 foxbodys and putting sonic turbos back on, my 69 455 fb is getting the cross flow muffler 2 in 2 out, to answer your exact question, ive had 3 t/a 6.6 4 speed cars, had 3 chamber flow masters on 2 w 2.5 inlet and factory 2.25 outlet tailpipes, i liked that the best, other had sonic turbos, def was not loud enough

[Formulajones]

Now that's funny. It's just an example of how people get older and things change.

It's the opposite with my father. I won't give out his age but lets just say he's past retirement. I'm getting old myself and found I wanted to quiet things down and not garner so much attention. My father is the opposite.

Case in point. On my wifes daily driver camaro I run a 4" mufflex system with a Magnaflow race muffler. It's loud all the time, idle, cruise, coast, accel, interior drone like you wouldn't believe....you name it. I can hear her coming home from work when she's about a mile away from the house just cruising along at 35 mph.....Yeah it's that loud. I know she's almost home 2-3 minutes before she gets here.

My father rode in it, we drove around about 30-40 miles and I hammered on it once or twice too, and loves it. Tells me not to change a thing, lol. Wife gets compliments all the time from guys at work etc... I'll admit it sounds fantastic at full song when you ring it out. But daily driving it does get on your nerves.

[Mark-Star]

Thank you for the excellent information. Apparently there are many options available and your input gives me a good foundation to base my decision on. Interesting to know that the car's set up & tuning also have a bearing on the its sound.