3.8L Exhaust Upgrade Preparation

[robb15033]

I'm gathering parts needed for an exhaust system upgrade. The car has almost 300K miles and I'm not convinced it can pass emissions testing this summer. -That's my story for the wife anyways- Right now I have the stock headers and all 4 cats. I cut the "Y" out and ran divorce duals out to Flowmaster 10 Series mufflers.
The parts I ordered for the upgrade are MAC ceramic long tube headers, SLP hi-flow cats, and a stainless steel MAC ProChamber. Everything has arrived except the ProChamber which ships out today with a tracking#. So I drop the car off next Tuesday and they are going to do the exhaust work and install new carpet inside with a new Corbaue Baja XRS seat. The end results will be the LT headers, cats, O2 sensors, ProChamber, and then the Flowmaster 10's before the tailpipes & tips. A trip to the dyno for a re-tune will be done before it's ready for pick up. I do not know of too many people stating results from a ProChamber set in place on the V6's, performance wise or sound for that matter. I'm changing from divorced duals to a mid-pipe for the first time. We'll see what happens.
I'm really looking forward to getting it back with any performance improvements I may inherit after the new tunes are programed. The tunes I'm running now were created when all I had was a catback, CAI, and UD pulleys. That alone gave me 20HP then, which is a 25% increase in total HP.
I'll post a video and hopefully some pictures once the work is done.

 

[robb15033]

Parts.

 

[g36 monkey]

You ought to love how it sounds, I know I love mine. I don't have a prochamber, buti DO have an H with my long tubes.

 

[1997gtRioRed]

That alone gave me 20HP then, which is a 25% increase in total HP.

wait, your car had 80hp before?

just givin ya a hard time. 3.8's dont sound tooooo bad with LT's

 

[robb15033]

Ha! Not too far off!! 125 to be exact. My math might be off too, ha! My car doesn't sound too bad right now, it sounds awesome actually. Pretty impressive considering stock headers, four cats with 250K+ miles in it. Getting it re tuned on the X Cal is what I'm really excited about. Chris at Excessive is the best in the business & did a fantastic job with the tunes I'm using now.

 

[robb15033]

You ought to love how it sounds, I know I love mine. I don't have a prochamber, buti DO have an H with my long tubes.

-Thanks, I look forward to it. I have it sounding as good as a V6 can right now but I'm hoping and thinking that with the long tubes adding flow, the sound that the hi-flow cats will give, together with the prochamber although it may muffle the sound, the entire system should balance out to what I want. I am so F'n excited about getting her re tuned afterwards more than anything. I love the MGW shifter I put in the other day. Having the Corbeau XRS & new carpet put in along with everything else, it will fell like a whole nother car, ya know?
SOON TO BE "THE OLD SYSTEM":

<font color="#949494">[video=youtube;tqxyiJXjJwE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUdYayuncBpu_Uav4biEPnsw&amp;feature=player _detailpage&amp;v=tqxyiJXjJwE[/video]

 

[robb15033]

I got my scheduled date for the Mustang at Excessive Motorsport in Manassas Va. for next Tuesday @ 10:00 AM-
Looking forward to getting behind the wheel with finished product. I just installed the MGW shifter and absolutely love it. When I pick the car up it will have fresh new black carpet, new black Pony floor mats, and the Corbeaue Baja XRS suspension seat behind the wheel.
The entire mechanical system/engine is to be inspected/repaired if needed. New MAC ceramic long tube headers, SLP cats, ProChamber, FlowMaster 10 Series mufflers, my tails and tips. Lastly, off to the dyno so Chris can do his magic behind his little laptop and onto the X Cal.
These are all the things I have dreamed about having done to the car. In the end, all this work surely just leads up to the obvious engine work that I'll let Chris & Torey dream up. He's mentioned double turbos he builds, a simple Vortec blower, or any number of ideas.
I should have plenty of pictures to document the changes. Have a good one, -Robb

 

[g36 monkey]

glad to see another one of my cars brothers taking a step forward ;p

minus two cylinders, but not held back

 

[robb15033]

Yeah, Thats right! Thanks-

 

[Chump]

I'm excited too see the finished product!

 

[robb15033]

Thanks for reading and taking time to respond. I'll share what I can during the experience. Later Dudes! Thanks-

 

[robb15033]

I listed my new exhaust parts that will make up my new system. This morning I have been studying up on exhaust systems in general and found this one particular article very interesting. It discusses alot of the myths told out there and clear explainations on some test results over the last 20 years. It discusses particular manufacterers alot and was surprised by how perfectly desighned Flowmaster mufflers can be, along with many others, and just EVERYTHING to do with putting a perfect exhaust system on for your particular engine. Let me know if you enjoyed it as much as I did- Thnx:
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/enginemasters/articles/hardcore/0505em_exh/viewall.html

 

[g36 monkey]

Great article!

 

[robb15033]

Quick Update-
It's going to be an additional day or so to get my car back from Excessive after exhaust install and the dyno runs. I'm on a budget and they found some other things that need addressed in addition to the exhaust work. They always seem to be put in a position to cut me some slack price-wise or doing something for me for free. They noticed some things here and there that are not "just right". They noticed the caster camber plates are not installed correctly. I didn't get specifics but they have to correct that, adjust bumpsteer kit and then realignment. My MM strut tower brace doesn't fit perfect because of the lower intake manifold spacer and some modifications need done to correct that so it doesn't rub. For what ever reason, they didn't anticipate having to chop up & modify & do a bit of welding to get the cats put in and to get the ProChamber & hangers put in place. It's a V6 so nothing is just bolt-on when it comes to exhaust work underneath it.
I have no more cash at the moment for them to install the carpet and Corbeau seat so,... I am going to have to install the seat myself. I refuse to attempt the carpet. I don't have the time or patients to do that job. So, I'll put the seat in myself on Thursday and then have them put the carpet in another day. -Bummer.
On a positive note, I will have a beautiful exhaust system & most importantly I will have new SCT tunes to download. Since the last time it was dynoed, I am going to guess that I have increased horsepower with the little things I've manipulated by.....10 HP. That's my guess, we shall see how close my guess is tomorrow!

 

[robb15033]

It Is Done!!!
The new exhaust system is installed & I'm very proud of the final results. These pictures show how the shop chose to position each piece. The results are not anything like I imagined it would feel like & sound like after listening to simular you-tube video exhaust set-ups. -It is very quiet until RPM's reach 3K and up. There is absoulutly no drone inside the car at any time, no matter the speed or RPM's, nothing at all, very different experience. I could not be any happier with it at all. It has passed all my expectations. Like alot of peoples opinion, it truley is the best sounding 3.8L exhaust I have ever heard in person and puts a huge smile on my face. The higher the RPM's, the better the damn thing sounds. Very unlike ANY V6 I have ever heard or read about. I love it & I'm real proud of how it turned out.
I want to make a video tomarrow and include drive aways and a drive-by to exibit all of it's charactoristics. Then I want some honest opinions of what you guys think.
Here are some pics from just placing the camera on the ground in the parking lot:

MAC ceramic LT headers, High Flow cats, MAC stainlees steel ProChamber, Flowmaster 10 Series mufflers.

 

[robb15033]

Started to rain here, supposed to continue for days so I made a quick video of the exhaust. I will get my hands on a real camera & record when the weather clears.
[video=youtube;gwDEGeBgYcw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwDEGeBgYcw&amp;feature=player_detailpage[/video]

 

[Twista]

Doesnt sound bad. And eek i have the same coolant leak as you. I wonder if its the radiator leaking alittle?

 

[robb15033]

Thanks, The exhaust is perfect for me, for a V6. The coolant leak, funny you mentioned that. Ten minutes ago I priced a replacement overflow tank for $65.00. The radiator and two main hoses are new, engine has almost 300K miles so tracking it down really hasn't been easy.

 

[Chump]

Sounds good!

 

[g36 monkey]

Sounds pretty sweet!