Catback vs. O/R midpipe

[Redford]

Just wondering how many guys on here go with a catback and no O/R midpipe. I'm looking to get more volume out of my exhaust but I don't want to be heard from several blocks away while driving normally (up to 2k RPM). Would just the catback make the car noticeably louder than stock?

 

[joekd]

Yes, I ran my magnapack catback with everything else OEM and it sounded great. Now I am running a catted X with the same catback and really love the sound.

 

[the.greg]

If all you want is louder than stock, you might try changing the mufflers. It will be a lot cheaper than a whole new catback. To help get on youtube and search for the different combinations of mufflers/catbacks to see what you like best.

If you don't want to be heard from too far away I think just a set of chambered mufflers would get you there.

 

[Redford]

Awesome, I was thinking of ordering some Super 44 mufflers after listening to pretty much every combo I could think of on Youtube the past year or so. I definitely want louder (and cheaper than a whole catback), just not loud enough to alert people four blocks away.

I've also heard that new mufflers have a break-in period... do they get louder after a few hundred miles or does the tone just change?

 

[lutter94]

I think you're thinking of glass packs. Mufflers are steel baffles, shouldn't change over any miles (unless they rust out). People used to take a torch to glasspacks to melt the glass down some to make it louder (which it would have done on its own over time, they just got ancy)

 

[the.greg]

Awesome, I was thinking of ordering some Super 44 mufflers after listening to pretty much every combo I could think of on Youtube the past year or so. I definitely want louder (and cheaper than a whole catback), just not loud enough to alert people four blocks away.

I've also heard that new mufflers have a break-in period... do they get louder after a few hundred miles or does the tone just change?

On my old 98 gt, I had stock exhaust, but with flowmasters welded in place of the stock mufflers. It was much louder than stock, but not obnoxious.
My car now with a offroad h pipe and flowmasters is obnoxious haha.

One word of advice, flowmasters tend to "drone"; some people hate it, but I actually really liked it personally.

 

[Redford]

I read about the drone all the time and a lot of people complain about it, but I'm thinking I'll like it because I actually want to hear my car while cruising and not just while accelerating. Your description of the difference is exactly what I'm looking for with this setup!

 

[Ferocious]

At first I had a pair of super 44's welded into my stock exhaust. It was nice for a while, but was way too quiet. It sounded like every mustang out there.
I then got an off road x-pipe and i guess you could say it woke it up a bit. It did drone alot though. In terms of loudness it was ok i guess. It doesn't even come close to my current setup though.

 

[FrankenStang]

i personally disslike flowmasters and borla's...they tend to have alot of drone...rite now, honestly....my thrush mufflers sound great.next to no drone even on the highway.BUT mean at wot..

 

[SLOW95GTS]

i got some 1 chamber flowmasters and with the stock 6 cat hpipe it sounds pretty loud only when you get on it, but just cruising around the cops dont even look at me.

 

[Mustanger]

Magnapacks with the stock cats are extremely nice! Just right normal driving, well able to hear the deep rumble but no cop seems to ever notice...look out on WOT! Really turns heads & it's loud. Great tone at all rpm's...

 

[BigBore96]

Whatever you do. DO NOT throw an o/r X on with stock mufflers. It will sound like crap and also sound like you have marbles in you exhaust. Terrible. Ask me how I know as I decided on a catback for my GT.

If you don't want to go super expensive. Do an o/r H with your choice of weld in mufflers in the catback. It's less than the price of a new catback and will sound better. If you do this route, a chambered muiffler will be less loud vs a straight through will scream. The reason I say H is to keep the tone down and keep it deep. I personally love X's but I love my car's obnoxious.

 

[ScottyDsntKnow]

If you haven't experienced the Flowmaster aka Dronemaster on the highway at 2200rpm at cruise for over an hour... ugh... I had a 91 with a catted H and Flowmaster 2 chambers and I wanted to kill myself after any long trip on the highway. I remember one of the last times I had that car I got out after a 2 hour drive home and my ears were ringing. To each their own though, loud does not automatically=good and honestly I'd much rather have straight through mufflers than chambered any day of the week. They have a nice idle tone, are not too loud at all off idle, don't drone but will SCREAM when you stomp on it. My 95 Cobra had longtubes, catted H and a Dynomax Ultraflow catback and it was simply amazing. Ultraflows are quite possibly the best sounding mufflers I have ever heard on a Mustang and I was always getting compliments. The previous owner of my 98 put in the Dynomax Thrush chambered mufflers in and they are not bad at all honestly for a chambered muffler, I kind of like them although I will be going back to the Ultras when I put an IRS in the car and need a new catback.

 

[CC'S95GT]

Don't do O/R anything with flow through mufflers unless you want rediculously loud. and it doesn't sound that great either.
My catted X (required in Ga.) quiets the noise just enough so the Violaters can give it the sound that's different than most of the others.