Heres the question guys i have a 96 z28 and I want to redo my exhaust, go with the good ole resonator and straight pipe or go with a flowmaster and remove res??

 

Straight pipe.

 

what are the benefits of each?

 

you will gain little to nothing with a flow master and sound like everyone else. with a straight pipe and res you may lose a tad bit of back pressure but you will gain noticeable higher rpm horsepower. the result being slightly sluggish off the line but worth it imo. my friend gained 2 hp from dual flow masters in his mach 1. as opposed to closer to 22 on straight pipes in my camaro.

 

Isnt it going to be too loud? So if I do straight pipe leave res alone?

 

when you just engine breaking its going to cackle and pop even just revving will be pretty loud. a res will help keep the popping and cackling to an acceptable minimum. unless you're like me and you like it loud. what year is your car? if it has 2 cats a res wont be needed like mine. if it only has the one you may want to consider a res.

 

you can't compare the gains realized from a vehicle with 281 cubic inches and factory dual exhaust (with a wee bit better exh manifold) to a 350 CID engine that runs to restrictive exh manifold and restrictive stock y pipe

and back pressure reduces the efficiency of the engine allowing exhaust gases to remain within the cylinder.

flowmaster is better than nothing, long tube headers and off road y is even better.

the gains you see are ok but long tubes are best for these cars


go to the magnaflow web site and look at their dyno graph by adding just their cat back

because they reduce restriction and back pressure you see an INCREASE in both torque and HP.

 

I am confused, so what am i supposed to do? cut everything back frm the res and straight pipe? or do what

 

A lot depends on what you are looking for (sound, perf, etc) and how much you have to spend.

Just remember that all engines are basically air pumps. Too often people focus on getting more air in (CAI, throttle bodies, etc) and neglect that all that air needs to go out also. A well designed exhaust can definitely improve the HP and TQ over the stock system. Headers can help, a hi-flow cat can help, and larger exhaust pipes can help.

The problem with exhausts is that they can get pretty expensive if you buy a complete, pre-fabbed system and you still won't see earth shaking differences over stock. However, going with the long tube headers (if your location allows) and well engineered exhaust system can really show improvements over stock.

If you are on serious budget, and have completely stock exhaust right now, and long-tubes are out of the question, I would look for more free flowing cats, a better y-pipe and high flow mufflers. If you have a local exhaust shop that can do some custom bending and will work with you, I'd talk with them.

 

What I put on my 96 Z28, muffler eliminator pipe and resonator tips. Sound and performance was awesome, and it wasn't too loud until my right foot went to the floor. And while cruising down the highway, it was surprisingly quiet. Cost was easily half of what the "performance" systems cost.