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Note that in this picture -- which was taken at the beginning of Episode IV -- the mufflers look a little off-alignment. This is because in this picture their pipes have altready been cut off. They were put on straight. |
Episode II: A New Hope
Wanting to improve the exhaust sound on the cheap, while at the same time bumping up performance, I cut off the evil suitcase and replaced it with a pair of performance mufflers.
I drove Darth Hemi home 165 miles from Wester Dodge in Seaside, CA. That night I replaced the stock intake system with a K&N Typhoon. In addition to its performance enhancements it offered a wonderful growl under the hood when applying throttle... but it wasn't enough. The car still bleated like an enraged sheep at startup. That same night, firing it up in a parking lot next to an acquaintance's Mustang GT, I knew this embarrassment of sound had to go. So the next morning I went down to a local, highly-recommended muffler guru and told him
"When I start it up or stomp on it I want to hear lions and tigers. Otherwise I don't want to know its there." The idea was I wanted to keep the nice, quiet, comfy cruising sound (i.e. no sound at all) but be able to answer someone if they wanted to know "That thing got a hemi in it?!?"
So the decision was made to cut off the suitcase muffler and leave on the resonators. In place of the suitcase two IMCO Pro mufflers were put in its place. I had originally asked for Flowmaster 40 mufflers, but I was tiold that the IMCO units were longer-lasting, better (more solidly) made and gave a deeper tone that was less prone to droning. Seeing the IMCO's sitting next to a Flowmaster 40 I was inclined to agree. They appeared to be a much more solid product.
Installation at the shop was fairly straightforward, with the only noteworthy item being that one of the two pipes needed to be heated and warped outward a bit so that the two mufflers could sit apart from one another and not potentially rub together.
Afterwards, I had the chance to pick up and hold the stock "suitcase" muffler. This beast had to weigh 25 pounds, easily.I was happy to shed that excess weight.
Total cost for this modification was $265.00.
Results
In terms of sound alone, I was very happy. I had pretty much exactly what I had asked for. Startup sound was good. Cruising sound was quiet as a mouse. And if I stomped on the throttle I got a satisfying roar.
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NOTE:
Other Magnum owners have reported that the use of the louder Super 40 muffler gives good sound results without going overboard |
In terms of performance, I picked up about 10 hp, as reported by relative results from my my Escort GT-2. This was good but I knew I could do better. My first seven published 1/4 mile times (including a 14.22 with a 0-60 under 5.80) showed that I certainly hadn't lost any performance, to be sure and very likely had gained a fair bit over stock.
I was satisfied with this system for about four months. A couple of the system's weaknesses: Soundwise it wasn't aggressive enough for me at startup and idle. I wanted a mean, nasty burbling sound like a 70's muscle car, and while I was no longer embarrassed to start the car, this result wasn't ideal. Performancewise, having seen the inside of the Magnum's 'resonators' (which once you look inside of them prove to be another set of mufflers) I knew the flow-through in that segment of the system could be improved significantly. Just for starters the opening to the resonators necks down well below the stock pipes' 2 1/4" diameter.
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NOTE:
Follow This link to a thread on the DodgeTalk community forum that shows the insides of the "suitcase" and "resonators" after they have been cut open with a torch. |
Next... Episode III: The Phantom Menace
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