Do Flows Break In?

[Bonez]

OK, just so nobody accuses me of not looking, I am on page 66 of the exhaust threads and getting tired.

I have had Flowmaster 50's with stock resonators on now for a few months. They did seem to get louder the more they were used. I thought that maybe the resonators were "breaking in" or "blowing out" causing this. Now I have just put Flowmaster 40's with the stock resonators on and they seem quieter than the 50's did. My question is do the Flowmasters "break in" or get louder after they are used a while? I was under the impression that the Flowmasters and the resonators did not have any type of packing material inside them, just baffles. How does this happen?

[ICLOSEM]

i didnt notice any difference with my 40's but i dont have resinators either

[Hurst Equipped]

there is nothing to break in, no fiberglass or any kind of packing

[ekaz]

The 40's are listed as being louder than the 50's on their website. I have the 50's without resonators and I don't think they got much louder over time.
The "sound chart" is along the top of the page: http://www.flowmastermufflers.com/mufflers.html

[Bonez]

I know that the resonators do take a lot of the sound out, so I am not talking about a lot of difference here. I had my 50's on for maybe 2500 miles or so, but they really did seem louder than they were when they were put on. Maybe I'm going crazy, but the old 50's seemed louder than the new 40's. Just a little though!

[Hurst Equipped]

if they got louder, i am guessing you developed leaks.

[Bonez]

I know it doesn't seem logical and maybe I did develop some leaks, but sometimes some illogical things do happen to me! LOL It really didn't sound like a leaky exhaust to me though.

[FJP]

My first exhaust set up had Super 40s with stock pipe and stock resos.
They did get a little louder after about 400 miles of driving. The break in you speak of is a result of Carbon build up in the muffler. The sound became a little deeper and a little louder. The stock resos do to good of a job toning down the sound. I eventually installed the new Flowmaster cat back system and now the sound is great.

[T-Rex R/T]

I have Flow 40's on my TorRed installed about 5000 miles ago and just put them on the GoMango. Both without reso's.
All I can tell you is my experience:
When I first installed them on the TorRed the rumble was good but the drone was bad. Now the rumble is definitely louder and the drone is much better.
As I said I just installed them on the GMG Tuesday. The sound is muted compared to the TorRed and the drone is worse. I expect there is something to your "break-in" comment.
I doubt you have a leak, you would notice an exhaust leak by the typical ticking sound exhaust leaks usually make.

[Bonez]

Thanks for the info, I was beginning to think I was losing what little of a mind I have left! LOL I'm not after a big increase in rumble, just a little bit more would be nice.