Need advice from you motorheads on exhaust.

[chicano]

Ok I've had my RT for a while now (got it on June 3) and haven't done any mods to it so far. Partly because of money and partly because my car IQ isn't all that high at all. Any way i've decided that going the exhaust route would be a good way to start the modding process.

I've read all the threads i can on this site trying to educate myself on what makes up an exhaust system in the process of trying to make an informed decision. Resonaters, catbacks, glasspacks...these words were all very foreign to me before and quite frankly i'm still not sure i fully understand everything.

Is the best course of action to just walk INTO my nearest muffler shop and tell them what i'm looking for (decent performance boost/nice rumble with little to no drone) or should i be wary that they'll try and bamboozle me.

From what i've read the Magnaflow route seems like a good one but so does MagnumFreaks although it seems pretty involved. I don't have a lot of money to spend...like maybe 600-700 hundred tops. I'm wary of the flowmasters because people have said they always drone.

I can't do any installations myself since i don't have the tools/equipment to do so.

Basically just looking for advice on how I should approach this whole process FROM people that know a lot more then I do.

[MagnumFreak]

Based on your budget don't go the route I went. Would definitely cost more than you want to spend.

Unless you have the patience to tinker with a muffler set up I would stick with the system approach. Borla for example (slightly above your budget but not by much) or the soon to be released Mopar exhaust system (Borla in disguise). Find a friend with some car ramps or jack stands and swap the exhaust out. Both the mopar and the borla system are simple bolt ons. This would save on the install costs. If you don't have access to tools and ramps you could take it by just about any automotive shop and have them install it in a few minutes. Shouldn't cost much (less than 50 I would imagine).

From what I have read on the Borla system there is no drone and it is very quiet at highway speeds, yet it has a rumble under full throttle. The system I am using is a bit louder than what most people are comfortable with.

I would call the folks over at performancecenter.com and talk with someone in sales to see if they are willing to come down off the price a bit. You would be surprised at what you can get if you are willing to ask for it.

[MySRT]

Magnaflow's cat back exhaust should be out very soon. Price may be under $600. 2 1/2" system with muffler and resonators. You can hear the sound clips on their web page.

[chicano]

Thanks for the advice....yeah reading about your set up got me pretty excited because of the performance boost but realistically i don't think i'm mechanically inclined (or have the funds) to duplicate it.

As far as systems go i guess i'll have to choose between Borla/Mopar and Magnaflow. Hopefully i can get some comments FROM people with experience with these products in the past(not just with the Magnum) concerning quality and such. I know the Magnaflow system for the RT is brand new. I'm anxious to hear more about it because if it's similar in quality to the Borla one then i'd definately get it since it'll be cheaper. If the performance/quality gap is too wide though i may save up some more and get the Borla system.

If i got the mopar one wouldn't it be original warranty safe?

[gone2vegas]

If i got the mopar one wouldn't it be original warranty safe?

Any exhaust will not affect your warranty.

I really hope the Magnaflow Exhaust will be under $600, but I doubt it. I was looking at the price of Magnaflow exhausts for other cars and the one for the 99-03 Cobra is $500 on eBay and that system only has 2 mufflers. FROM what I've heard the system for our cars will use 1 muffler up front, like the stock system, with dual in dual out. So 3 mufflers total.

I got a quote FROM a local muffler shop I use and they quoted me $600. They would use the stock piping and weld in 4 mufflers total. 2 up front and 2 in back. All Magnaflow mufflers.

On my 94 Caprice(with the LT-1) I had the Force III Flowmaster System. That was aluminized steel, not stainless and had resonators before the tips. It was louder than stock, but not obnoxious like a Mustang or Camaro. Also, there was no drone at all, at any speed or rpm.

I've thought about mimicing that system for my Magnum since the parts are available separately. At least they used to be. Cost for that system was just over $500.

[snickle]

I am headed down the borla/mopar route. Just waiting to have enough slush funds around that my wife won;t complain.

[RT NOMAD]

Does anyone have the expected release date for the Mopar/Borla exhaust for the Magnum RT? Or just a wild guess?

Thanks,
Terry

[chicano]

The Borla exhaust system is already out i think and the magnaflow one is supposed to be released after the SEMA SHOW which runs FROM November 2nd to the 5th.

[BrilliantBlackHemi]

Reading somewhere there is a header kit coming. (can't remember who said it was coming). Can one modify a brand new car with a pair of headers, hi-flow cats, and a cat back exhaust? Isn't there some silly "can't mess with the cats law" that stops this for something like 5 year/50,000 miles? What is possible to do and not?

[gone2vegas]

I believe Gibson was supposed to be developing a header. JBA was supposed to use my car to develop a catback exhaust system and header, but I haven't heard FROM them.

As long as you don't change the position of the cats you can change the headers and exhaust. For example, you couldn't use long tube headers. Of course, the products should have a C.A.R.B. # also.

[UnderTaker]

gibson = suck

go borla... little more expensive, but well worth it.

[UnderTaker]

i was getting the RT serviced today, and i commented about an upgrade.... they told me otherwise....

Any exhaust will not affect your warranty.

[chicano]

i was getting the RT serviced today, and i commented about an upgrade.... they told me otherwise....

Any exhaust will not affect your warranty.

I've heard that a lot of service people will say this but according to the law (they talk about this on Magnaflow's website), they can't deny your warranty unless they can directly prove that the aftermarket part is what caused the part under warranty to break/malfunction. And i can't really imagining anyone proving that the exhaust of a car directly caused any harm to the engine.

[snickle]

I mod'd the exhaust on my 200 Bonneville SSEi, adn a few other tweaks. $25K worth of repairs under warranty and none were attributed to the mods.

[.300Grin.Mag]

The specifics on warrenty protections can be found in the Magnuson-Moss act.

Information on the Magnuson-Moss Act can be found through the Federal Trade Commission's web site FROM Cornell U. (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ht..._15_10_50.html).

Basically says the dealership has to prove that the modifications you made caused the damage to the vehicle before they can deny warrenty work.