Exhaust a little louder
 

I have never worked on exhaust, so I don't know much about it. I would like to make the exhaust on my stock 2001 GT a little louder. I don't want it so loud that you can hear me accelerate from a block away, but a little extra sound would be cool. Any ideas? Thanks!

From what you describe, you would be happy with a set of aftermarket mufflers, or a cat-back system. The catback comes complete with bigger pipes (2.5" vs. the stock 2.25") and tips (usually polished stainless steel or chrome)the of course the mufflers. You'll pick up some HP with the catback system, and the tips you get usually look 100 times better then the stockers.
There are many brands to choose from: Flowmaster, Dynomax, Bassani, Magnaflow, SLP, Borla, MAC just to name a few. Prices can range from $40-100+ per muffler, and about $350-650 depending on the catback. In that range some systems are aluminized steel (which will eventually rust) or you have complete stainless steel systems.
Answer a couple questions and hopefully we can help you make an educated decision:
How much money are you looking to spend? Are you going to have someone else install it? Are looks important? Is the Car going to see those MN winters?

Thanks for your reply. I was thinking of spending less than $500, the less the better. I could either try to install it myself or I know a guy that does that type of work and charges next to nothing (better option). The car will never see the Minnesota salt. It is parked for the winters. And yes, looks are important as it is a nice looking car. Hp gain would be nice, but I don't race so it isn't that big of a deal. I find cars to be too slow after owning a cycle that went like crazy (yes, it was a rice-burner). Anyway, thanks for you help.

For what it's worth, I just installed an SLP Loudmouth. It is a catback and costs about $340. You can do it yourself in less than an hour. It is a free-flowing type system compared to others and has a nice agressive sound. SLP recently got into the Mustang market after making high quality components for Camaros for years.

Some Mustang guys won't look at SLP stuff because of that, but they are really missing out. It is not a common system, but is growing quickly. Quality is really good and it will fit like a glove. Very nice tips with it.

If you are looking for a bit louder but not overkill, I would say just weld a set of 2 chamber flows in the place of the stock mufflers. It wont really help any kind of horsepower gains, but you already stated that you arent concerned with that. The 2 or 3 chambers would be a good choice for you. The 3 chambers are a little bit more on the quiet side than the 2 chambers, but definately a noticeable difference over stock. I also hear that the FR500 and Steeda catbacks are of nice quality, and only marginally louder than stock (more so the FR500 than the Steeda). I would opt for the Steeda or the 3 chamber flows.

i have a little input and a question as well. i have welded on a pair of 2 chamber (40 series) flowmasters, and they sound GREAT. VERY loud compared to stock, i love them. i bought them for a total of 125$, and only 60$ to have the shop weld them on. well worth the money in my opinion. which brings me to my question... how long would you give the flows to rust? i live in mass., but my sweetness will never see winter, so no salt. i eventualy want to get the cat back (dont know why i didnt in the first place), but i want to ride these puppies out first.

I have 2 chamber flows welded in on my 90 gt, have been there since before I owned the car, and I have had the car since 2000. There is no rust on them at all, except where the shop that installed them did the welding, but it isnt rusted through. But, being that I live in southeast Texas, we dont get winter. It has been on the beach a few times though, and to my knowlege, didnt get washed immediately after.

I am also looking for some mufflers for my 96gt. I checked out mustangexhaust. com. I like the sound of the Dynomax (Ultraflows???) I am looking for mufflers that are not too loud but louder than stock. Do any of you have Dynomax on? The sound clip for the Dynomax Race Bullets sounds the best but I think that has more to do with the car and it's mods than just mufflers.

I love my new exhaust I'm running full 3" pipes from cats back into the new Super 40 Flowmasters and 3.5" stainless tips, its killer sounds from inside, behind, and when your got on it people turn around...about $550 installed...

if you are looking for something that is slightly louder than stock i would go with magnaflows, they sound good nice backpressure sound. a little pricy though.

if you want louder then stock

I would get a new mid pipe of your choice that way you will pick up performance(muff wont added much) but by keeping the stock muffs the car wont be that loud


when I did my mac prochamber I still had the stock muffs and sounded great compared to the stock setup

but it was not to loud

even with my dumded magnaflows and my prochamber its not so loud the cops mess with you

FWIW...Maganaflows are GREAT but the sound is too quiet, Mac stainless muffs sound great, Flowmaster 2 chambers sound great...both are proven sound wise and sound great on a catted car (if you can't do the O/R pipe). If you can do an O/R pipe, Magnaflows do sound great...My combo consists of Bassani X (catted), Magnaflow stainless pipes with Stainless Mac mufflers welded.