[Tom Hand]

Greetings to all. I want to give you an update of aproject we have going and ask for suggestions.

Before I buy exhaust components, I would like to hear what they sound like on a car like mine. The sound will depend of course on the engine and the type of modifications done to it, the crossover, and the size of muffler and pipes used. What sounds good on a Mustang may not on a Pontiac. Because of this need, dad and I are working on a not-for-profit project to offer a solution. Thanks to the graciousness of Dave Kawallek and representatives from major exhaust component manufacturers and Boyd Butler at Dr. Gas, we are going to be making a CD of "Popular Pontiac Exhaust Sounds".

We have acquired 25 pairs of mufflers, three special crossflow mufflers, two sets of tailpipes and an X-crossover. We have a "typical" Pontiac engine; approximately 9.5:1, 455, running a slightly larger than stock cam, a Q-jet, and headers. It is on a test stand and we will run each of the 25 pairs of mufflers and tailpipes on it and record the sounds. Simultaneously, sound levels will be taken and recorded. We will make recordings at idle and while revving it from about 2500 to 5000, and then run it at a couple of steady state speeds, probably 2200 and 3500 rpm. We will have the recording narrated before and after each muffler combination to identify what it is/was. (Calculations will show you that we should have about 60 different sounds recorded.)

We will be running the mufflers with a traditional front 3" diameter system and then we will run it with the Dr. Gas X-crossover system. This system has demonstrated benefits at the tracks on both stock and drag cars and we want others to be able to hear what it makes a Pontiac sound like.

What we need from you are suggestions or comments about mufflers. I have tried to get most of those recommended previously by others I spoke with but I do not want to overlook any you might have to suggest. I am not trying to get exotic race mufflers or specialty units, just those that typically would be used on GTOs, Firebirds, and other high performance Pontiac vehicles.

Please email me any suggestions you might have or post them here regarding mufflers you'd like to hear. As far as what is this going to cost you? We are not in the business of selling information or parts, however, I do not want to go too far in the hole. As you can imagine, recording a CD does have some cost associated with it so here is what I speculate it will cost. The mailer should be about 37 cents, the mailing should be about 60 cents, and we may have some additional shipping for the items we need to make this. I would expect somewhere around $1.00 to $1.75 would cover getting the CD to your doorstep. Any extra above and beyond our cost will be donated to a worthwhile organization.

As a bonus, we have already blown air through all the mufflers using a SuperFlow 600 bench so we know what sort of continuous airflow they will provide. (These values are not to be used as a guarantee of performance but more so as another reference point to help differentiate mufflers).

Please drop me note or post comments here if you have any suggestions. As soon as the weather starts to remain constant here in Missouri, we may begin. I expect this to occur within the next month.

Thanks for your time and thoughts.

[Tom Hand]

Greetings to all. I want to give you an update of aproject we have going and ask for suggestions.

Before I buy exhaust components, I would like to hear what they sound like on a car like mine. The sound will depend of course on the engine and the type of modifications done to it, the crossover, and the size of muffler and pipes used. What sounds good on a Mustang may not on a Pontiac. Because of this need, dad and I are working on a not-for-profit project to offer a solution. Thanks to the graciousness of Dave Kawallek and representatives from major exhaust component manufacturers and Boyd Butler at Dr. Gas, we are going to be making a CD of "Popular Pontiac Exhaust Sounds".

We have acquired 25 pairs of mufflers, three special crossflow mufflers, two sets of tailpipes and an X-crossover. We have a "typical" Pontiac engine; approximately 9.5:1, 455, running a slightly larger than stock cam, a Q-jet, and headers. It is on a test stand and we will run each of the 25 pairs of mufflers and tailpipes on it and record the sounds. Simultaneously, sound levels will be taken and recorded. We will make recordings at idle and while revving it from about 2500 to 5000, and then run it at a couple of steady state speeds, probably 2200 and 3500 rpm. We will have the recording narrated before and after each muffler combination to identify what it is/was. (Calculations will show you that we should have about 60 different sounds recorded.)

We will be running the mufflers with a traditional front 3" diameter system and then we will run it with the Dr. Gas X-crossover system. This system has demonstrated benefits at the tracks on both stock and drag cars and we want others to be able to hear what it makes a Pontiac sound like.

What we need from you are suggestions or comments about mufflers. I have tried to get most of those recommended previously by others I spoke with but I do not want to overlook any you might have to suggest. I am not trying to get exotic race mufflers or specialty units, just those that typically would be used on GTOs, Firebirds, and other high performance Pontiac vehicles.

Please email me any suggestions you might have or post them here regarding mufflers you'd like to hear. As far as what is this going to cost you? We are not in the business of selling information or parts, however, I do not want to go too far in the hole. As you can imagine, recording a CD does have some cost associated with it so here is what I speculate it will cost. The mailer should be about 37 cents, the mailing should be about 60 cents, and we may have some additional shipping for the items we need to make this. I would expect somewhere around $1.00 to $1.75 would cover getting the CD to your doorstep. Any extra above and beyond our cost will be donated to a worthwhile organization.

As a bonus, we have already blown air through all the mufflers using a SuperFlow 600 bench so we know what sort of continuous airflow they will provide. (These values are not to be used as a guarantee of performance but more so as another reference point to help differentiate mufflers).

Please drop me note or post comments here if you have any suggestions. As soon as the weather starts to remain constant here in Missouri, we may begin. I expect this to occur within the next month.

Thanks for your time and thoughts.

[Rocky Rotella]

Hello Tom, good luck with the whole project. You can count me in on at least one CD. I'd have to cast my vote for muffler choice to the Flowmaster 42582 dual inlet/out transverse mount muffler. This is the one I'm looking at for my 76 T/A. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance. Rocky

[6567GTO]

Wow! What an awesome idea. If you would, maybe you could try a few different versions of Flowmaster mufflers, ie; the 30 series, the 40 series, etc. with and without the Dr. Gas X- Pipe (3" all the way through). I'll take at least two CD's. I haven't picked out an exhaust yet for my 455 powered '65 GTO. I'm not looking for anything too quiet - more like something that sounds mean without being obnoxious. I can't wait!

Good Luck Tom,

Phil [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by 6567GTO (edited 02-24-2001).]

[Scott Misus]

Tom:

Is Bill Boyd the guy who called Gach at home and yelled at him?

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"The goggles....they do NOTHING!!"---Rainier Wolfcastle

[6567GTO]

Come On Man!

[WDCreech]

Misus, you're too much! Now I've got tears in my eyes.

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Bill

[Ken K]

Will the sounds of the Wonder Wagon be avalable on Napster?

[Joel Koontz]

I saw that Midus recently brought out a "Ravin" muffler. I saw a photo of a disected case and it looks interesting to me. The article says, "it uses a "Z" path and preforated internal baffles to produce a sweet tailpipe tone without reducing flow". I would like to hear what it sounds like on a Pontiac.

Another exhaust product I have heard about is the Car Chemisty Exhaust Inserts. IMO it looks like a gimick and like it would be a restriction but I have seen several posts where people said it got rid of low RPM resonanace/drone. If they get rid of the resonance/drone it might be worth it, even if it caused a silght horsepower loss.

Your project sounds like a lot of work. I am sure a lot of people will benefit from it.

Thanks, Joel

[Zig'sbird]

Tom

Count me in on a CD. I will need a mailing address and a time line of when to mail the money etc.

[Tom Hand]

I'd like to thank ALL of you that posted publicly and sent me personal notes with suggestions and comments. We have collected two more sets of mufflers and tailpipes this week based on the many, many notes and may start with a preliminary recording next weekend. I will post information as soon as we have more to share.
Thanks once again,
Tom Hand

[6567GTO]

Don't forget to wear earplugs. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]