What Exhaust

dougsster · April 24, 2004

Hey Guys,

Was wondering if anyone has any experience with a newer suburban and available cat back systems. I have an 04 on the way and was wondering What people have been happy and not so happy with. My last truck was 2500 6.0 with a 70 servies flowie and tail pipe and it droned miserably from 1800-2200 rpm's. Needless to say it would probably be worse in a burb with a 8.1 mill.

Any suggestions or exp would be appreciated!

Doug

piratebaseball · April 24, 2004

dad has an '04 burb with the 5.3 and went with edelbrock shorty headers and a corsa cat back. Perfect fit and really nice quality. Doesn't drone at all and sounds awesome.

LikeaRock14 · April 24, 2004

If you're willing to spend the cash, a BB Tri flo system will sound d**n good, little interior sound. 70 series don't seem to drone on 8.1's I've got them on my 7.4 and theres literally never ever ever ever any drone. I can't hear it one bit on the freeway crusing between 65-75. Otherwise, if you wanna save some cash, go Spin Tech Truck/RV muffler, my neighbor has their sportsman street installed yesterday on yer yukon xl, literally whisper whisper quiet inside at freeway.

dougsster · April 24, 2004

Thanks for the thoughts. B&B Doesnt make one for my truck, Corsa doesnt make one for my truck, borla does but its out of this world as far as price goes! Maybe Ill have the local guys weld up a spin tech and see how that does. They seem reasonably priced and they are somewhat local, I guess Ill give them a shot!

I really wanted an engineered system from someone like flowmaster or borla....maybe down the road theyll have something....just not yet!

The best sounding systems ive had on cars were the flowmaster force 2 system on my 90 k1500 ecsb 5.7 and my flowmaster force III on my 96 Impala SS. They were both excellent fitting systems that sound great at idle and on acceleration but quieted right down once at cruise. I hated for 2 years the 70 series flowmaster and tail pipe on my 02 k2500 ecsb 6.0!!!!! Thats why I wanted a designed system...Oh well!

Wish me Luck! Ill let you know how it goes!

Doug

99Silver6.0 · April 24, 2004

If you like Borla. You could always buy one of their oval XR-1 race mufflers and have a setup built around it. If you are looking for some performance over stock, I would not opt for Flows. Borlas truck cat-back has a muffler that is WAY too big. I ended up getting that cat-back for my truck. Still pissed cause its soo quiet. So Im taking the huge muffler off and putting an XR-1 in place of it. Big difference in case size, the muffler im running now is dam near 3 feet long versus the XR-1's 12" case size. The XR-1 is the muffler on the f-body and other cat-back systems you can buy. But that muffler doesnt come on a truck cat-back. If I had the cash, I would get B&B TriFlo!

o4yukonxl · April 25, 2004

I've been looking at these myself and the muffler shop recommended the magnaflow, but I've heard others complain about the noise inside. Corsa would be the best option but they don't make one. I inquired and they don't have plans to do the 8.1.

One idea I've been considering is removing the precats which are new for 2004 and account for the 20 HP reduction in 04. This would open up the exhaust and may increase the noise level slightly.

dougsster · April 25, 2004

Hey 04yukonxl,

I was hoping to hear from you. As its your footsteps Ill be following in I thought I might hear from you. Speaking from a vantage point of not even having my truck yet Im excited Ill be able to benefit from your experience.

I am concerned about noise and loss of Low end grunt with the exhaust system. Your documentation has proven you dont need a huge 3" dual exhaust and a ton of noise to make power. Air in and programming has provided spectacular gains on your truck but I need some sound and a pretty tail pipe to go along with it! I am not willing however to live with highway drone or boominess! If I could duplicate the out of the box sound on 90 k1500 it would be perfect but they dont make a kit!

I was wondering where the 20hp went too! Glad I know now! Kinda neat that a 3 ton beast that gets 11 mpg and is capable of towing 12k is certified LEV! I guess they can keep their hybrids another couple years!

Whatever I do Ill post it here!

Doug

LikeaRock14 · April 25, 2004

Basically, you're going to notice a slight low end loss with any aftermarket exhaust system unless you run long tube headers with it (which aren't available for your truck i believe). But to minimize the loss of low end, 2.25" pipe is the largest I'd go. People think bigger is beteer, since you're leting more air flow through, but think about it this way. Blow through a paper towel roll and then through a coffee stir straw, which one flows more? The paper towel roll of course, but the stirer straw has more force to it. Bigge might look cooler, yes, but it's not always the best. I have a 454 in my truck, and the biggest I'll go if I do true dual is 2.5". I'm worried about clearance issues, yes, but I just don't want to mess with the pipe sizes that much. Like I said too, a Spin Tech Sportsman Street XL or Truck/RV muffler would be great for your application, you can;t go wrong. I haven't heard Corsa in person yet, but Spin Tech's have the lowest level of interior sound, along with an awesome sound outside. I don't believe they make a kit, but often times if you go to a local shop it;s cheaper than the kit, and you're getting the same thing