Glass packs, steel packs vs turbos all sound good under the right conditions but if you want "traditional pipe music" I am voting with glass packs or steel packs. That partially comes from remembering hearing Ray Rojas cruise by the house in his 51 Chevy in the 60's with dual glass packs and knowing it was him without looking out the window to see. I used to get compliments on the pipes on my 51 Merc and on my 48 over the CB back years ago when a lot of guys had CB radios in their rigs. Both had glass packs at the time. With my 71 GMC with the turbos I have picked up similar compliments from truck guys. when I pull in somewhere. It is still the sounds just right for what it is and what it represents thing though.
Super Traps actually started out as motorcycle mufflers then crossed over into cars with not a whole lot of success.
I’ve run Flowmaster 44’s and 50’s on my Thunderbird, they both sound good. 44’s have a decent bit of drone though
Thanx James. That must be quite a recommendation since there are 10-20 muffler shops closer to you. I wish I had enough cam to sound like that. Can someone shed some light on the difference an "H" pipe makes? What does it do to the sound? Why? What does it do to HP? Any other useful information?
A H pipe will increase the torque curve of the engine. I like the way they balance out the sound of the system.
So, prior to turbo mufflers, glass packs were the traditional hot rod muffler used. (no steel packs that I know of, unless somebody repacked there own muffler using steel wool). The turbocharged Corvair in the early 60's changed that, hot rodders picked up on the turbo mufflers as an alternative to glass packs, for quieter exhaust with less rapping and popping, and a lower frequency exhaust note. So, either of those could be considered traditional. Like posted above, the chambered mufflers like the Flowmasters came out in the 80's, that sound is not a tradtional exhaust note. Same with H pipes and X pipes. These were enhancements for broader spread of power/torque, and they do work, but they are a later development. The sound of the different mufflers is pretty easy to identify once you've tuned your ear to them. This video, while it's kind of cheesy, does provide a pretty decent example of the difference in sound between turbo's and chambered. There are obviously differences between brands, but the general aural qualities are the same. Generally, the turbos have a lower frequency exhaust note, the chambered mufflers tend to have a higher frequency and a metallic "ring" to the note, and they tend to be a little louder, and they have a definite rap when letting off the throttle that the turbo's don't have. Maybe it's just me, but under acceleration they seem to make that American truck V8 sound a little like an import sporty car. Now, here's one comparing turbo's to glass packs. For some reason this comparison is hard to find, plenty of glass packs vs chambered vids out there though.
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