Looking at the exhaust system on my new 5.7 hemi Charger, it appears to me that the factory exhaust system is quite efficient, no radical bends or anything to interrupt the exhaust flow. I've looked over the cat back systems from several sources and they ,at least to me, seem almost identical to factory. Some do offer larger diameter pipes. My question is: would a high performence muffler plumbed into the factory exhaust system serve the same purpose? I'm not looking for a CHEAP way out, just need a little advice regarding my options.
thunder63cs
08-29-2005, 06:10 PM
Yes. but trying to find a muffler to fit the double in double out is a pain I bought my flowmaster cat back for 550 from this site.
http://estore.websitepros.com/802805/Search.bok?category=Dodge+CHARGER&searchpath=4045dec1106047d06e04c&start=21&total=30
it is pretty much a direct fit under the car.. the drivers side needs to be bent a little more then it comes. I got a 1.5 hp and a 5.5 ft/lbs of torque gain with this exhust. but the motor seems to rev quicker and sounds great. I also have a mopar CAI on my charger and got about a 15-20 hp gain at the rear wheels. I have pictures here.
Thanks for the info.I guess the cat-back system IS the way to go. The MOPAR CAI unit is a slick looking affair and that is what I'm leaning towards. I heard the metal air pipe absorbes more heat than synthetic pipes . I have a CAI unit on my 4.0 Cherokee w/aluminum pipe and one on my wifes P/T Turbo w/synthetic pipe. They both seem to get alot of heat soak from the engine but I can't tell the difference.
thunder63cs
08-29-2005, 11:55 PM
I have heard that also, but I don't notice a differance. when I can squeak the tires with the esp on with no problems on most surfaces I am happy .. lol
charger5.7
08-31-2005, 10:16 AM
Tks. I'm gonna go with the Mopar CAI.Ordered one today. I went to 3 muffler shops in my area and got 3 different opinions.
1. One guy thought the resonators were the mufflers, and the suitcase muffler was the resonator...Geeezzzzz!!!!!!!
2. Second shop said he would gladly order a cat back system for me, but the factory unit is pretty good as is. If I want more sound he showed me a Magnaflow muffler that fits the factory exhaust and retain the original resonators. Good mellow exhaust tone.
3. This guy said the resonators really serve no purpose other than make the vehicle's exhaust a little more user friendly from the factory. Removal would open the exhaust a little and give the exhaust a little more sound. He would remove the resonators, sleeve a pipe over the existing pipe and add 4' polished "cans".
Any thoughts on the above would be appreciated.
COCharger
08-31-2005, 08:19 PM
1. One guy thought the resonators were the mufflers, and the suitcase muffler was the resonator...Geeezzzzz!!!!!!!Forget this guy. Enough said.
2. Second shop said he would gladly order a cat back system for me, but the factory unit is pretty good as is. If I want more sound he showed me a Magnaflow muffler that fits the factory exhaust and retain the original resonators. Good mellow exhaust tone.This is probably the best of the final 2, but it all depends on how mellow you want or dont want.
3. This guy said the resonators really serve no purpose other than make the vehicle's exhaust a little more user friendly from the factory. Removal would open the exhaust a little and give the exhaust a little more sound. He would remove the resonators, sleeve a pipe over the existing pipe and add 4' polished "cans".The is a valid option, however you might run into some bad drone issues. The resonators are there to correct the drone that the suitcase muffler don't provide. On top of that, the rear cans provide additional muffling. Go with this, but be prepared to end up with doing a full cat-back system in the long run.
thunder63cs
08-31-2005, 10:08 PM
I went with the cat back due to the 2.5 piping instead of the 2.25. the stock resonators are very large compaired to the flowmaster res. If you looked at my gallery the stock exhust pic shows the exhust with the l shaped resonators that are stock... the flowmaster resonators you look in the tailpipe and you can see where they in hole in them .. if you need any other pics of any of it let me know and I will take a few more..
charger5.7
08-31-2005, 10:39 PM
Hey guys, thanks for all the valid input...Option two appealed to me also... Yup I saw the pics and see what you mean...After all of this, I think the cat- back is the way to go. Just wanted to float a few ideas and options and see what kind of feedback was out there.I.m getting edumicated.
fortypounds40
09-01-2005, 01:57 AM
hey thunder63cs I can't find your exhaust pics, can you send a link or something. I would like to see them.
fortypounds40
09-01-2005, 02:05 AM
forget it I found it, looks great
charger5.7
09-01-2005, 10:11 PM
Just for s---s and grins I called Magnaflow direct and spoke with one of the tech types there. He said Magnaflow has a replacement muffler (dual in-dual out) that they use for their cat back system. It's part no. 12468 and should be a good fit, may need a little tweeking tho. I'm still going with a cat-back system, but thought someone would appreciate the info.
GreggK
09-02-2005, 06:02 PM
anyone here have a charger hemi with AT mufflers?
epowell
09-05-2005, 10:38 PM
The exhaust system is really pretty good on the RT. The only difference I could see between the system they put on the Daytona is that the mufflers are actually better which subsequently result in a little more rumble and better flow (that is why it is rated at 10 hp more). The tips are nice and the system already has an x-pipe and uses 2.5-in. header collector pipes and 2.25 in. pipe all the way back. Bigger pipe isn't always better on the HEMI. It is all about flow rates, temperatures, and still maintaining some back pressure that is needed by the engine. I learned this in designing the true dual exhaust system on my Hemi Durango. I used 2.25 in. pipe all the way back with dual magnaflow mufflers and an x-pipe, or at least that was the final product after we got it tuned with the right mufflers to keep the interior noise down a little. It was a great system - sounded great, got better performance, gas mileage, etc. Others tried to duplicate what I had done and I even sent specific details to many. However, several people tried the same thing but used 2.5 in. or larger pipe all the way back from the cats and had very poor performance.
On my Charger, all I did was replace the the suitcase muffler assembly with two magnaflow 4x9x14 in. oval mufflers downstream from the x-pipe. This results in a little more growl and low rumble when idling and you can hear it more when you step on it. I didn't want it too loud but I wanted to feel the big hp engine a little more and this worked perfect. You can tell it opened the flow up a lot and helped temperature wise. I can already tell I probably got a little boost on the efficiency. Maybe 0.5 mpg better or so. What I did is really closer to the aftermarket Flowmaster Cat-Back system except I used Magnaflow dual mufflers instead of Flowmasters. The Flowmaster system uses X-pipe, mufflers, then resonators and tips. The Magnaflow Cat-Back uses single dual in dual out muffler with built in X-pipe and then new resonator and tips. I am pretty happy with this option and it costs a lot less than going with the full Cat-Back system when the OEM system already has some pretty good components.
I kept the big suitcase assembly that was removed and thought about cutting it open just out of curriousity. I shined a flash light into one side and couldn't see any light out the other side. I think OEM unit actually contains two mufflers encased in the single suitcase design and each has a big S-bend and baffels inside of it, so going to the straight through Magnaflow design makes a big difference.
The cat-back systems are probably pretty good, but I don't know if they justify the cost considering that the only real bottle neck in the OEM system seems to be the muffler assembly, If you can just put on good mufflers for 1/3 the cost of the Cat back system and still get 90% of the same benefits, seems like a good option. Works good with K&N or CAI system. If someone planned on eventually doing other performance upgrades such as new headers and whatever else they eventualy come out with, then the Cat-back system is probably the best option.
charger5.7
09-06-2005, 08:41 PM
That was my initial observation. The factory exhaust seemed, at least to me, to be an efficient system except for the muffler/s. I too looked at the factory "suitcase" muffler off a Magnum HEMI and could not see daylight. I also know from past experience that some engines need a little back pressure to perform efficiently and you confirmed that. Do you know what the Magnaflow part number was for the 4x9x14's and do you think that's a better way to go than the dual-in, dual-out Magnaflow recommended. The part number they gave me was for the same muffler used on their cat-back system. Tks
epowell
09-07-2005, 08:14 AM
The ones I used are an offset/offset 2 1/4" in and out p/n 11235. They fit perfectly. You could probably use the same design with the 2 1/2" in and out (p/n 11236) if you wanted to, but I chose just to keep it all the same as the existing pipe diameter. Using the two separate mufflers are better from the flow and heat standpoint than the single unit so I figured the difference in that small a length between straight flow mufflers of 2 1/4" and 2 1/2" diameter is probably negligible.
charger5.7
09-07-2005, 10:06 AM
That really sounds like another good option!!!I'm gonna look into it. Like I said when I started this thread I was'nt looking for a cheap way out, just options. This sounds like a good one. I'm happy with the car, just want to kick it up a little. I also ordered a MOPAR CAI from my dealer, It'll be here Friday. I've revieved some really good input on this forum.Thanks for the help!!!!
