Need some opinions on Flowmaster mufflers

Titanium90

Active Member
Mar 11, 2019
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Milton, Ontario
Hey guys, I am looking at replacing the magnaflow mufflers on my car (1990 Mustang 5.0 convertible with aod) with flowmasters. Everything else on my car is completely stock. I love the sound of the Flowmaster original 40 series, but I read that the drone is aweful. I'm looking at either the Flowmaster Delta Flow 40 series (which sounds close to the original 40 series, but without the excessive drone from what I read) or the Flowmaster Super 44 (which has a slightly different tone then the 40 series). I wanted to know if anyone is running these mufflers and if you can share your experiences.
Thanks,
 
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There are far too many varying opinions on what sounds the best. It’s truly in the ear of the listener, as to what sounds good to them.
Id suggest listening to the hundreds of videos on utoob, rather than relying on a bunch of subjective opinions on the subject.

It also depends how you use the car. Daily driver? Weekend cruiser? For me, I love the Flowmaster sound of the 90’s. If I drove mine every day, I may have a different opinion of what I could tolerate.

Like I said, far too many variables!
 
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I also was looking for the 90s era 3 chamber Flowmaster tone. I ended up buying this model Flowmaster off Amazon. It is as close to a three chamber that Flowmaster currently carries and has no perceptible highway
Screenshot_20210126-224004_Amazon Shopping.jpg
drone to this mid 40 year old.
 
I could not hear the stereo or passengers over the drone. An X pipe and Dronemasters were not street friendly, and were torture on the highway. And they were cop bait with any throttle.
 
I've had Flowmaster 40s, Flowmaster Super 44s, and Dynomax Super Turbos on the same car...

The Dynomax were by far the best, no drone, no setting off car alarms, no complaints from anyone but my old man, and they still sounded amazing.
 
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I have a Flowmaster 50 series Delta Flow on my Ram. It's a single in, dual out muffler. Not exactly an apples to apples comparison, but I like it. It's on the quieter end of their spectrum.

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And, speaking of YouTube, here is a short clip of it at start up, idle, and a slight rev:


View: https://youtu.be/FAZs9S0FKE8


It's the only actual Flowmaster brand muffler I have on any of my vehicles. But here's a couple videos of my Cobra II with a pair of Thrush knockoffs. It has full length headers with an H pipe and the mufflers are turned down at the axle. It was LOUD and, as you might expect, had a pretty bad drone.


View: https://youtu.be/lgGduu0N3Rw



View: https://youtu.be/ehtnhnB9sEM


I've since added a pair of glass packs to each side to quiet it down. It's a lot more tolerable all around in my opinion.


View: https://youtu.be/uxQRRsbUVX4


Then there's my Fox - it's all stock and I swapped in a pair of Summit brand knock offs. It's a lot quieter, but then again it's also 100% stock with cats and full tail pipes. That will all change when I finally start working on it.


View: https://youtu.be/CWW_8jHMlYo


I'd guess that since you have a convertible the drone probably wouldn't be near as bad since it wouldn't echo off of the roof. But I guess it all depends on what you're after. Personally, for my convertible, I think I'm going to go with the 50 series Delta Flow when I get to it. It seems to be a good compromise in my opinion.
 
I'd guess that since you have a convertible the drone probably wouldn't be near as bad since it wouldn't echo off of the roof. But I guess it all depends on what you're after. Personally, for my convertible, I think I'm going to go with the 50 series Delta Flow when I get to it. It seems to be a good compromise in my opinion.
My '87 GT convertible with Flowtech Warlocks still had a godawful drone. When my friend bought the car and swapped those out for Mac Flowpaths it got worse. Having a ragtop doesn't necessarily get rid of drone, surprisingly enough.
 
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I daily drove a gt convertible with x pipe and turn downs before the rear axle. Surprisingly there wasn't much drone but they were loud. Not louder than my sound system but could be heard a mile away ( literally ).

I've since switched to magnaflow after only resonators on my current car.

The best sounding mufflers I ever had were Thrush turbo mufflers from Advance Auto for 20 bucks a piece. They were quiet at idle and cruise but opened up when on the happy peddle just right. These things have changed though over the years. ( that was almost 20 years ago ). Flowmaster has never been my favorite.
 
Same with me . Flowmaster 40s , and the drone is all good with me. People who know , roll down their windows to hear the goodness. They are really only loud when you get on it. My wife said the other night after we went for a ride " your car is loud", yeh I know.
 
...here's a couple videos of my Cobra II with a pair of Thrush knockoffs. It has full length headers with an H pipe and the mufflers are turned down at the axle. It was LOUD and, as you might expect, had a pretty bad drone.


View: https://youtu.be/lgGduu0N3Rw

For a pretty good comparison, especially because @LILCBRA and I have remarkably similar engines putting down similar power levels (I think we're even using the same cam or pretty darn close to it), here's what Dynomax Super Turbos sound like:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwODyOvPR5s
 
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Exhaust is subjective.

for instance, I have original Flowmaster 40s.

the drone is pure awesomeness to me :drool:
You are absolutely correct regarding the exhaust being subjective. I think the sound of the 40 series is phenomenal. but the drone is too excessive. I don't mind a little drone. I wanted to see if anyone care share their experience with either flowmaster series.
 
I have the delta flow 40s and there is some drone but it’s not that bad. Definitely reduced from the original 40s. Then again I drive the car about 500-1000 miles a year so it doesn’t bother me.
 
When I had the 40's on the completely stock setup it droned terribly at highway speed in the lower RPM's, but now with X pipe, no cats and a top end kit, it really improved and I usually leave the radio off now and listen to the flow...
 
I have the delta flow 40s and there is some drone but it’s not that bad. Definitely reduced from the original 40s. Then again I drive the car about 500-1000 miles a year so it doesn’t bother me.
let me put that into perspective.

” I have crotch rot,...but I only notice it when I wear my tight pink panties...So,...most of the time I don’t wear my tight pink panties, and it doesn’t really bother me.”
 
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let me put that into perspective.

” I have crotch rot,...but I only notice it when I wear my tight pink panties...So,...most of the time I don’t wear my tight pink panties, and it doesn’t really bother me.”
Don't pack your vag with Johnson's baby powder. I guess that was a thing and now there are ambulance chasers making a fortune from it. :shrug: