[Turns31]

I've had this truck now for 6 months and have spent almost every single day of that time looking at different exhaust options. I've looked through every post of every single exhaust topic in this forum. Looked at every single exhaust Youtube video there is regarding the twins. With the exception of the GMPP kit, nothing sounded right to me. Either too loud, too tuner-y, or too raspy. My criteria was deeper and throatier on start up and WOT. But the big caveat was that I also wanted zero drone at highway cruising speeds. I got a wife and a newborn baby and I don't need to hear complaining from either of them about how annoyingly loud the truck is.

For those who don't know, our truck's muffler is odd. The piping is center/center if you're looking at the truck head on but it's offset/offset if you're looking at it from the side. The rear outlet is higher than the front inlet. It's 23" long and a 8x11 case as well. This, along with the stupid 2.75" piping, makes it damn near impossible to find a muffler that is a direct swap. I've looked at every single muffler offered by Magnaflow, Borla, Dynomax, and Flowmaster but none of them would work without modification or mounting the muffler on it's side. Not only would that look ridiculous but could also create some clearance issues if I were to ever go off roading. That is until I saw that Gibson offered 8" round mufflers.

Gibson 421887 - Gibson SFT Round Superflow Mufflers - FREE SHIPPING!

It's 8" around, 3" offset/offset, and 1 inch longer than the stock muffler. It's a pretty much straight through muffler with minimal louvers and baffling. I bought the T304 stainless option because I plan to keep this thing for a good 8-10 years.

Guys, it's perfect. It's better than I thought it would be. Deeper and throaty on startup and WOT. It actually sounds like a truck and not a stupid Mazda 6! Dead quiet when cruising on the highway. ZERO drone at 1800-2500. I mean zero. It honestly seems quieter than the stock muffler when cruising. You take your foot off the gas and it's nonexistent. My wife even approved. I've only driven it about 25 miles but man I really like it. Definitely felt a little peppier too but I do have an Airaid intake and 87 Octane tune as well.

Install wasn't bad. About 2 hours in the garage by myself. I bought 3" to 2.75" T304 reducers for each end to make the fit seamless. I also installed with stainless band clamps. I wanted to do this myself and not commit to welding right away in case it sounded like ****. So you'll need the exhaust rental tool kit from Autozone or Advance to expand the exhaust pipes a tad. Measure 3" towards the front of the truck from the hanger just behind the muffler. Cut 31" out towards the front of the truck. From there it was straight forward. Slide the new muffler in and tighten the hell outta the clamps. The new muffler is 8" tall just like the stock one so everything lined up perfectly. I did keep the resonator on as well. I figured it's not restricting flow really and would get rid of any rasp if there was some. All in I spent $265.

2.75" ID to 3" OD Exhaust Pipe Reducer Connector Adapter 304 Stainless Steel | eBay

2.75" 2 3/4" Genuine Torca AccuSeal Stainless Steel Band Exhaust Clamp AS275SS

3" Genuine Torca AccuSeal Stainless Steel Narrow Band Exhaust Clamp AS300SS | eBay

It's raining here for the next day or so but I'll try to get pics and a video this weekend. Trust me guys. Just buy it.

 

[CaryBosse]

Not my cup of tea, but I have to commend you on some great research and follow through. I expect there will be a many who will want to follow your lead on this.

Could you put together a rough budget on what this cost you? Wonder how it would compare with an OEM replacement if muffler ever rusted out?

(Gets me to thinking. I remember as a kid, dad was always having to replace mufflers. I have never replaced a muffler on a vehicle I owed in my life. Is it the materials used, the higher temps from cat converters keep things dry, or am I just leading a charmed life? ---> I was at a point of needing to replace a cat converter on the Wrangler when I traded it in, but that was not a rust out problem.)

 

[Turns31]

Not my cup of tea, but I have to commend you on some great research and follow through. I expect there will be a many who will want to follow your lead on this.

Could you put together a rough budget on what this cost you? Wonder how it would compare with an OEM replacement if muffler ever rusted out?

(Get's me to thinking. I remember as a kid, dad was always having to replace mufflers. I have never replaced a muffler on a vehicle I owed in my life. Is it the materials used, the higher temps from cat converters keep things dry, or am I just leading a charmed life? ---> I was at a point of needing to replace a cat converter on the Wrangler when I traded it in, but that was not a rust out problem.)

$265 all in for muffler, reducers, and clamps.

 

[CaryBosse]

$265 all in for muffler, reducers, and clamps.

At that price, with shade tree labor, probably cheaper than an OEM replacement at a muffler shop.

If it actually provides a slight performance improvement, could be a worthwhile mod for anyone needing just a little bit more power.

Kudos!

 

[kaiser67]

Not my cup of tea, but I have to commend you on some great research and follow through. I expect there will be a many who will want to follow your lead on this.

Could you put together a rough budget on what this cost you? Wonder how it would compare with an OEM replacement if muffler ever rusted out?

(Gets me to thinking. I remember as a kid, dad was always having to replace mufflers. I have never replaced a muffler on a vehicle I owed in my life. Is it the materials used, the higher temps from cat converters keep things dry, or am I just leading a charmed life? ---> I was at a point of needing to replace a cat converter on the Wrangler when I traded it in, but that was not a rust out problem.)

Materials and coatings have gotten muchhhhh better

 

[johnspeed]

I took my Gibson muffler off, Very annoying IMO, with their 3" piping set up .
I tried a few mufflers,
Love the DynoMax super Turbo muffler.

 

[CaryBosse]

...

(Gets me to thinking. I remember as a kid, dad was always having to replace mufflers. I have never replaced a muffler on a vehicle I owed in my life. Is it the materials used, the higher temps from cat converters keep things dry, or am I just leading a charmed life? ---> I was at a point of needing to replace a cat converter on the Wrangler when I traded it in, but that was not a rust out problem.)

Materials and coatings have gotten muchhhhh better

I should probably also mention my dad was a chemical plant worker who exposed our vehicles to acid every day at work, so probably put our vehicles through a worse corrosion testing than the most extreme salt spray test devised. Very typical for floorboards to fall out of the car about the time we got a new (used) car.

If the car manufacturers really wanted to test a vehicle for corrosion, that would have been the ultimate real world test.

 

[16WhiteColly]

Would really like to see a couple of pictures. Thanks.

 

[16WhiteColly]

Can you post some pictures? Thanks.

 

[GANCanyon]

I’m cautiously optimistic.

 

[johnspeed]

I have the 3 " stainless Gibson muffler for a cheap price .

 

[boombots]

Can we get a sound clip?

Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk

 

[johnspeed]

I am I took it off my truck.
But Gibson might have one on their web site .
$25 Plus ship, stainless

 

[Turns31]

Sorry guys I'm sick today. I'll try to crawl under there in a bit to snap a couple pics.

 

[Turns31]

Here's the front, looking towards the back, and rear connection. Plenty of clearance all around.

 

[PieceKeepr]

I took my Gibson muffler off, Very annoying IMO, with their 3" piping set up .
I tried a few mufflers,
Love the DynoMax super Turbo muffler.

I'm curious about what you found annoying? Sound in general or a constant drone?

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

 

[Turns31]

I'm curious about what you found annoying? Sound in general or a constant drone?

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

Their catbacks didn't come with this muffler. They used a baffled 18" oval. Will sound completely different and won't mount to stock pipes without modifications.

 

[bkp]

Glad you like the Gibson's. I installed Magnaflow on mine and like you, also like the throaty sound it delivers. Wasn't looking for loud and you can only get so much from a V6. You will never match that deep V8 sound but have historically used Magnaflows and always been satisfied. Also got the thumbs up from the wife, haha!

 

[fondupot]

Need a sound clip!!!

 

[Turns31]

Need a sound clip!!!

Tomorrow