About 3 years ago I had exhaust put on my truck and honestly didn't know too much about what I was getting. Don't get me wrong I really love the sound of these pipes and get complimented on the sound all of the time. Here is what I got, just curious to know a bit more about them.

F-II DOR/S
http://www.flowmastermufflers.com/sh...0V8&orig=17462

Apparently its the only kit that Flowmaster even makes for my year truck anyhow... I want to say it was roughly 650 installed.

 

Its only a Flowmaster 50 series. You could have bought the muffler for $90 and had a shop install it with tailpieps for $150 - $200.

 

Doesn't the muffler quiet down the sound of the exhaust a bit and actually worsen performance? I also got tips included in the deal, all installed...

 

It does quiet down yes, that is its role. And to create a tone. Some are better performing than others, but its a very small significant difference. Flowmaster is about the worse with all the baffles and chamber crap that robs too much velocity and restricts gas & carbon escape from the exhaust. They sound decent is about the only good thing about them, but wrap awfully under WOT imo.

You only lost 3 or 4 horses with the 50 series, nothing major. If you haven't noticed a performance difference theres no reason to be concerned. But there are 'actual' performance mufflers out there. Magnaflow, Gibson, Dynomax Bullets, and the king of them all, Borla.

 

So your saying i've lost about 3-4 HP total by going with flowmaster vs one of the other brands you named.... hmmm I can probably live with that. From the sounds of it I didn't loose anything by not getting a muffler and actually saved some cash

Personally I love the sound of my exhaust, it kicks in right at about 2000 with a really clean rumble and can really get beefy when its up in the higher RPMs when WOT. I made the thread not really sure what the thought on these pipes were... unfortunately I don't understand too much about the performance benefits of one setup over the other. My thoughts were pretty much "Hey... if they pipes are the same size.. how can one really be better than the other, with the exception of its build quality. I've got some learning to do :P Thanks for the feedback

 

Mandrel, or smooth, bends are better than stock when it comes to piping.

 

I always choose sound over performance when it comes down to a muffler decision. You are going to hear it a hell of a lot more than your going to use that extra 2hp.

 

Thats cool. Smoother the bends the better the flow, performance, and note will be. All there is to it about pipe bending. Crimp bent pipe is awful in every way, smooth and mandrel, you'll be set for good.