If anybody has any comparison on the ravin muffler & flowmaster mufflers, I would appreciate the comment. I read Kobiashi's post reguarding them, but am unsure between them & the 2 chamber flows. I want a loud aggressive sound, but would like to talk while driving.

 

I rode with Kobiashi's ravins and I liked them. I cannot compare to the FlowMasters but his sounded very good and we could easily talk as we just cruised along. I have been getting ready to install them myself.

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Jim
Jim@FordMotor.cc

Black 00, 4.10's, SuperChip/R9, super whites, Airaid w/10" Big Mouth, Mobile1 w/FilterMag, chrome wheels, AIM 2" drop, clear corners
2000 E320, 1993 Cobra R, 1959 Corvette,
1949 Plymouth Coupe

 

I was curious what inlet and outlet positions I should get for the dual Ravins and what size the inlet/outlets should be. I was also wondering if they have a one chamber.

Shane

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Blackout-99

 

When you were waiting for Kobiashi, did you hear him comming down the street? I am wondering if it has that deep growl that lets everyone know your a comming.
BTW, is Midas the only place that installs them? I finally got over the fact of placing a muffler I never heard of on my L, but now I have to try to trust these Midas guys.
Oh, how much is it costing you?

 

Kobiashi had two Z33's mufflers. Both had one in and one out



[This message has been edited by FORDSALES (edited 10-12-2000).]

 

I noticed on the website that there are 3 different sizes. I figure at least the 2 1/2 is the minimum, but what about the 3" inlet/outlet? Is replacing w/this large robbing L of power?

 

Hi everybody...
Caught this post late in the evening. This will be long but will give you all the information I can about the setup i got.
First, I too was hesitant about buying a product I had never heard of and getting it from a Midas shop. I learned about Ravin from the "EXHAUST" post on the f150 online board. The comment I heard repeatedly was that the ravin had a nice deep sound and was not deafining in the cabin like the Flowmasters seemed to be. That was what caught my attention so I decided to call my local Midas shop and ask about them. The guy there was very cool and very helpful. Rather than hit me wtih a hard sales pitch he suggested I come in and he could check out the vehicle, see if the ravin would sound better than stock or weather I would be wasting my money. He was quite attentive to the truck and told me the Z77 would be quiter than the stock system, that the Z55 might actually be equal to or a little bit deeper and louder than the stock system and that the Z33 would defintaely be louder and deeper than the stock system. He informed me that the down side was that the Z33 did not have a dual in dual out like the Lightnings stock system and would require two mufflers which would be more costly. I remembered on some earlier posts that someone had purchased a dual in dual out Flowmaster and it wasn't up to handeling the pressure our L's put out and that 2 mufflers would be required with the Flowmasters too.
I had gone to the ravin web site (www.goravin.com) and they looked pretty cool. I examined the brouchure at the store and it looked pretty cool.....
After thinking about it for a while I decided that
A) This guy semed to know what he was doing, seemed to care, and said the right things to me that made me trust him.
B) So what if it's a Midas shop. Mufflers is what they do. They do a lot of them, they must be pretty good at it.
C) I should stop being a snob and get over the Midas problem...
D) He promised to take his time and make it right and if it wasn't to my liking he'd put the original equipment back on.

So I got over the fact it was a Midas shop, took this guy at his word, and had them installed.

Make no mistake. I am sure not all Midas shops are going to be really good. And, some might be better. They were very accomodating wthi me, let in work area, let me watch everything they did, were very considerate, and very careing with the L. The owner of the store was there when I came in and asked to be called back (he has other stores) after the install was complete because he was excited about the L and wanted to hear what it sounded like. Is this a typical Midas shop? Maybe not. But if it had been anything less I would have found a different shop. I figured good people can work any where. Seek out good people and you will get a good job done.

However, here is the DISCLAIMER....
Of all the people on this board I am probably the one with the least knowledge about mechanical things. I bought the L because it goes fast, very fast, it handles well, looks awesome, has lots of room, and is fun to drive. As long as I can do 130 or 140 on the way to Phoenix and back, then I am a happy camper. If I can do it in a vehicle with lots of room inside (I'm a big and tall guy) then I'm even happier. I don't care what my dyno numbers are, I wouldn't care if I lost a tenth of a second in the 1/4M...etc etc etc.
I'm not a poser, but I'm not a gear head either.
However... I did want a good sound out of the L ... call that posing, but I quote someone from this board...I feel the L should sound in a manner appropriate wtih the way it runs...

With that said...I have no idea if they are single chamber or dual, I have no idea what the diameter of the pipes are. I left that all up to the guy installing it. I figured if it didn't sound good, or hindered performance in a manner that I would notice then the Ravins were going to come off the truck and the original stuff would go back on. By the way the Ravin is "Z flow techology" whatever the hell that is. If you understand that stuff then go to www.goravin.com and look under the PRODUCTS CATAGORY.

I had two Z33's installed which is their High Performance muffler that is listed as being for high performance street vehicles and race cars. Sounded cool to me. After installation it was test drive time. In idle they are just a tiny bit louder than stock...however, step on the gas and it's a wonderful deep rich sound. Sounds best when crusing at a mild speed down the boulevard. Very fun. Step on it hard and it screams.

Think VIPER

I met with FORDSALES and we were able to talk normally while driving at 40 to 45. I even punched it a couple of times and it's not objectional in the cabin at all. Under normal driving conditions I can listen to the radio without trouble and if you want to turn the radio up you can drown out the sound. I have yet to do any high speed driving since getting them so I can not report how loud they are at say 100mph and especially that fast for any extended length of time, however at 65 it's fine.
FORDSALES and I also went into a residential neighborhood and each of us drove the truck while the other stood outside to hear what it sounds like. My objective opinion is NICE. My subjective opinion is VERY NICE. We drove by each other both slowly and quickly, and yes, you can hear it a block away but at that distance is is not really loud, but it is an agressive sound without a doubt.
AS for performance. It seems to me that it accelerates more smoothly since I got the mufflers. Has it slowed it down? I don't know. The fastest I had driven it prior was 130 and I won't get that chance again till Christmas time. However I doubt it is any slower. I am close to the end of my first full tank of gas since getting them and will say this. With this tank of gas I have driven more miles than I have ever gone before and that includes a serious stretch of miles in bumper to bumper traffic. This was the first time I have been stuck in bumper to bumper traffic as bad as last week and I still got more miles per gallon. I'm gonna guess about 2 extra miles to gallon but I can provide a more accurate figure next week. If that's true they things will pay for themselves soon.
I am now looking at the receipt and here's what the guy put on :
one RA334241
one RA334243
(if I remember correctly one is single offset and one is dual offset but don't quote me on that)
a quick look at the web site tells me these are 2 1/4" single in and single out .
Should they have been 2 1/2 inch or 3"..
I have no idea and frankly I don't care.
They sound great, the truck still preforms great as far as I can tell, and if I eventually change my mind and decide I want something else then I'll change them. I must say however that I am quite satisfied with these. The guy who did them provided great service, they are guaranteed, and I'm happy.
Oh yeah....
$125.99 per muffler
$60 Labour
$20.79 Sales tax
Total out the door....$332.77
Hope this is helpful.......
PS Jim...let me know how it all goes.
K
aka Chris


[This message has been edited by kobiashi (edited 10-12-2000).]