I'* time to redo the exhaust system.

Does anyone have suggestions on brands/types of Cats and Mufflers?

Anything to stay away from?

I was lookin at my Mom'* 02 Maxima, and it has a strange pipe which looks like a metal braid. Is that a resonator? What does a resonator do?

i would go stock diameter high-flow cat and a flowmaster

Yep.. I agree with GAMEOVER.. IMO Flowmaster sounds better than Magnaflow on our cars.

Lucky for us, we don't need a resonator, either . Which, is what I think you are seeing. A resonator quiets the exhaust further. Don't worry about it though.. our engines aren't as loud as theirs.


-justin

You guys obviously don't remember the Magnaflow on Jim'* car. That was probably the best sounding exhaust I've ever heard on an 87-91 3800. Bar none. The clip is posted here somewhere. Maybe on BonneMe'* site.

I agree with Will on this one. I put a magnaflow on my 90 SSE and believe it or not it sounds better than Jim'* car for some reason. I have also heard the magnaflow on Jim'* Whorera, I mean Aurora, and it sounds amazing, trust me I gave that car a good workout. Plus I have heard the magnaflow on a Malibu with the 3.1 in it and it sounded very close to the Bonneville'* sound, ask Jim he was there too.

I have an audio clip of the Bonneville but only of slow takeoff so you don't really hear the true sound. Here is the post I made on OBC http://www.ontariobonnevilleclub.com...topic.php?t=83


This gives you an idea what it sounds like at idle and slow takeoff, just have a eye on the second vid for how far the car is in the distance and you can still hear it. It is a NICE low deep sound, unlike the flowmaster.

I heard every sound clip I could find. And Merlin 91/97'* 91.. holy crap I have that movie saved on my pc.. and I tend to listen to it every so often, to dream of what my car may sound like, one day. That exhaust owns all.


-justin

One thing to remember, I was there when the sound clip for Jim'* car was made and it sounds a good bit different(worse) once it is on the pc than being there. So unless you can actually stand next to the cars and compare it will be tough. If I am not mistaken when the sound clip for Jim'* car was taken we had a stock, vs flowmaster, vs magnaflow. Jim will have to remind me or not. And with all the crowd of people there we all decided that the magnaflow sounded better on Jim'* car.

then again its all personal peference
personaly i dont like magnaflow on a V6

There'* alot of variables playing here, but I'll add a couple points. I'll agree with Mike 100% that video or recorded audio is an AID to choosing an exhaust, but it really doesn't represent the true sound.

Other variables that come into play are simply the manufacturer of the cat and/or resonator. Alot of people liked my Magnaflow setup before the resonator, but EVERYONE loves it now that the res is installed. We had the opportunity to compare mine to john'* Flowmaster at WCBF, both before and after the Res.

My exhaust sound seems to be unique, as the cool (IMO) sound comes not from any grumble or engine noise, but from resonance. Unfortunately, this resonance doesn't linger around past 3000rpm.




Idling (Right-Click, Save Target As), 2.26MB
I've yet to get action shots, but here, have some fast idle