deuceKb

Hey there guys, important question and hoping for some real good answers here. Im currently in the works to buy an exhaust system for my car. I have been holding off on buying the corsa / borla cat back because they are so pricey. Not sure if im ready to drop 700 dollars on an exhaust for up to 12hp. So, im currently looking for a muffler that would be potentially like a corsa touring cat-back. i want it to be deep sounding only when im on the throttle and i want it to pur like a kitten when its idleing or running at a steady 60mph. Past experiences with a ricer fart can on my last car left me hesitant to stick a muffler on my cobalt. I have the INJEN CAI installed along with the PaceSetter Headers and a Magnaflow high flow cat but i still have the stock piping and stock muffler on my car. Seems to me im pushing alot more air into the stock muffler than its willing to let flow through and its creating backpessure. i know i can't be seeing all the right gains i should be with the stock muffler on because its so restrictive and the stock inch and 3/4 piping (not a definate on the size but it sure as hell doesn't look 2 inches) isn't helping me out either. I have actually heard my car backfire once lol.

So what im getting at here is, what type of muffler are you guys using on your custom setups. I wanted to ask here b4 i went to the local muffler shop and talked to them about it. I live out here in the sticks and not many people around here mod their cars let alone a new cobalt. Im the only one around my area thats stuck anything aftermarket on one so basically my car is the test dummy for the local shops. any info is welcome and thanks in advance.

CARLYLE

get the gmpp catback

orangredline

I saw a video on putfile.com and this guy with a yellow cobalt put just a flowmaster series 40 on it and it sounds awsome, fairly loud when at full throttle, yet has a deep throaty sound at idle. makes me think about doing the same thing.

powerbalt4020

thats what i did! sounds sick!

deuceKb

yeah, im sure it would sound good on the ss/sc, but how about it on a 2.2L?

orangredline

I think it would sound pretty close the same as long as you stick to an oval muffler it will sound decient the fart cans however (cylinder shape) is what gives you the rice sound.

mqqn

Hi Deuce -

My experience with other cars has led me to believe that aftermarket cat-backs are GENERALLY just an appearance and sound mod - little HP gains can be expected, and in some cases, performance can decrease.

In order to get tangible HP gains, in my experience, you need complete long-tube header(s) in concert with an aftermarket low-restriction cat/muffler setup (Or no cat at all if you live in a no-sniff state).

Since I have no experience with Cobalts save for an oil-change and some driving,
I use your post to ask the folks here if they find this to be true with the Cobalts? (i.e. do you see significant HP gains with a catback system on an otherwise stock SS?)

Some catback systems can pare weight from the car, so that would be a plus to look for.

As a small hijack (sorry...) - My SS/SC seems to be getting a more agressive exhaust note with a few miles on the clock - 1400 miles and I notice it is a bit deeper and a little louder than when it was brand new.


best regards -

mqqn

Wyoming_Bass

I put on a magnaflow only and it sounds great. but i bought a resonated tip just to keep it a litte quite. Might take it off sooner or later though depends on if i get tired of not hearing it!

The car got just a little torquier (SP?) and maybe a couple ponies. I dont have a dyno from stock but i will run it in 2 weeks at the track and let you know the times to see if they improve!

dnbguy86

When i first got my cobalt 2.2L, i noticed it had decent low end/ midrange performance, but when it came to top end it was god awful, just fell on its face bad. So after the installion of a 2.5 in custom catback with no muffler and only a small resonator, i was pleased with the top end gain, but the low end definitely suffered. So i just bit the bullet and got the GMPP exhaust. Afterwards, i noticed a much better increase in low end and midrange again, with a more noticeable gain in top end performance, but obviously not as good as a 2.5in exhaust, which is fine for now. I like having to only shift at 2,000-2500rpm to get the next gear without bogging out or feeling like i need more speed, if that makes sense. So my opinion and advice would be to bite the bullet as well and get the catback.

Newt_177

If your looking to go with just a muffler set up I had dual Pilot PM-523's put on my 2.4L Grand Am about 5 years ago. Sounded real deep and not raspy one bit. I bought them for a fair price at Auto Zone. This was five years ago and Im not even sure if they still stock them but they worked great for being a poor college student at the time, and they sounded great...hope it helps

vanillathrilla

I really like the Dynomax Super Turbo mufflers. The oval shape gives a nice low sound and it is not a straight through design which also makes for a nice sound.It IS a hi-flow muffler and you should be able to feel it.
It really has a nice "purr" at idle and cruising speeds, but really opens up when you step on it.
Also has been proven to flow better than magnaflow (shows results on the packaging).

IonNinja

I would say this holds true with the 2.2 Ecotecs as well...when I added my exhaust on there was a change in sound but really no performance increase. The intake and header were the only mods to provide a hp increase and even then the gains were small.

This exact reason is also why I will not spend 500+ on an exhaust