Direct muffler replacement

[cmejatt]

So I’m torn on which muffler replacement to get
Figure I would ask on this forum for some help.

1. Carven CR1012
2. B2 Fabrication Round Muffler
3. Flowmaster Outlaw 3”
4. Solo Performance MR

Any other I’m missing from list?

Which one y’all recommend?
I’m not ready to do a full Catback yet.
I just need to make sure I have close to 0 drone.
Leaving everything else stock . Ie tips / resonators

 

[SD Rebel]

Most direct fit will result in drone in MDS 4-cylinder mode. But that is very subjective, someone's drone may not be the case for someone else. That's why it's really hard to answer this question, you will get a lot of conflicting answers based on people's personal taste.

I have a pretty aggressive Flowmaster Outlaw 3", custom welded instead of direct fit. It's 60s muscle car loud, but very calm at constant easy throttle, such as highway cruising.

Allowed to go into MDS, it will drone a bit. Which is easy to fix but disabling MDS by selecting 8th gear on the gear limit selector. A full catback system is tuned to avoid the MDS drone.

With either choice, I only recommend the direct fit if you plan on cutting and installing the muffler yourself. If you plan on a shop doing the install, then just buy the universal muffler of those models you are interested in and have a good muffler shop weld it in place. It will not only be cheaper, but a more solid installation being welded instead of held in place by flanges and clamps.

 

[HemiDude]

I had the MBRP HI Flow muffler on my last Ram, install was easy and it sounded great. The only time I ever heard any drone was if I let MDS kick in, which it never did after installed the Pulsar. If my GT exhaust didn't sound so good I would have one on this Ram as well.
My .02

 

[jl13]

SD rebel was spot about the drone and the personal opinions you will get.
Here is mine
After watching a ton of videos and going thru several threads here i decided on the mbrp 5143. I have taken several 4-6 hours trips with high altitudes along the way and find the drone to be very very minimal. It has a deeper tone than stock which i really like but it is not much louder than stock.
I wanted to give the flowmaster outlaw a try but i was afraid it would be to raspy for my taste but i wish i could have listen to it live.
The carven i liked the tone but found more mix reviews about the drone than the mbrp one.
I didn't find enought videos on the fab 2 round to really consider it but it does say it will drone on their website

 

[cmejatt]

Thank you guys for the input.

I am looking to do install at home hence direct muffler only. I would do a Catback but maybe next year

I really love how Carven sounds on cold start and under load . I been hearing same on drone. Unsure what to think. It’s 50/50

Now in my case MSD most likely will kick on and stay on lol. My wife will also share the truck with me and she normally takes 200 mile all highway road trips. Her only condition is it doesn’t drone and she doesn’t hear it while cruising . I myself have / had loud obnoxious cars lol. But since this is a “family vehicle” the mod has to fit both of our needs lol.

I probably wouldn’t do flowmaster outlaw like someone said .. it sounds raspy.. b2f also eh.

Left with carven or solo performance or any other I missed from the list

 

[jloops]

Thank you guys for the input.

I am looking to do install at home hence direct muffler only. I would do a Catback but maybe next year

I really love how Carven sounds on cold start and under load . I been hearing same on drone. Unsure what to think. It’s 50/50

Now in my case MSD most likely will kick on and stay on lol. My wife will also share the truck with me and she normally takes 200 mile all highway road trips. Her only condition is it doesn’t drone and she doesn’t hear it while cruising . I myself have / had loud obnoxious cars lol. But since this is a “family vehicle” the mod has to fit both of our needs lol.

I probably wouldn’t do flowmaster outlaw like someone said .. it sounds raspy.. b2f also eh.

Left with carven or solo performance or any other I missed from the list

Check out the Mopar GT exhaust. Great sound on cold start and when you get on it. Quiet while cruising with absolutely no drone.

 

[theblet]

I got a flowmaster flowfx. No drone and is fairly quiet when cruising. Sounds good when you get on it tho.

 

[SD Rebel]

I wouldn't call the Outlaw raspy. The Outlaw is more "old school" muscle car vs modern rasp like on my E90 M3.

Here is a long boring video of my truck with the Outlaw muffler. I used a cheap action cam for this vid, but the sound level is pretty accurate to what you will hear in the cabin.

You can skip around at various points to get an idea on how it sounds, though most of it is low speed so on partial throttle a lot. On the highway, it's nearly quiet ....

 

[theblet]

I wouldn't call the Outlaw raspy. The Outlaw is more "old school" muscle car vs modern rasp like on my E90 M3.

Here is a long boring video of my truck with the Outlaw muffler. I used a cheap action cam for this vid, but the sound level is pretty accurate to what you will hear in the cabin.

You can skip around at various points to get an idea on how it sounds, though most of it is low speed so on partial throttle a lot. On the highway, it's nearly quiet ....

Sounds good. Probably louder than mine.

 

[HEMIJAKE]

I have the outlaw, and it sounds pretty decent. Living in the salt / winter region though has done a number on the steel already though. For the couple hundred bucks it cost, that kinda sucks. When it gets too bad, I'm going to just weld in a stainless chambered muffler from jegs for about 60 bucks. I did one on my side by side, and it turned out really well.

 

[mrclortho]

I am running the B2 Fabrication muffler delete, and kept the resonators. The truck has a nice, deep rumble with very little drone. I can almost not hear the difference in sound in ECO mode. The truck makes noise but isn't loud, does not rasp or pop, the quality is very good, and I am happy overall. On the highway, I can barely hear it under 70mph but at 80mph it does make some noise. My buddy has a 5.0 F150 with a Flowmaster and it drones bad enough that I do not like it at all. My truck quieter than his and does not have that annoying pitch on the highway.

B2 makes three different sound level of replacement pipes, but I am running the one without the muffler.

 

[jl13]

Thank you guys for the input.

I am looking to do install at home hence direct muffler only. I would do a Catback but maybe next year

I really love how Carven sounds on cold start and under load . I been hearing same on drone. Unsure what to think. It’s 50/50

Now in my case MSD most likely will kick on and stay on lol. My wife will also share the truck with me and she normally takes 200 mile all highway road trips. Her only condition is it doesn’t drone and she doesn’t hear it while cruising . I myself have / had loud obnoxious cars lol. But since this is a “family vehicle” the mod has to fit both of our needs lol.

I probably wouldn’t do flowmaster outlaw like someone said .. it sounds raspy.. b2f also eh.

Left with carven or solo performance or any other I missed from the list

I did the install myself, its simple
And the one recommendation given to me here was to apply a little bit of exhaust sealant like JB weld so together with the band clamp you get a better seal

 

[jl13]

I wouldn't call the Outlaw raspy. The Outlaw is more "old school" muscle car vs modern rasp like on my E90 M3.

Here is a long boring video of my truck with the Outlaw muffler. I used a cheap action cam for this vid, but the sound level is pretty accurate to what you will hear in the cabin.

You can skip around at various points to get an idea on how it sounds, though most of it is low speed so on partial throttle a lot. On the highway, it's nearly quiet ....

most videos I came across were short, cold start and revs only
It was in 2 videos that I noticed a raspy tone/pop and it made me go on another direction - wish I knew somebody with it to listen to it in person because before that I was all in on it. I am very happy with the deep tone on the mbrp but louder would have been good.
I recently was driving behind a truck without resonators and it sounded excellent but didn't get a chance to catch up to the driver to see what muffler he had and ask how bad the drone was - so for now resonators will stay on mine

 

[HEMIJAKE]

most videos I came across were short, cold start and revs only
It was in 2 videos that I noticed a raspy tone/pop and it made me go on another direction - wish I knew somebody with it to listen to it in person because before that I was all in on it. I am very happy with the deep tone on the mbrp but louder would have been good.
I recently was driving behind a truck without resonators and it sounded excellent but didn't get a chance to catch up to the driver to see what muffler he had and ask how bad the drone was - so for now resonators will stay on mine

I had an mbrp kit on my mustang before I sold it. I like their stuff. Quality stuff at a good price. Full disclosure though, I never drove my mustang in the winter salt here, so I can't speak to longevity.

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

I have the carven muffler and Resonator delete couldn’t be happier! Very little drone and has a beautiful V8 sound!

 

[cmejatt]

I have the carven muffler and Resonator delete couldn’t be happier! Very little drown and has a beautiful V8 sound!

Did you do carven and resonator delete at same time?
I don’t want to do resonator delete so I wonder if there will be any drone with just muffler replacement

 

[Squatch79]

Did you do carven and resonator delete at same time?
I don’t want to do resonator delete so I wonder if there will be any drone with just muffler replacement

I've got a Carven TR on order for mine and from what I've heard and read, the resonators are supposed to help (but not totally eliminate) with the in-cab drone. I plan on leaving mine on.

 

[Darksteel165]

I am looking to do install at home hence direct muffler only. I would do a Catback but maybe next year

Catbacks are the same install as muffler only if not easier? Most kits are 100% clamps, Borla for example has 3 kits and they only use clamps and the existing bolts.

You are going to need to cut and weld to get a muffler replaced, and you will keep the resonators by the tips?

If you want to keep it quiet for your wife do nothing, else replace it.
The OEM exhaust sounds great if she wants quiet.

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

Did you do carven and resonator delete at same time?
I don’t want to do resonator delete so I wonder if there will be any drone with just muffler replacement

I first did the muffler and wanted something a bit more aggressive sounding then had the resonators deleted. With just the muffler it was just slightly louder than stock during low rpm’s and shifts between 1-5 but hwy speeds gears 6-8 is just as quiet as stock.

CARVEN is my go to for mufflers.

This is a cold start in the winter w/ resonators still on.

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

Catbacks are the same install as muffler only if not easier? Most kits are 100% clamps, Borla for example has 3 kits and they only use clamps and the existing bolts.

You are going to need to cut and weld to get a muffler replaced, and you will keep the resonators by the tips?

If you want to keep it quiet for your wife do nothing, else replace it.
The OEM exhaust sounds great if she wants quiet.

Find a good reputable muffler shop. I spent $100 or so on the muffler with a coupon code I found and paid $60 for a shop to weld it on and they guaranteed their work. I’m all about saving money so $160 was a heck of a lot cheaper than a “direct replacement “ clamp on style all the others offer at a fraction of the price.

Some peoples pockets are deeper so if you can fork over $500-$2000 go for it.