Magnaflow vs. Flowmaster vs. Stock...long.

breakerbacker · **Joined:** Wed Dec 07, 2005 1:23 pm **Posts:** 76

Got the Magnaflow installed this morning. The Magnaflow is # 12226, a 5"x8" oval with a 2.5" offset straight through design. The cost for the muffler was only $59 shipped and installation was another $75, but included running 2.5" pipe right from the back of the cat.

My brother had a Flowmaster series 40 delta installed a couple of days ago. The Flowmaster is a chamber style exhaust. The cost was $89 + $85 in labor at a local muffler shop.

The 2 CRDs are both 2005s. Ours a limited, brothers a sport. Ours has about 5500 miles, my brothers has about 4500, so very similiar. Driven in similiar circumstances, same ratio of city to freeway.

On to the sound. Compared to the factory unit, neither of these units is much louder, just a different tone. As a matter of fact, the wife has ridden in and driven ours with the mag and hasnt even noticed it. Off idle the mag is the deepest in frequency, then the flowmaster, followed by the stocker. I was concerned about a possible drone or hum at or around 2k rpms. This turned out to be a non issue with either of the aftermarkets. Turbowhistle is now more noticeable with both of the aftermarkets, but I think this is because of it spooling faster. The sound is coming from under the hood as opposed to the tailpipe. Just cruising around there is pretty much zero difference. WOT seems a little louder with both aftermarket units, but this could be due to the motor seeming to pick up RPMs more quickly/aggressively. If the wife had installed this on her own, and I didnt know about it, I can not say for sure that I would be able to tell.

Next power. I would say the mag seems a little stronger than the flowmaster. Most notable area of increased power is just off idle to 2k rpms with part throttle. With the mag it seems to take hardly any throttle to hold 60 mph on the flats. This is also true with the flowmaster, but to not as great an extent. WOT, there is no perceivable difference between the 2 aftermarket units. There is a pretty big improvement over stock based on the seat of the pants feel.

Early impressions on Effeciency. It is probably too soon to draw any conclusions, but early results look promising. The flowmaster has returned a 2 mpg improvement over a few hundred miles. Our Crd with the mag has gone from a city avg of 19 to 22.5, but this is only just over a hundred miles so way preliminary. I expect this early increase of 3.5 mpg to come down, although if it stays up I will be amazed.

Short term impressions. Well worth the $150 bucks. Going with no muffler for $35 may be the best bang for the buck, but I would worry about the hum or drone. Sound difference is negligable. This is probably the first mod that should be done to the CRD.

On a side note, while the exhaust was open I had a chance to look inside the cat. What a soot trap that will become over time with all the tiny passages. Would be nice to get rid of that in the future. I cant imagine the cat is very usefull anyway on a diesel.

More to come,

Greg

fireman1028 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 9:32 pm

Excellent comparison!!! It will be interesting to see what kind of mileage they will return.

I intend on getting one in the next couple of days. I was leaning towards the AeroTurbine, but I think the Magnaflow is in my near future.

oldnavy · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 10:35 pm

The construction of the CAT is a straight through type, that would allow for an easy nocking the inards out with a metal rod. Then the CAT can be reinstalled and pass a visual inspection. Don't ask how I know.

fireman1028 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:15 pm

Quote:

Then the CAT can be reinstalled and pass a visual inspection.

Pass inspection: yes (not in SC)

but will it throw any codes?

BTW Old Navy..........How do you Know??????

oldnavy · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:27 pm

fireman1028 wrote:

Pass inspection: yes (not in SC)

but will it throw any codes?

Why not in SC? If they use a sniffer all you have to do is run B100, you will be so clean they will wonder if their machine works correctly, or so I have been told by others. No codes unless it has some kind of electronic sensor and I didn't see any on mine.

fireman1028 wrote:

BTW Old Navy..........How do you Know??????

If I tell I will have to kill you. :lol:

fireman1028 · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:13 am

Quote:

Why not in SC?

NO INSPECTION OF ANY KIND!!!!!!!!

Not even safety (think of it as natural selection)

Quote:

If I tell I will have to kill you

I'll take my chances. No offense, but you can't hurt me anymore than my wife does when I tell her (or worse, she finds out on her own) that I bought something else for my Jeeps. :lol:

oldnavy · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:54 am

Nothing like natural slection. :roll:

Understand how those wife's feel about that sort of thing, been there done that.

Hey mine was so hard to live with when I had my '86 CJ7 that I traded it for '87 Charokee for her and took to driving her Nissan PU truck.

Hollowed out a couple in my time.

fireman1028 · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:47 am

Quote:

Hey mine was so hard to live with when I had my '86 CJ7 that I traded it for '87 Charokee for her and took to driving her Nissan PU truck

Quiter

dog_party · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:07 am

Fantastic comparison Greg. Keep us posted on MPG returns for the two options. I'm waiting through Christmas before doing anything. If I see any package with pipes sticking out, I'll be in hog heaven. After reading your report, I'm hoping for the Magnaflow (and will buy one when I don't get one for Christmas).

Interstingly enough, my brother and I both have CRDs too. Both Limiteds. Great trucks these little beasts.

SC sounds like KY...I think all there was there was the inspection that there actually IS a car. In VA they run so many emissions tests that you're best off not to eat chili for a week prior to getting inspection, and don't dirve through any paint, or hit any roadkill on your way to the station or you'll fail for some EPA reg. And clean the sneeze marks and doggy slobber off your front windows or it'll fail for having "tint."

retmil46 · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:33 am

Well, I was going to use the 160 miles I commuted to work this week to see what the AT got for fuel mileage, but that was before the beast packed it in, most likely with a plugged fuel filter. Hopefully, since it's a straight thru like the Magnaflow, I'll see similar results. I was hoping for the 2 MPG increase one other gent reported with the AT, but if I get 3.5, I'll be dancing on the rooftop! (of the house, not my CRD!) :lol:

wenied · **Joined:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 4:01 pm **Posts:** 107

Oh yeah!!! I'm having the 40 series flowmaster installed tomorrow morning on the 06' CRD. They're doing it for a total of $110.00..not too bad.

oldnavy · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:35 pm

Well the wife filled up the Jeep today and drove the 85 miles to the mall for Christmas shopping with daughter and burned up the highway driving 80 mph there and back, (she said there were running late and no traffic) then did some driving in the city and stlill managed 25 mpg for the trip. I guess I need to make the same trip in the near future at a normal speed of say 70 mph and see if it does better then 27.7 mpg it did on one trip of the same route to check fuel mileage. My guess is the difference should be 4 to 6 mpg for the difference between 70 mph & 80 mph in the CRD with cement block shape as compared to a car.

greiswig · **Posted:** Fri Dec 23, 2005 1:38 pm

oldnavy wrote:

Well the wife filled up the Jeep today and drove the 85 miles to the mall for Christmas shopping with daughter and burned up the highway driving 80 mph there and back, (she said there were running late and no traffic) then did some driving in the city and stlill managed 25 mpg for the trip. I guess I need to make the same trip in the near future at a normal speed of say 70 mph and see if it does better then 27.7 mpg it did on one trip of the same route to check fuel mileage. My guess is the difference should be 4 to 6 mpg for the difference between 70 mph & 80 mph in the CRD with cement block shape as compared to a car.

I've lost track, and it might help others reading this real-world experience...which muffler did you use?

oldnavy · **Posted:** Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:44 pm

greiswig wrote:

I've "LOST" track, and it might help others reading this real-world experience...which muffler did you use?

Man I had to go back and look myself, slept since then. :oops:

Flowmaster 40 series. I was going to do a straight through small round one, but didn't want to chance the dredded drone.

I tell you the truth on these diesels I don't think we will see any real difference between brands. The reason being is we all drive differently and under different situations and the mufflers are so similar as to be such a small difference in performance that we would have to be on the track to see any measurable difference. To me I think it all boils down to price and how long the muffler will last for the dollars spent.

fireman1028 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 23, 2005 6:38 pm

I went down to the local Muffler Masters and got a stainless steel Series 40 Flowmaster installed for $90.00.

It now is starting to sound like a diesel. Has anyone else noticed that you can hear the exhaust now under hard acceleration. Not the sound of the muffler, but the actual air coming out of the pipe?

oldnavy · **Posted:** Fri Dec 23, 2005 7:10 pm

No, but the Flowmaster 50 on my Magnum V6 SE.

oldnavy · **Posted:** Sun Jan 01, 2006 3:42 pm

On two fills now the mpg's have been been 21.6 & 22.4 mpg, compaired to the 17.9's and 18.4's of past city driving. However I think it is a little early as yet to jump to conclusions till a couple more tanks have gone through, but yes it does look like we are headed for a good outcome.

Yes I do keep a spread sheet in the laptop.

As a side note my magnum is down to 15 -16 mpg city (normal is 19 to 21 mpg) from the use of gas with 10% methanol added. It averages 6 cents cheaper a gallon (about 5% savings) or at some stations sold as premium and for same price as reugular, but with about a 15% in mpg's I will not be buying any more of that crap unless I have to while on a trip through somewhere like IL.

redcrd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 02, 2006 8:48 pm

What diameter piping is being used from the cat back, with these exhaust upgrades, also is everone eliminating the resonator?

oldnavy · **Posted:** Mon Jan 02, 2006 9:04 pm

There is no resinator on the CRD and all any here has done is just keep it OEM 2 1/2 inches I believe.

dustin23 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:20 am

Hi, which magnaflow did you buy? Have a part # or anything?

Also, given the time that has passed, do you have anything to add? I'm torn between the magnaflow and the flowmater.

Thx!

Magnaflow vs. Flowmaster vs. Stock...long.

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