By Serge Wilson
When CarDomain invited me to take a tour of the Flowmaster factory in Santa Rosa, California, I jumped at the chance. I love to talk to engineers, see how things are made, and watch the process from whiteboard through shipping. The trip to Flowmaster did not disappoint - I learned a lot about the company, a lot about exhaust, and a lot about my own car in the process.
Tucked back in an industrial park, Flowmaster's Santa Rosa operation spans a few buildings. I pulled my 1970 Plymouth Superbird in front of the rollup door and handed the keys to Kevin McClelland, Flowmaster's Research Manager. Lest you think Kevin's a geek with a clipboard, he's an engine building drag racer who's never far from a pair of coveralls. The first order of business was to get my old exhaust off the car. My 'Bird was going to keep its original exhaust manifolds, so everything past that met Mr. Torch. One look at the old exhaust run and you could start imagining where the improvements could be made. It was narrow and crimped, with old, small mufflers. The techs at Flowmaster were kind enough to fashion some custom headpipes for me that ended where you'd expect to find header collectors.
Flowmaster makes an exhaust system that is brand-neutral as far as headers are concerned. This is a great move in terms of offering the customer the freedom of choice to use whatever fits his car and his budget, and then getting a Flowmaster system to mate up and take it home. They've engineered systems for most classic cars to clear the essential parts, glide sleekly under the chassis, and use existing bolt holes for their new, modern hangers. You can see from the pictures how nicely the exhaust fit underneath my 1970 B-Body Mopar.
So what was I looking for in an exhaust system? I had some time to think about it before I made the trip up. As with everything for me, there has to be steak, and there has to be sizzle. The steak is the functionality: the exhaust system has to fit, has to perform well as part of a tuned combustion system, and has to be durable. The sizzle is the aesthetic: the exhaust system has to sound good, look good, and feel good. Measuring the aesthetic is simple, seat-of-the-pants stuff, so we'll get back to that in a minute.
My exhaust fit...but what about someone else's? Flowmaster has them covered. After engineering a fit, the pattern is stored in a computer, a model is kept for comparison purposes, and the mandrel-bending machine cranks out a perfectly fitting duplicate every time. So long as you know what you're driving, getting an exhaust system that fits won't be a problem. As for performance, there are two ways to measure it: science and voodoo. The voodoo was as simple as getting behind the wheel and dropping the hammer after my restrictive old exhaust was replaced with the modern, mandrel-bent Flowmaster system with their 40 Series mufflers. The six-pak secondaries kicked in and I was slammed back in my seat.
So this is what everyone has been saying about six-paks! Next time you are sipping a drink through a straw, pinch the straw and see how much harder you have to work to get the same flow rate. That will give you a good idea at how much your engine will enjoy exhausting through one of these mandrel-bent Flowmaster systems.
That performance didn't happen by accident, it happened by design. The science behind the performance comes from Flowmaster's R&D lab. They've got multiple engines, airflow measurement devices, serious race-car dynos, modeling software, and a team of guys with decades of experience in wringing out the most performance possible from their products. As for durability, the quality is built into the design, the materials, the manufacturing process, and the inspection. Here's an example: a technician keeps the inside of an exhaust run well-lubricated while the mandrel balls are passing through. Why? So as not to scratch up the inside of the exhaust while the tubing is being bent. Scratches invite rust that would otherwise shorten the life of the system. You cannot see it, but that's the level of thinking and consideration for the customer that goes into the Flowmaster product. I saw it all across the production line, where along with worker safety, quality and consistency were evident at every station. When the guys were fitting my mufflers, they whipped out a level to make sure that the bodies were parallell with the earth. Is this absolutely necessary? No. Does it help with performance? Yes. Should you ask your installer to do the same? Yes! As I mentioned, I learned a lot on this visit.
Now, to the sizzle. Every car is different, and every car owner is different. I was looking for a deep, growling exhaust that didn't drone inside the cabin. That's a bit of a tall order, but it was my ideal. Kevin suggested the 40 Series with a 2 1/2" diameter exhaust run and H-Pipe. I'd say he knows his cars, because when he backed the Superbird off the lift, it sounded like the bad-ass Mopar I always knew it was. Inside, when I was driving home, I could talk on the phone and listen to the radio without any difficulty. The system is surprisingly pleasant under light throttle and then roars to life when it's "Go" time! I'm going to finish off the exhaust with tips from Accurate, which should mate up perfectly to the Flowmaster tailpipe. Once again, I've got my choice on what to use before and after the system, which I appreciate.
Exhaust systems are one of those things we don't think so much about - they're under the car so they're not often seen. We don't attend to them until there's a problem. But really...we should! What I learned on my visit to Flowmaster is that there's a lot of potential for power and pizzaz by getting a new exhaust system that's well engineered and well built. I feel like I'm driving a new car - it sounds better, it feels better, and it's got more power on tap. After my experience with the bright, professional, and genuinely nice people at Flowmaster, wherever CarDomain wants to sent me next, I'm ready to go!
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