Flowmaster 409S Exhaust
Installed a new Flowmaster 409S exhaust yesterday. Wanted to explore doing something 'different.'
Required 1h 35m to remove stock exhaust; 1/3 of that was pulling out tools it seemed. Oh, and drinking a beer. A number of folks it seems, simply head in with a sawsall, destroy the OEM system, and are done in 15 minutes. That's an expensive item to destroy needlessly. Who knows I may want to sell it. Or, perhaps put it back in. Either way, wanted to preserve my options.
Installation itself wasn't terribly difficult. I did finally have to go buy a die grinder. I'd forgotten about the locator nub on the OEM Y-pipe. That
has to be removed for this install; it's that tight. One thing I did do was go grab the impact wrench. Even with a breaker bar, it still take a chunk of elbow grease to truly clamp down the new clamps. Hard to do while also holding the pipe in just the right place. Impact wrench, it's not quite like using instant glue
.
The fit is very precise. Last time I did 'real' exhaust work was before my first stainless exhaust on an '87 Lancer. Back then, you could be +/- 1" and still have excess space. Here, more like
maybe 3/4". It is tucked up high and tight. The exhaust time (chromed, though you'll never see it) is basically flush with the bottom of the frame.
The exhaust is fairly quiet --though ever present- through much of the RPM range. Louder than stock but no big deal. Between about 2500 & 3000 it definitely wakes up and announces its presence with a reverberating growl. The more you lean into the skinny pedal the sharper the bite and wider the rpm range.
Maiden voyage was to Ann Arbor for coffee with friends this morning. As someone who has always preferred generally silent vehicles, this will require some mental adjustment
. Felt 16 years old for a bit, like a kid with a noisy car at high school
.
On the expressway not bad. The stock exhaust you rarely hear, almost never over the wind noise. The 409S is ever-present. At 75MPH you can tell it's there, regardless of wind noise (or relative lack thereof). On an up-hill grade, it's unmistakably present. Not 'loud' by any stretch, but its enough to begin impacting casual discussion (as my passenger and I noted). Going up a ~5% grade might be equivalent to pulling an enclosed 6x10 trailer at 75 on flat land. As someone who tows trailers a lot, frequently through mountainous regions, listening to this all day long may be a deal killer.
The jury is still out. I'll mentally adjust. I like it but not quite sure it's the 'right' exhaust for the JK per se. Hear a Dodge Charger growl? Sounds a lot like that.
The real question will be my wife. We have a road trip in two weeks
