Muffler questions...

[KevTN]

Ok now that I have had my truck for about a month i am begining to think mods. Lol. My truck/car mods is extremly limited. Most of my experience is with my past motorcycles. With that said...

First mod i am thinking of is a magnaflow. I like the sound of my truck but would like a bit more agressive sound when I want it. By reading I see the most popular are the 14" and 18". What are the differences between the two? Any performance difference? And how difficult is it to change outnthe stock muffler with the magnaflow? Any special tools?

The second mod i am thinking of, more for the increased mpg, is the Vararam intake. I am not going to do alot offroading so by reading this choice looks like a good choice, and possibly something I can do myself.

Because one of the main reasons I bought the truck was to give us more room for traveling with my daughter softball team I would like to optimize my mpg. Without voiding my warranty. Any suggestions would be appreciated...

Thanks..

 

[shawnb1043]

I have an 18" magnaflow its not loud, little to no interior drone, and has a nice deep tone. I love it. As for vararam i dont think you can beat it. Sounds like a nice mod list. Also consider a Catch can. It may help your mpg and your engine/intake will thank you.

 

[Chewy]

I've NEVER found increasing the airflow into or out of the engine to significantly increase MPG and by the time you've added in the cost of the parts to get you a point on your MPG, it takes quite a while to pay it off. Performance can be gained with these things, but IMO, you don't get anywhere near their potential without a tune.

The Magnaflow being a straight through design means that whether you go with the 14, 18, or 24" the performance should be relatively the same.

I personally went with the 24" which I have yet to install due to RAM taking their sweet time getting me my truck (over 4 months now) so I can't speak on it's sound other than what I heard on YouTube.

I've helped a member install a 14" and it sounded great. Not too loud! I have young kids and a wife and don't want something too loud so the 24" fit my needs.

Good luck!

Chris

 

[Casper]

For DIY bolt-on I'd go Mufflex: A magnaflow muffler of the length you chose and all the stainless steel piping to let you clamp it right into the place where your original equipment muffler used to be. That's whats on my wish list after a Ported Throttle Body. I already have the S&B CAI.

Mufflex has 3 varieties 14, 18 and 24" to meet your preference:
#1 DOD14M = Aggressive. #2 DOD18M = Moderate. #3 DOD24M = Mellow <<<---their description not mine. I find the 14 has a ripping sound to the exhaust note that doesn't appeal to me (but a lot of the gear heads on this forum swear by them--except for the guys who have deleted their mufflers entirley--mufflex does that too).

You can't beat the responsiveness and service at Moe's either.

Mufflex 14" Magnaflow Dual Exhaust 09-Up Ram 1500 5.7L Hemi


You can also buy the muffler alone for less and then find a muffler shop to do the work, but a lot of them use aluminized steel pipe that doesn't last the way the OEM or Mufflex stainless steel will--Moe's has mufflers too.

 

[05singlecabHEMI]

Not sure on the muffler. But I agree with chewy. With the muffler and vararam you should get a tuner. Thatbis where you will see the best mpg and performance. I have a vararam and got about 1mpg from it. Then got the tuner and got close to 5mpg. I am currently sitting at about 15-18mpg average per tank. I would highly recommend a tuner if you are going to be traveling a lot.
It may be a while but tuners pay for themselves.

I have the vararam on my 3rd gen and love it. And people are more amazed with the intake then anything. Its got a cool old school look to it.

 

[KevTN]

Good suggestions...I have thought of tuners but from what i hsve read it seems like they are still buggy for the 13s (but i can wrong).

 

[chuck]

I have the magnaflow 18" as well as the Vararam on mine and I absolutely love the combination. The 18 sounds badass but doesn't get annoying with drone on the highway. People definitely hear you coming with it though.

And the VR really improved my acceleration noticeably, not to mention the orange lid looks great when I have the hood popped. So in my opinion, I say go with the 18" and the Vararam. The 14" would have just been too loud for me since I live in a residential neighborhood.

Hope this helps!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[popcenator]

I was pretty surprised by the 14" Mag. With the windows up its barely noticeable. Windows down its loud when you step on it. Cruising with the windows down and on the highway with the radio at a normal level you can hardly hear it. Bottom line, it's loud when you step on it and not bad at all when cruising.

on the move..

 

[Hemi450hp]

The guys have you pointed in the right direction. If you go with just a standard Magnaflow muffler, you will need to have it welded on by a local shop as the Magnaflow mufflers are much shorter than the stocker...an extra foot of pipe will need to be added to make it fit.

If you prefer to just clamp it on yourself, then you want to go with the Mufflex kit that was mentioned earlier.

As for the intake, you cant go wrong with the Vararam. Now that they have the revised 2013 kits, it is a very tough intake to beat.

 

[KevTN]

Thx...Moe I just read a post of yours that said the Mufflex uses the Magnaflow mufflers...is that correct?

 

[Hemi450hp]

Correct. They use the exact Magnaflow muffler you would be purchasing, but they weld on the added pipe and include clamps so that it becomes a bolt on upgrade that you can install in your driveway.

 

[Chewy]

FYI, most shops would weld the muffler up to aluminized steel pipes whereas the Mufflex use stainless. It keeps the whole system the same, and if you don't like it, remove and reinstall stock.

 

[Soldier of The Law]

Don't rule out the muffler delete. DODM80 (I think). I've been running it for close to 30k miles and I still have a smile on my face. Did a 19hr trip from Philly to Sanibel Florida with my girl and 2 kids. Not a complaint from anyone.

 

[MIKEN]

Noob here so take it easy on me, just purchased my first ever new vehicle 2013 5.7 Hemi
i have been reading forums for a couple days now trying to answer my own questions on several things. (Exhaust/intake) So my stock exhaust is just way to quite for a truck and different exhausts have different tones, so if i may i really like the deep deep tone at idle ( like the way a older charger sounds at idle - (IE diesels car from fast and furious) <--- i know ill probably catch some heat for that but its the only way i can describe the noise im looking for. Further, i can't stand the loud blat blat blat trucks have when they romp on it. Dont need to hear me coming 8 blocks away lol. Read about magnaflo on here/forums, but doesnt really describe tones other than loud or not to loud.. Second the Intake ive been reading about Vararam intakes seems to be everyone/majority favorite, with these two products im understanding a catch can and a tuner will also have to be purchased? I dont plan on using the truck off-road just normal everyday driving back and forth to work.. Thanks in advance guys !!

 

[chuck]

I have the 18" magnaflow and the Vararam, you don't need a catch can or tuner with either one. They're fine by themselves unless you want a catch can and/or tuner.


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[Casper]

Noob here so take it easy on me, just purchased my first ever new vehicle 2013 5.7 Hemi
i have been reading forums for a couple days now trying to answer my own questions on several things. (Exhaust/intake) So my stock exhaust is just way to quite for a truck and different exhausts have different tones, so if i may i really like the deep deep tone at idle ( like the way a older charger sounds at idle - (IE diesels car from fast and furious) <--- i know ill probably catch some heat for that but its the only way i can describe the noise im looking for. Further, i can't stand the loud blat blat blat trucks have when they romp on it. Don't need to hear me coming 8 blocks away lol. Read about magnaflo on here/forums, but doesn't really describe tones other than loud or not to loud.. Second the Intake ive been reading about Vararam intakes seems to be everyone/majority favorite, with these two products im understanding a catch can and a tuner will also have to be purchased? I don't plan on using the truck off-road just normal everyday driving back and forth to work.. Thanks in advance guys !!

First, welcome to Ram Forum.

You do not have to buy a tuner. Catch can is recommended for all Hemi engines even bone stock, but the more bolt ons the more oil mist from the PVC, so the can becomes an even more important protection for your engine.

I agree the shorter mufflers give a blat or ripping note to the exhaust at haul ass. If you remember the movie Space Balls, that would be ludicrous speed!

The 18" or even 24" Magnaflows are still smaller and have less flow restriction than the factory muffler offering immediate improvement in exhaust flow.

Flowmasters are chambered and make noise rather than better flow.

CAIs: The two top choices for Hemi equipped RAMs are Vararam and S&B. Vararam looks old school Hemi and S&B looks almost stock, but S&B provides close to the same level of improvement.


Choices are up to you. It all comes down to your piggy bank and personal preferences.

Relax: You've got a Hemi!

 

[MIKEN]

I have the 18" magnaflow and the Vararam, you don't need a catch can or tuner with either one. They're fine by themselves unless you want a catch can and/or tuner.


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After running the 18" Do you feel like the 14 would be to loud?

 

[MIKEN]

Great feedback thanks guys

 

[MIKEN]

how do you know what the inlet/outlet sizes are? single in single/dual out?

 

[Chewy]

how do you know what the inlet/outlet sizes are? single in single/dual out?

Search! It's been posted a bunch on here. Mufflex is all ready to go though.