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Exhaust pictures wanted!! And exhaust questions..

46K views 35 replies 16 participants last post by  DrivenDaily 
#1 ·
Hey there. I am looking for some pictures of everyone's aftermarket exhaust setups. I specifically want pictures from underneath, or under the rear to see piping and muffler placement. 3.6l preferably as thats what i have but if the exhausts are close to the same on the 3.5 then it should work..

Anyone done an X pipe to true duals? Is there even room?

What is the factory pipe diameter?

My plan right now is axle back, y-pipe, 2.5" to dual thrush mufflers out of 4" Tips..

TIA
 
#2 · (Edited)
Here's what I did to my '09 3.6 at a shop. Yanked the stocker off, installed Y-pipe, 2 resonators, 2 45-elbows, and stock tips. In the process we were able to correct the left side being lower than the right. Both resonators were installed the same direction with the "A" end as the inlet.







 
#6 ·
Here's what I did to my '09 3.6 at a shop. Yanked the stocker off, installed Y-pipe, 2 resonators, 2 45-elbows, and stock tips. In the process we were able to correct the left side being lower than the right. Both resonators were installed the same direction with the "A" end as the inlet.
Interesting welds.
 
#4 ·
Mine looks the same, except it is just straight pipe, no extra mufflers or resonators.
I have a video of it.

 
#5 ·
Be VERY careful what you do. I have yet to hear a 2.4 or 3.6 that sounded good to me with aftermarket exhaust. They seem to usually sound like a tractor, unrefined, and not clear at all. Plus you will gain next to nothing power wise no matter what anybody tells you. Sound is all an opinion, but I just don't think they sound good....plus a Malibu isn't really a car that lends itself to loud exhaust. I heard a 3.6 with a flowmaster the other day, awful! Only cat-back that didn't sound bad was a Magnaflow. All IMO of course....
 
#7 ·
Thank you guys very much for the pictures.. I have been youtube'n camaro 3.6l's with exhaust and personally I think they sound pretty descent. I have noticed a sound difference depending on were the mufflers are mounted. With a single muffler there is more of a raspy sound with a popping when revs come down. But less popping and less raspy running two mufflers closer to the tips. From what I can tell other then transverse mounting the camaro and malibu 3.6l's are the same?
 
#8 ·
Flowmaster, Camaro 3.6l 13hp and 20ft lbs gain. Not expecting that much on a malibu since it is a single pipe/muffler system. But personally think it sounds good and smooth all the way through the revs...
 
#11 · (Edited)
Welding was admittedly rough, but since it was tucked up under I tried to put it out of my mind.

When I do my '11 I'm going to use clamps to set it all up and then take it to a muffler shop to weld.
 
#14 ·
I personally wouldn't touch the exhaust on this car. It's a family car, not a boy-racer.
 
#15 ·
I agree to an extent. I personally think the stock exhaust note sounds pretty good, and you wouldn't want to mess up the Malibu's low end. On the other hand, the video I posted of an Aura sounded pretty good too.
 
#16 ·
Just a note from my experience with my '09. It had plenty of low end, and the tones in the 2000-3000 rpm range were not an issue on the highway since I cruised way below that. Only heard 'em when I was getting on it. I also believe that it got me more mpg, but I'll know that better once I get my '11 done and drive it some.
 
#17 ·
Where's JeffreyRosskopf? He's got a tasteful exhaust upgrade where they swapped the stock splitter for dual flowmasters. Looks great with the mufflers right behind the rear valance cutouts and doesn't sound like a ricer, no offense to users who like that kind of exhaust note.

This is his video from his Malibu showoff thread:

 
#19 ·
Where's JeffreyRosskopf? He's got a tasteful exhaust upgrade where they swapped the stock splitter for dual flowmasters. Looks great with the mufflers right behind the rear valance cutouts and doesn't sound like a ricer, no offense to users who like that kind of exhaust note.

This is his video from his Malibu showoff thread:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdgaAhWkF_A&feature=player_embedded
ha im glad you like my exhaust i have some pictures from underneath if you need them
 
#18 ·
Thanks a lot cp. Thats exactly what I am looking at doing. Just wish I could get pictures from someone with a like setup from underneath. Im planning on doing this myself so i want to have everything ready before I tackle it.

And from what others have said yes I know this is a malibu/family sedan and personally I wouldn't do this if mine was stock. But it is not stock and with the sporty feel and look I would like it to sound sporty aswell. Plus 1 pony or 10 every pony counts.. :)
 
#21 ·
I too would like to see pics of what your exhaust looks like underneath.
 
#32 ·
Is there anything that can be done on a stock setup? I was thinking some sort of 'Exhaust Port and Polish'. I didn't take apart anything on the exhaust side yet. But I saw a picture once on a topic in here that showed the end of the exhaust manifold. To me, there's was something to be done to improve airflow wise.
 
#33 ·
No matter what is done to the exhaust, or any other part of the drivetrain for that matter, the PCM isn't going to know anything other than the stock setup thus not doing anything. Putting exhaust on almost any vehicle is going to be for sound changing. It really isn't worth doing unless the car can be tuned to actually gain power, even then exhaust isn't the first thing to do.
 
#34 ·
OK, so here's my 2 cents.

On my '09 3.6 I got rid of the stock muffler. I put on a Y-pipe, 2 straight-thru resonators, a 45 elbow on each, and the stock tips.

When I looked inside the stock muffler where it entered on the side (yes, the side!), it ran smack dab into a wall that forced it to turn. Imagine the top of a T. The exhaust enters at the bottom and runs to the top. Part of making an exhaust flow more efficiently is reducing the restrictions. By removing the stock muffler I immediately removed the wall that did nothing but stifle the flow. I not only got what I considered to be a better exhaust note, I also got better performance and mileage.

I'll be doing the same or similar to my '11 3.6 some time this year. I expect to have the same improvement as before.

In simple terms the engine is an air pump. It just happens to have little explosions going on inside to keep it turning on its own. If there are significant restrictions in the flow it will be less efficient at moving the air. To me that means it'll take more fuel to keep it pumping.

I would also agree that to get the most from any mods you would need to have the PCM tuned to maximize the gains. But to think that GM or any other manufacturer makes things as efficient as they can isn't taking into account the business end of decisions. If the bean counters can't reliably suggest that adding $10 worth of changes to a car will result in more than $10 worth of increased sales (using the business tools they use) then the decision is likely to be nixed. They're in it to make money, not friends.
 
#36 ·
Okay, so here it is 2 years later than my post above and here's an update (or two).

In 2011, after purchasing my '11 in October 2010, I asked a shop to put on a Y-pipe, add MagnaFlow 70's, and then mount my stock tips. What I got was a T, a pair of 40's (too loud!!!), 90° bends at the inlets, the mufflers being visible from the back, and the tips directly welded to the mufflers. Sounded great only at full throttle - anything less was just too much drone. His "fix"? - Cut the part of the pipe that goes around the gas tank and put in a glass pack. I was in a hurry since I was leaving for a long trip in a few days.

Needless to say the trip netted me some great mileage numbers, but at the cost of my ears. On the return trip (we had 2 drivers going over, just me driving coming back) I was running 75-85 all day long in the mountains of WV, VA, and KY and got 29.5 mpg!

On returning to the shop and asking to have the 40's replaced with something quieter I still got "regular" mufflers with 90° bends at the inlets and had to toss the stock tips. Glass pack was still in.

A year later I went to the guy who did my '09 (should've gone to him first!) and had him do what he did to my '09. He pulled the glass pack out and put in a pipe, put in a Y where the T was, made 45° bends to the round muffler/resonators, and then installed new chrome tips similar to my stock ones, except these have a Bowtie embossed in them. Nice lookin', too! Me happy! :)

There is a little more drone than I'd like but not enough to worry about. At 75 mph I get about 27-29 mpg and at a cruise-controlled 60 I have gotten over 34 mpg. (Search for my posts where I lay out the details if you want.) At 65 I still get over 30 mpg, and this is on a car with a 3.6L V6!

When the first attempt was removed in favor of what I have now it was revealed just how poor of a welder the glass pack shop was. There was a hole on the top where the pipe did a 90° at the inlet and it was about the size of a quarter! Big ol' glob of weld all over that never sealed the hole. I was blowing exhaust straight up onto the floor of my trunk. Glad it's gone!

If I had it to do all over again I would first see what just removing the front resonator would do. It's huge and right in the middle of the tunnel. Heck, I might do that anyhow just to know. (I'm curious as all git-out and just can't seem to stop sometimes! ;))

If I find out anything I'll post it somewhere on this forum, either here in this thread or in a new one.

So, the guy whose welds were not that pretty is the guy who made the second effort on my '11 and who I'll go back to again. At least his stuff works!
 
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