Flowmaster 817480 American Thunder Cat-back Exhaust System

I'm giving this exhaust five stars with the caveat that it must be understood what its function is: to be the loudest, throatiest exhaust you can have for your LX platform V8. The guy who rated it one star is correct; there is a drone that is pretty obnoxious from approximately 2000-2500 RPMs. And it is even worse when it's operating on four cylinders. If you can, it's probably worth it to disable the MDS that Chrysler 300Cs and Charger RTs have from the factory. It probably doesn't save you much gas anyway since the four operating cylinders have to push and pull the pistons (and all the other moving parts) of non-operating ones around during this time. I know that can't be too efficient. In my experience (I've had this exhaust on my 08 Charger RT for about seven months)the exhaust sounds fine right at 65 mph. Any faster and I experience the drone. At 85 mph (when the engine speeds are higher), the drone goes away and all you can hear is the good sound of the exhaust. Other than wind roar, of course. But going 85 mph is risky for obvious reasons too since in most states that is going to be 15-20 mph over the limit. So the sweet spot of where you want to be for interstate cruising is right in the nasty spot where it drones. I try to drive around the drone whenever I can. If you feel that is something that will be detrimental to your enjoyment of the car, then you should probably buy the system with resonators. Let's just say I would not want to give my grandmother or other person of normal sensibilities a ride due to the drone. All that being said, this system sounds like an absolute blood-curdling demon out of hell when you step on it. Zero to sixty will never be the same again. I seriously doubt that there is a more monstrous sounding exhaust availbale for the LX Hemi platform. The first day I had this exhaust on the car, I floored it away from every stoplight with all the windows down just to bask in the glory of all that fury. If you live in the nasty rust belt like I do, then your enjoyment of this aspect will be curtailed during the winter; it doesn't sound as awesome with the windows up. Everyone else around you will appreciate the sound as well...either that or they will hate you for it (hybrid weenies, et al). And that's just fine with me. If you're like me, you occasionally get a little thrill by gunning it past a Prius. I had my windows down the other day since it was briefly 60 degrees in nasty Ohio and one sprint to 60 was all I needed to be reminded why I bought this exhaust. As for power, I did not notice any difference in low end torque but up top in the revs, it felt like it had a little extra HP. Just a seat of the pants evaluation. I also have a K & N CAI that I believe made no difference (except it looks cool). I'm sure it now has freer breathing all the way around but I didn't notice any improvement in fuel mileage. It was easier to install the new system than it was to get the old one off the car. The reviewer who said that he got it off in 20 minutes...he must be a mechanic with a lift. I backed the car up on ramps to access the exhaust and that provided enough clearance to fairly easily work on it. There are YouTube videos on Charger exhaust removal and I highly reccomend channel lock pliers to remove the old system from the hangers. I had a buddy helping me (neither of us are mechanics) and once the old exhaust was loose it would not come off. The car had about 60k miles on it at the time and the orginal X-pipe was just about fused to the "header" or catalytic converter pipes. Using jack stands to support the exhaust we eventually decided to wrap a chain around part of the pipes and he pulled on it while I tried to guide it. I don't know if that was the best or smartest way (surely it wasn't) to remove it but it worked and I don't believe it damaged the headers or cats. Another annoyance is that the old exahust is essentially in two main pieces. If you aren't familar, there is a large, single "suitcase" muffler in the center of the car, It is welded to the X-pipe on the front. That wouldn't be so bad except that it is also welded to just one of the rear exit pipes (which is welded to the resonator). The other rear exit pipe simply unbolts and comes off. Why they didn't make both sets of resonators and their pipes unbolt is beyond me. So when you are finished removing the system, what you are left with is one resonator and short pipe as one unit (easy to handle) and one unit of resonator, suitcase muffler, and X-pipe (difficult to handle). It is about nine feet long and is kind of heavy and very awkward. If you ever plan on transporting it, you will need a truck or van. You could cut the resonator section off but that will hinder future efforts for putting the system back into service. If you are going to scrap it, I would say go ahead and cut it for convenience. I sold my old system for $120 on Craigslist to a V6 Charger owner so you may be able to partially subsidize the cost of the new system, which is nice. You might want to make sure you want to stick with the new system before selling, though. It took approximately four hours to remove the old system and install the Flowmaster. Not too bad and if you do it on Saturday morning, there will still be plenty of cruising time (believe me, you will want to show it off). After the old one is off, bolting the new system up is a fairly simple affair. Just make sure you get the mufflers on straight since people in cars behind you can see them hanging under the car (I'm fastidious). I had no issues with fitment and the tips lined up perfectly with the cutouts in the bumper cover. Mine is just bolted on and I probably will leave it that way though it might be a good idea to at least spot weld the tips to prevent theft. I've checked all the connections for tightness and they've all been perfect since installation and required no attention. The tips still look good and the salt does not seem to affect them (again, rust belt). You will probably want to clean them often just make sure nothing happens to the finish...the evils of salt knows no bounds. I think there might be a bit of corrosion on the pipes leading back from the mufflers but it might just be road grime. I'll double check that sometime...my thought is that stainless steel should not corrode for quite sometime. If the pipes rust away, I would certainly change my rating. Oh one more thing...I think all LX V8s have the manual shift capability; I don't use mine too much, but when you decelerate, if you downshift, you will hear a beautiful V8 burble out back as the engine winds down. Absolutely nothing like it; it sounds like the 1960s...at least the way I'd imagine them since I was born in the 80s. Perfect for muscle cars; this system really wakes up the Hemi. Five Stars...but you have to know what you are getting into.

I recently bought this exhaust system for my 2007 Dodge Charger R/T and I love it! It really gave my charger that muscle car sound I have been looking for. This system is the loudest they make and it definitely doesn't disappoint. The noise is the loudest when you are accelerating which is awesome but it is quiet in the cab once you get up to around 45-50 mph. It doesn't create any cabin noise when you are driving at high speeds on the highway. If you are looking for something that has quality muscle car sound without having a hum in the cabin at high speeds this is the best system to buy. Not to mention the tips give your Charger more of a muscle car look. This system really makes your Charger stand out from the rest! The only con I have is that I bought this in August 2012 and I only paid about 435 for this item and it looks like it has gone up a lot in price since then. Also after searching the web and comparing many car part sites amazon did have the lowest price at the time. Overall this is an awesome exhaust system and I am very happy with the product!

I am very happy with this product. It has a loud, mean, and aggressive sound. Yes, it does have a bit of a drone noise & vibration around 2000 to 2200 RPMs. I purchased this exhaust to be heard, so if I have alittle drone guess that is the price of bussiness.

I bought this exhaust system expecting it to be loud. It is way louder than I ever imagined. It is not only the loudness, it is the resonating noise it makes at 2200 rpms. It is so bad, it gives me a headache every time I drive my car. I could not be more disappointed with the system. I even took it to the local muffler shop to have resonators install, but it didn't help at all. It is terrible. I have spent a lot of money trying to get the sound to go away and it will not. The problem gets even worse when the car shifts from 8 to 6 cylinders. You want to stick ice picks in your ears. I am going to have the mufflers replaced next week. Huge waste of money. I contacted flowmaster about it, and they where super sarcastic and told be that I bought the loudest and most aggressive exhaust system they make. Well, thank you captain obvious. The problem is not with the loudness, it is with the resonation. Can't wait to get the mufflers off my car. If I could give it 0 stars, I would.

This system sounds great, but like a few others have said it does have a annoying drone between 2000 & 2200 RPM's. I had a few fitment issues, drive shaft was rubbing on the mid mufflers, had to dismantle & cut a inch off the mid pipe to push the mufflers further forward, mounting brackets was not on straight & had to cut & re-weld them back on vertically. When people say they fitted it in 20 minutes, they're lying & try more like 5 hours. As for the drown I'm going to see if it goes away when I get my Diablosport tuner & turn the MDS off. I was going to get the OBX system, but it's not well known like Flowmaster, love the sounds on YouTube, still curious about the OBX & have the factory exhaust still just incase. Hope this review helps & incase you decide, I only hope yours don't have the problems I did with the mounts.

I replaced a very loud Magnaflow with this and am very pleased. It still has that great growl when your foots on the accelerator, but is a lot quieter at lower RPMs and idle. Plus it looks great. Installed it by myself, very easy to do if you can safely get under your car.

Put this on my o7 charger rt. Was able to get by w using just the clamps no welding. fit was correct and nice. Didn't have to make any modifications. quality of product is good. However highly disappointed w the sound. Sounds good when engine first starts, is loudest between 2000 and 2500 rpm, then the sound falls off even hammering on it. My fuel mileage actually dropped from almost 22mpg to almost 20mpg. I wish i had gone w the loudmouth or borla system. i expected more out of a 700 dollar exhaust system.

Nice fitting system. Sounds good on my 5.7 Hemi 300C with Kooks longtube headers. The Super-40 mufflers have that aggressive chambered sound but aren't overly loud. There is some deep resonance around the 2500-2800 rpm range but nothing too bad.

Quick and easy. Fantastic exhaust system. Amazing seller.

perfect

Sounds good and went on in no time at all.