Ok I only titled that so I can catch everyone's attention.

So I bought my Gibson Exhaust [(Swept Side) it doesn't even exit behind the rear wheel, it's just straight back!], and the noise level sucks! The idle noise is very low, 1800-3000 rpm is not loud as it should be. All of my friend's reactions were "Dave--I'm disappointed..." I bought the Gibson kit, do you think that is the reason why? I was never questioned if I wanted the loud or quiet (double chamber?) product.

I had my friend drive it and I was driving next to the exhaust and man...disappointing.

Do you think I should dump it? [not literally dump it in the trash can, (haha) but cut the pipe and bend it down?

The noise is coming from the muffler, buy a different muffler.

i've always heard that gibson kits, especially the ones for the 2nd gens are some of the quieter exhausts you can buy.

If you wanted a loud exhaust, Gibson shouldnt have been the choice. Should have bought an aftermarket muffler (anybodys really) and removed the factory muffler and placed this new one there instead.

Hope it wasnt too expensive..

MGJ

Well, everything was $373 (exhaust and installation). I don't it's too bad; I called the Gibson technician and he said they didn't make it aggressive because of what the Xterra's are. But hey at least I know my Xterra performs better than most other Xterra's out.

Story:

I got in a race with a BMW X5, I beat it. We hit around the upper 85's and I look back and he's behind my tail. Aren't the X5's supposedly the fastest SUV's out in the market?

X5s are not the fastest. There's Porshe Cayenne Turbo. Now that little son of a...

As far as performance - don't count on that muffler doing much at all, or any muffer in this case. Yes, the backpressure is reduced a little, but there's still piping before the cat that's pretty restrictive and the intake has restrictions as well. Even if you were to do the whole exhaust/intake setup, it wouldn't give you anything appreciable. Not too much at all.

I STILL want one of the new CHEVY "Blazer" Super Sports.... But WHOA GM, 40 G'z???? EFF YUU!


MGJ

Why would you want a loud truck?

How can you sneak in late at night w/o waking people?

you are an idiot if you think xterras are fast

you friend in the X5 must have been nice and held the brake down while he was racing you

The X5's are fast, just because it lost doesnt mean he/she tried... it wouldve killed you, trust me

It depends on what year the X5 was.. And any X5 would smoke a 1999 - 2004 Xterra. A Gen2 X would beat earlier < 2003 X5's though. The new V8 in the BMW though proports to go 0 - 60 in 5.9 seconds, and I don't think any X can match that... But that goes back to the whole Xterra isn't a street racer thing. That is pretty much in line with Gibsons comment about their exhaust - which I agree with.

First of your an Idiot for racing in your Xterra and I am suprised no one told you that. Second off if you would have searched I have posted in numerous threads about the gibsonm exhuast and the fact that it dose not exit out the side. You cant run an exit out the side of the new x's because of how the leaf springs are mounted. And if you want loud go buy a honda and put a fart can on it.

I don't see the point of purchasing an aftermarket exhaust unless the VQ40 had forced induction of some sort. NA would not make THAT substantial of a difference.

anything is better then stock

If you actually want to hear the exhaust tone instead of having a quiet ride, then I guess that would be true.

Howdy, I looked at the gibson ex but the HP gains didn't jive with the cost. Is there a performance shop near you? They may have someone who can do some tubing bends for you. The cost difference shouldn't be to much.

The HP gains never justify the cost. All you people come on here thinking that your gonna get big hp gains from an exhaust and intake and its not gonna happen. If i would have had the extra money i would have dynoed my X before and after my intake and exhaust but i didnt have spare cash for that. with the intake/exhaust combo you might only see 5-10 hp gain total. But thats not why I got them.

I think we all get the intakes/exhausts for the sound. The rumble goes a long way towards making the truck "feel" more powerful. Yes, I think you can feel 10 additional ponies, and yes, the horsepower per dollar ratio sucks. Oh yeah: yes-it's fun to bolt things onto your rig!

Don't forget the stickers are worth at least 10 ponies each.

You need a muffler like Brad (RedX) has. Sounds like a 2 stroke boat motor.....

When I dump the Flowmaster, I shall get me one of them!

I agree with Big DC. SUV racing is like watching retards play chess.

save your cash and go buy something worth making fast.

my super 40 goes on tomorrow, and it isn't for racing.

Flowmaster Super 40 went on today, along with 2.5" from the bolt flange back. Kind of a homemade cat-back (well, not homemade, but...)
Results: It's quieter than I thought it would be, which is good, because I was worried about it being ricey (it DEFINITELY isn't). You can barely hear it at idle, and even during normal driving conditions, it isn't much louder than my intake (cone filter). Under harder acceleration, it sounds nice inside, but still not what I'd call loud. Full throttle sounds great! I got the muffler for $65 on EBay, and the install/tailpipe was $115. The intake/exhaust combo counteracted a large chunk of the oomph I lost by adding 32" Pro Comps...
Super 40 is great. A regular 40 resonates more and might seem louder inside the truck, and I can't imagine buying a 50 series-way too quiet.

The Magnaflow sounds good, not too loud but sounds good.

I actually appreciate the sound of the stock exhaust especially with it being a family hauler.

On another note, I threatened the wife that I was going to make it louder if she can't keep her right foot out of it. She tells me it is too quiet and that makes it hard to judge speed.