Anyone remember or use "Sonic Turbo" mufflers?

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myasylum

myasylum

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I guy just gave me two. They have 3" inlets. The look brand new. I guess these are "old school", but are they any good? I'm thinking about just running the exhaust out the side for now. It's pretty cheap just to run the exhaust from behind the door.

Just wondering if anyone had experience with these, if they are junk or whatever. If someone might have a sound clip?? Since these are 3" I assume coming out the side they'd be pretty loud. I just need to quiet the sound of the open headers.

Thanks!
 
They were popular for some time, Probably 80s, Before I was in to cars anyways. They probably flow ok.
 
americian industries "sonic turbo mufflers" those were very good in their day. i used to run a set on a 71 monte carlo i had back in the day. they flowed real good and had a unique sound. i always liked them anyway....
 
I did read that they are Dynomax Turbos now. Dynomax bought them out or something, and those were the first "Turbo" mufflers.
 
Had 'em on all of my cars back in the 80's. They were supposedl to be the best flowing mufflers, back in the day. LOVED 'em! I don't remember a particularly "unique sound", though...
 
They were really good sounding mufflers and were sold in the 80's.
These were bought and installed in 1986 and are still in use.
I just happen to have a few pics from my brother's '64 440 powered B'cuda:

DSCN2169.JPG


DSCN2164.JPG
 
That Brings Back Memories. My First Set Of Turbos Was A Pair Of Sonics. Great Sounding Mufflers. I USED TO TURN THEM DOWN AT THE REAR AXLE.
 
i also remember (could have been the setup) mine would blow in the winter perfect smoke rings! i always thought that was kinda cool....
 
Sonic Turbo mufflers pre-date the 1980s. I ran them on my Dart Sport 340 back in the mid to late 70s. They were a highly regarded muffler. I always loved their deep tone. If you have two new ones, you're a lucky man!
 
They were great mufflers and cheap too. I always liked them, and ran a set on my 60 Impala until I sold it in 1999.

George
 
They are a classic "Turbo" muffler, much like many available today, and at 3" they should also flow more than enough.

They were not however the first "Turbo" mufflers. "Turbo" mufflers were first installed on the 1962 Chevy Corvair Monza Spyder which had a turbocharged engine. Hotrodders soon discovered that the Corvair mufflers flowed great and weren't super loud. The aftermarket has been making mufflers in this basic pattern ever sense. The "Turbo" reference actually has some historic significance and was not just 80's marketing hype (plenty of other things said turbo in the 80's).

Mopar also made a free flowing fairly quiet muffler which was popular with hotrodders. They originally came on Hemi cars and are commonly called "Hemi" muflers. By the 80's the "Turbo" name was winning out, giving us the "Walker Hemi Super Turbo" which was in fact a Hemi muffler and not a Turbo muffler.

In the 90's some clown came up with the "Flowmaster" which didn't flow any better, but made a lot of noise sounding like a rusted-out version of either of the above.
 
I used to run exhaust out each side. It sounded like crap; Almost a hoppy 6 cylinder.
the dynamax turbos I just installed underneath are great; rumble, until you open it up
 
what sold sonic turbos was a dyno test comparison by one of the magazines back in the 80's. They showed like 10 more HP than the nearest competitor. So they sold a ton of mufflers due to that article. Who know if the results were real, fixed or just by chance it worked out with the combination being tested. Back then there was no internet, so magazine tests were gospel.
 
This is purely subjective, but I agree with green1 about the sound of side exhaust. You're only hearing half of the engine when you're close to the car. I never liked that effect.
 
Yep everybody is correct they were old sckool turbo mufflers.
I still have them on my 70 Olds 442 455 nice throaty sound.


myasylum said:
I guy just gave me two. They have 3" inlets. The look brand new. I guess these are "old school", but are they any good? I'm thinking about just running the exhaust out the side for now. It's pretty cheap just to run the exhaust from behind the door.

Just wondering if anyone had experience with these, if they are junk or whatever. If someone might have a sound clip?? Since these are 3" I assume coming out the side they'd be pretty loud. I just need to quiet the sound of the open headers.

Thanks!
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