Flowmaster news

To many a racing enthusiast, hearing the roar of their engine alone is an exhilarating experience in and of itself. Mostly transmitted through the exhaust system of the vehicle, this roar can become very loud – so loud, in fact, that many small circuits have imposed sound limits for the sake of their spectators as well as the drivers. Thusly, mufflers were created to lessen the volume. However, these mostly inhibited exhaust outflow while they blocked sound. These mufflers thereby affected engine performance negatively – until Ray Flugger, founder of Flowmaster performance exhaust, created a muffler that improved exhaust gas outflow while producing great sound.

With years invested in research and development, Flugger created the Power Chamber – a chamber within the muffler which builds negative pressure for sucking out waste gases out of the exhaust system. With the engine exhaling more easily, it was able to produce more horsepower and torque. In fact, Flowmaster Mufflers improve performance so much as to be credited for many circuit successes up to this day.

While the original and subsequent models of Flowmaster Mufflers also kept the tones racers love at allowable levels, the company continually improved upon the design so far as to develop and create the most finely-tuned muffler in the world: the Delta Force race muffler with Delta Flow Technology.

How fine-tuned is this muffler? To be able to answer this question, we must first describe its components and their respective functions. Firstly, it features a Resonant Tuning Chamber that captures and negates specific sound frequencies. This decreases the resonance that can permeate the interior of the vehicle. Secondly, its Low Pressure Balance Chamber prevents atmospheric pressure from entering the exhaust system and robbing the engine of power. Thirdly, Delta Flow Technology augments sound control with advanced noise cancellation. It accomplishes this by separating and recombining pulses at precise phase shifts. This Technology also improves upon the Power Chamber design by using multiple deflectors instead of just one. These deflectors reduce exhaust turbulence even further, and thereby provide faster and more complete elimination of exhaust gases. This ultimately results in unmatched increases in horsepower, torque, and fuel economy.

However, all of these performance improvements come at a steep price: the deflectors must be placed precisely upon exact specifications. This is where the fine-tuning comes in. Every component of the Delta Flow muffler is set by a Precision Construction Electronic Sensor to a tolerance of +/-0.004 inches. This means that every piece in the actual product will only differ from its design in terms of placement by only 0.004 inches! OEM manufacturers only require specifications that are half as tight, yet Flowmaster’s dedication to its craft now enables it to accomplish the tightest specifications in the industry.

All of this means that Flowmaster is committed to winning as much as every serious racer. This is why Flowmaster remains to be the top choice among racers and racing enthusiasts alike. Just like how the engine roar thrills the spirit, the cheers and applause of victory invigorate it even more.

It is known that Flowmaster mufflers are one of the best there is today, but how do these exhaust parts become like these? Numerous tests and research had to be done to ensure each part’s efficiency.  Flowmaster said that real-time track and highway testing are done, but aside from that its own SuperFlow dynamometer perfects each muffler and exhaust part for the optimum performance.

Flowmaster also uses Bruel & Kjaer real-time spectrum analyzer that takes care of the muffler and exhaust system research and development. According to Flowmaster, “not only can the analyzer be used to measure sound levels, it can also be used to fine-tune exhaust tone and locate unwanted vehicle interior resonance sources.”
Flowmaster also has a SuperFlow SF-7100 Engine test system which is a water brake engine dynamometer capable of determining endurance and performance. According to Flowmaster, “the brake will absorb up to 2000 lb-ft of torque and the computer-controlled system will record up to 50 separate channels of data each dyno pull.”
Along with this facility, Flowmaster is also equipped with a SuperFlow SF-840 chassis dyno. It is a Inertial type chassis dyno that is controlled by Eddy Current electric brakes through a dual computer. The dyno can keep the vehicle steady and can power up to “1000 hp at the rear wheels, and a 200 mph top speed.”

From these technologically advanced procedures come high quality mufflers that can increase horsepower, torque and fuel economy while minimizing exterior sound levels and reducing interior resonance of the vehicle. One of these is the Delta Force race mufflers. Backed by the Delta Flow technology, this muffler “provides superior scavenging of exhaust gases.” It achieves this by using multiple deflectors, which has an advantage over a single deflector because the multiple deflectors reduce the chance of turbulence.

Performance can be heard and that is what Flowmaster does best.

Source: http://www.flowmastermufflers.com/dyno.html

As Ray Flugger, founder of Flowmaster mufflers, dwell on new designs for the track, his basic design has not yet been finalized. In order to perfect the engineering, Flugger used shoe leathers and worked with racers at drag strips and racetracks all over the country. It wasn’t long that he developed the balancing chamber, the Power Chamber. He was alos make notable contributions to exhaust engineering like header length and configuration for several major race teams.

Flugger continued to developed his ideas and did more dyno testing, worked on velocity improvements inside the muffler and really understand the operation of the muffler as it develop peak torque and velocity.
To prove the performance boost his muffler design is capable of, Flugger tested on circle track cars, drag racers and at Sebring with Jack Roush. He visited these locations and offered his mufflers along with developing the engineering together with various racing teams. His muffler would be fitted with a handle from a suitcase and later became known as Flugger’s Suitcase Mufflers.
Flugger’s Suitcase Mufflers proved to be great engineering as more racers felt the edge it gave them and helped them comply with sound regulations imposed on many small circle tracks across the country.
Until today, many racing victories are attributed to the edge that Flugger’s chambered mufflers gave.
In celebration of the success, Ray Flugger made a limited special stainless Signature Edition,Classic Two-Chamber Muffler. Only 1,000 units were made and each of these was personally etch-autographed, and numbered by Flugger.
Source: flowmastermufflers.com

Ray Flugger, founder of Flowmaster performance exhaust, had much technological advancement and perfected the chambered muffler design.

According to Flugger, “It all started when I realized that there had been virtually no new technology developed for exhaust since just after World War II. We knew open exhaust changed performance but no one could pinpoint quite what was happening or really whether it was a plus or minus situation. I started to figure out just what went on inside the exhaust system and discovered there was a lot of interaction happening.”
Flugger then concentrated on the existing muffler design and found that almost all the designs inhibited exhaust flow. “I remember testing traditional glass-pack mufflers and found they restricted flow yet produced a pleasing rounded frequencies I wanted. That got me thinking about how I could design a muffler that could improve flow and create a great sound.”

He then researched further until he came across an old motorcycle magazine discussing the “the impact of exhaust flow on headers and confirmed how the exhaust pulse involved sound, heat and airflow.”

This newly confirmed fact only made him realize that in order to improve time horsepower and torque, combining valve overlap, head designs, tubular structure and muffler design are needed.
A lot of trial and error went to his designs until it became the Flowmaster-chambered mufflers known today.
According to Flugger “I could feel it in my bones that I finally had the engineering concept right! I knew that I needed to perfect it, and that’s what we did over the next ten years!”
Source: flowmastermufflers.com