"Quiet" performance towing muffler for 2008 Silverado 5.3

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Michigan
Looking for a "quiet" high flowing muffler specifically for towing application.

I read through this post from 2013, but there are more options to pick from now and that's mainly why I am creating a new thread.
Need recommendations on a quiet 3"in/3"out muffler | Bob Is The Oil Guy

I recently purchased a 2008 Silverado Z71 4x4 Crew Cab short box from a friend to tow a 30-foot camper primarily, and a pop-up camper and 5x10 utility trailer occasionally. A new VIN 3 engine with AFM/DOD delete was put in the truck in early 2021, it's got about 10,000 miles on the clock. And no V-4 mode for this thing!

I'm not a loyalist to any specific muffler or exhaust brand.
Looking for something that flows well for towing that is slightly louder than stock and doesn't have any drone, or minimal drone inside the cab with a slight rumble tone. The transmission will shift into OD on flat or descending roads at 65 mph but most of the time it's out of OD towing the 30' Camper on flat/level highway. Trying to avoid hearing excessive drone at highway speeds given the transmission will likely not be in OD MOST of the time.

Kind of leaning towards the Flowmaster 70 series (or possibly Super 50, also looked at the DynoMax Ultra Flow with the 24” long case) but the videos I have watched/listened to make them sound a lot louder than the noise level I am going for. We live in a pretty decent urban neighborhood, and I don't want to annoy anyone.

Wondering if I combined a glasspack with a chambered muffler if that would get me the sound level and flow that I am looking for... (like a cheaper $30-$50 chambered muffler combined with a Longer Glass Pack case length. this was also discussed in the linked thread above). thoughts on this? And which one would I put after the Cat? The Chambered muffler first then the Glass pack or vice versa?

I had a pair of 3" Thrush 2 chamber mufflers on a '68 390FE Galaxie back in the mid-late '00s and I loved the sound (very close to classic Flowmaster 40 but ½ the price), but at certain engine RPMs the drone was nearly unbearable. I also had 3.50 ratio Traction-Lok in the 9-inch, and that was with a 27” dia. tire, so it would sing a pretty good tune on the highway.

If you have vid clips for a specific muffler, I'd love to hear it. Send em my way.
 
I think you're looking for something along the lines of a magnaflow oval muffler. They are very comparable to stock at idle and cruise, but once you get on it, they open up. If you have an offset/offset configuration, I think this would be perfect for what you're looking for.
 
As a guy who owns / has owned 2 Silverados and 2 Suburbans (all with 5.3), I towed moderately heavy with all of these. I used several aftermarket exhaust including Borla, Flowmaster, Magnaflow and various no-name mufflers. if you want quiet, none of the aftermarket fill that bill. The Borla was probably the quietest at low rpm, but was very throaty when pulling. On my last Silverado, I put the stock exhaust back on, due to the constant “drone” on the highway.. If there was a horsepower increase, it was at fairly high rpm, not at normal towing use. If quiet is your objective, leave it stock.
 
The 5.3's need some power added before opening up the exhaust, or low to mid range torque will suffer a bit. Everyone I know who tows with them always end up putting the stock exhaust back on.
 
As a guy who owns / has owned 2 Silverados and 2 Suburbans (all with 5.3), I towed moderately heavy with all of these. I used several aftermarket exhaust including Borla, Flowmaster, Magnaflow and various no-name mufflers. if you want quiet, none of the aftermarket fill that bill. The Borla was probably the quietest at low rpm, but was very throaty when pulling. On my last Silverado, I put the stock exhaust back on, due to the constant “drone” on the highway.. If there was a horsepower increase, it was at fairly high rpm, not at normal towing use. If quiet is your objective, leave it stock.
This.

Closest to stock volume with a bit more performance would be a Dynomax Super Turbo. Anything else will be much louder than stock. The largest case magnaflow you can fit would be a notch louder than the super turbo.
 
I second the Dynomax Super Turbo. Quietest aftermarket muffler I've ever had, and among the top flowing actual mufflers. At higher rpm's I've had them actually quieter than an oem muffer. I haven't had many flowmasters but the ones I have had, produced a drone.
 
This.

Closest to stock volume with a bit more performance would be a Dynomax Super Turbo. Anything else will be much louder than stock. The largest case magnaflow you can fit would be a notch louder than the super turbo.

Largest Case volume/length available? this is their 30" long case 3"in / 3" out Super Turbo
Super Turbo™ - Offset / Offset Muffler - P/N: 17789 - DynoMax® Performance Exhaust

Magnaflow - MagnaFlow 5 X 11in. Oval Straight-Through Performance Exhaust Muffler

Chambered vs straight thru designs I'm sure have their advantages and disadvantages.
I'm definitely leaning away from Flowmaster products at this point. I think the Big Dynomax Super Turbo would probably do the trick.
 
Largest Case volume/length available? this is their 30" long case 3"in / 3" out Super Turbo
Super Turbo™ - Offset / Offset Muffler - P/N: 17789 - DynoMax® Performance Exhaust

Magnaflow - MagnaFlow 5 X 11in. Oval Straight-Through Performance Exhaust Muffler

Chambered vs straight thru designs I'm sure have their advantages and disadvantages.
I'm definitely leaning away from Flowmaster products at this point. I think the Big Dynomax Super Turbo would probably do the trick.
I've run flowmaster, magnaflow, and the super turbo on my Jeeps over the years. I think the Super Turbo is the best option if you want more performance but without drone. They will break-in a bit over time, so even if it is stock sounding when first installed it will get a bit deeper as you put on the miles.
 
Check out Spintech. They’ve got all different shapes & sizes to fit, and they have different loudness levels as well. The best part is the “spin” chambers make your truck sound like nothing else on the road when it’s WFO 😃
 
Gibson?
This company started out as a mom and pop shop building exhaust systems for RV's and later expanded to trucks. I emailed them several times about noise, etc and they quickly responded with accurate responses. I have their stainless cat back systems on the Ranger, Dodge van and the F150. Also have their SS headers on the Ranger. They are not too loud with improved power. The Ranger system went from a stock 1 3/4" system to a 2" system. The van and F150 systems went from 2 1/2" to 3". I've been very happy with them and I did a lot of research before choosing them.

 
I've used Flowmaster Super 50 on a signal muffler 1995 Ford 460 application and it worked well. I've also used the Super Turbo on other trucks and it's quieter with no drone. I don't think you're going to notice much difference in 5000 rpm plus power along with no difference at 3000 to 4000 rpm pulling hills with that trailer, as the factory cam shaft has very little overlap.

If you want more pulling power then consider need deeper gears and a larger motor, IE. 2500 or 3500 series. If the current truck's brakes are adequate, and you like the truck, then the muffler change makes sense.
 
Gibson?
This company started out as a mom and pop shop building exhaust systems for RV's and later expanded to trucks. I emailed them several times about noise, etc and they quickly responded with accurate responses. I have their stainless cat back systems on the Ranger, Dodge van and the F150. Also have their SS headers on the Ranger. They are not too loud with improved power. The Ranger system went from a stock 1 3/4" system to a 2" system. The van and F150 systems went from 2 1/2" to 3". I've been very happy with them and I did a lot of research before choosing them.

Loved my Gibson exhaust on my Durango. Wasn’t obnoxious at all.
 
I have a friend who used to have a mid 2000's Chevrolet Silverado with the 5.3 and he had a Magnaflow exhaust on it and it sounded very good. Not too loud. Not sure what muffler it had though.
 
I would advise against it. You can find a muffler that is reasonably quiet while still offering a touch of more flow, and it may be fine for regular highway use. The thing is, towing is always under load. That “they only open up when you get on it“ thing doesn’t really apply to towing, because you’re always “on it” compared to unloaded. in my experience, the truck will be loud enough if you are doing any appreciable distance.

also, the tech may have changed with the newer transmissions, but the old school thinking is to avoid OD when towing big. Lock it out. It’s not just due to increased pressures when shifting gears, it’s also the theory of the bigger gears physically putting the torque down into a smaller receiving gear set. There’s a lot of heat buildup there. There was a lot of data on this a few years ago…. I think even 4x4 magazine did an instrumented transmission article some years back on it. Your utility trailer and pop up are probably fine, but the 30 footer I’d lock it out. What does the manual for the truck say to do? Does it have a tow mode?

good luck!
 
I would advise against it. You can find a muffler that is reasonably quiet while still offering a touch of more flow, and it may be fine for regular highway use. The thing is, towing is always under load. That “they only open up when you get on it“ thing doesn’t really apply to towing, because you’re always “on it” compared to unloaded. in my experience, the truck will be loud enough if you are doing any appreciable distance.

also, the tech may have changed with the newer transmissions, but the old school thinking is to avoid OD when towing big. Lock it out. It’s not just due to increased pressures when shifting gears, it’s also the theory of the bigger gears physically putting the torque down into a smaller receiving gear set. There’s a lot of heat buildup there. There was a lot of data on this a few years ago…. I think even 4x4 magazine did an instrumented transmission article some years back on it. Your utility trailer and pop up are probably fine, but the 30 footer I’d lock it out. What does the manual for the truck say to do? Does it have a tow mode?

good luck!
Yep… when I towed an enclosed uhaul with my truck that has a flowmaster 40 series on it it was annoying.
 
Not sure how much umph any muffler is going to give you alone w/o doing some type of headers/intake/CAI setup. On my Blazer w/400 cui I'm running dual exhaust with (2) 2.5" Flowmaster 50 series, headers, Edelbrock "towing" intake manifold, cam, 600 CFM carb and open air cleaner. Absolutely zero drone at highway speeds or any speed/rpm for that matter. You have to get a motor to breath to make more power.
 
I’ve run ultraflows on my F100. They sound nice but aren’t quiet, The shorter ones in particular are loud - but they don’t drone.

Flowmaster super 50 on a 3.0 Ranger drones a bit… but it’s not horrible, Nothing like super 40s.
 
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