2015 Silverado Muffler Swap - The Muffler GM SHOULD Have Used

See the update video here!
2015 Silverado - Best stock-ish sounding exhaust and other mods
• 2015 Silverado - Best ...
I took a $40 Magnaflow knockoff muffler from RockAuto.com, the Cherry Bomb Salute SA2589, and installed it with some genuine hackery on my otherwise stock 2015 Silverado with a 5.3.
The sound volume is barely louder than stock. But the tone and rumble are more noticeable. Which is exactly what I wanted. Eventually I'll install full 3" from the cat back and remove that resonator behind the axle. That should really liven the sound up.
Another unintended gain was an increase of 1.5-2mpg per tank. I've ran about 2-3 tanks through it by the time I uploaded and the reduced restriction over the stock muffler has given me some improved fuel economy.
All said and done, it took me probably 45 minutes and the HP and MPG gains are definitely worth it. Plus, it's not "stock" now. Thanks for watching!

[@dajoway]

Very simple to do ! With minimal work! Sounds really nice! Thanks for the video!

[@etspaulding]

Thanks for watching 👍🏻

[@100amps]

Good demonstration. Sound was fine. I didn't know about the C.B. clone of a Magnaflow, so thanks! Yeah, those L83 engines really are great. I'd love to throw one in my project '79 Corvette. But they're still pretty pricey in the junkyard market compared to an older 6.0L.

[@etspaulding]

I’ve been really impressed with the 5.3/6l80/3.42 combo found in the later Gen 4 and early Gen 5 setups. We grabbed another Suburban because how much we liked the platform and it’s a later Gen 4.

[@kevinsmith475]

I really liked the vid man!! I just bought a 2014 silverado. great visual on the install process. I'm looking for a deeper tone without being too loud because I drive to customer's houses for work and don't want to sound like a douche, Thanks for the info!

[@etspaulding]

You're welcome. I don't think I mentioned in the video, but you should gain a few HP just with the muffler swap because of the less restrictive exhaust.

[@frederickdouglass7517]

Sounds great! Reminds me of the factory exhaust note on the 2007-2013 body style GM trucks. Don't know why GM went so quiet on the 2014 and newer trucks. Anyway I ordered the same muffler from Rock Auto yesterday and it will be a great addition to me 2007 Sierra Classic. Thanks

[@etspaulding]

Thanks! Hope it works well for you, too. The tone has really filled out nicely after getting broke in.

[@snivesz32]

Regarding your future plans for 6.2 TB and manifold swap and intake tube, you realize you’ll need to retune after changing each one of those things. So factor in the price of tuning services. Also I think the only material gain will come from the long tube headers which ironically don’t require a tune.

[@etspaulding]

Truck is since sold. This is based on my experience only. I did eventually add the 6.2 TB and IM (and a handheld tuner, which is not the same as a custom tune) and it performed great with zero issues. No code. No idle issues. Started up perfectly the first time and drove immediately with no problems. There were definite gains on the butt dyno with zero driveability issues. If I changed the MAF size then it would need a tune, but the truck learned the bigger TB and IM flawlessly. So no, it doesn’t need a tune with the 6.2 TB and IM, but a tune will only help.

[@StellsBellz]

Hey Eric. This is good information. So the Silverado exhaust is 2.75 I believe. What size straight pipe did you use to make your end pieces? 3”? This is all new for me. That muffler is $58 now. Lol. Inflation at its finest.

[@etspaulding]

Right, the factory exhaust is like 2.75” so a 3” ID more or less slips over the factory piping. I ended up having a muffler shop essentially install a 3” catback using my muffler and did a resonator delete. One of these days I’ll sit down and put together a short update video on it. The exhaust sound level now is pretty much reasonable for a stock-ish truck and will be perfect when I install headers. If you didn’t want it as quiet, you could get the smaller bodied version of this muffler for probably a little cheaper.

[@StellsBellz]

@@etspaulding I see. Thanks for the response. I was thinking more or less the same setup. I’m not looking to piss the neighbors off too much in the early mornings. Very informational video, thanks again.

[@EkulGgats]

I see mentions of the resonator muffler etc below, how much of a difference in flow was this supposed to make? I'm mostly interested in the freer flow, My vehicle is a 1988 Suburban offroad build that I just want to mostly breathe better and make more power.

[@etspaulding]

My butt dyno actually felt a difference. Probably frees up a few (5-10 hp) if I had to guess. Resonator delete made the biggest sound difference.

[@karldawnlang8936]

Kool.

[@etspaulding]

Thanks for watching 👍🏻

[@vincemajestyk9497]

Those parts store clamps and extension pipes and adapters are REALLY cheap thin metal. Don't expect them to last too long. For an emergency patched system I got a year or little longer from that junk. You can go to a regular muffler shop and ask for a couple sections of pipe and they'll even expand then for you. At least twice the thickness of that Advance stuff. Those mufflers are Chinese and just about all the major brands, except Dynomax, Borla, and Magnaflow have a version of this exact Chinese muffler. Summit used to sell them for $36 a few months ago. I'd be curious how they hold up. They're 409 stainless and thinner than a mild steel version of that type muffler. The thin gauge 409 tends to crack sometimes because of the hardness, especially around the welds. If I was in the market for that type of economy muffler I would get the Salutes. I called AP or Cherry Bomb and they lied to me and said those mufflers are made in Loundonville, TN. BS!

[@etspaulding]

I had the muffler welded in finally. It’s still holding up just fine. No cracks or leaks and the steel wrapping is good because it hasn’t become ridiculously loud! Yes, they are a cheap knockoff. I was under the impression that these were made alongside the big name brands in the same Chinese factories with nearly identical part numbers across brands, just different packaging and labels. If the major brands are USA made it would be a reasonable price to pay and keep the business here, IMO.

[@vincemajestyk9497]

@@etspaulding Yes, That is correct. They are all made probably at the same plant. Flowmaster FlowFX, AP Xlerator, etc. The only US made mufflers I know of are Borla, Magnaflow, and Walker Dynomax, although most if not all of Thrush brand are Chinese. That salute looks like a nice muffler. Was thinking of getting some myselft a while back.

[@97JoMiller]

do you have a break down of the size of pipe you bought or the exhaust clamps that you purchased? I'd really like to order this soon as I just want a nice deep tone but don't want anything super loud, I just want it to sound like a truck and honestly a little move volume would be nice.

[@etspaulding]

You’d be ahead of you just bought the muffler and had a pro weld it in. I ended up doing the resonator delete and a full 3” catback. Well worth the $$. I don’t recall now, but it was only $75-$100.

[@97JoMiller]

@@etspaulding we have a pretty cheap muffler shop in Columbus, I was thinking about going with them and just having them do it as well as I also thought about having them just do the muffler delete first and if it ended up being too much then having them put that muffler in instead. right now I'm just toying with ideas to make this work. I own a truck, not a prius lol

[@etspaulding]

@@97JoMiller do it! I’m going to change this big muffler out for the small one eventually.

[@hdrolling]

Most of these aftermarket mufflers get louder with time, did this one get noticeably louder to you yet?

[@etspaulding]

Hey, yes it did! I should do an update vid. It went through a definite break-in cycle where it had some funny glass pack sounds, but it has a much deeper, slightly louder sound now. I always thought the factory 6.2 SUVs from like 07-13 had a good tone and it’s similar to that now.

[@edbarton623]

I think that resonator is killing most of the sound. I have heard those on other trucks without the resonator and it is much louder. I am also looking for something with a better tone and just a little louder than stock.

[@etspaulding]

I agree! I plan to have my local muffler guy run 3” from the cat to the muffler and then 3” all the way out to maybe a 4” tip. I am planning on adding headers soon as well.

[@lilcs3011]

Your stock muffler is louder than mine when I bought it I double checked to make sure it was a v8

[@etspaulding]

They are so quiet in stock form!

[@BB-sc3le]

Could've just deleted the muffler and leave the resonator. I did that on my 2018 Silverado and it sounds great!

[@etspaulding]

That’s another cheap option for sure. The resonator definitely mutes a ton of volume. I had it deleted with a 3” tailpipe and that really made it sound much deeper.

[@allcore5172]

Don’t cherry bombs have a lot of drone?

[@etspaulding]

@@allcore5172 this didn’t have drone. Not sure on the other cherry bombs.

[@DrDennis]

Should mounted it flat not vertical. Plus cherry bombs burn out in couple weeks, I’ve owned them.

[@etspaulding]

I had a muffler shop weld it in flat and it hasn’t burned out yet!

[@bdtaylor1979]

Same as Magnaflow

[@etspaulding]

Yes sir

[@paulcondie2520]

Still have the truck and if so how many miles and any serious issues? Thanks

[@etspaulding]

Sold the truck not too long ago, got a Suburban instead since the truck was our primary family vehicle. Only major issue was the torque converter failed at 160k miles. I replaced it with a Circle D triple disk before the transmission failed too. Saved the trans for sure. I'd recommend The Sundae Drive YT channel because he tackles all of the common issues with the 14-15 chevy trucks.

[@paulcondie2520]

@@etspaulding I recently bought a new to me 2017 Chevy Silverado 1500 with 46,000 miles. I immediately did the AFM delete and flushed the transmission and installed a lower temp transmission thermostat. Also changed all the fluids front to rear! That was in March of this year. Hopefully some preventative maintenance goes along way!?!? Lol. I'm aware of the torque converter issues but gonna wait awhile to swap it out hopefully I b alright. Thanks a bunch for the reply 💪💯🇺🇲

[@etspaulding]

They are great trucks! Very good choice to delete the DOD. I never had issues with it but I disabled it with a tuner. Preventative will for sure go a long way. In my experience with the 6L80, you should not haul heavy loads in 5 or 6 gear. Those are both overdrive and the factory GM transmission programming just burns the converters up, especially with a load. The trans t-stat will be a big help. When I did the converter swap I added an external trans cooler and deleted the trans t-stat altogether. That brought the trans temps way down to better range. If your truck has the factory trailer brake controller you should already have an external cooler, if not I’d suggest adding one to your setup as well. When I got our suburban, the factory trailer brake controller was a must have, because that means it at minimum it has the HD trailering package, possibly the MAX trailering pkg. The suburban I got has the HD trailering pkg, so my temps stay super low and safe for the 6l80. That trans is a great transmission, way better than the 4l60, it just doesn’t do well with the heat that they suffer in factory form.

[@paulcondie2520]

@@etspaulding yeah mine has the trailering pkg not the max. Has built in trailer controller. Only thing I will be towing is a snowmobile for now. My temperature stays regularly at 145 mostly. Thanks for the feedback 💪💯🇺🇲

[@etspaulding]

@@paulcondie2520 perfect! Great truck for sure.

[@GabrielAHernandez-zw5tn]

U had to have had taken of the resonator muffler to get a diffrent tone.

[@etspaulding]

Yeah for sure. The tone has opened up some more as the muffler has broke in. Once the resonator comes off it will sound awesome.

[@mikeclabough6732]

Maybe delete the resonator??

[@etspaulding]

That would make it louder but it would not increase flow or power, the stock muffler is the restriction. I ended up getting true 3” and resonator delete from the muffler back. It sounded awesome. That salute muffler is very quiet.

[@artiemcbride629]

Stock sounded better, get ready for exhaust leak galore.

[@etspaulding]

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion! Thanks for watching. The truck has since been sold. I never did have any leaks and eventually had it welded properly with a true 3” tail pipe and resonator delete. That really woke the tone up. My main goal was never sound, it was flow. This muffler has the straight through flow that I wanted without the obnoxious volume.

[@artiemcbride629]

@@etspaulding that wasn't an opinion it was a fact✌️

[@bertdemeule4802]

@