Hi guys im sure this has been asked before, and if so please point me in the right direction thread wise, however I have recently acquired an 05 380 VRX Manual (what a steal at $16k lol) and am contemplating two things in the coming months:

1. Subwoofer addition - how hard is it to add a subwoofer to the existing sound system (6 stacker, stock head unit etc - so I guess im asking does the standard unit have AUX to go to external amp and sub?) To be honest I think the stocko unit sounds fine, just need to add some low end.

2. Sport muffler (baffler) - Stocko exhaust has a nice little note to it, but is very quiet... what would be thoughts on replacing the rear muffler with something a little louder? And definately not straight through... for whatever reason the diff in manual 380s is pretty short - the car does 2,600rpm@100km/h in 5th gear (ridiculous really for a 3.8 V6 - crying out for a 6th gear), so want to avoid a drone. I had an old VK Commodore once with a straight through exhaust (no rear muffler) -3 spd auto meant was doing maybe same RPM if not more as the 380 - drone was awful.:eek2:

Cheers & thanks for your help

Kurt

there isnt much room in the trunk as is... I dont think a subwoofer would fit in neatly anyway. Also here aren't any RCA outs on the stock system.. there are a few threads about this already.

for better bass response you might want to change the balance more to the back speakers and bump up the bass setting.. it wont get you any of that "doof doof" sound but should fill out the bottom end a little.
upgrading your rears to more bassy 6x9s might help as well :P

I havent come across anyone that has put a dedicated sub (enclouse and all) in a 380.
edit: just got on MCA... subs are a LOT more common than I thought they were.


As for mufflers: http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69663

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69973 (http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69973&highlight=muffler+380)

search for "380 muffler" for more info. Generally most people go with the straight through for the performance increase and there isn't much complain of drone.

search for "380 muffler" for more info. Generally most people go with the straight through for the performance increase and there isn't much complain of drone.
as a general rule drone isnt really much of a prioblem until you look at autos.however there are some massive straight through mufflers that with a resonator or 2 should give an acceptable level of sound.
really want the straight through for the performance increase. which is not insignificant.

i have a subwoofer in my GT , running from the stock head unit to an amplifier , i have also changed the front speakers aswell , and it sounds great...
fits in the boot beautifully..

Go the berklee muffler, it sounds really good and there is no drone at all. Also, if you plan on doing the muffler, you might as well get the 90mm galant intake as well.

You can use a small amp with high-level inputs from the rear speakers to drive a sub in your boot. No AUX available from stock head unit.

Best of luck/fun running the power cable from the engine bay to the boot *sigh* It's painful!

You can also get an 8" Blaupunkt sub with its own built-in amp that will fit under one of your front seats. I have one on layby ATM.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DmzcLXq7AIM/p_023THB200A/Blaupunkt-THb-200A.html

You can also get an 8" Blaupunkt sub with its own built-in amp that will fit under one of your front seats. I have one on layby ATM.

That sounds pretty good, so long as it actually works with the stocko system? lol

So if there's no RCA out from the head unit how would you go about actually connecting it? Comes back to running the power to the amp?


as a general rule drone isnt really much of a prioblem until you look at autos.however there are some massive straight through mufflers that with a resonator or 2 should give an acceptable level of sound.
really want the straight through for the performance increase. which is not insignificant.

Whilst that's correct, it's more at cruising speeds that I'm concerned about as the 380 manual revs so high on the freeway. THe auto 380s only do about 1,900rpm V 2,600 RPM for the manual - would be nothing worse than fitting a muffler only to have it drone like hell at freeway speeds. Probably not too interested in the Galant intake.. all that stuff for performance does incremental gains anyway - only keen for the sound ;-)

Thanks however.

Cheers


Kurty

If there ONE mod you should do its the Galant intake. I have an auto with a straight through muffler. No drone at all on the freeway. The only time I get a slight drone is 4up and drops into 5th at say 50ish so I flick it into 4th on the tippy and the sounds good.

auto with a straight through muffler

...and your auto does 1,900rpm @ freeway speeds in 5th, not 2,600rpm like the manuals, so thus at low rpm you aren't going to get a drone like that whereas in the manual in 5th gear, its like driving around in your 4th all the time ;-)

So thus, would you say there is drone in 4th gear @ 100km/h? That's the best assessment/comparison I think =)

What power gains would you get from the galant intake? Are we talking seat of the pants stuff or measurable differences (eg 10kw at the motor?)

Thanks guys,

Kurty

Any drone would be at low revs under load. all the info on the galant intake is on the encyclopaedia link.
Not seat of your pants but noticable improvement in throttle response and ....... well check out the link

...and your auto does 1,900rpm @ freeway speeds in 5th, not 2,600rpm like the manuals, so thus at low rpm you aren't going to get a drone like that whereas in the manual in 5th gear, its like driving around in your 4th all the time ;-)

So thus, would you say there is drone in 4th gear @ 100km/h? That's the best assessment/comparison I think =)

What power gains would you get from the galant intake? Are we talking seat of the pants stuff or measurable differences (eg 10kw at the motor?)

Thanks guys,

Kurty

Kurt,

I have a manual like you and I had a Berklee BS0655 for a while. Like Braedz says, sounds good and no drone at all. Not at any speed in any gear, including 100km/h in 5th (which as you say is around 2,600 rpm in a manual). In fact Braedz has my old Berklee. The only reason I sold it to Braedz is I fitted extractors and a dual exhaust system, and the Berklee BS0655 won't fit on the passenger side.

It's well documented that replacing the stock rear muffler with a free flow 'straight through' muffler like the Berklee is worth around 10kw at the motor, and that replacing the stock intake with the 90mm Galant intake is worth about the same. And with a manual, an extra 20kw at the motor translates to at least an extra 15kw at the wheels. These are two very cheap and worthwhile mods, you won't regret doing them.

KJ.

The 90mm intake gives you more noise as well and for 80 bucks you would be stupid not to

2. Sport muffler (baffler) - Stocko exhaust has a nice little note to it, but is very quiet... what would be thoughts on replacing the rear muffler with something a little louder? And definately not straight through... for whatever reason the diff in manual 380s is pretty short - the car does 2,600rpm@100km/h in 5th gear (ridiculous really for a 3.8 V6 - crying out for a 6th gear), so want to avoid a drone. I had an old VK Commodore once with a straight through exhaust (no rear muffler) -3 spd auto meant was doing maybe same RPM if not more as the 380 - drone was awful.:eek2:

Late response, but I recently made a quick clip of my car under acceleration, with a Berklee muffler that was put on 2.5 years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Grubco380?feature=mhw4#p/a/u/0/KWhABnsjyd8

Late response, but I recently made a quick clip of my car under acceleration, with a Berklee muffler that was put on 2.5 years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Grubco380?feature=mhw4#p/a/u/0/KWhABnsjyd8

Thats impressive Dave. Sounds nice and got to 100 pretty quick as well, good job!!!

We have duel 12" Rockford Fosgate P2 running on a single Rockford Fosgate Mono-block amp. The amp is under the passenger seat and the subs are in the boot.

We have duel 12" Rockford Fosgate P2 running on a single Rockford Fosgate Mono-block amp. The amp is under the passenger seat and the subs are in the boot.

any chance of a photo of your trunk? I'm very interested in how a sub fits neatly in the back of the 380 (its on the wishlist for future upgrades)

yeah mate...will take one this avo when im back from work.