By now we're sure you've seen the new Dodge Challengers at dealerships, cruising the streets, and maybe even making passes at your local dragstrip. There's no doubt that Chrysler nailed the retro look of this car, as it attracts positive attention wherever it's seen. Inside the attractive exterior of the new Challenger lies a modern, well refined chassis, smooth and powerful drivetrain, and comfortable and quiet cabin, making the car a great performer and a pleasure to drive. We've had our '09 Challenger R/T for several months now, and while it's a blast to drive in stock form, we think the factory exhaust is just a little too quiet for a performance vehicle so we'll be upgrading to a high-flowing stainless steel cat-back system from Magnaflow.Whether building an engine or bolting on aftermarket exhaust, you should always carefully consider the intended purpose of the vehicle any time you choose a part for it. If all-out performance is your goal, you'll likely want the most free-flowing exhaust you can find, regardless of the noise. Contrarily, if your car is used regularly as a daily driver, you may opt for the relative silence of the factory exhaust system. The Challenger R/T is a very quiet riding car and we didn't want a constant drone while driving at highway speeds, but we did want to actually be able to hear the exhaust rumble at idle and wide open throttle. We also wanted the additional torque and horsepower that an aftermarket exhaust offers, not to mention saving weight by eliminating the heavy factory mufflers. With these factors in mind, our research led us to Magnaflow Performance's Quad Tip system for the Challenger R/T.
When we received our Magnaflow Performance kit, we were impressed with the quality of the exhaust system and the care taken to package it. Each piece was individually wrapped in foam, and the entire assembly was boxed in additional foam for protection. This exhaust kit contains Magnaflow's Tru-X crossover system, free-flowing mufflers, and is manufactured in 2.5-inch stainless steel with mandrel bends. The hangers are pre-installed, and slide right into the factory rubber exhaust hanger insulators. All of the necessary clamps are included as well, making this kit as complete as they get. We were glad we had a lift, but the exhaust could be installed with the car on jackstands as well. Either way, you should be able to easily install the system in a day with hand tools and no lift, or 2-3 hours with a lift and power tools. Speaking of tools, you won't need many for this project. A 15mm socket, impact or ratchet, and a big pair of channel locks are all we used to complete the installation.
Once installed, we liked the look of the Challenger with the round quad-tips and quickly fired it up to hear the audible difference. At idle, our 5.7 Hemi was noticeably louder and had a nice rumble. During our first road test, we found that inside the well-insulated cabin the car was really no louder while traveling at cruising speeds than it was with the factory exhaust. Open the throttle, however, and the exhaust emits a throaty tone of power as the car accelerates down the road. On the dyno, both power and torque improved, and at the dragstrip we ran our best elapsed time with the new exhaust system installed. So this project was really a win/win, improving the sound of our Challenger, and the performance and looks as well with a nice exhaust system from Magnaflow Performance.
 The new Challenger's original...  The new Challenger's original exhaust is a pretty good system as far as factory exhaust goes, but we felt we could improve the performance and the sound of our car with an aftermarket system. |  The first step of this project...  The first step of this project is to remove the clamps holding the factory exhaust together. The new system will bolt right to the pipes just aft of the factory cats. |  The factory exhaust clamps...  The factory exhaust clamps can be removed along with the factory exhaust as new band clamps are included with the new exhaust system. |
 The easiest way we've found...  The easiest way we've found to remove the hangers from the insulators is with a big pair of Channel-lock pliers. The rubber insulators can stay on the car as they'll be used with the new exhaust. |  We removed the factory tips...  We removed the factory tips prior to removing the remainder of the exhaust to prevent the large tips from accidentally nicking the surrounding paint. |  The factory exhaust comes...  The factory exhaust comes out in two heavy pieces, so it helps to have an exhaust stand or a friend to assist with removal. |