[Werewolf]

Everybody has their own tastes in stuff like exhaust notes, so I'm not at all trying to downplay any Gibson owner's claims.

I had a Gibson dual out the rear aluminized exhaust on my 2002 Silverado. This was probably their cheapest exhaust, maybe you get what you pay for. I didn't get chromed tips, just 2.5 pipes out. But I expected that, so that's not my beef.

I had a set of 3.5" tips welded on, partially because I had always intended to; love that look. Partially because the exhaust seemed too quiet to me. After the installation of the tips, I experienced such a drone at highway speeds that it rivalled the bass out of my stereo regardless of volume. Some people may like that, and that's all cool. But, I prefer the sound of my Hooker Aerochamber muffler. About as loud as a Flowmaster, but well enough mannered at speed so it's not intrusive in the cab. And you can actually hear the individual cylinders, making the V8 actually sound like a V8. Something about the Gen. III engines, probably firing order, that makes them just *not* sound as good as the old 350's usually.

I had a Flowmaster custom setup on an S-10 I used to own. I'll give the 4.3 this much; it really does sound like a V8 at idle, and is hard to pick out until the RPMs ramp up. The Flowmaster had a nice little gargle to it when you let off the gas, and sounded good just about any other time. My guess with the Gibson is a lot of the throaty tones and cylinder separation that the Flowmaster gave my 4.3 would be removed, making it sound like, well, a V6 with a louder exhaust. I'd say try a Flowmaster. They're not the *best* for actual power creation, but from my experience, I'd go with a Flowmaster over a Gibson. The Hooker is my top choice right now, I'm really a fan of that muffler. My $.02; good luck with whatever you choose.