mufflers & tips -- latest opinions??
 

i have a 525 efi with hurricane lite headers and external livorsi north star mufflers (discontinued). one of my mufflers crapped out so it looks like i'll need to replace both sides. i'm not sure if i want to put mufflers back on or go with straight tips. i bought the boat this way but i cant help but think that the mufflers do rob a bit of power. and i have no noise police in my area.

i'm just looking for opinions on both. must be transom mount

here is what i have:

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b.../zttransom.jpg

Nice ride! No noise police? Straight tips.

thanks! pros/cons on brands?

if i go with tips i'll need a good internal flapper and straight cut so i can also have external flappers.

No noise control issues then use straight tips.
With a boat like yours with an intergrated swim step transom ALWAYS use good weighted rubber flappers !

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Mine are EMI they have a metal flapper inside, straight cut with rubber flapper clamped on the outside also.Randy

I fully understand the importance of a good internal and external flappers esp with the built in swim platform. I just don't know which brands are hold true to their claims and most of the web sites are not very descriptive.

I'm still not ruling out mufflers as long as they are not full time. My north stars had a nice rumble at idle and opened up after a certain rpm which sounded great but definitely didn't bark like open tips. CMI offers a muffler like this. Anyone have experience with these?

http://teaguecustommarine.com/index....lers-4-x6.html

My boat has these.
http://www.mercuryracing.com/accesso...xhausttips.php

They are nice because you can change the internal flapper with just one bolt from the outside.

Plus, you can add exteranls if you want. Actually Merc recommends both. I took my internals out because the noise bugged me. Now I just run external flaps.

Thanks Dave. What didn't you like about the internal flapper noise? Just didnt like the sound?

I am considering having Teague make me a set of tips with these internal flappers and external

http://teaguecustommarine.com/index....-assembly.html

At certain RPMs they seemed to make a rattling sound. I kept thinking I had a valve issue or something. Those Teague's look cool too. As long as you can replace it from the outside of the boat. They all seem to go bad eventually.

What broke on your North Stars?