Quieter than stock Exhaust system needed. 08 Denali xl

[Tony]

I have an 08 denali XL, and i think the stock exhaust system is a bit too loud for my liking. I recently drove a 09 Suburban LTZ, and I really liked the way it was practically silent compared to my Denali.. Is there anything I can do to make mine as quiet as a stock Suburban? Thanks in advance!

 

[Faceplant]

I have an 08 denali XL, and i think the stock exhaust system is a bit too loud for my liking. I recently drove a 09 Suburban LTZ, and I really liked the way it was practically silent compared to my Denali.. Is there anything I can do to make mine as quiet as a stock Suburban? Thanks in advance!

Hmm, that is a tough one. My neighbor just bought a new Denali and it IS definitely louder than my LTZ. I wonder if they run a larger diameter or more free flowing exhaust on the 6.2L.

 

[Tony]

Its def night and day. Also the droning is terrible on the stock denali exhaust. While i was cruising at 60 mph in the LTZ, the exhaust is 100% silent in comparison to the denali. I personally don't even know why gmc made
it sound that way, it's an suv not a sportscar. lol

 

[soulsea]

Well the Denali is going to have a different exhaust than the LTZ because they have different engines (6.2-5.3). Assuming that the resonator is still under there, I'm not sure what can be done to reduce the sound level.

Have you tried to compare it to an escalade to see if the esky is quieter?
Although it's unlikely, GM might have put a quieter system in the esky for the old folks that drive 'em.

---------- Post added at 01:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:56 PM ----------

I personally don't even know why gmc made
it sound that way, it's an suv not a sportscar. lol

Well you bought the biggest suv with a giant 6.2L low revving engine. Not a sports car but it's not a nissan leaf either.

 

[Tony]

I actually didn't know that the LTZ had a smaller motor. They seem to get the same gas mileage, mine always reads around 14.6 as does the LTZ. Yes I have driven escalades many times. The escalade is def louder than the LTZ, but I think it's slightly quieter than the denali..

 

[mrrairai]

I love the sound of my Denali.

 

[felixgun]

The 6.2L has a .5" thicker piping then the 5.3L. I definitely agree with you that the Tahoe LTZ has almost a silent exhaust system. I've had both and I actually love the sound of the 6.2L at start up. Someone has asked me before if I put an aftermarket exhaust system on it and they are surprised to hear me say "nope... factory". The 6.2L resonator is also different and slightly larger all around then on the 5.3L.

 

[felixgun]

I actually didn't know that the LTZ had a smaller motor. They seem to get the same gas mileage, mine always reads around 14.6 as does the LTZ. Yes I have driven escalades many times. The escalade is def louder than the LTZ, but I think it's slightly quieter than the denali..

Escalade and Denali both have the same exhaust system since they are both on the 6.2L.

 

[ChevyGuy]

The 6.2L has a .5" thicker piping then the 5.3L. I definitely agree with you that the Tahoe LTZ has almost a silent exhaust system. I've had both and I actually love the sound of the 6.2L at start up. Someone has asked me before if I put an aftermarket exhaust system on it and they are surprised to hear me say "nope... factory". The 6.2L resonator is also different and slightly larger all around then on the 5.3L.

Agreed, the LTZ is a bit too quiet. Has a nice rumble at start up, but not much more. Struggling to decide how to upgrade it myself. Without hearing them in person, it's difficult.

 

[Tony]

I agree that my Denali has a very nice rumbling sound at startup, especially when im standing behind it and i use the remote start feature. However, i take some long trips with it and that constant droning noise it makes at a highway speeds becomes veryyy annoying..

 

[soulsea]

Man, that really surprises me Tony ... you must have fox level sensitive hearing.

I removed the resonator on my 6.0 and can't hear a thing on the highway ... of course 20 or so years in the club business might have a little to do with it.

 

[ChevyGuy]

I agree that my Denali has a very nice rumbling sound at startup, especially when im standing behind it and i use the remote start feature. However, i take some long trips with it and that constant droning noise it makes at a highway speeds becomes veryyy annoying..

Are you sure it's a stock muffler?

 

[Tony]

Yes, I'm pretty sure it is..

 

[ChevyGuy]

Worth a look...I'm assuming you bought it used and it very well could have been replaced.

 

[Tony]

Hey, you never know.. But the only way that would of happened, is if the oem one fell off or rotted away, (which i doubt) because as of right now the car is only 2.5 yrs old and i have had it for over 3 months now.. The previous owner was not the type of guy to go putting any aftermarket exhausts on the car.. He was some fat old man. lol

 

[soulsea]

Hey Tony I just had a thought ...

A lot of people upgrade they exhaust to a GMP one when they buy the truck, as it is an oem dealer installed accessory it would be hard to spot as a different setup to the untrained eye/ear.

This is it: http://www.gmaccessorydealer.com/details.asp?prod_id=131242

Perhaps you can try to compare it side to side with another Denali/Escalade or even ask the dealer to have a look at it for you. There's even an oem CAI that will probably also make it louder but that's rather easy to spot under the hood.

Worth a shot.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Good call Serge

 

[Tony]

The tip on that one looks stainless steel,. the tip on the one i have looks like brown tin.. lol

 

[soulsea]

The exhaust tip is sold separately, so one could have installed the GMP exhaust and kept the stock tip.

Granted that would be highly unlikely and a fail of historic proportions, but I'm just shooting in the dark over here trying to figure out a reason why your exhaust seems louder.

 

[MARK509]

Resonator Removal

Somebody mentioned removing the resonator made their's more quite? Easy to do?

I will try refrain from ranting about who at GM decided to make the top of the line SUV's louder than the rest of the lineup. There are many more products out there to make your exhaust louder than ones that make it quieter (in fact there are none that I can find). The drone on the highway drives me crazy. Where do the product planners come up with this stuff? I would love to see the data that says people who pay for the top of the line want it to be louder. "Hey Bob its got a bigger motor so we gotta let the customers know its in there so lets make it louder." Forget about the fact that its a luxury SUV.

I was just looking at the Inifiniti QX56's but I have a Denali XL and the Inifiniti is not big enough for me. I am now thinking about getting a Suburban LTZ after reading things in this forum.