Just how loud should an unmuffled V-8 Dodge truck be?

So my son decided to replace the rusty muffler on his 2006 Ram 1500 4x4 with a Flowmaster 50 Series.  We removed the old stuff yesterday.  I was amazed to find that everything went far more smoothly than I expected, probably because trucks in general just have more space around everything.  Also I've got a reasonable selection of air-powered tools that came in handy, i.e. 3" cut-off wheel for the clamps, and an air chisel (truly a wonderful tool--my son enjoyed using this, said it was "terrifying") for getting stuff apart.  We'll finish the job today, hopefully.

So, naturally we started it up with the tailpipe and muffler removed, just to see how loud it was.  And it just wasn't.  Maybe I'm going deaf, but I swear I hear louder vehicles on the road all the time.  Make no mistake, it was loud-ER, but not what I'd consider loud.

With 125k on the clock, should I be worried about a clogged cat?  Or are these not known for that?  It just didn't have the bark I was expecting, but since nothing else I've done exhaust work on even has a cat, I'm unfamiliar.  Is a cat just that effective as a muffler?

The cats I've dealt with are pretty effective as mufflers. 

I deleted the mufflers on my Super Coupe and left the cats and resonators. It ended up just right. 

SRT4 Neons came from the factory with cat only, and they were pretty much legal with that.  A friend was working at Chrysler when they were getting that car through certification, and he said the engineers had to come up with a fairly particular style of driving to pass the DB test.

So yes, cats are a pretty good muffler.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

SRT4 also had a factory installed centrifugal muffler.

I think the 50 is also a "relatively" quiet muffler.

I had a 50 on a Nissan Hardbody and it was awful, but I think it was because it wasn't really tuned for the pulses/volume of a four-banger - it was a "direct fit" muffler for a newer Silverado.

This thread makes it even worse. This is telling me the neighbor paid actual money for his dodge truck to sound like a broken POS. No accounting for taste I guess. 

In reply to RevRico :

I've been led to believe that an obnoxious BRAAAAAAP! is part of the whole Carolina Squat experience.  100% not for me.

Straight piped catelss is part of the whole Carolina Squat experience.

Have you tried driving it?  Engines sound different with a load than idling or revving a bit in the driveway.

We had a dude at work straight pipe his Dodge and it was SUPER loud as he'd leave each day (certainly no way to sneak out early).

My 98 Ram with the 318 spent a couple days without a muffler.  Even with a hollow cat it wasn't horribly loud unless you really go on it. If you are concerned I would see if the cat rattles, since mine failed by breaking apart and clogging things up.

I ended up putting a cheap single inlet/dual outlet from RA in place of the leaking chambered muffler that was in it and it still sounds healthy. I can hear it pull in the driveway with the windows closed if I'm paying attention, but doesn't get undesired attention or drone on the highway.

This is what I put on and from the poor photos you can see right through it:

AP XS2258

dculberson said:

Like I said, no muffler.

KyAllroad said:

Have you tried driving it?  Engines sound different with a load than idling or revving a bit in the driveway.

We had a dude at work straight pipe his Dodge and it was SUPER loud as he'd leave each day (certainly no way to sneak out early).

Oh, yeah.  My son took it around the neighborhood and out to the main road, and I heard him pull out and get on it.  It was loud, but not near obnoxious. 

We have the Flowmaster installed this afternoon.  Didn't drive it 'cause we need to finish engineering the rear hanger, but sounds nice--deep and mellow, but not loud.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

As I've often said, a turbocharger is all the muffler you really need. 

Not sure how many cats it will have but likely 3-4 and the two close coupled cats do the majority of the quieting. I had a 50 series on my Colorado and it sounded really nice. Quiet, and deep, but you knew it was there. As soon as I put the header on and removed the stock manifold with close coupled cat, I had to remove the 50 and put a 70 series on it. And I still ended up putting a resonator on as well.

There are a half dozen RAM trucks that park near me at work so I hear them leave every day. I recently said to my coworker as they were leaving, everything sounds like a race car these days