I'm looking for a wife-friendly exhaust. She's using the truck, too, and we travel alot. So I don't want anything too loud nor anything that drones.

That's when I thought of a cutout. Keep it closed when wifey drives it or in winter when I remote-start it. Open it up for goosebumps.

Any disadvantages? Too much loss of backpressure? Can the cutouts be controlled for as how much they open up? Or is it either closed or all the way open?

If you have one on a hemi post a sound clip!

 

I have no sound clips, but I ran my truck 30 miles on Open longtube headers (on the way to my exhaust shop) and let me tell you, goosebumps doesn't describe it.

I think it's a good idea, definitely something you both can enjoy!

 

Personally, i would just find a compromise in the exhaust choice. Not every aftermarket performance exhaust will be obnoxiously loud. And more then anything, how loud the truck will be depends on how you drive it. If you are not stomping on the gas, it will not be that loud. That right there shold take care of the wife issue. I had an Impala SS with a Flowmaster kit that if you drove it like most normal people drive, the added noise was not that big of a deal. But if you got on it, it was super loud. Just pick a good muffler and steer clear of Glass packs.

Good quality cutouts will not be that cheap and their is some wiring that needs to done. It's not a simple bolt on. And with moving parts, their is always going to be a chance for it to require maintenance. And then you have the legal issues to deal with too.