Hello all.

I just bought a 1997 xlt 4.2l from my dad. I want to get an exhaust for my first mod. I want to spend under 400 dollars if possible. I will be installing the exhaust myself and I can't weld so strait bolt on would be best. I want a good sound but i want it to be as loud as possible. Any links, pics, recommendations etc. appreciated.

Also a few side questions I was wondering.

1. What is the biggest tire size that you would recommend for stock ride height?

2. Anyone who has subs, what size do you have and where did you put them?

Thanks for any information

 

Well, as an exhaust, I would recommend sending it to a shop for the day and have it properly welded on. Maggies and Flowmaster seem to be popular around here, but be advised that past 2-3K RPM, these 4.2L's sound like rice rockets.

Check out some people's sigs, they have hotlinks to external websites with sound clips to theirs. Got any pics of the truck? Welcome to the site, don't bother holding onto your wallet, it will be empty soon

 

unless you have a CAI paired with the exhaust...

just like raptor said, magnaflow and flowmaser are you best option, built at you local shop. mine cost me 350 for a SI/DO system (including upgraded tips)

i have a link to a few vids of my truck in my sig. the exhaust isnt the best, camera gave it a weak sound. check out my gallery for pictures of my subs.

welcome to the site and drop my a ? if you need to!

 

Can you send me a link of the maggies and flowmasters please? Also i do plan on getting an intake within a few weeks. Our mechanics at my work can weld so i may just buy one of them a case of beer and ask him nicely to weld it.

Also dirty i looked at your pics of your subs. Look like kicker cvr 12"? How do you like them i was actually thinking about getting the same ones. And for the box did you make it yourself because if you bought it i bet it cost you like 150 bucks. I may just go with one sub instead to save me like 200 bucks.

Tires? Anything?

 

go to youtube and type in "Ford V6 Exhaust". you will get a wide range of trucks. and most guys tell what they have on there.

my subs are 10". i bought the box and 2 1" spacers for $80 total at a local "flea mart" down here in my area. the box fits really good under my seat, but ive heard that 97-98 needs a seat lift because the rear sit is alittle lower.

i think the biggest tires you can fit under a 2x4 are 265/75/16(or what ever size rims you have) and the biggest for 4x4 is 285/75/whatever....

putup some pics of you ride, and we can start giving you ideas!

 

Well the truck isn't officially "mine" just yet. It belongs to my dads company and hes selling it to me. So thats why i don't have pics yet. I'll give you the low down tho.

As of now its just a plain jane dark green 2x4 auto v6 with no power options. It has a cap right now, but i plan on selling it because i don't really need it and the back window is missing. I plan on keeping the truck until it cant run anymore, and it only has 115,000 right now which i guess is still young for these trucks. Since I will keep it so long I want to take my time modding it, because I am a student and i have bills to pay, so i dont want the financial situation going downhill again. (my bank account went from $3,300 to $7 in like 5 monthes)

Like I said I plan on getting an exhaust as the first mod, it just seems practical to me. But heres a list of a few things i've got in mind as future mods.

CAI - K&N probably?

Headers - Any ideas?

Full Sound System...Done right - I'm thinking duel 10" kicker cvx's with a kicker amp, Polk speakers all around, and a nice pioneer head unit.

Fatter Tires - I'm gonna wait for these ones to go first and they have decent tread so.

Tints - 5% in back windows, 25% in front, and possibly a big white eagles logo in the back window...go iggles!

Brush Gaurd & Run boards

Possibly a body lift in a few years - It looks like its a little complex to do on these trucks.

I'll probably want a big brake kit at some point too - does brembo make a kit for these trucks?

I feel like thats a pretty good list for now.

Hope it gives you an idea.

 

headers dont really seem to be worth the money on these trucks IMO, unless you are building this thing to head down the track every weekend.

brakes arent a nessecity, unless you are going MUCH bigger rims and/or tires.

body lift, sound system, brush guard, and running boards are good.

the main essentials that seem to be what people are getting first off are: 1)CAI(prices vary), 2)Exhaust, (3 and a programmer with custom tunes(VMP, Troyer, PHP)

 

tell me more about the programmer i'm uneducated...price, what does it do, gains, install difficulty(excluding tune)

 

i like mac mufflers or imco

 

a programmer operates just like a code reader. you plug it into you OBD II port and it will walk you through the instructions of how to load a tune. depending on who you buy the programmer from, they can range from $400(VMP) to $500(Power Hungry Performance). Most of the guys will include 3 custom tunes in that price. You can choose almost any octane rating, and whether you want a Tow, Mileage, or Performance tune. people are seeing an average of about a 1-2 mpg increase....some more, some less. do a search for ThumperMX113 here on the forum, and put a thread in the "Chips & Programmer Section". He will give you a response really quick, and he knows alot more details than i do.

 

ok so i just go to the exhaust shop and tell him i want flowmasters and get him to make it for me?

 

yep. but you have to decide how you want it set up. do you want dual straightout of the back? in front of the passenger rear tire? out the back corners? dumped?

i cant find the link that magnaflow has showing the different exit styles, but they are pretty straight forward.

IMO, Magnaflow has a much better overall sound quality, flowmaster has a nice low idle rumble to it, but once in the high RPM range on these truck.....sounds like a ricer....Magnaflow s quiet, but it screams when you go WOT(wide open throttle)

 

i want duel out the corners with flows/maggies and what is a good size tip? 2.5"

I think i'm gonna go with flows just because if i get maggies and they roar at WOT i'm gonna want to be flooring it all the time.

Is there gonna be a big price difference for getting bent out the corners instead of strait out? I like the strait look too so if it will save me a lot of money i would want to do that.

 

a good size tip would be anything 3" or bigger. the actual pipe itself is 2.25", so you might want to be able to distinguish the tip from the pipe.

it shouldnt be a huge difference. just depends on how long they decide to take bending the pipes to increase labor...

smart thinking on the WOT idea....i find myself doing that occasionally...less now than at first though

good luck with the truck, and make sure to post pics(before and after) and sound clips of the exhaust!

dirty

 

ok i will. Its nothing special though.

btw dirty i think im gonna get kicker cvx's