Gotcha, yeah cat removal isn't for everybody.

 

if you want cheap ... just cut the exhuast off right after the cat.. my buddy did it on his dodge and it sounds good

 

My plan is taking the muffler off along with all the piping from the muffler back off and see how it sounds. If I don't like the sound then Im going to just get that IMCO muffler and have it put in. Sound like a good plan guys?

 

You're back on the right track thump, you should really keep a muffler man, dumping the pipes sounds good and will give a clean look. Its up to you but Id keep a muffler. Not really going to get into it but I think RockyJSquirel summed it up best in different thread somewhere when he said this about straight pipes, "You will lose some backpressure and smarter wealthier people will look down thier noses at you for ruining a brand new truck".

 

Hows that going to ruin a brand new truck? Please explain.

 

I used to have an older Honda Prelude that I ran with no muffler, just had a resonated tip installed on the end of the pipe. It sounded great and caused no problems to the car.

I have a Flowmaster 50 series SI/DO muffler just sitting around if you're interested. I had it on my previous truck for only 10k miles or so.

 

Unbolt your stock exhaust, pull it off and put on a glasspack and a turn down tip. This was VERY loud you could feel the rumble in your chest when you hit it! It was a little loud for me so I had a muffler shop stick the tip out just in front of the rear tire, still very deep tone and cheap to do!!

 

pfffff mechanicaly its not, performance wise you may lose some low end power I really dont know about that. As these late model vehicles are engineered to perform well using the scavenging and backpressure that an exhaust along with a muffler provides. To me personally, these trucks will never be able to perform above the 6000rpm range where a large straight pipe exhaust setup is going to really be an advantage. And if you did have your truck setup with a giant blower and runnin on nitro methane and above 6000rpms and you wanted this type of straight pipe exhaust you might as well ditch everything except the headers. Personally its just the stigma of going straight pipes on a brand new late model truck that is not a dragster that ruins it. You can get a much better sound with an exhaust consisting of a muffler and most likely in most applications you will get better performance. Now I know that sound is all you are really concerned about and not the performance gain from an exhaust which is something we have in common as I would buy an exhaust for the sound quality over the performance as I dont think the performance is that big a factor with these trucks and the various exhausts. Im sure the magnaflow is the best choice when it comes to performance gains as Troyer has determined but I myself would want a nice "pretty" sound that people notice as well as a little performance gain. This is just my opinion and you asked for it, but by all means you do what thump wants to do.
By the way if youre wondering which exhaust Ive gone with on my F-150, none yet. I have a Flowmaster 40 delta flow for it, but am not sure thats the one I want on it, Im really leaning towards the Flowmaster Hushpower. Ive had Flowmaster original 40s before on other vihicles and loved them. I bought the Delta flow for my F150 as its thing was it was supposed to have less interior resonance. I want a good volume to my exhaust but being that one of the reasons I bought this truck was due to its interior being the quietest in its class i was afraid Id ruin that so I bought the delta flow but Im pretty sure Im going to go with the Hushpower. Will definately post sound clips when I get it. Just gotta order it than find time to go install it.

 

Thumper,

One side note.....I do remember reading a lot of posts where people had dumped their exhaust w/ an aftermarket muffler and actually had more drone that way I think, or so they have said. You might want to consider that about dumping it.

 

Honestly, I don't care about the drone that much. I listen to music full blast almost 24/7 so its not going to be a problem.

I need to hear more about the people with the IMCO mufflers. I just don't want to lose any power and have a GREAT sound, and I'll be happy. I just don't want my truck to be slower than stock. If I gain some on the butt-dyno then I'll be jumping up and down but its not a big deal to me really.

 

A friend and I put turn downs on a 5.0 mustang, it does make a lot louder drone, and the exhaust smell will stay around longer. There were no performance losses....that we could feel.

I think there was a thread on here, maybe do a search, that said that a baffled mufffler like tha flowmaster needs a certain amount of pipe for back pressure behind it, or it will hinder the performance.

I know a guy who put dual glass packs in the place of his stock muffler on a 5.4L, it has a deep sound, but like said before, others may look down on you for taking the cheap route.

Also, take a look on flowmasters web site, as well as summit racing, I beleive they have some kits that will acually make your truck insanely loud. They might have sound clips too.

I dont think that turndowns will hinder performance if you get the right muffler.

 

After a lot of thinking I might actually just go with a true dual set-up and not scrimp. Has anyone heard of V-Force mufflers? My friend has true duals with this muffler and it sounds amazing on his Z71. I think thats the way Im going to go as of right now and have the tips come out in front of the right rear wheel, slanted out towards the back with slant cut tips.

 

Hey Thumper, I would think twice about something that sounds amazing on a Z-71. Our Fords are not half as loud as Dodge or Chevy from the factory because of our 4 cats. If you ran the same system his would be much louder than yours and you will end up dissapointed. As far as the IMCO 1-chamber, I am running SI/SO and my truck sounds louder and meaner than my neighbor's Dodge Ram Hemi with true duals. I gained power and did not lose any low end. I've picked up a tiny bit of gas mileage but I would see more if I wasn't hammering it all the time. It sounds that good! By the way, I would stick to SI/SO unless you insist on the dual pipes, because most people agree that you will lose some torque with true duals on these trucks, regardless of whether it is a 4.6 or 5.4L. A SI/SO 3 inch is plenty. By the way, performance-curve.com is in VA. Shipping was 11 bucks to my door in Northern California so it should be much cheaper for you. You'll get away under 100 bucks. I would try the dump first with the IMCO to see how you like it. Also, if you don't like it, at least you bought the cheap one first!

PS: Just noticed your request for the link in one of your other posts. Here ya go: http://www.performance-curve.com/ind...ROD&ProdID=900

 

What about using a IMCO Si/Do? I've been talked out of getting it dumped because of the smell and a few other reasons and I want to get my exhaust in front of the right rear tire. I could either go with a Si/Do to accomplish this or just get dual tips.

 

Thumper, the SI/DO is linked in my above post. The tips will enhance your sound, so I would get them if I were you. They'll give it a nice gurgly sound. I think some angle cut 18x3.5 inch tips would do just the trick on that 4x4! If you want it deeper, go with 24 inch tips. Just to remind you, out in front of the rear tire makes the wheel dirty and you have to clean it quite often. I can understand you wanting to get away from the straight out the back look though. Good luck with that!