Now that I've gotten most of my general maintenance out of the way for a few months, I'm going to start looking into doing some modifications to my truck. For starters, I'm looking at exhaust. My '07 lariat supercrew (5.4L) still has the restrictive stock exhaust on it and I'm looking at ditching it for a more aggressive sound and performance. I'd love to hear what worked for you guys on these trucks as well as what to stay away from (ex. exhaust size, mufflers,etc.). I'm partial to Borla and Magnaflow products, but I'd love to see what all is out there. Thanks in advance.

-LL07

 

You don't have a "restrictive exhaust" per say. The 07-08's have a better exhaust manifold from the factory and they don't have 4 catalytic converters like the early years, either. Any exhaust system you choose is going to be for sound, not performance increase. Exhaust flow doesn't cause much of an issue until you have some mods into the engine (cams, forced induction, etc).

That being said, Borla and Maggies are the most preferred by most on this generation of truck. I have the 18" Magnaflow SIDO, and it works perfect for me; aggressive at startup and during moderate/heavy acceleration, but barely noticeable when cruising in overdrive. No drone.

 

Thanks for the quick reply, SoonerTruck. That's pretty much in line with what I expected to hear aside from I didn't know that the earlier model years had 4 cats. Exhaust is where I wanted to start since I do eventually plan on getting a cold air intake and possibly a custom tune. Did you retain the stock exhaust with the new muffler or did you get a cat back exhaust along with it?

 

i have a 2006 with magnaflo cat back and it sounds just the way i want it. all stainells from the cat to the stainless tips out the rear. came in a kit that i caught on sale through amazon....got it for the price of a shop dual set up and put it on myself with just two ramps.....love it

 

spend a thousand and get true duals..
and if you can afford it get LT headers

 

Why should he do that? What benefit does "true duals" give him? The addition of LT headers is fine, but that's an expensive outlay and a PITA to install for very little gain without having forced induction to take advantage of the increased capacity for exhaust flow.

 

I just got the Magnaflow muffler and had a shop fab up the dual exhaust out the back at a 45-degree angle. I think the whole thing, muffler and 4.5"x18" stainless tips included, cost me $250 or so. It's mandrel bent anodized pipe, not SS, but things don't really rust quickly here in Oklahoma so the extra money for SS wasn't necessary.

 

What he said. I just got a maggy Harley style exit kit and swapped in a Borla xr-1 40085 and love it. No performance gains tho. Do wanna get rid of the stock y-pipe and replace with a Maggy y-pipe and get rid if that last little bit of 2.5"..

 

if he puts cams would that help?

I'll get mine installed next week, can't wait

 

True dual Flowmaster Super 10 no cats or hi- flow cats. Depends on whether you have emission checks or not

 

Roush off-road exhaust! It's made by Borla and has a great sound! I believe it comes in dual rear exit, and dual side exit. All stainless steel so it will last a long long time! You won't be disappointed!

 

^that right there. I've got the same kit and it sounds superb.

Borla sounds much better than Magnaflow to me, but both are better than just about everything else out there. Cheaper than the Maggie kits now too, if I remember correctly. It's personal taste, but you can't really go wrong with either.

I have long tube headers and didn't notice jack for performance, so they aren't at all a must-buy, in my opinion. They're an absolute waste of money if you aren't running forced induction or just HAVE to have that sound. I had to have the sound, so I got them.

Widj, nobody's talking about long tubes or cams for this guy haha. Way too much money when both are good for next to nothing other than sound. Cams can actually hurt low end without other mods, mods like you've got.

 

Here was my original thread when I did mine (after lots of research).


>> Exhaust Finished.. 2.5" True Duals With Vids & Pics

I went with the 2.5 True Duals, DynoMax Bullets, High Flows

Here is a video of mine:
But then again I have a SuperCharger. But I based mine off of what Darren did to his truck.

Which this is his truck with basically the same setup, but no SuperCharger:

 

Man, I don't think you're gonna get 2 similar answers.

For $250 out of pocket, I got the Super 10, stayed SISO but went to 3" from CAT-back. I'm truly pleased. A high flow CAT is next, and still toying with moving to dual out, just before rear tires. I'm holding tight for now, and wondering if I'll still scavenge well going that route...may have to go back to 2.5"...anyway...

As far as performance- I did not think to disconnect battery, but after a couple weeks, the computer picked up on the changes and made predictive adjustments. I lost very negligible low end, but gained noticeably more mid-range. I now run 200 RPM lower at 75 highway. So it's really a push. Still get a consistent 12.1 to 12.2 mpg (probably due to that awesome take off sound under some opened throttle RPM's).

But I sound like a mantruck! I sound just mean. Isn't that what it's all about anyway? What your ear likes?

 

Would anyone happen to know why the earlier years have four catalytic converters? And for those who have emissions standards (like me), if I decided to have some exhaust work done, could I remove at least two and still pass the visual inspection of exhaust as well as the emissions test?