Best Exhaust Mods for Performance
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Joined: Dec 2000
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From: Woodlands, TX, USA
Best Exhaust Mods for Performance
I have a 2001 Gen 1 Supercrew 4X4 with the 5.4Land want to accomplish a couple of things with exhaust modifications. First, I would like to make it a little less quite, mostly at 1/2 to full throttle without making it obnoxious at idle or on the highway. Second, I would like to add HP & torque, prefereably the latter and preferably more at the low end.
From the posts I have seen, there are a couple of good muffler choices like the Ravin 55. It also looks like the Flowmaster 40 (?) is another. I am leaning toward just a muffler because in looking at the piping nder my truck, I cannot see any serious restrictions behind the Y-pipe. Am I missing something?
I was thinking of having he muffler shop put the outlet in front of the rear wheel rather than behind. Reason fof this is 2-fold. First, it eliminates 4 bends & about 5 feet of pipe to rust & get smashed, albeit minor ones, from the back of the muffler as it goes over the axle & around the spare. Second, it reduces the chance I will crunch it going over something off road since the back end seems to hit more than the middle.
I have seen the posts about wheel etching and now I am not so sure about the relocation. Is there something that can be done to reduce or eliminate the etching and still keep the exit in front?
The other modification that seems obvious would be to ditch the stock exhaust manifold. I don't know what size the "pipes" are but I know they are small. Has anyone played with header, either shorty or long tubes on these cars with a dyno or other means to measure torque & HP? I think there is a shorty set that will bolt up and not be illegal, i.e. no cat mods) but I am not sure who makes it. Anyone?
The last question I have is about cam. Has anyone played with a cam on the 5.4? Is there even one out there? I have to believe that the cam on this motor is very conservation and there must be some power available there. In other motors I have played with, a free flowing intake, aggressive cam, and headers can account for an increase of 20-25% in both HP & peak torque. I do know you have to be careful not to shift the peak up in RPM too much otherwise it helps me not in the mud. Thoughts?
Thanks,
Chuck
------------------
2001 Gen I Screw Lariat
Air Raid, Superchip
From the posts I have seen, there are a couple of good muffler choices like the Ravin 55. It also looks like the Flowmaster 40 (?) is another. I am leaning toward just a muffler because in looking at the piping nder my truck, I cannot see any serious restrictions behind the Y-pipe. Am I missing something?
I was thinking of having he muffler shop put the outlet in front of the rear wheel rather than behind. Reason fof this is 2-fold. First, it eliminates 4 bends & about 5 feet of pipe to rust & get smashed, albeit minor ones, from the back of the muffler as it goes over the axle & around the spare. Second, it reduces the chance I will crunch it going over something off road since the back end seems to hit more than the middle.
I have seen the posts about wheel etching and now I am not so sure about the relocation. Is there something that can be done to reduce or eliminate the etching and still keep the exit in front?
The other modification that seems obvious would be to ditch the stock exhaust manifold. I don't know what size the "pipes" are but I know they are small. Has anyone played with header, either shorty or long tubes on these cars with a dyno or other means to measure torque & HP? I think there is a shorty set that will bolt up and not be illegal, i.e. no cat mods) but I am not sure who makes it. Anyone?
The last question I have is about cam. Has anyone played with a cam on the 5.4? Is there even one out there? I have to believe that the cam on this motor is very conservation and there must be some power available there. In other motors I have played with, a free flowing intake, aggressive cam, and headers can account for an increase of 20-25% in both HP & peak torque. I do know you have to be careful not to shift the peak up in RPM too much otherwise it helps me not in the mud. Thoughts?
Thanks,
Chuck
------------------
2001 Gen I Screw Lariat
Air Raid, Superchip