Is anyone running factory cats, dual tailpipes and no mufflers? How does it sound? I ran across a new Chevy this weekend with this setup, and it sounded excellent. Kinda like my Mustang with an off-road pipe, and some mild mufflers. Not real loud, and not trashy sounding either.


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'97 F-150 EC 4x4, 4.6L

 

I ran this setup for a little bit and can give you one opinion on it. I loved it at idle, great sound. Moderate throttle was nice also. Seemed to really "come alive" when you got into the throttle more. Cruising at 55 or 70 was okay for me, might annoy some folks immediately and others on long trips. The truck felt great, didn't hunt between D and OD hardly at all. But the reason I put a muffler back in place was those times it did drop out of OD to climb a good hill or something. At around 3000-3500 RPM it would roar. As I have plans to be pulling a boat this summer and possibly a camper later, I knew that it just wouldn't work out. I do have a recording you can listen to. It just a little idling and some quick revs. Unfortunatly I've redone my home server lately and haven't put the web stuff back up yet. Check back after lunch and I'll try to get it posted.

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1997 F150 XLT Flareside
4.6, Auto, 3.55, custom catback
Pioneer DEH-305, Alpine 3547, 12" Kicker Comp.

 

topsy,

i have almost the same truck as you, 99 SC 4X4 4.6, and run the straight pipes. this set up has the best sound of any i have heard. i listened to many systems before settling on this, and i am very happy. the ford doesn't have the "tinny" sound i notice on the chevys.. a deep rumble, that roars when you get on it...enjoy the sound, Rich

 

Does anyone make a kit to do this, or does it have to be a custom job. I just assumed that all the kits are intended to have mufflers. (Meaning at the least, you would have to fabricate a pipe to replace the muffler)

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'97 F-150 EC 4x4, 4.6L

 

Here's the wav file I promised. Listening to it again makes me want to go back...

<A HREF="http://tnet.dyndns.org/open.wav" TARGET=_blank>http://tnet.dyndns.org/open.wav
</A>

An 18" glasspack instead of the straight pipe for reference.

<A HREF="http://tnet.dyndns.org/glasspack1.wav" TARGET=_blank>http://tnet.dyndns.org/glasspack1.wav
</A>

I don't think you'll find a kit for this. I think you're technically required by law to run a muffler. But we can't help if our motors sound sweet without one.

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1997 F150 XLT Flareside
4.6, Auto, 3.55, custom catback
Pioneer DEH-305, Alpine 3547, 12" Kicker Comp.

 

Gentleman,

After reading this particular thread, I am again definitely intrigued with running straight pipes.

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1999 F150 4x4, wedgewood blue, 5.4l auto, Manick brush guard, Duraliner, KC Hilites, surf rod holders, tinted windows, K&N air filter without airbox, Velocity air intake tube, Midas Performance muffler with dual pipes, toolbox, Uniden CB with whip and now, enjoying a new reprieve on life with a 2000 series 5.4L (swapped engine due to Piston Slap). Will be Superchipped shortly...

 

to all interested,

do yourselves a favor and run the straight pipes. if sound is what you are after, and not everyone is, do this. a custom shop can fix you up for half or less than the cost of a catback system. trust me, i listened to them all, and this is the way to go. my entire set up cost $184, this included 24" x 3" cannons and even tax. i read a thread a while back where someone talked of having straight pipes and losing backpressure, in the same sentence i read that the truck spun the tires on request, even from a running punch. not trying to be a jerk here, but, that is torque turning those tires for you. i have noticed no torque gains, but no loss either, however; i have noticed a greater kick when passing others on the road. i look at this as a definite horsepower gain. do whatever you wish, and i apologize for the length of this reply, just know that this guy is very happy with straight pipes. happy wheelin, Rich

 

hikerrich- what happened is when I installed strait pipes on a stock 5.4lt, 3.55ls, with 255/70/16 tires the truck was slower from a standing start. {less torque??} It woud rarely spinn the tires. The sound was awsome and just tolerable at low highway speeds 69 or less! Then I changed the rear end to a lower ratio 4.10. The truck would spinn the tires on demand and ran the quickest. { gained torque or better set up??} The noise level was increaed across the board and highway speeds produced to much drone. So I went with a flowmaster 50 series 3 chamber and the sound level is just a little to quiet all around. The tires stopped spinning on demand. { lost torque or por setup?? } Later I installed the wms velocity tube and the tires returned to spinning on demand. { gained torque or better setup??} Now The mpg are not as good as when I was running strait pipes, however I'm not thru making changes. I think headers,highflw cats,h pipe,terminator box,proper cfm mufflers will give me the best performing system. Strait pipes are fine under certain conditions { set-ups} and a real pain in the --- in others. Goodluck with yours.

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Capt. America..,
1998 F-150 XLTSC...2WD.. . 4.10LS rear...auto E40D... 5.4L...Flairside... Ground effects... Billet Pedals... Billet Grill... Billet Brake lite... Oval Mirror... Bed rails... Bug Deflector... Wood Grain Kit...Fog lites... TPS...Velocity tube... K&N... ss Ford tag.,.Tinted Windows... overhead/floor consoles... Mood lights...Blue bulbs... Alarm...Radar...Dashmat... Fire/Ice rear window tint ...conspicuity reflectors... cd changer...mobil 1... Painted rear Drums... Helwing Sway Bar... Dual Exhaust... Halogen Back-up bulbs... clear corner lens...
Tail lens covers... Leather...Floor Mats... Seat covers...Tow Pkge...
Side window Louvers... Painted Brake calipers... Custom Captian America Paint Job...TRIPLE LED brake lights...Rain guards... Painted throttle body cover...sliding rear window...Superchip...Custom Gas cap holder...2" leveling shackels...Fox tail key chain...Clear turn signal bulbs..

 

hey captain,

so, it was you i misquoted, huh? sorry for the misunderstanding, wasn't trying to cause any trouble. let me ask you this, this velocity tube you talk about, is it worth the money? i've read threads on it, but am unsure whether i want it, or not. thanks in advance, Rich

 

Is running with no mufflers legal?

 

Tiron,
Are you running no mufflers, w/ cats?
Can you pass inspection w/ this setup?


Thanks

 

The setup you hear in the open.wav above is pretty much your standard catback dual setup minus the muffler. What I mean by that is that cats are intact and the pipes go from two to one after the cats just like normal. Then a piece of straight pipe where a muffler would normally be followed by a splitter pipe and dual pipes out the back. 2.5" until the splitter pipe and 2.25" out the back.

Not really legal, at least I don't think so, but here in arkansas noone really cares. And there's no emissions testing either.

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1997 F150 XLT Flareside
4.6, Auto, 3.55, custom catback
Pioneer DEH-305, Alpine 3547, 12" Kicker Comp.