Budget exhaust ideas for 2004 F150.
 

Okay my stock muffler is just getting a bit long in the tooth, and honestly I am wanting a bit more growl to the exhaust without it being obnoxious or droning inside the cab. I stumbled on a Youtube video of a system a guy put together on a crew cab, using the Summit Racing system, looks like some custom fitting may be in order though, he tossed the summit muffler, and tossed in a Magnaflow. I like the results, and you can see the video but I was wondering... if I would be better off taking it to an exhaust shop with a 2.5" dual in to 3" single out Y, a magnaflow muffler, and getting the truck into my local exhaust shop to do the plumbing work? I particularly need to stay away from the stock spare tire location as I have a 35x12.50/17 stuffed up there and want it to stay intact...

I am thinking using the Magnaflow Y would remove the restriction of the 2.5 to 2.5 to 2.5" y that the factory used, and transition nicely into 3" pipe...

Re watching the video, and I addressed my concerns partially. At time index :42 you can see the OEM muffler setup, the pipe on the outlet of the muffler is clearly on the frame side, but at time index 1:10, you can see he has the Magnaflow / Summit rig installed backwards putting the over the axle piping too close to the spare tire... Flip it where it belongs and I should have plenty of clearance...

There are some issues I need to get info on though...

#1. What would it take to graft in the 2.5 to 3" y.
#2. The tailpipe / outlet, I don't care for the 90 deg angle, What would it take to get a 77.5 degree outlet / tailpipe?

Want cheap? Go to autozone and pick up a thrush welded, have it installed in place of your stock muffler.

I am looking for inexpensive, not necessarily cheap... There is a difference...

I am admittedly having some difficulty accepting the bolt on 2.5" cat back systems due to the 2.5" pipe... The pipes coming off the cats are 2.5" and I would think I should go to 3" at the Y, and then out the back with 3" pipe for the best flow without causing migraines on road trips...

If I wanted high dollar, I suspect I would go Long tube headers, high flow cats, and again... into a single 3", all stainless steel, and custom bent to my specs to clear what I need it to clear... The stock exhaust manifolds, and cats are fine for now... It's what's behind that chokes it off.

Best budget exhaust would be a good muffler with a 45° elbow pointed at the ground. You'll get sound. It will be a deep and somewhat bassy tone, but with the right muffler, droning is minimal if ever there. Either one of these mufflers should be a fine choice.

Magnaflow 12646

Magnaflow 12866


Then you can pick up an elbow and universal hanger locally and that's about it. There's a hanger above the rear of the muffler. If you remove it, you can reuse that bolt for a universal hanger. I did that when I had my exhaust dumped and it worked great.

You trade some throatiness for a deeper tone. I also did this on a friend's 08 Silverado and he hated it. The cylinder deactivation made it sound like a fart going down the road and he didn't want to shell out for a tuner to deactivate it.

Yeah dumps aren't happening with my truck. I did them when I was younger and remember the result clearly. Stinking LOUD. Not what I am going for... I want throatier than stock, but do NOT want to be obnoxiously or annoyingly loud...

I am not sure I have the concept right, but it seems to me shoving exhaust gasses from 2 feeds coming in at 2.5" into a single 2.5" pipe would cause excessive backpressure and resistance to flow. While some backpressure / resistance is good, I think too much chokes the engine off efficiency wise.

My thought process is to use a 2.5 / 2.5 x 3" y collector where the cats come together, and then back into a 3" pipe the rest of the way back, 3" in / out of the muffler, and out the back through a traditional tailpipe..

I have done some looking, and found a place that sells the mandrel bent pieces, and straight stock in T304 and T409 stainless steel. I am finding plenty of clamps that feature provisions for the exhaust hangers. so I think I am good there. The piecemeal approach obviously is going to make for more labor. But from what I can tell, none of the kits upsize at the collector, but beyond it. Or am I wrong?

Granted they were hooked up to a 351w, but my brother raves about the thrush welded. He had them on his Bronco. Personally, I want Borla ProXS or XR1.

Folks are forgetting there's MORE - MUCH MORE to exhaust flow than pipe size. Gas velocity can slow down with larger piping for a couple of reasons.


And - just so we're all clear - in today's engines, we never, EVER, EVER want backpressure. Ever.