Has anyone thought about cutting the exhaust before they why together, because before it Y's the pipe is 2.5in. then run the two 2.5in pipes in to( magnaflow has a cross over muffler" built in x-pipe inside of it" with duel 2.5 inlets/ outlets) and then out the back. Ive thought a couple of times about this setup but was wondering if anyone has something like it or maybe a thought about it? More then likely this is the exhaust im going with regaurdless, but wouldnt mind some input.

 

We're doing that very thing to my 02 SuperCrew with 5.4L and automatic right now.

Didn't get quite finished, but will tomorrow.

Give me a few days and I can report back on mileage, power and noise.

All 2 1/2" aluminized tubing used as well as a pair of three chamber Flowmasters.

The system was cut ahead of the Y.
The right side has a run of straight pipe to the right side muffler.
The left side was cut a little ways to the drivers - left - side so that a 90 degree bend can be welded in.
Then a run of straight pipe to the left side muff.
Both FM's are on their sides and tack welded together making for a compact pair of mufflers.
We're bending up a pair of new tailpipes and removed the original one.

Reverting back to stock would be easy if desired.
Two cuts and a little welding.

The tailpipes will exit same place as the stock one did and I expect that will keep the noise to a reasonable level.

C9

 

Got the SuperCrew back a couple of days ago.
It'll take a couple or three tanks of gas to give a mileage report, but so far it's working out pretty good.

I haven't driven it empty yet - it's Sweeties truck, at least that's what she tells me.
Makes sense, she's the principal driver.

Anyway, if sounds very nice.
The three chamber Flowmasters are an excellent way to go and considerably quieter than the two chambers which to me sound very much like an 'echo can'.
Kind of reminds me of the sounds from a nice sounding set of glasspacks.

There's a bit of exhaust noise on startup, but not bad.
Idle is pretty quiet as is very low speed parking lot running.
Nothing offensive at all.

You can hear the exhaust note as you travel, but it's not bad and probably more apparent because I'm listening for it.
It's not intrusive though.
And fwiw, I don't do exhaust changes just to gain some noise.
Performance is what it's all about in my book.

Yesterday we made a 120 mile round trip pulling a tandem axle car trailer that I'm guessing weighs in at about 1200#.
Empty on the way up and six 20' sticks of 1 3/4" roll bar tubing on the way back.

The truck does seem to have more power, but like always that's a subjective thing.
Seems to run a little freer in the mid-range and on up toward the red line although I keep it under 4500 rpm.

The big test will be pulling the loaded car trailer over the steep grade at the south end of the valley here and see how it does.

Along with any gas mileage increases.

The exhaust system as installed on my truck would be easily duplicated at home by a guy with a gas or MIG welder.
Nothing exotic was done other than making two new tailpipes and I think that was done because my muffler shop owning friend does a lot of hot rods and is known for his love of symmetry.
He is the place to go in our area and hot rods come in from as far away as 35 miles south.

From what I see, buying a second stock tailpipe, a u-bend or better yet have a shop bend up a 90 out of aluminized tubing and use that instead of a cut down bare steel u-bend to lead into the mufflers.

Connecting the muffs to the two stock tailpipes shouldn't be too difficult.
They may work as is or with the addition of a mildly bent piece of tubing.

Add a pair of exhaust tips to the 45 degree bends at the ends of the tailpipes and you'd have a system that costs perhaps a touch more than half of what a shop would charge.

C9

 

C9........... did you install a balance tube ?

 

We didn't install a balance tube even though I'm a big believer in them.

I thought I'd give it a try without one to see what it sounded like.

I think too that a lot of the towing - at least when you're hard on the throttle on that killer grade - you're past the point rpm-wise where the balance tube really helps.

Most of the balance tubes I've stuck on have been more for exhaust resonance reduction than for performance.

As it is now I really like the way it sounds.
Kind of the best of both worlds.
In-cab and on the throttle hard, it's probably noisy to a person on the outside, but with a reasonably attenuated throttle pedal you can keep it pretty quiet.

I did check the gas mileage on our little 120 mile round trip that was about 75% highway and the rest city.
A little hard to tell where it really was as about 45 minutes or so were spent idling with the A/C on while at the steel warehouse and also at a Home Depot.
Sweetie has a tough time with the heat and with her bad back finds it difficult to hike the 250 yards or so from way back in the parking lot and then hike through the huge store.
And she ain't even getting out at the steel house.
She finds no beauty in a nice piece of cold-rolled or DOM tubing.

So I leave the truck idling so she can be comfortable.

Even so, mileage came in at 13 mpg.

We'll get a better look at it with the next tank which should be about 50/50 city-highway driving.

C9

 

I finally got the Fanthom 3 inch single cat back exhaust installed on my Silverado. Nice sound, quiet enough for me.

No real performance gain that I can see , feel , imagine. I like the stainless tip though. I only have driven the truck for about 11 miles though.

If I would have spent full price on the cat-back kit I would be disappointed.

SO ........ I am interested in your dual conversion on the Super Crew.

Most Flow masters are too noisey for me. I may be listening to 2 chamber units and never really paid attention if a vehicle may have the 3 chamber unit.

I would wonder how a single 3 inch Flow master muffler and single pipe would work / sound on my Ford. Most mufflers get slightly quieter with more exhaust pulses through them.

 

I forgot to mention that I had the 16' tandem axle car trailer hooked up to the SuperCrew when we went to get steel.
It weighs, my estimate, 1200# empty.
I've heard higher weights bandied about, but I don't see how it could weigh much more than 1200#.

The three chambers on the SC are the first ones that I've heard run.
Most guys don't seem to buy them because they're more interested in the noise than they are performance.
At least that's what my muffler shop owning friend says.
Even so, he doesn't sell a whole lot of three chambers.

The SC has a bit of the 'hot rod' sound when it lights off and a slight touch of rumble at idle.
To an extent, it's me listening for it, but it's not intrusive and I think after I have a few miles behind the wheel it won't be too noticeable at all.

I have stood out in the yard and listened to Sweetie drive away with a light throttle foot and it doesn't sound any noisier than it did before.

I really like the three chambers and I wish they would fit under the roadster.
The two chambers sound ok, but they're a little loud on startup - ok, really loud - and they get pretty loud on the on-ramps.
Funny thing is, once at speed all you hear in the roadster is tire and wind noise and the wind noise isn't as bad as you may think.

Part of the reason for the quiet is the roadster only pulls 18" of vacuum at 65 mph on a level road.
Level roads being one thing we have a whole lot of in this valley.

Not been driving the SC too much lately, but when I fill up in a few days I should be able to report on combined city/highway mileage. it's about a 50/50 deal when we go to town.

Till then...

C9