I'm picking up a cherry '89 F-250 xtracab 4x4, and i want to put a new exhaust system on it. I have a Flowmaster catback system on my '03 4.6l F-150, and was wondering what was the way to go on the older 5.8s? It doesn't have to be loud, i just want to maximise my performance for towing etc. Theres just so many options, its a bit hard to nail one system down.
Thanks

 

magnaflow man. thats what i had on my 5.4. idk much about the 5.8's but its close to the 5.4. although flowmaster 40 series sounds pretty good and isnt super loud, its just got a low growl to you.

 

For towing... should be a 3" si/so system with a straight through muffler. If you have the change, go for a borla. But a bullet might be a very good coice. Cheap, deep and loud. The 5.8's are quiet so a louder muffler like a bullet may do the trick as long as all te cats are on.

 

depends on the cat setup. if it has one long cat or 2 cats then go flowmaster, you wont even hear it if you had a magnaflow(doesnt matter how long) on it without cutting the cat out or replacing it(or them) with 1 high flow. if its a short single cat then whatever you like will work perfect. IMO flowmaster is by far the way to go on the old pre-97 trucks as far as sound goes. for performance, basically anything will work. i hear good things about the hooker aerochamber but never actually heard one. flowmaster really doesnt hurt performance as bad as everyone thinks, my 5.0's torque curve is as flat as they come with my knockoff flowmaster. i would search through youtube and see what you think. only thing is dont have the pipes pointing straght back, it will annoy the crap out of you when you tow.

edit: also insulate your stock air box and hoses with foil-faced self-adhesive foam plumbing insulation, and put in a K&N filter or something like it. cai's do nothing for these trucks.

 

Good to know about the cats and the CAI.
Thanks very much for the info gents.

 

3" misconception-
i am a hvac co owner-currently i have 10- 04-10 ford vans-on my personal van-04 5.4 with 3.73's,i'm running a 2.25 " mandrell bent ss dual exhaust with x pipe-i also race mx bikes every weekend throughout the spring summer-my trailer is ~5500lbs-so low end torque is what i'm after,the 3" oem exhausts on my other vans doesn't hold a candle in the the torque dept to this setup, i speak from experience....