I have a 95 F-150 with a 351W and bone stock exhaust. I want to go with a cat back dual exit at some point but right now I just want better sound from my pipe than stock. So, I was curious what all of y'all would say about your pick as a replacement for better sound and performance. I know the performance gain will be minimal at best but better than OEM. Also, what is the diameter of the pipe?

 

I think its 2.25 stock after last cat. You won't get any real good sound with both cats on. I like Flowmaster Super 44's, but alot of people also don't like them.

 

I run Thrush "Welded" mufflers( two chambered). There around $35 each. Aggressive sound, and deep tone.

But you want get much sound with the cats on

 

I think the best sounding muffler for under 100 bucks is Dynomax Ultraflo Welded.

If you have the stock cats, I would go with a torpedo pack. Its a glasspack with a Y in it like a single to dual muffler. The factory cats muffle the exhaust alot.

 

I like the super 44s with duel exhaust....Lew

 

torpedo pack, Cherry bomb extreme or Pro !

 

Magnaflow. Great sound without the drone.

 

Dynomax bullets. They are less than 50 dollars a piece from summit racing or jegs. They are definitely loud without cats, but with cats, it should still growl pretty good.

 

another vote for super 44. but as stated prior, not going to get any louder with the stock cats in, it will just change the sound....i cut the cat off ran 3" pipe to a super 44 with single exit and i liked it bit wasnt loud enough for me so i cut the tailpipe off and just a turndown now. love it

 

I've also run the Thrush welded mufflers on a couple of different trucks and will be putting them on my 97 when I do the exhaust. They are a little quieter than most welded mufflers but still give a deep bassy growl with no to very little drone. With the cats you'll have a nice V8 sound that’s not too loud. I think they'll the best bang for the buck. I've also run Flowtec Afterburners on my Mustang II and like the sound they give. Much more louder than the Thrush but for that car I would have still liked them louder; they make me think of the aftermarket chamber mufflers that used to be on all of the muscle cars of the 60s.

I might get flamed for this but I'd say stay away from the Flowmasters. IMO they make all engines sound standardized. Also you'll pay more for the name than the muffler.

 

Flame on you !!!

 

Thrush turbo's sound great after they get about a 200 miles on them. But I agree with everyone else, The cats are extremely restrictive on the old fords. In my opinion it was overkill to put two in the trucks. If you live in a state were they dont do smog testing I would lop the cats off and run true dual exhaust with two thrush turbo's. They run about 28 dollars a muffler. Another good one for the price is flowtech raptor series. It would also give you a good performance gain. And help on gas mileage. In my opinion flowmaster and magnaflow sound too much like a rich kids mustang. lol But thats just me.

 

another magnaflow vote here, had flowmaster and really like the sound of it when you get on it, but when you let off it just turns to a nightmare in the cab soundwise (tried a few different ideas STARTED with a dump under the box, then out the side single exit though........ got BETTER but not good)

since switching to a magnaflow with some kinda x-pipe built in, (dual inlet & outlet) i am loving the sound now... in my opinion PERFECT

i have had flowmaster on my last two vehicles as well; a volkswagen jetta, and a dodge dakota with a 318 so i think thats saying something for magnaflow here.... but it's all in what ya like

thats 460 by the way...

just go on youtube type in whatever motor you got and a brand of muffler, and you are bound to find something! living in a small town like i do not much else around to give you an idea of what different options sound like

 

With stock cats and manafolds, a magnafow muffler will be super quiet, been there done that !

 

Thanks for all the replies y'all! I went with a Thrush 20" glasspack and am happy with the way it sounds....for now. But all of y'all who said that the stock cats hush the tone pretty good were dead on. I cut the stock muffler off and started the truck just to see what it sounded like...I was stunned at how quiet it was! I was half tempted not to run a muffler at all and just a pipe in its place. Here in VA we have vehicle inspections though so it wouldnt pass without a muffler on. We are moving to Raleigh.,NC in may of next year and they do Inspections AND emmisions testing so cutting the cats off is not an option.
How effective are High-Flow cats at making it slightly louder and can you pass an emissions test with them on? Eventually I would like to go true dual with a high-flow cat on each side, headers and glasspacks straicht ot the back.