I have searched the past posts and haven't quite found what I need so here is my questions I have a 04 crew with the 5.4 and 41000 miles I have a edge, and a Voliant CAI on the way. I want to keep the single out in the stock location and I don't want it loud, proformance is more of my goal then sound.

question #1 Is the stock exhaust stainless steel? and Is the stock muffler stainless as well?

Question #2 From what I have read, the stock pipes are not that bad, flow wise and all the restrion is in the muffler, is this true?

Question #3 If I just change the muffler ( leaning toward Magnaflow) will I notice a difference?

Question #4 How will changing from the stock 2.5 pipe to 3" change the truck (power, torce, and sound)

bottom line Is it worth it to cut off a muffler and pipe that want rust out and replace it with a aftermaket? or wait and save and go cat-back? or just leave the stock system alone?

Thanks guys

 

can't answer question #1. been over 2 yrs now since I last saw it. I think it was aluminized steel...

#2: mostly. a bigger diameter will flow better, but at a certain point you reach a point of diminishing returns. power wise, the 2.5" is plenty of pipe

#3: yes. the Magnaflow SISO kit is pretty much just that. it's new piping with a muffler and tip...but you can duplicate this with just a muffler on OEM piping

#4: not much sound...torque/power will be pretty much same.

 

will I notice any "seat of the pants" proformance with just the muffler swap?

 

When you get the Edge of Volant hooked up and running together let me know how it sounds and runs. I'm thinking about getting that setup on my 5.4 also.

 

check out the post about moss they have the volant an sale for $164.48 so you may not want to wait.

 

Update the one for $164.48 was the powercore, they are now out of just called, they do have the non powercore and it is $176.97 plus shipping

 

1. Stock exhaust is aluminized steel, not stainless.

2. Don't know first hand, but from what I have read, most of the restriction is in the cats, so a muffler swap is not going to give you any noticeable gain/loss.

3. You will notice a difference in sound for sure. Performance wise, maybe a bit, as a higher flowing muffler on an otherwise stock truck sometimes gives people a feel of a slight low end power loss. I think in reality, it just moves the power curve up a bit in the rpm band. From what I have read, the best setup for power on a NA truck, even with a tuner and an intake, is a SI/SO setup. Since you mentioned Magnaflow, your best, and cheapest bet, is to smiply purchase a SI/SO muffler and take it to an exhaust shop and have them swap the mufflers. The Mag PN: 12576 is a 22" long body muffler and will be slightly louder than stock. Most of the Mag cat back systems come with the 18", which, for the muffler only, is PN: 12246, which you can buy from performancepeddler.com for $78 and it shouldn't cost you more than $40 to have any exhaust shop install it in place of your stock muffler. The shorter the muffler the louder it will be.

4. Changing to 3" pipe on a mostly stock truck will not give you any noticeably gain/loss in power, it will however change the sound of whatever muffler you choose. Your stock piping is 2.5".

Bottom line: Magnaflow seems to be the preferred muffler of choice for many F-150 owners. I have a Flowmaster SI/DO and it is loud, too loud for my tastes and I felt a loss of low end power, which is why I have the 22 " Mag on the way. I have a stock 2008 F-150 for a work truck and it feels alot snappier down low than mine, of course every truck is different so it could be unrelated to the exhaust. If you go SI/DO, go 3"SI/2.5DO as it will scavenge better, but you will benefit the most power wise to stick with a SI/SO.

Also, from the overwhelming majority of the many hours of reading I do on this and other F-150 forums, if you are going to get a CAI or aftermarket intake, you will need custom tunes as the 04-08 F-150's experience a lean condition with the afermarket intakes, many times that lean condition will not throw a CEL. If you already have an EDGE on the way, take a look at powerhungaryperformance.com (PHP). The guy, Bill, that owns and runs the business with his wife Corey, is a former employee of Edge and helped write the canned tunes that come with the Edge. He sells a product called the Gryphon, which is the Edge tuner, only black in color instead of grey (the color change is due to his agreement with Edge to sell the same unit with custom tunes and to differentiate the two so that Edge does not have any CARB certification issues). You can buy the Gryphon direct from PHP, or send in your Edge and he will provide custom tunes for you based on your requirements (there are alot of little things that he can change based on what you want and what you use your truck for, just call him and ask), as well as change the color of the unit to black.. In any case from what I have read, don't run any out of the box tuner with an aftermarket intake as you run a very potential risk of a lean condtition. Also from what I have read, PHP's customer service is second to none.

 

Thanks, ^ lot's of good info

 

Other then the shape what is the difference between the ovel and the round magnaflow?

 

Uhhh...one is round, the other is oval...???

Couldn't resist!!

Someone said something about a custom tune for a CAI...I have an Airaid CAI and it works just fine as is... and for what it's worth, my FlowMaster cat back SISO is drone free...sounds just fine.