I know my Banks exhaust was 3.5" tailpipe. I ditched the muffler as it droned too much.

 

yeah those are eyeball measurements....i could care less about looks....i want oomph! I went with the Banks kit because I figured it would be mostly tuned in to the sweet spot rather than throwing a hodge podge group of parts at the X. Now I'm gonna have to go hodge podge and experiment. I do like Banks headers with the extra thick flange (which is a necessity with the busted head studs) but not impressed with the system.

Have to do some measurements and make sure I got what I was supposed to get.

 

eyeballs need to go back in for calibration. 3.5" exhaust pipe out the muffler.

gotta redo it as it just plain sounds like crap - cross between a diesel and rice burner with a fart can. Ain't no good. Done with Banks.

Thinking I might throw a flowmaster 50 series just to see what difference it makes....and if its good go ahead and dual out the pipes with two of them

 

I have the banks headers, y-pipe going into 3 inch into full size 70 series to 3in duals with 4inch tips... Sounds and performs great!

 

I'm going to go with some cheaper headers like OBX or Gibson and run true duals with a MagnaFlow TrueX and dual MagnaPacks... 2.5" pipe all the way back. Probably some big tips on the end.

Right now I have stock headers, CAT delete and a FlowMaster Super44, it is loud and sounds really mean.

 

I'm heading in that direction!

 

Be careful with those OBX cheapies... alot of Crown Vic guys run them and I'd say about 60% of them fail in no time. The crappy welding along the flanges just split.

 

yea, crap, Gibson it is then

 

Just pointing out their possible flaw. If anyone wants to try them go for it. I was going to get them and if they split I'd just re-weld them. Then I thought, what a PITA to have to remove them and re-weld them if they split.

 

The OBX site says they have a lifetime warranty... so I guess you wouldn't have to reweld them. I've seen a lot of threads where the cheapies were just fine on the V10. Maybe they are better on the V10 than they are on the V8?

What V8 does the Vic have anyway? the 4.6 or the 5.4?

 

Could be the difference... the Vics have the 4.6. Never seen any good reviews for the OBX on the Vics. Although, I've seen quite a few F-150 4.6 and 5.4 owners love them.

To be honest, for the price... I'll probably be trying them.

 

I pulled the stock manifold,had them resurfaced,replaced all the broken studs and put her all back together. She finally sounded normal (shes had a pretty good size exhaust leak sense we got her almost 2 yrs ago). I knew what it was gona take to fix the leaks when we bought her. I knew it sucked to fix the infamous v10 exhaust leaking sounds. But my wife and I really wanted an Ex so it didnt matter.

Well zhe was back to her old self (making that horrible exhaust
leaking sounds again) within 5 freakin minutes while idling immediatly after reassambly.

I just shut the shop down, walked inside and made a phone call to Banks. I ordered the complete exhaust kit, headers, y pipe,heat shields,etc. They arrived a couple days later. I went out to the shop and did the job again but with way better quality parts. If you order the banks headers youll know what im talking about the instant you see'em.

WEVE BEEN HAPPY EVER SENSE.....

Oh, to be honest, with my gear ratio and 37 inch tires. I didnt feel a huge difference in power like some claim. What I got, was better than that. My baby didnt have a loud *** embarrassing exhaust leak anymore. I did install a programmer to help with the exhaust system and with thst combo, I could totally feel the extra power.

The kit is pricey but id recommend them to almost everyone.

 

@Callmed... that is a great review... I wonder how much it would cost for just the Banks headers without all the other stuff. I want to go custom true dual after the headers. So I don't need the rest of Gale's stuff.

 

Anyone here use the gibson shorty stainless headers?

Or try this hedman kit on an Ex?

 

Pennsylvaniabo- I believe hav24wheel is using the hedman header kit. I would be very careful going with the OBX pieces, most of it is knock offs or the quality isn't there.