hey, guys and gals! alright, im ready to put a catback on now.

i've been researching flowmaster and dynomax mufflers and pipes. im looking for a little to moderate noise but nothing too crazy. what do you recommend? i would appreciate any info.

 

You should also consider the Gibson single pipe -- nice tone, not a lot of noise.

 

I second the Gibson recommendation! Had it on my '00 Expy, need to get one for my '03! Nice mellow tone not too loud, sounded good!

 

thanks for the info guys.
what about hp? does it help at all?

 

Not sure about power, it sounded faster!

It did make an infinitesimal difference in the gas mileage, toward the plus side.

 

If you have an F150, I recommend the Flowmaster 40 series (original flows) muffler, as I currently have a single-in/dual-out muffler on my 1997 4.6L F150. I enjoy the sound very much.

As for HP increases, I don't think there were any, as my truck was dyno'd at 160.3 with the muffler, and that's already -27% from flywheel (220*.73)...if that HP was increased by the exhaust, I would hate to know what it was like without the exhaust.

 

flowmaster force II catback

 

I just installed a Gibson single catback exhaust on my 99.

The install of the new system was easy, although I recommend a large 9 1/16th's combination wrench or a small one with a leverage bar. I didn't have any deep sockets and an adjustable wrench isn't good for getting super torque.

Now the hard part-removing the old exhaust. Here is what I did step by step:

Cut old pipe just behind old muffler with a reciprocating saw.
Cut old pipe just before old muffler same way.
Sprayed rubber hanging grommets liberally with Liquid Wrench (sub 10W40).
Sprayed U-Bolt hanger which clamps old pipe to cat pipe.
Removed old pipe from muffler back, had to work the rubber grommets but it came out fairly easy.
Next I cut the hanging arms off of the old muffler, removed old muffler.
The only piece left was the od pipe from the cat to where the old muffler was.
First, remove that U-Bolt, ha sounds easy.
The two pipes are fitted together by overlap. I had to beat it sensless and spray it like crazy just to get it to move. After about an hour and a half it was off. If you have an angle grinder this would be the time to use it, just don't cut the pipe from the cat.

I apologize for the lengthy post, just wanted to give any prospective buyers a heads up. It took me about 3 hours, I don't have air tools and I'm a carpenter not a mechanic.

I hope it was worth it, at least the shiny exhaust tip is cool, lol.