Anything I can do to make the exhaust on a 4.9 a little more nasty and still be legal. Maine has laws that are basically against "glasspacks" ( vehicle will not pass inspection), but I now you guys must know some other tricks!

 

How about some EFI manifolds (If you don't already have them), a high flow cat, and a turbo muffler.

 

She was built b4 EFI (82) so it has a "stock" manifold for that year. The cat convertor is long since "retired" (fell off) so that's not an issue, Turbo muffler? I've heard that term kicked around. Not sure what that means.

 

It's a brand of muffler to my understanding. Not obnoxiously loud but flows well from what I've been told.

 

"Turbo" is a generic term used for mufflers that are typically cheap to buy and built even cheaper. They get their name because they mimic the muffler used on the Turbo Corvair in basic design, at least the original "Turbo's" did. Now days almost every manufacturer offers a Turbo muffler just because they know the name will sell whether the muffler is any good or not, usually they are not. Most are thin gauge steel and are folded together like origami. The folded joints usually start to rattle and leak within a few thousand miles. If you have the money I would go with a fully welded muffler like Magnaflow, or a Flowmaster if you don't mind the obnoxious drone.

 

Thank You Silver Streak. Any idea where I could Buy Them

 

Summit Racing has lots of mufflers to choose from. You can also go to www.exhaustsoundclips.com to hear what some of them sound like. As a general rule you get what you pay for. The main thing for longevity is that the muffler is fully welded.

 

The flowmasters seem to be pretty good, the guy accross the street went with them and the drone was there but not real bad, he finally put the full length pipe on to get the exhaust out the back and its pretty quiet now, Mine still has the cat as we have to have it for emissions, but the muffler and pipe were rotten I got a 2 1/4 pipe all the way out the back bent to fit and didn't bother with a muffler and its nice and quiet. It was pretty bad coming straight out of the cat.

 

I agree that you are getting what you pay for, but in a sense that doesn't really apply to the 4.9's exhaust. I talked to my exhaust guy about a welded, straight through muffler and he said that you are getting durability, but not the performance you'd expect for all of the money you shell out. He directed me to either a glass pack or a directed flow turbo muffler. Even though a turbo muffler does restrict a little more than straight through, it still has a deep tone and a moderate performance gain.
I am planning to replace the exhaust system on my 4.9. I am going saw off the pipe right before my muffler (which is shot) and see if I like the sound. If I do, I will go with a glasspack and if not, I will go with the turbo muffler.

 

I put 3 or 4 cheapo mufflers on my truck in the first year or 2 I had it. Then I went to a fully welded 4 years ago and havn't changed it since. 4 cheapos at $25 each is more than one good one at $50. As far as performance/dollar, there isn't anything that's a good deal on the 4.9. The head is so poor and the cam so small that nothing does much without spending a good amount of money.