Looking at cutting my stock muffler out of my 97 f-250 power stroke and replacing it so i can have a straight pipe. Note that I have the original exhaust and a K&N filter. I've seen posts about a fluttering noise and a loss of power. Would i gain any HP out of a straight pipe or will i just succeed in being loud if that?

Thanks
Tyler

 

with the rest of the stock exaust on it its just gonna be louder, i have my 97 straitpiped with 3" dp and 4" to in front of the rear tire with a 5" stainless turn down tip. not too loud for me, turbo flutter isnt that bad at all, its worse on the 99.5 and newer. love the way it sounds

 

If you've still got the cat in place, you won't get nearly as much flutter as those that have removed it. The stock muffler on your '97 is a 3.5" straight through design, and there isn't much to be gained by removing it. Gale Banks doesn't find it necessary to replace the stock muffler on pre-99 trucks because of the low restriction it adds.
You don't lose power when opening up the exhaust, you merely raise the power band a few hundred rpms, so the perception is that you've lost power. Whatever you seem to have lost in the lower rpm range, you more than make up for at the top.

 

I have a 97 F-250 Heavy Duty. The first thing i did was cut out the muffler and the one before it. It is not a cat but i cant remember what it is called. it looks like window screen inside. anyways i ran four inch to the rear axle where it spilts to two threes and chrome tips coming out at each corner. Makes the truck look great and sounds good too. It runs better and tows great. When I first drove it around my small west Texas town everyone wanted to know why i dualed a diesel. I said because i like the looks and the sound. Now there are about a dozen PSD's in my town with duals and crome tips. Really makes the truck look nice.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the "other thing" before the exhaust, will have to look for it. do ya'll think i should run a four inch tip while im at it?

 

I would put a tip on. It makes it look nice. Also you can angle it towards the ground to reduced the turbo flutter if you straight pipe it.

 

If you're one of the people that straightpipe it just for the sound(like me),
put on a 5 inch tip(with stock exhaust). It should make it louder. Regular straightpiped sound is not anywhere near loud enouigh for me. Also, if it is legal in your state, take off the cat.


LOVE THAT TURBO WHISTLE!

 

I was thinking about running a straight pipe through my bed with only the cat. the rest of the pipe would be stock size, just come up to a larger stainless through the bed. would this be louder than my current no pipe with a stock cat? would it also smoke more? should i hollow out the cat? i would like it as loud, smokey as possible. no problems here in texas really about that

 

Any sound clips of a straigt piped set up or even an aftermarket set up? Let me know. Charlie.

 

Redstroker, the stock cat is what really kills the sound on these trucks. Just removing the muffler does'nt make much difference as far as sound goes. To really make it talk you gotta lose the cat. 530cc will try to get a video up of my 99 with stock dp into 4 inch straight dumping out in front rear tire.

 

So, this is what i got out of it, there is no loss of power nor gain of power-it is just transfered from the low end to the high end. Just taking the muffler off wont get someones attention, you either have to put a 4 or 5 inch tip on it or take the cat off(is that legal in Texas). What i need to do then is cut my muffler off (see if its legal to cut the cat off in Texas) and run a tip on it. Can i purchase a 4 inch tip from anybody or does it have to be shipped to be from someone special (and how much with one set me back).

Thanks for all the replys

 

psdpower- let me know when you get that to work, pretty interested to hear what ur runnin. thanks for everything. charlie.

 

Awesome, thanks a lot ya'll. looks like i'm gonna be takin a steel rod to my cat now, then runnin it through the bed. i'm positive none of its legal in texas, but it doesn't matter to me. thanks again. also, anyone had any problems with the fuel assembly leaking around 190K on 95's ? its starting to get worse and gonna be a tough fix...

 

I think removing a catalytic converter from any vehicle in the US is against Federa Law. As long as you live in a state that doesn't do emmissions tests, you should be ok. I've never heard of anyone getting arrested or a ticket for removing their cat, just a ticket for noise violations (don't be stupid in town) or failing the sniffer test. I live in SC, with no vehicle inspections, so I'd ****** that baby off and let her howl. EPA