Ok so i finally did it. I bought a set of headers and a new y-pipe for my 03 cc longbed. It has a six speed, 4:30 gears. and 35 in tires. my question is what kind of change in my truck can i expect. I have already removed tyhe muffler. Am i going to get a big gain in power? how about my rpm range? Will it make my exhaust louder? One more ?. What can i expect buying these things off e-bay. It's my first time using it. Sorry for all the questions. Any info or advice would be a big help.

 

For my 2-valve 2001, doing just the headers, I noticed an increase in power above the torque peak. As in, peak torque is around 3250RPM or so, from 3500-5000, there is a marked increase in torque.

I haven't done the y-pipe yet

 

I have the Thorley headers and Y on my 04'. It really helps the low end torque and throttle response. Some improvement in the mid and upper rpms as well however it is more noticable in the lower.

On the highway and the hills I can especially tell theres more power. The truck doesn't need to shift as much and doesn't require much throttle to keep it up to speed.

The stock Y-pipe is a major restriction point.

Your exhaust will get louder. My dad replaced just the y-pipe on his 03' and sound increased alot below 3k rpm but he is not running the stock exhaust system either.

 

thanks for your input. i cant wait to get them and put them on. What about mpg's. I'm not expecting any, thats not why i'm doing it, but will i see any gains?

 

I would say you could see a very slight increase in mpg on the highway.

I didn't notice an increase in mpg on my truck. (MPG isn't why I got mine either) I should be able to tell better during the summer months mpg wise. I only have my headers on for about 4 months now and winter time isn't too great mpg wise.

 

I know that this doesn't really help, and I'm not trying to bash or slam at all, and I really don't want to be a wet towel.... but I can't help wondering why you didn't go this route of questioning and investigation before laying out the cash. From everything I've read, the V10 performance curve is rather flat, and there really isn't a whole lot that can be done to improve either performance or mileage... sort of like the old die-hard in-line 300 in an '85 F150 I used to have.

 

Well, doing nothing else different, after the headers, and going from 265/75R16 Coopers to 285/75R16 Goodyear Silent Armors (31.6 to 32.8 inch diameter), I passed 17MPGs on the highway, doing 70-80MPH, GPS checked for distance, hand-calculated.

I have EZpass, so I don't have to stop at toll booths, and there was almost no traffic whatsoever.

I was amazed.

The previous year, same trip (215 miles one way), same load (camping), was 16.2MPGs but with lots more traffic. Who knows...

 

well, the main reason for me getting this stuff was because i wanted them. I know from this site that changing the y will help the truck run better. Also, its not going to be long befor i would have to change the exhust manifolds and studs anyway. why not put headers on. Right?. it also makes my truck stand out alittle more from others. I'm not rich or anything, but when i get alittle extra i like to improve what i have. Anyway, I knew that these mods wouldn't hurt my truck. I knew that they would improve it to some extent just not sure how much. First v10. That was the reason for my questions.
For f250_, your right that one should investigate more befor buying something IF they dont know what there buying or what its going to do. Good advice for some people.
One last question. Would a cold air intake be a good addition or is the k&n filter thats already in it fine?(K&N was in it when i bought it) Thanks for the replies

 

OOO, btw, I only get an average of 10mph(heavy foot) So any inprovement there would be good.

 

I just traded out of my 2-valve V-10 '05 Excursion... I tried everything with that truck to get more power. Tried the infamous eBay y-pipe, and other than an audible exhaust flutter it made no distinguishable difference in power (not in 0-60 time, and not while towing a 30' camper).

Then I went with a Hypertech, and using the high octane setting there was a very noticeable increase in power and about a 1 second decrease in 0-60 time (but who can afford premium fuel at 13mpg?!?).

Still wanting more, I took the dive and spent big bucks and got a full Banks Powerpack system with the TransCommand. Everything was new from the headers back, except the cat. This made absolutely no difference in performance either (0-60 was the same and towing was the same). VERY disappointing. In fact, with the Banks chip the performance actually went down (so I quit using it).

Hypertech says not to use their tuner with headers, so I bought an SCT Livewire. After some tinkering, I was able to shave about a half-second off my 0-60 time, but no matter what setting I used my mileage suffered by 1-2 mpg.

Still have the Hypertech and SCT Livewire... if anybody wants one, make me an offer.

After all that mess, and still wanting more I swapped my 3.73's for a set of 4.56's (I was running 285/75-16's). HUGE difference!!! If I had it to do all over again, I woulda done the gear swap and just left it at that. I woulda saved myself about $6,000 too!!! Way better acceleration, way better towing capability in the Colorado mountains!!!

Moral of the story... the Hypertech made the most difference with the stock truck... and if you wanna spend a bit more money, I'd go for a gear swap before anything else.

 

You're right... and it sounds like you were more prepared than it first sounded to me... hope my comment didn't come across condescending ... I sure didn't mean for it to.... and if it did, please accept my apology.

 

That was my logic I found some broken studs. Wound up buying eBay cheapos at around $200 w/shipping, and sold my original manifolds for $400 on eBay. The wife was happy

A member here, Fredvon4, did dyno runs on his 2-valve V10's, and said the only thing the K&N did was give a little more umph at the high end of the RPM range. They did nothing anywhere else.

Can't hurt

But don't go for a cold-air setup unless you're really just wanting to spend money.

 

f250_, no worries man. Didn't take anything personal. It is good advice. Thanks for the info Krewat. I dont think that a cold-air setup is in my future. I'm not that frivolous with the little extra $ that i manage to save. Maybe a custom tune might be some where down the road.

 

[QUOTE=nebmike]

Still have the Hypertech and SCT Livewire... if anybody wants one, make me an offer.


I bought the Hypertech and used it for improved performance......took it back and exchanged it for the Superchips. Thought it made adifference in towing, but after tracking the milage and ability to tow better......I retired the thing. The chips do make the trannie shift harder & better, but what a waist of money...for me. so like nebmike said..."make me an offer"......I switched gears and thats where the biggest change came from.
I agree with krewat about the cold air, I've got the k&n and it does a good job in the high end rpms, but little difference in the low range. just make sure to keep the mas clean.

 

I see you all mention a "Y-tube", which I assume comes down from the headers to the cat. Does anyone have any opinions about just running duel pipes to the back??

Keller Doc
2008 F250 CC 4WD V10