I am wanting to upgrade my '04 FX4 SupCab exhaust. Should I go with headers or leave mani's? If headers, which would be the best to use? I would like the headers to have all appropriate bungs for sensors, factory installed. I can't weld! Also, what is the best way to go, true dual, or single to dual? Who makes the best out there? I have a K&N cold air intake kit already. I would like to know of a good leveling kit to use.

 

Absolutely! Get some headers if you can afford them. If you cant install them yourself then I would say to keep the manifolds. It can be very expensive labor-wise to have someone else install them.

Headers are a balance of cost and quality. Go for the thickest flanges, highest build quality and if you can afford it a quality coating. Brands are talked about here all the time, a quick search will give you all the info you need.

summitracing.com
jegs.com
ebay.com

Make sure your Y pipe does not have any restrictive bends or kinks. If it does have a muffler shop replace the bad areas with mandrel bent pipe (cheapest) or buy an aftermarket y pipe (better, and can be bought coated as well.) This part can be the biggest bottleneck on some models, so dont overlook it. The point where the 2 pipes merge usually looks ok on the outside, but looking at the inside you can tell why I say they are restrictive.

Your cat will flow enough for your stock engine. If keeping the stock cat is not an option get a high flow unit at any of the links above. Removing a cat is illegal, you gotta have something there.

Buy or have a muffler shop build you a single cat-back. If they dont use mandrel bent pipe look elsewhere. Aftermarket systems are usually within a few HP of each other, go for the sound you like. If you want duals, split the pipe after the axle and you have the look. General rule of thumb for cat backs are to use one step larger pipe than stock. Going any bigger will not do much plus it weighs more and costs more.

Not sure what brands you want? Plenty of opinions on here, just search a little. Magnaflow.com youtube.com and exhaustsoundclips.com should give you enough sound clips to make your ears bleed. Im a fan of straight-through mufflers and hate chambered mufflers. But opinions are like.... bellybuttons.

 

Ken pretty much covered it, I have a few differnt options for full exhaust/headers. What kind of truck do you have? 150? 250?

 

Alon, I apologise. I should have sent him to the sponsors first before other websites.

 

Alon, I have a 150. Thanks Ken for the help.

 

Personally, I recommend JBA headers, though there are lots of other good brands too. Go for smog legal shorty headers. They do offer significant gains over factory manifolds plus they are easier to install.

 

JBAs are an extremely popular header upgrade for the 5.4l 3V. I've read tons of mag articles on them and seen the dyno numbers as well. They make decent power, are supposed to fit well and be high quality. The JBAs arn't that expensive either.

I'd go with JBA headers and the JBA or Magnaflow 3" single cat-back exhaust. Either will look good, sound good, perform good and last a long time.

The last type of exhaust I would put on the truck is true duals. A single 3" exhaust is proven to make good power on the 5.4l 3V.

 

That sounds pretty good to me!

Dave, I tried sending you a PM but it didnt work. IF you have any questions on order feel free to email me and I will get back to you with some pricing.

 

Thanks guys, your help is much appreciated!

 

yeah, jba gets pretty good reviews on our site:

http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/exhausts-mufflers/61A2280A0A0.aspx

 

when installing the JBA headers, what might be the difficulty level, I don't have a rack lift. What parts have to come off to be able to access the mani. bolts?

 

I've read many article in mags about instlling headers on the new 3V F-150s. A few said the engine had to be jacked up some to get the passenger side header in. I think the easiest way is to remove the front fender liners and acess the headers that way. The mags seem to do everything from underneath the truck.

The headers will probably be a PITA to put on. I just got a local shop to put the headers on my SD. I didn't have the time or need the headaches. Only cost me $400 for the install.

 

Shorty headers offer no performance gains I just read that you get 0HP/0trq. gains with shorties! Why would you direct someone into spending money for something that is useless? Long tube Headers is what you want for your F-150 5.4L. Shorty headers from what I read is like installing a throttle body spacer, pointless and a waste of hard earned cash.

 

If you just read this, send us the link. There are countless tests showing the shorties do give power increases. And longtubes require additional exhaust modifications, and few longtubes are smog legal, which for many people should be a concern. If what you say is true, send us all some links and prove it. Most of us already know that shorties do offer noticable gains over factory manifolds.

 

Every dyno graph I ever saw says otherwise.