aftermarket exhaust ?????

[dozer9]

Been reading post on other boards- 3.5 inch down pipe with different muffler or a new 3.5 inch system? what brand would you recommend and why

[Tailgate]

Well, it depends on what your driving. I presume an Excursion PSD...but which engine, 7.3 or 6.0?

Since I don't know anything about the 6.0's, I'll comment on a 7.3. The 7.3 comes stock with a 3.5" exhaust and 3" downpipe. If you make both of these larger, you reduce the back pressure and it lets the diesel push more air through faster (and performance increases). Therefore, most people go to a 4" exhaust with a 3.5" or 4" downpipe. The thing you need to be careful of is going 4 and 4 without a performance chip as you will lose some power and the low end of the RPM range.

Now, if you are not going to chip it or just use a programmer with a slight Horsepower increase (like I did), then the cheapest thing to do is to either cut out your muffler entirely and straight-pipe it, or buy a straight-through muffler like a Walker BTM. Mine cost about $40 shipped, and I paid about $60 to have a shop put it on.

You would probably be OK without a chip on a 3.5" downpipe and 4" exhaust. Although I've heard some people say it's not much different than simply straight-piping your 3.5". (just hearsay)

Lastly...if you are going to open up the exhaust, make sure you've opened up the intake as well. In fact, the intake should probably be done first. Get a conical filter like the nice K&N, aFe, or go with the new Ford AIS system (not conical, but seems to be quite good).

[FamilyRide]

I'd suggest going over to "Upgrades and Aftermarket - 6.0L Engine" and starting there. I'm going to be doing exhaust soon as well, and there is a ton of information over there. Also search for old posts on exhaust, but be real specific because you'll find a ton of stuff. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[ForumBlue]

I have a 7.3. I,ve got the Banks Monster Exhaust 4' turbo back. It made a noticable differance in the performance.