more header questions

[MattO]

Hi, new to the forum, not really new to the truck. I have had my 99 EB for a couple years and about 100k miles. The only things done so far are maintenance, a 3 inch block/torsion bar crank and a Maggy cat back. I am looking to fix the typical exhaust problems.

I want to go LT and maggy high flow cats. I have seen pics of a guy over at f150 forums that did this with the stock y-pipe and it looked like it turned out ok. The other option would be the obx setup with resonators replaced with high flow cats. Both of these options will end up bieng over 500 in parts alone. The questions are these,

1. All the sellers of the obx setup on ebay say they wont fit the expy, will they?

2. The only reasonable set of LT headers I have seen are the pace setters and are not stainless, The rest of the exhaust is stainless should I stick with that or consider the Pace setters? I dont really want rust issues again, the manifolds look like they are going to be a nightmare.

3. Im probably going to be clamping most of this, at least initially, want to make sure I dont develop a leak at the header and have everything welded solid so I cant service it. Would I be better off welding the cats to the y and clamping at the collector?

I know this has been discussed a million times and I know what Im looking to achieve and that this is the set up Im looking for, the shorty headers and keeping 4 cats seems like a complete waste of time to me. I am just seeing very limited options for LT headers unless I want to spend 1500+ on the dynatec setup. Which is exactly the end result I want but 1500 is just retarded for 500 bucks worth of parts.

Im not looking for true duals or anything that is going to be stupid loud, I got the biggest body maggy muffler for a reason. I love the deep mellow tone without the loud raspy popping. I know going from 4 cats to 2 and headers its going to get a bit louder but hopefully that 22inch maggy will keep it under control.

 

[joethefordguy]

I've been researching because I intend to put shorty headers on my 04 5.4L XLT SSV
At this point, I'm pretty discouraged. the more I look, the more it seems the right combination of brands, materials, coatings, pipe diameters, cats, mufflers, cross pipes and chickens sacrificed at the new moon is pretty much a crap shoot. There doesn't seem to be a way to intelligently design an exhaust setup to yield a desired result.

any input at this point would be appreciated.

 

[hypercardriac]

I've been researching because I intend to put shorty headers on my 04 5.4L XLT SSV
At this point, I'm pretty discouraged. the more I look, the more it seems the right combination of brands, materials, coatings, pipe diameters, cats, mufflers, cross pipes and chickens sacrificed at the new moon is pretty much a crap shoot. There doesn't seem to be a way to intelligently design an exhaust setup to yield a desired result.

any input at this point would be appreciated.

Short tubes are gonna be a waste any way you go. If your near or plan to be near 3-400hp, than long tubes and high flow cats.. unfortunately, putting them on really does nothing without tuning the motor to the new gear.. it’s going to continue to run on stock parameters for decreased flow. dyno tune is best to take advantage of your setup. As far as muffler, your not really gonna hinder yourself enuff to notice, no matter what performance muffler you choose. Setups are often cheaper thru an exhaust shop, they normally cut your costs way down from buying a prepackaged setup, and of course everyone enjoys a builder who uses a local business when necessary. If your capable, buy all the parts and assemble, take a break here and there for beer and chickens..

Long story short, Long tubes no question, high flow cats, and tune.. pick muffler according to your taste in sound.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[joethefordguy]

Short tubes are gonna be a waste any way you go. ...

no, they are not. I have no interest in a high-horsepower, high RPM application. so shorty headers are in fact, the way to go. for me.
unfortunately, that's as far as I've gotten in my research. there are so many posts of satisfied customers with the same power plant and driveline configuration yet wildly differing exhaust setups that it appears to me that I'll get an improvement in low end torque no matter what i do so long as I use short tube headers, but could very well lose out on further improvements just because my motor "likes" a different config.
it's like shooting - two instances of the same pistol or revolver can have very different "likes" in bullet weight, powder choices, brand, etc., to get the nearly the same level of accuracy... you just gotta try 'em out.
unfortunately, an exhaust setup is more expensive than a box of shells. can't really keep trying different configs to see which one works best. Least, I can't, not until I win the lottery.

 

[hypercardriac]

no, they are not. I have no interest in a high-horsepower, high RPM application. so shorty headers are in fact, the way to go. for me.
unfortunately, that's as far as I've gotten in my research. there are so many posts of satisfied customers with the same power plant and driveline configuration yet wildly differing exhaust setups that it appears to me that I'll get an improvement in low end torque no matter what i do so long as I use short tube headers, but could very well lose out on further improvements just because my motor "likes" a different config.
it's like shooting - two instances of the same pistol or revolver can have very different "likes" in bullet weight, power choices, brand, etc., to get the nearly the same level of accuracy... you just gotta try 'em out.
unfortunately, an exhaust setup is more expensive than a box of shells. can't really keep trying different configs to see which one works best. Least, I can't, not until I win the lottery.

I have pacesetter equal length tuned short tubes, and aside from being cheaper than stock manifolds, have noticed zero advantage.. that’s just my experience, and far as my statement earlier, purely what I’ve read and found reading thru hundreds of posts and forums..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk