Cat back Exhaust upgrade

[joezek]

Since I just rebuilt the engine I figured I'd go ahead and upgrade the exhaust too. So after comparing brands I had originally decided on the Gibson system. I ordered the kit through "Real Truck" in Miami. Their website and order confirmation both said to expect the order in 7-14 days. They also went ahead and withdrew the money from my bank account. Well 3 weeks went by and no tracking info yet. I called and they told me they don't actually stock their exhaust systems and special order them from the manufacturer. Twice now they've sent updated shipping info and now today they've moved up my shipping date to another 4 weeks from now. Other sellers of this exhaust all clearly stated that there would be a delay and that it was direct from manufacturer- but not Real Truck. They failed to disclose that information, and also took my money. I buy parts on almost a daily basis because of my business and I know that when you order something that is being drop shipped and it's not actually available yet, they always wait to charge your credit card until the item is actually shipped. That's when the real transaction occurs and you now paid for something physical that is in transit and you own it. But it's not normal to take someone's money and then maybe in 2-3 months the item will actually be in existence to be sold to you. That's poor business on their part. Now I'm waiting through their games to cancel and get my money back for this imaginary exhaust system that still hasn't been built.

I shopped around and decided on the CGS cat back exhaust system. This system is a little bit less expensive, and all stainless like the Gibson. I bought it on Car ID and was able to live chat with a sales rep who supposedly confirmed that it will ship right away and I'll have it via Fed Ex in 5-7 days. It's coming from California, so I don't know if that means it's from overseas or made in US.

Here's a short clip of what it's supposed to sound like. There's a few other videos out there too. CGS cat back sound/video

I'll update on when it ever shows up and try to post a video on how it sounds for anyone who may be interested in doing their own exhaust. This system BTW is supposed to fit the Expedition EL from 2007-2014. It comes in aluminized steel or stainless and has the option of black or natural (polished) tip.

Joe

 

[joezek]

UPDATE: Yesterday morning I had gotten an email from Realtruck saying my Gibson exhaust system was going to be delayed another 4 weeks. I called and canceled my order. Then bought a CGS exhaust system from Car ID and it's already shipped. However, yesterday afternoon at 6:00 I get an email from Realtruck saying my exhaust system actually shipped yesterday morning and now they will not refund my money....So when that system arrives I have to ship it back to get a refund.

However, since it took almost 2 months to get the Gibson exhaust system, just throwing this out there before I return it. If anyone wants to buy it and not wait 6-8 weeks, let me know before Monday. Realtruck is giving a full refund and supplying the shipping label, so I'm not worried about getting my money back. Just figured I could save somebody a lot of waiting if they had been looking at the Gibson system. This one is stainless with the natural finish tip. I believe I paid around $650 so that's what I'd need, plus shipping. SHipping is probably around $40.

 

[joezek]

Update on the install:

The exhaust system is built really well, excellent bends etc. The biggest problem is that they kind of threw it into a box with the absolute cheapest ******** clamps and hardware possible. The clamps bottom out and actually twisted, almost broke and the pipes are still very loose. I had to do some tack welds to keep the pipes from falling apart.

It overall sounds awesome, but there's a terrible drone from the 1800-2000 rpm range. I'm gonna experiment with different resonated tips to get rid of that.

I'm gonna get actual exhaust clamps that work and replace the tip, overall it's much better than stock.

One other note - they didn't include the hardware to attach the system to the main pipe coming from the engine. I had to scrounge around the shop and find bolts and nuts to connect it. The factory used welded nuts on the muffler pipe flange. Cgs had a plane flange

 

[joezek]

One final note on this install. I eliminated the drone noise completely. First I tried transferring the heavy weight that the factory had welded on the last section of the old tailpipe, the added mass sometimes cancels out drones caused by echoes in the pipe. That did not work. Today I put in an Auger type exhaust insert into the last section of pipe. It's 11" long x 3". It needed a little bit of trimming to fit into the pipe. I put the same tail pipe back on and the auger is completely out of sight up inside the exhaust pipe.

Now outside the truck you can still definitely hear the aftermarket exhaust sound, just a little smoother and no snappy echoes. At WOT the exhaust still sounds good, but now has a wooshing sound, a little bit like someone with a high volume air spray nozzle. The drone is completely gone and the cabin is super quiet even though the outside has a low rumble. I don't feel a difference in performance with the auger, I doubt it hurt anything. The auger has three blades or twists. I can experiment and cut one section off to make it less effective and see what that does if I don't like this after a while.

Overall I'm happy with the setup now for sure. I still have a decent sounding exhaust outside, and pretty quiet inside. Seems like the best of both worlds.

 

[mhg1]

Can you provide a place to purchase the auger you used or a picture.
I also have the dreaded 1700 to 2200 drone.
Thanks in advance.
Mike

 

[joezek]

Just saw your message from last month....sorry. I bought the auger from Speedway Motors. It was the 3" one. It needed to be filed down a little bit to fit in the exhaust pipe. One time it actually fell out of the pipe but luckily it was when I started the engine. It blew into the driveway. I bent the blades out slightly to make it fit tight enough that it had to be tapped in with a hammer. It's been fine so far but I'm thinking of putting a tack weld or a long screw through the pipe to secure it permanently.

 

[mhg1]

Thank you for the reply. I did find one on Amazon and purchased it there.
Works great. As you said I had to trim it to fit. Put a long skinny screw though the pipe to keep it in.
Mike

 

[Lynnii2]

Update on the install:

The exhaust system is built really well, excellent bends etc. The biggest problem is that they kind of threw it into a box with the absolute cheapest ******** clamps and hardware possible. The clamps bottom out and actually twisted, almost broke and the pipes are still very loose. I had to do some tack welds to keep the pipes from falling apart.

It overall sounds awesome, but there's a terrible drone from the 1800-2000 rpm range. I'm gonna experiment with different resonated tips to get rid of that.

I'm gonna get actual exhaust clamps that work and replace the tip, overall it's much better than stock.

One other note - they didn't include the hardware to attach the system to the main pipe coming from the engine. I had to scrounge around the shop and find bolts and nuts to connect it. The factory used welded nuts on the muffler pipe flange. Cgs had a plane flange

One final note on this install. I eliminated the drone noise completely. First I tried transferring the heavy weight that the factory had welded on the last section of the old tailpipe, the added mass sometimes cancels out drones caused by echoes in the pipe. That did not work. Today I put in an Auger type exhaust insert into the last section of pipe. It's 11" long x 3". It needed a little bit of trimming to fit into the pipe. I put the same tail pipe back on and the auger is completely out of sight up inside the exhaust pipe.

Now outside the truck you can still definitely hear the aftermarket exhaust sound, just a little smoother and no snappy echoes. At WOT the exhaust still sounds good, but now has a wooshing sound, a little bit like someone with a high volume air spray nozzle. The drone is completely gone and the cabin is super quiet even though the outside has a low rumble. I don't feel a difference in performance with the auger, I doubt it hurt anything. The auger has three blades or twists. I can experiment and cut one section off to make it less effective and see what that does if I don't like this after a while.

Overall I'm happy with the setup now for sure. I still have a decent sounding exhaust outside, and pretty quiet inside. Seems like the best of both worlds.

Do you have a picture?
I have the CGS exhaust on my 2010 Ford Expedition. They installed the stainless steel system and the drone at 1800 to 2000 is killing me and my family. My wife hates to drive the truck and my kids also.

 

[Lynnii2]

One final note on this install. I eliminated the drone noise completely. First I tried transferring the heavy weight that the factory had welded on the last section of the old tailpipe, the added mass sometimes cancels out drones caused by echoes in the pipe. That did not work. Today I put in an Auger type exhaust insert into the last section of pipe. It's 11" long x 3". It needed a little bit of trimming to fit into the pipe. I put the same tail pipe back on and the auger is completely out of sight up inside the exhaust pipe.

Now outside the truck you can still definitely hear the aftermarket exhaust sound, just a little smoother and no snappy echoes. At WOT the exhaust still sounds good, but now has a wooshing sound, a little bit like someone with a high volume air spray nozzle. The drone is completely gone and the cabin is super quiet even though the outside has a low rumble. I don't feel a difference in performance with the auger, I doubt it hurt anything. The auger has three blades or twists. I can experiment and cut one section off to make it less effective and see what that does if I don't like this after a while.

Overall I'm happy with the setup now for sure. I still have a decent sounding exhaust outside, and pretty quiet inside. Seems like the best of both worlds.

Do you have any pictures of the install?

 

[joezek]

I'm sorry I don't have any pics of the auger installed. I moved it to the inlet side of the muffler now too. Mounted close to the tip I believe was causing a lot of ticking/hissing sounds that I didn't like at idle. It sounded like an exhaust leak. I think that's because there's a hollow pipe through the middle of the auger that forces some of the exhaust to hiss as it goes through it. I also had the auger fall out twice when I started the truck in the driveway, so now I have a long stainless screw holding it in place so it can't come loose and go into the muffler. When it gets hot the auger metal gets soft and warps a little bit, plus I think the pipe might get slightly larger by a few thousandths due to heat expansion.

I do have an UPDATE on the CGS system. It's been a few months and the system is starting to show a lot of signs of rust already. The "Stainless tip and stainless muffler" as advertised, are covered in rust badly. I checked and they are magnetic too, which means it's not stainless. I won't even bother complaining because I'll probably get nowhere with the company and even if they sent me a new muffler it'll do the same thing in 4 months. The non-stainless pipes look ok so far, not covered in rusty pits like the muffler and tip. I'll have to keep my eye out for a different brand muffler and tip to bolt on in the future.

 

[tiny]

Do you still have the Gibson system and if so what is the part number and how much for it??

 

[joezek]

I don't have the Gibson system, I waited several months for it even though they took money out of my bank to pay for it- as if it was actually available and for sale. After months, they shipped it a week after I canceled the order. They then made me wait another week for it to get delivered, then I had to deal with return shipping it and wait another week for them to accept the returned order, then another week of their in house problems and paperwork to finally process the refund. FUUUCCKKK GIBSON

I ended up getting the CGS system which was actually in stock, less expensive, and took less than a week to get delivered. However the CGS system is NOT stainless as advertised. The CGS system "stainless" muffler and tip are corroding horribly bad. They look like they're about to have holes in them any day now and they're only 4 months old. I'm not happy with that at all. My next step will be to try either Magnaflow or Borla's stainless muffler and tip to see how they do in the weather.

 

[joezek]

I finally gave up on the CGS muffler after trying to make it sound the way I want for months. I had installed an Auger type resonator inside the pipe but it kept coming loose and rattling. The CGS muffler was also corroding very badly. The most annoying part of the system was the horrible drone at 1800-2200 rpm range. I just replaced the muffler itself with a Walker sound FX muffler part number 17809. It's 10" longer so I had to cut a piece off the inlet pipe on the truck. Now the truck sounds great on the outside- still sounds louder than stock, but from inside the cab it's extremely quiet, even with the windows open. There's no more drone at all. I also replaced the crappy CGS exhaust clamps that originally came with their system. I put in stainless steel ones from Evil Eye. These new ones seem to really grip the pipes much better and they're not rotating anymore.

The Walker muffler is not stainless though, it's aluminized so I'll probably get corrosion eventually since we go to the boat ramp every week. But this aluminized coating is better than the bare metal on the CGS muffler. The factory muffler was aluminized too and it lasted 14 years, and I only really changed it because it was too quiet.

Here's what the CGS muffler looks like after 6 months/ more or less

 

[Silver-Bullet-Bus]

I run a stock muffler & rear resonator because I can’t stand the noise & the drone, especially while towing.
I don’t think it hurts my performance too much either, or I’ll just say I’m happy with my 12.49” 1/4-mile, not to make it any louder, plus it’s a heck-of-a-sleeper.

 

[Lynnii2]

I finally gave up on the CGS muffler after trying to make it sound the way I want for months. I had installed an Auger type resonator inside the pipe but it kept coming loose and rattling. The CGS muffler was also corroding very badly. The most annoying part of the system was the horrible drone at 1800-2200 rpm range. I just replaced the muffler itself with a Walker sound FX muffler part number 17809. It's 10" longer so I had to cut a piece off the inlet pipe on the truck. Now the truck sounds great on the outside- still sounds louder than stock, but from inside the cab it's extremely quiet, even with the windows open. There's no more drone at all. I also replaced the crappy CGS exhaust clamps that originally came with their system. I put in stainless steel ones from Evil Eye. These new ones seem to really grip the pipes much better and they're not rotating anymore.

The Walker muffler is not stainless though, it's aluminized so I'll probably get corrosion eventually since we go to the boat ramp every week. But this aluminized coating is better than the bare metal on the CGS muffler. The factory muffler was aluminized too and it lasted 14 years, and I only really changed it because it was too quiet.

Here's what the CGS muffler looks like after 6 months/ more or less
View attachment 75395

can you add a sound clip...... I went to a local muffler shop and another 2012 expedition had magnaflow 22 inch muffler installed and it sound good and had no drone with i did a test drive with the owner? The shop gave a quote of $180.00 to remove the CGS and install the new muffler and keep the exiting 3 inch piping and tig weld it all back.