[moose_knuckle]

I have a 2006 mustang and i want to do my exhaust first of all....i like the deeper sound...especially similar to old muscle cars. but the cops in my area are cracking down on kids with their cars and will pull you over for loud exhaust.so here my question...i want a complete exhaust system...hedders all the way back.now heres what ive come up with so far...as far as axle back goes the pypes violator, bassani, Flowmaster american thunder, and the IMCO xtreme...i do like the extreme sound and the american thunder a lot.all of those have a nice deep sound and im pretty sure i want an H-pipe cuz the X pipes are a little raspy, and i dont want that.and i was going to go with hooker shortie hedders but i havent looked at hedders that hard...i definately shorties but im flexible on what to get.....so basicially with what info ive given id like opinions on what you have or what you think i should be looking at in any aspect of the exhaust system. i want the loudness to be like an 8....a nice deep rumble...and loud when i get on it...but i get messed with by the cops enough as is. any and all opinions appreciated...plz correct any info i get wrong also.

[nghtrnnr]

i've never seen a cop pull over a stang for a loud exhaust...it'd be like pullin over a harley...some things are just american as moms apple pie...but the guys i know with rice mobiles equipped with rice mufflers say they get it all the time

[pikapp]

You might want to look into the Long Tube Headers and x-pipe vs. the Shorties and h-pipe. LT's & x, will give you better hp gains and for most gt owners, that's what were going after when getting headers. I too was looking at the FRPP shorties, but after comparing the hp gains against the LT's, there's no comparison. As far as the mufflers, all that you listed are good choices, which one you eventually end up with will be which ever one's sound you like best. I have the Flowmaster American Thunders and have had them since 2 weeks of buying the car. Love the deep, throaty sound and on WOT, it's awsome. Having some LT's , x-pipe and catted midpipes installed in about a week or 2 and have been told the exhaust sound will probably not change that much. I'm looking forward to the additional hp gains, getting so close to the 300 rwhp mark, which puts the hp at the engine around 375. :thumbsup

[Puptent21]

Try Hooker long tube headers, H-pipe (stick with an aftermarket H-pipe for a deeper sound), and MAC axle-backs. I think that would give you the very deep, aggressive sound you're looking for.

[stlwagon]

Well you're not going to be achieve a full 60s muscle car sound with just an exhaust. You'd need to do cams too. LTs, a new H or X, HF cats, and a good axleback will probably give you 25-30 RWHP and better sound, but it's never going to sound like a 68 428 CJ without some internal work.

[moose_knuckle]

Well i used to have a 67 mustang...and i got pulled over two times for loud exhaust. yes i agree thats like taking sand from the beach...but theres not much i can do about it. Iver narrowed down my axle backs to the IMCO Xtreme and the flowmasters thunder....and a long third id go with some bassani axle back....and the reason i was looking into shorties instead of LT hedders was smog.i live in california and i was told that if i was to put LT's on my car that i wouldnt pass smog.....mistaken?....i was actually looking at MAC shorties or maybe some hookers..not exactly sure....and im almost sure im going to go with the MAC Catalyst Pro Chamber.my next ? is what will give me the most HP gain.im willing to sacrifice a little sound for a few extra ponies.would an X pipe give me more HP over an H pipe, and would i lose some of the deep throat sound with the x pipe.

[moose_knuckle]

oh yea...any links to sites where people have found cheaper exhaust than mainstream sites would be much appreciated also.

[six100f4i]

Dont know about the rest but my MAC Axlebacks sound great! I think they got that deep tone your looking for and the 4in. tips look nice too.

[Cowtown]

The flowmasters have a real nice deep sound and under throttle provide a really great growl. They aren't too loud either so when you're at highway speeds it's quite civil. I'd recommend them if you're looking for better sound but not really bloody loud.

[moose_knuckle]

what MAC axle backs do you have? i am going to get the pro chamber,once i have saved the money...but ive heard a few bad reports that the flows arent that loud withought an aftermarket h pipe.and i wont have that for a little while after the axle back.anyone have the flows american thunder?

[six100f4i]

http://www.macperformance.com/store/...ategory_ID=939

ordered mine from brenspeed. 100% satisfied, nice deep tone, sound mean when you mash the throttle but quiet down nicely while cruising. flowmaster was to quiet for me

[tw0scoops123]

Don't sacrafice your sound for a few extra ponies...you won't be able to tell a difference in throttle response so why bother. Gotta listen to the exhaust day in and day out.

[SportsPix]

Hi moose,

So you want to make noise cheap? Why bother? If you are going to go the all the trouble of installing headers why not get an exhaust system that will make serious horse power?

If vehicle emissions are not an issue to you or the state or county you live in but you still need to be somewhat quieter than an open exhaust look into a set of JBA long tubes or Kook's long tubes. These are the best of the long tube headers and can make real power when combined with a well matched X-pipe and small resonators in place of the cats usually offered or supplied with the X-pipe. X-pipes make more power but if you prefer the coarser, huffy sound of an H-pipe and don't mind giving up 3-5HP by all means use an H-pipe instead. I suggest resonators ("race mufflers" or small flat Spintechs), where cats in a LT system usually go to help control the SPL of your exhaust system.

If you want to try to get close to the sound of a classic muscle car you are need to look into buying a pair of chambered mufflers for the rear of the car. JBA, Pypes and FlowMaster are of the old school chambered design and they all offer bolt-in mufflers for the S197GT. A few words of warning, all of the chambered muffler designs are loud and you if you install headers you will NEED to have either cats or some type of resonator installed ahead of the rear mufflers or you will be too loud. A problem with all chambered mufflers and worse in chambered muffler designs with fewer than 3 chambers is that they have a strong tendency to resonate at certain RPM's and their harmonics both above and below the center resonant frequency. This is less of an issue with H-pipes than X-pipes which tend to resonate very strongly at about 2,500RPM or so on the S197GT's 3-valve motor.

Combine the X-pipe's strong resonance and the natural tendency of chambered mufflers to resonate and you get loud resonant sounding exhaust that will drive you crazy on the highway. This is why most of the exhaust systems for the S197GT are straight through designs not to mention the fact that straight through silencer designs tend to make more power than baffled and/or chambered mufflers typically do.

Stay away from MagnaFlow, Bassani and Borla as they are ALL straight through designs. There is one combination that works well with all of these straight through silencer style mufflers, the stock cast exhaust manifold or good shortys and the stock Ford catted H-pipe. For the most part they all sound pretty good, are not too loud and do not tend to resonate too much at part throttle cruise speeds.

If vehicle emissions are going to be an issue like here in SoCal shortys and a down pipe with cats in the stock location are the only way to go. Of the off the shelf parts there are only a limited number of headers and catted down pipes that are emissions legal or at least look legal. AFAIK JBA shortys are the only 50 state legal headers available. The only catted down pipes that are or at least look 50 states legal are the stock Ford catted H-pipe and MagnaFlow's Tru-X Pipe with high-flow OBDII compliant cats. The problem I found is that there are not any quiet, good sounding, non-resonating stainless steel catback or axle backs that work well with the MagnaFlow Tru-X Pipe. The best for power was the MagnaPack catback I installed and had to yank out as soon as I got the car dyno'd because my wife said it was too darned loud. So at the moment I'm running the stock Ford mufflers and to tell you the truth they don't make as good power as the MagnaPacks did for that 10 days I had them installed. But the stock Ford mufflers do sound pretty *****'n, I got my buddy to drive my car past me a few times and when he got on it WOW, what a sound! I'm going to add some double wall SS tips and be happy with them.


Cheers/Chip

Originally Posted by moose_knuckle

I have a 2006 mustang and i want to do my exhaust first of all....i like the deeper sound...especially similar to old muscle cars. but the cops in my area are cracking down on kids with their cars and will pull you over for loud exhaust.so here my question...i want a complete exhaust system...hedders all the way back.now heres what Ive come up with so far...as far as axle back goes the pypes violator, bassani, Flowmaster American thunder, and the IMCO xtreme...i do like the extreme sound and the american thunder a lot.all of those have a nice deep sound and im pretty sure i want an H-pipe cuz the X pipes are a little raspy, and i dont want that.and i was going to go with hooker shortie hedders but i havent looked at hedders that hard...i definately shorties but im flexible on what to get.....so basicially with what info ive given id like opinions on what you have or what you think i should be looking at in any aspect of the exhaust system. i want the loudness to be like an 8....a nice deep rumble...and loud when i get on it...but i get messed with by the cops enough as is. any and all opinions appreciated...plz correct any info i get wrong also.

[moose_knuckle]

well i live in california and i have to worry about smog....so LT's are definately out of the question....my exhaust is going to sound good whichever way i go with it......i think the IMCO exhaust will be too loud with the MAC pro chamber so im probably going to have to go with bassani or the flowmasters.depending on what piece i put on first will decide what axle back i get.so probably the bassani with MAC pro chamber and JBA shorties.i think i will do me very well with performance and sound like a beast.agree? no? opinion?