"what is the best souding exhaust for a v6?" "how do i make my v6 a v8?" "what exhaust should i get for my v6?"....
all of these questions can be found riddled within the v6 forums, 05+forums, and even the lounge! but the hard reality of the questions are that they cant really be answered by anyone but yourself. the only thing you can really do is arm yourself with knowledge, and that is what i am going to attempt to give you right here in this thread.
First things first, your v6 will NEVER sound like a V8, not in a million years, but that is not to say that a v6 cannot sound really great.
The first thing you should understand is that there are TONS of options, with 3 seperate sections of exhaust (exhaust manifolds, mid-pipes, and mufflers) the possibilities are almost limitless to what you can do, and each and every combination has the potential to sound entirely different than the next.
the stock exhaust on mustangs is 2.5 inches in diameter, do NOT increase the diameter of your pipes because someone tells you it will flow better unless you plan on running like 900 pounds of boost. basically, your sixer will not be making enough power to fill 3 inches or more of piping, just leave it be, or else you will actually lose power.
lets start with exhaust manifolds
the three options we have here are simple.
Longtube Headers- these can be purchases from someone like kooks, JBA, hooker, BBK, etc. for a nominal fee, which can easily reach 500-600 just for the headers themselves, not to mention the new midpipe you will need, but we will get into that later. long tubes will give your v6 a more hollow, pinging sound, more like a v8, but again, not quite there. not only will long tubes give you a more desirable, hollow, deeper exhaust note, but they also add the most power, easily netting you 15 little ponies to the wheels (or in most v6 cases, to the wheel
)
Aftermarket Shorty Headers- these can be purchased again, from companies like BBK, JBA, Pypes, etc but will not set you back like the long tubes will, with a price tag of anywhere from 250-450 they are a bit cheaper, but still not what you would call dirt cheap.
BUYER BEWARE on almost all shorty headers, companies will claim gains of 10-15 horsepower for their shorty headers, but in reality, shorty headers will ONLY give you 1 or 2 horses, IF THAT. Shorty headers will NOT significantly change your exhaust note. they might make it a little smoother, maybe a little deeper, but not much, maybe not even enough to be noticable. Really, the main advantage of shorties is how pretty the chrome ones look under the hood!
my advice is....dont waste your money, either go big (long tubes) or....
Keep Stock Manifolds- the stock manifolds on the 05+ v6's breathe fine, as evident by the extremely minimal gains by upgrading to shorty headers. this is the cheapest, route, but unless you are upgrading to long tubes, this route is perfectly fine.
next we have midpipes, the section between the headers and the mufflers, these literally come in all shapes and sizes, but can be broken down as such. unlike the exhaust manifolds, this is a required upgrade for all dual exhaust seekers because our factory Y-pipe will not work.
before i get into the shape/size options, you need to understand your emission options. stock midpipes require you to have catalytic converters, which basically catalyze the poinonous exhaust gases, and make it break up into safe gasses (just a little chemistry lesson for ya!
). of course you can imagine taking these catalytic converters, or "cats", is illegal, but it is an option...
Off Road Pipes- these are the cat-less pipes i was talking about. people usually buy these pipes to get more power because the cats are very restrictive little devices. this will also give MOST cars a more aggressive sound. i say MOST because by most i pretty much mean GT's. most V6's with off road pipes get a real poppy sounding when you rev, and warming up the car wont make it completely go away! it will give you more power, but in my opinion, not enough power to overcome the undesireable sound.
High Flow Cats- another catalytic converter choice, this option doesnt delete the cats completely, but it makes them more wide open for increased flow, and decreased emissions control. with these, you might throw an emissions code, you might not, these are intended to be a happy medium between flow and emissions, but you could throw a code with these cats. you will gain power with these, and have less poppy-ness from your exhaust note, but that pop could still stay there, creating an undesireable note, make sure you do more research if you want either off road pipes, or high flow cats.
now that we got that out of the way, lets talk about se....sizes...
there are two sizes we need to worry about...
Normal length mid pipes- these are midpipes with the same length as your stockers, intended to be used with stock exhaust manifolds, or any shorty headers.
Shorty Mid Pipes- these are shorter mid pipes intended to be used in combination with long tube headers.
almost done, now we need to talk about the midpipe shape options there are available.
H pipes- these are the stock shapes on all GT's the two pipes go backwards from the cats, and are connected in the middle by a perpendicular tube, making the shape of an H, thus, the name h pipe. these pipes are considered to be pipes that give you the deepest, smoothest, and in many opinions, the most desireable "hot rod" sound. these come in shorty/normal length, off road, and high flow in both sizes
X Pipes- these pipes are usually used by mustang owners who want the most power out of their exhaust set up, as these pipe converge in the middle to form an X shape. again, these come in shorty/normal length, off road, and high flow.
Custom Pipes-here is another option that is gaining popularity. with this option you can just go to a local exhaust shop and ask them to either make you an X or an H pipe, or do what i did and have them cut your factory Y pipe, and just run two seperate straight pipes back to your mufflers. you can usually find a shop to do this, including installation of mufflers for around 200, if not under 200.
now the moment youve all been waiting for, the great muffler debate. choosing the right muffler for you is purely a "your taste" type of decision, and your "economic situation" type decision. i will do my best to analyze and break down just how some popular mufflers sound, but then again, it is just my opinion.
it all comes down to taste, and money, remember that...
here are just some popular brands and what i think they sound like
keep in mind, minor modifications sometimes have a big effect on the exhaust note, for example, with a CAI, flowmasters seem to go from pretty poppy, to mostly smooth with the addition of the intake....just keep it in mind. also keep in mind that mufflers usually get deeper and louder the more they break in.
any aftermarket muffler should net you about 7-10 horsepower to the wheels, or the aforementioned wheel. you will not gain any more power by going duals, than you would if you stayed with a single muffler (unless you get long tubes or an X pipe)
some popular brands include...
Pypes Violators
Flowmaster American Thunders
Mangaflow magnapacks
Borla Stingers
GT takeoffs
SLP loudmouths
Bassani
FRPP kits
lets start with what i have heard, and what i have.
custom piping (cut y pipe, two independant pipes back to the mufflers) stock headers, and dual pypes violators.
these mufflers are extremely loud, and just BARK at wid open throttle. they sound amazing when you get on it, but a tad bit queit at idle, but thats nothing a little idle adjustment cant fix (i moved mine from stock to 925 with an SCT SF3 tuner) the addition of the CAI deepened the tone a bit as well. these are nice and cheap, and sound GREAT, especially for the price.
next we have flowmaster american thunders (same midpipe as mine)
at only 100 dollars more than the pypes violators, these are probably the most popular mufflers for any year mustang. they are known for their deep, hot rod sound, but tend to be a little poppy on the v6's. but like i said, with the addition of the CAI, it really smoothed them out, making these some of the best mufflers ive heard for the price.
next we have Borla Stingers, i was not sure on the midpipe and header combo, all i know is that it was NOT long tubes.
these are hands down my favorite mufflers i have ever heard. they combine the deepness of flowmasters, with the smoothness of butter. some v6 guys are even happy with just ONE stinger because they sound so great. there is just one problem, they are 600 dollarsa pair. if you have the cash, and want a GREAT sounding exhaust, take a look into borlas!
magnapacks
these are an aggressive muffler, not as aggressive as violators, but also not as loud. im not TOO familiar on these so sorry for the skimpy info.
SLP loudmouths
SLP loudmouths are basically a mufflerless axleback option. these are illegal in most states because they do not feature mufflers or resonators. ive heard these in person on a GT and they are amazing, best sound ive ever heard for a otherwise stock GT, but with v6's its hit or miss. depending on your combo they could sound amazing, realy deep, and real loud, or they could just sound really loud, and sound like an old beater, ive heard both. you are taking your chances with this brand.
GT take offs
these are by far the cheapest way to go, with a price tag of 80 bucks from new take off, or for less if you buy from ebay or craigslist, they are 150 bucks cheaper than the next alternative. thes coupled with an H or X pipe sound pretty good, somewhat deep, but also very quiet. they are usually for people who do not want an over the top loud exhaust system, but still want a nice growl.
now, lets talk about the FRPP exhaust package, it has a price tag of around 800 dollars, and a lot of people think they should get it because it has the FRPP name on it. well basically you are paying 800 dollars for some GT takeoff mufflers, and an X pipe, something you could get for half that price. one thing you want to do when buying exhaust, is do research, listen to videos, do more research, listen to more videos, shop around, shop around some more. there is nothing worse than buying exhaust for 500 dollars and ending up not liking it.
one good idea would be to go to some car shows, mustang meets, etc. and ask around. see if any v6 owners have the exhaust you are thinking about, find out their set up, and take a listen to it.
just make sure you know what you are getting before you get it.
this by no means is a list of EVERY possible muffler combination and is by no means the only ways to change your exhaust note. there are also cams, and heads, and internal engine parts that will change the tone, but that will cost big bank.
if anybody wants to add analysis on their set up go ahead and post.
Official 2005+ Mustang Dual Exhaust Question Thread 
(oh and by the way good thread, lots of info
)
. The MAC axle back have a very deep tone with considerably less popping from the exhaust at rev. they have a great hollow sound when you get on it, but still stay very deep. they are a lot louder than stock but not louder than boom tubes or SLP loudmouth. Boomtubes are the MAC equivalent to the loudmouth. there is a bit of a drone with these, as well as with the Borla stingers. the MACs grow out of the drone as they mature, but if you really want to get rid of it, add insulation in your trunk and rear seats (which our cars dont have any)
