Hi, I am new to the forum but recently got an 04 gt 5 speed, as far as exhaust i think i like the sound of the magnaflow, but will probably be runing an o/r x or h due to being cheaper and no smog checks here, my question is should i stick with the regular mufflers and not the magnapacks since there will be no cats, I am concered about it being to loud to enjoy the radio. Any opinions are appreciated ! Thank's Brandon
Hi, I am new to the forum but recently got an 04 gt 5 speed, as far as exhaust i think i like the sound of the magnaflow, but will probably be runing an o/r x or h due to being cheaper and no smog checks here, my question is should i stick with the regular mufflers and not the magnapacks since there will be no cats, I am concered about it being to loud to enjoy the radio. Any opinions are appreciated ! Thank's Brandon
LOL, "too loud" is like "too high", its in the ear of the beholder.
I'd recommend going with the off-road mid-pipe (X-Pipe yields more power, though not a huge amount), first. See how you like the sound.
If you still want it louder, then start shopping for an after-cat.
The after-cat swap is where most of the change occurs, but most cars DO get louder when you go to an off-road X.
Since you are new to the hobby, consider joining a Mustang Club. Then you get to hear LOTS of different cars!
Mustang Club of America lists all the MCA and many of the independent clubs in the United States, plus their contact info.
Oh, and WELCOME HOME to AFM!
stan
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tripleblack
"You can never be free until you let yourself go."
you said go with off road. then u said shop for after-cat. unless u ment catbacks? i was not sure here.
he meant catback.
To the OP, i recomend you go with a catted x pipe. the magnaflows sound a lot better with cats than w/o cats, and the HP difference between the catted x and off-road is minimal.
i had bbk catted x pipe and magnaflow catback on my car and i loved it. not too loud, but loud enough to get people to notice. drone inside the car was almost never there.
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thank's guys for the opinions, keep them comin only reason i said i will probably be using an o/r x or h is due to price i am trying not to spend a fortune on a mid pipe. Thank's Brandon
thank's guys for the opinions, keep them comin only reason i said i will probably be using an o/r x or h is due to price i am trying not to spend a fortune on a mid pipe. Thank's Brandon
The variables are:
1. Sound. This seems to be the main reason people change the exhaust on our cars. There are endless discussions on this and all other Mustang forums on this topic. Lots of links to recordings of various cars with various exhaust configurations. Search and explore this site - you'll find this data in multiple locations.
2. Cost. The catted mid-pipes (mostly various X-Pipes nowadays) for our cars cots about twice as much as the off-road pipes. For the dollar-challenged, this is an important concern.
3. Power. Good aftermarket mid-pipes yield a small power increase, and are relatively easy to install (vs things like long tube headers, for instance). The off-road pipes yield a very slight power advantage over the cats. Keeping the car legal might have a benefit should you ever have to move to an area that inspects such things (or should the laws change where you currently live, which happened to me).
4. Weight. Cats are pretty heavy. You shave weight when you get rid of them.
__________________
tripleblack
"You can never be free until you let yourself go."
I had magnaflow exhaust on my previous two stangs (03 GT and 04 mach) and loved it. They are pretty quiet, but when you romp on it there is a nice tone...plus they don't drone much. The magnapacks are quite loud. I tried to go back and look at an old e-mail magnaflow sent me regarding the DB differences and I couldn't find it, but I remember the magnapacks are quite a bit louder....like 101 DB at 3,000rpms or something close to that.
You'll get plenty of sound out of regular magnaflow exhaust and off road x pipe.
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2004 DSG Mach 1 (sold)
Steeda Tri-Ax
K&N FIPK II
Mac Prochamber w/cats
Magnaflow cat back
PHP Intake Spacer
Custom Dyno Tune
304rwhp & 330rwhp
Ok, on my 2002 Mustang GT I had a procharger on it. Before I did the midpipe I did the magnaflow catback, not the magnapacks. It sounded really nice and mellow and deep, when I got on it, it let you know it was there. Way better then flowmaster. Drone was almost non existant. I went with a BBK OR X pipe and it completely changed the sound of the car. It was loud as hell at first, but I got used to it. The drone was there a little bit at 2k with the BBK OR X on there. But I compared the sound of my car with a BBK OR X and Magnapacks with my car and my car was louder. I think it was dude to the blower, or it could have been that the guy dumped his exhaust (the big tips on the exhaust act like a megaphone). I don't know. But my car was really loud. I loved it though. It wasn't so loud that you couldn't stand it, but it was really loud to me at first. It definitely turned heads when I was on it. At idle it was still pretty quiet. But once you started to hit the loud pedal it was there
Thank's Mana4real i was really considering the regular magnaflow catback and the offroad x the most, but wanted to here from someone who actually had that setup. Brandon
N/A, the Off road X isn't recommended though... You don't gain but 1 or 2 HP more on the high end, but you loose low end. The reason I went OR is because I had the procharger and I didn't want to keep going through cats.
magnaflow exhaust (which one?) 2004 Mustang GT 
