Exhaust Question

[snicklas]

I have considered opening up the exhaust on my Excursion. One consern that I have is the "exhaust drone" that may come along with doing this. Currently the truck has the 100% stock, factory exhaust. Turbo to tailpipe, Cat and Muffler.....

I have thought, loose the cat, keep the muffler, or keep the cat, loose the muffler, or loose both. Indiana does not have inspections / emission checks.. (yet)... so changing the exhaust is not an issue.

BUT... and this is the sticking point..... This is the "family station wagon". My fear is what happened to my Dad, he has a 94 E-150, 302. Before he bought his Pick-up he was towing his boat with the van... a 5000lb+ boat.... so he had the exhaust opened up, for a bit more power... the cat was replaced, and a MagnaFlow/Flowmaster style muffler was installed. Once this was done.. at crusing speed 55-60, the exhaust drone was unbearable inside the van... to the point you could not hear, talk... think..... it was like that for about 2 weeks, and he had the magnaflo/flowmaster style muffler was removed, and a new, take-off cheby muffler was installed (new exhaust was 3" and this was a 3" in/out muffler). This "fixed" the drone and has been good since.

I do not want to repeat this with my truck. I had a Flowmaster installed on a Durango, and it did not drone.... but apple and oranges.

Has anyone noticed that has a van, or a CC pickup, or Excursion that has opened up the exhaust, that it causes a drone in the cabin.....

Do I leave well enought alone... since there is nothing wrong with system now.

Do I remove one or both the current, cat or muffler and straight pipe it....

Do I remove both and remove both, and add a Walker BTM?

If I do this, I only want to do it once.....

 

[tractorman86]

My brother and brother in law both have crew cabs and they both put Diamond Eye 4"turbo to tail systems on and get no drone what so ever with hollow cats, and they sound awesome but not real loud.i just don't know how much the extra cabin space will effect the drone.

 

[marblecrusher]

I wouldnt know about in the cab but the 6.0's have a hell of a turbo whistle, I know two guys around here and with the exahust opened up you can hear the turbo over the motor or the exhaust lol. I know one thing though drone is different for everyone and affects everyone differently, ive had a straight pipe on my cummins for 2 years and love it and have no problems with drove even hauling a load. But others will tell you differently.

-Jordan-

 

[snicklas]

marble,

Yes you can hear the whistle in the cabin. The 03 has a different turbo that the other years of 6.0, and it has the loudest whistle of all. I was beside another Ex, an 05.... I was on their right, I had my window down, to hear if it was a diesel, which it was. They hit the throttle, and I heard their turbo spool. This truck had the stock exhaust on it also. I hit the throttle to maintain my position beside them, and my turbo whistle drowned out their turbo whistle......

Even with the stock exhaust with the cat and muffler, exiting behind the right rear tire.... if I have a hard surface beside me, (wall, hill/mountain side, building) the whistle is very loud!!!!

 

[tractorman86]

Ok scott, since the whistle bothers you so much I'll trade you turbos

 

[snicklas]

I never said the whistle bothered me. I really like the whistle. I miss it when I drive the car.

I joked the other day that I need to turbo the car......

 

[CDX825]

My buddy has an 03 F250 and hes been running just the downpipe for the longest time.

We took a trip a few weeks ago and he drove. I thought the exhaust might get anoying but it wasn't bad. No drone what so ever just turbo whistle.

I have only driven a couple 6.0s but it seems to me they dont have the drone. At least not like the 7.3s did anyways.

If I were you I would take the stock system apart so it could be put back on and try straight piping it. If you dont like the sound straight piped you could always add a muffler. I would think getting rid of the cat would help though with power and fuel economy some. If you end up with something you dont like you can always put the stock system back on. I would recommend using the stainless band clamps over the crush style clamps though as it makes changing things a whole lot easier.

 

[F-SERI-ouS]

my mom has a 7.3l exc. and she runs a 4" turbo back b&b exhaust. no difference in cabin sound than when stock. i highly recommend you do a straight pipe, and just keep the tail pipe in the stock location so that you will not have the drone. my brother has a 6.0l and we finagled a 4" downpipe from a guy who bought a banks exhaust, but did not want to lose the cat, so he did not replace the downpipe. we have tried all sorts of different configurations on the exhaust(straight pipe, both on, muffler no cat, vice-versa). while the sound changes a bit, there was absolutely no difference in cabin noise/drone as long as the tail pipe stayed behind the RR wheel. we finally changed the exhaust and it dumps out in front of the RR wheel now. the thing about doing the exhaust though is that if you do the down pipe back, you have to cut out the stock one, and will not be able to go back unless you wanna go through the trouble of taking the entire body off the chassis.

 

[Brianedwardss]

6.0's don't have any drone. I drive a family members '04 6.0L off and on, and it's factory exhaust that's straight piped with a cat-delete pipe. No drone.

But, a guy in my basketball league has an '03 with a 4" straight pipe.. HOLY COW is that whistle above and beyond loud and obnoxious. I love the sound of a turbo whistle, but his is ear piercing loud even in the cab. He threw on a diamond eye 4" by twenty four-inch straight muffler, now it's just right. His '03 with a muffler is slightly quieter than the '04 I mentioned, but it still tops it on turbo noise, even with a muffler. Being an excursion, and having the exhaust run under the entire length of the cabin, and personally having experience with an '03, I'd say get a turbo-back 4" with a straight thru muffler. Your 03 Ex will still have more turbo whistle than other 6.0's, but the cabin will be just right.

 

[snicklas]

Thanks for the info on Excursions.... that really helps..... I guess I need to save my pennies and pick up an exhaust system.....

 

[F-SERI-ouS]

you could just make your own, about the only thing you would have to buy would be a down pipe, maybe a muffler.
as for the drone, i forgot to mention that the egr does affect that noise. you can actually hear it open and close. and im willing to bet that you still have your egr intact.

 

[Ford428CJ]

I got the race dual 4" that I'm getting ready to put on my sick liter. I'm hoping to squeeze another mile to the gallon out of it.

I'm a Dealer for Diamond Eye Performance Exhaust and a lot of other stuff as well. Let me know and I'll help you out to the best of my ability.....

http://www.facebook.com/HillsideAuto1

 

[Mike]

My cat is gone and I'm 5" all the way back,I have zero drone and it sounds great (inside and out).

 

[War Wagon]

'03's had a different pitch on the turbine that made them whistle more. I think just deleting the cat is a good mod, and very easy to do. By doing this you will not notice any whistle or drone. The 4" kits don't add any drone that I have noticed, but they have an obnoxious whistle especially when straight piped. I think the whistle even more noticeable with Diamond Eye exhaust in my personal experience.

 

[Brianedwardss]

Diamond Eye kits whistle like crazy, even with their muffler. For an '03, a diamond eye 4" kit with their muffler would be a great setup.