I tried a Magnaflow 30" body XL diesel truck muffler. It was too loud for me after it warmed up. The resonation was just horrible. It would vibrate the walls in my garage at idle, then there was the 2k rpm highway drone. I just couldn't take it. The owner of Boise Muffler agreed. He had it cut out and put the stocker back in place.

Since I've decided to get an Edge EZ, I'm getting a 4" down-pipe (I got lucky - my 5.9 came with the 4" cast elbow!) and some mid-pipe from Rip Rook. It will connect to a 51" Donaldson or Neilson muffler, then the stock tail pipe. When I do this, I'm going to pull the elbow off and get the inside of it sanded and polished.

 

MonkeyLips,
Make sure you get one of Rip's 4" x 6" x 24" stainless steel exhaust tips to finish your system off! I got one on the Ghost Rider and you can't believe the diffence it makes in the sound! It is all good! I tried the 5", 5 1/2" and 6" when I was there last Friday. The 6" by far sounded the best! Nice deep low roar!

 

Good call...I'll give it a go! Thanks & cool pic!

 

Just got the 34' Donaldson installed. $25.00 at the muffler shop. Very quiet at idle, good sound at hard throttle. Just the sound I was looking for......

 

Hey chrismez, what part number did you get and why the Donaldson over the Nelson? Is there really a difference?
Could ya feel any difference in performance or even EGT's?

 

The new Banks muffler with an expansion chamber at the inlet is pretty quiet with a nice deep tone.

 

I thought chambered mufflers and diesels didn't get along so well??

 

Part #M085171 It is the 34' straight through design 4' inlet/outlet. There was no perticular reason I went with the Donaldson over the Nelson. I just wanted a quieter muffler and not loose that much performance. The truck seems to run the same. I only drove it few blocks back to my house, so I didn't really notice the EGT gauge. I will check in the morning on the way to work......www.airflo.com

 

Chris,
I keep struggling with the idea of going with 4" exhaust and an aftermarket muffler. Did you actually notice any performance difference with the aftermarket exhaust? Did you retain the CAT? I will probably go with the AFE drop in filter...I'm just not sure about the exhaust at this point. Mike

 

Honestly, I did not notice any real power change by puting in the 4' exhaust. I got rid of the cat. I suppose the EGT's are lower since the exhaust flows better. Thats about it though....I would definately put a better air filter system on. The stock one doesn't flow nearly as well as the aftermarket......

 

The MAIN reason that I'm going with a complete 4" exhaust is because of that stupid offset that Dodge used on the stock mufflers. If they had used a center in / center out muffler and kept it all nice and straight then I'd just take the muffler out and replace it with a Donaldson or something similar.

I could still do that I suppose if I were to take to to a custom muffler shop and let them bend all of the pipes in the right direction and such, but I like the idea of having a nice, straight through exhaust and right now I happen to have the exta money to afford it.

So....there's a DPPI in the near future for me.

 

The center of the tailpipe section just behind the stock muffler and the center of the down pipe line up! You only need a straight piece of pipe and an inline muff when building your own system. Piece of cake. I reused the stock hanges after cutting them off the oem system and rewelded them onto my new 4" DIY system.

Banks True 4" Downpipe
6.25' of 4" exhaust pipe
34" Donaldson

Total: $300
Works perfect! Close to 200* drop with the use of an AFE PG7 and it sounds NICE.

 

On the '04 trucks they might, but on the '03 trucks they do not line up. They use an offset muffler.

Aside from that, I do not have a welder and I don't have access to one so I can't really build my own system.

 

Hoss,

You have several options on your 03 to make it a straight through 4". The simplest of course is to buy a complete system, but we also have the pieces needed to install a 4" system reuseing your stock tail pipe. You will also need to adapt up to 4" at the front of the system as well. This can be done by using a Banks true 4" DP and straight pipe with muffler or a 4"DP off the cast elbow. We can help you to make the system you want with the pieces you need, so feel free to give us a call to discuss the options. As long as you are installing a new straight through muffler, you might also think about the Aeroturbine as one option as well.

 

There is a lot of talk about "performance" mufflers. In reality how much performance increase is there? It may be minutely measurable on a dyno, but is there enough of an increase in performance to be honestly felt? Or are most of the so-called performance mufflers all bark and no bite? Is the increase/difference in noise disguising the fact that for most mufflers there is no discernible change in acceleration? In other words, what is the true difference in 0-60 mph or 20-60 mph times comparing a stock and some "performance" muffler?