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4.7L Exhaust upgrade help!

23K views 62 replies 8 participants last post by  sconnie89 
#1 ·
Hi everyone just looking for some input from those who have upgraded their exhaust on the 4.7L 2002 Quad cab. I want to do dual exhaust but I'm not strictly after sound only, would like to gain a little from the money spent. I like the sound and look of the Flowmaster 50 series but not sure how it compares to the 40 series or the Magnaflow. I'm kinda lost and don't know where to start! I have been reading that a Y pipe with single in and dual out is a good route for this truck to avoid losing low end torque?? Really just need a good setup with a deep tone and a few pony gains coupled with a CAI. Any input is greatly appreciated! -Chris
 
#27 ·
It'd be easy to come up with a stable 5 volts,and i'm wondering if a series of Diodes might work.
A diode drops roughly .75 volts give or take a bit,and Radio Shack sells 5 volt voltage regulators that can be fed off the battery to give a fairly stable 5 volt output.
HMM,gotta do some thinking on this,but i'm pretty sure it wouldn't be that hard to generate a .5 volt output to fool things.
Rick
 
#28 ·
Yeah I'm not sure as I'm not that good with electronics. Another member had mentioned to me though how the "simulators" don't really work anymore (or may not anyway) because the computers are getting smarter. Not really sure what he meant or how though.

I used the nonfoulers for my rear O2's and so far so good, no CEL light. I also stuffed them with steel wool.
 
#29 ·
Yea i'm curious about whether you'll turn a cel on.
Also thought about stacking the foulers,looks like there'd be clearance to double the foulers up,but not sure if that'd make any differance in whether it turns a light on or not.

If all it takes is a stable .5 volt to fool the putor,i think it's do-able Sean.
It'd take an add-on box,but i'm pretty sure with a few diodes /voltage regulator and a couple small capacitors you could come up with a way to generate the .5 volt.
Then you'd have to start probing to see which wire you'd have to tie into.
But that's only off the top of my head,so it's only a thought for now,lol:thk:
 
#30 ·
I drove about 100 miles since I finished the exhaust and so far so good. REALLY hoping it stays good lol. Don't know what I'll do if I get a CEL, I'd probably have to switch to diablo/custom tune and lose the SC which would really suck.
 
#31 ·
If it does turn a cel light on,i'd try the easiest thing first,and that would be moving the sensor out farther by stacking another fouler on the first one.
They're the cheapest thing to start with,changing tuners ain't cheap ,lol.

Now that you've drove it for a bit,what's your opinion on the power.
I know yesterday you said you thought it made a differance,but you've got a few more miles on the system now,does it still feel like it's gained anything.

I'm lazy,if it's creates more power,i might do mine,but it's gotta be worth the cost and the "holy crap it's more work then i thought" syndrome,done enough exhaust systems in my time to know they're labour intensive,lol:smiledown:
Rick
 
#32 · (Edited)
Well what sucks is if I ditch the superchips I lose a lot of power and the transmission tuning, to basically only gain the ability to delete the rear O2's. I had a diablo to compare and it was not even close to the SC, then I got a mail order tune with the diablo and couldn't tell a difference between it and the SC, so I went back to SC to be able to switch between different octane performance tunes, towing tune, and ability to adjust shift schedule and TM instead of only having two options (stock and one octane performance).

I already have two stacked, and stuffed them with steel wool(first time using the steel wool trick). I would have thought it would have come on by now if it was going to, but we'll see...

Honestly, I'd probably weld the cats back in before changing to the diablo tuner.

I still haven't really been on it hard, I've only driven twice(once at 3am with a truck load of tools) and then to work this morning. I'm trying to drive easy until I find/patch the leak I have. I did floor it one time this morning from about 10mph and it seems a little stronger. Hard to know if it's in my head as the tone and sound is different, you know. Obviously I'm not gaining 50hp or something from an exhaust especially when I already had a free flowing exhaust before. But seems better, probably from removing the cats. The rest it is pretty similar other than 2.25" to 2.5" pipes and deleting the cats.

I got the muffler for free from a member(thanks again). I also got a speeding ticket for more than the cost of the muffler on my way to meet him LOL. I spent about $300 on all the pipe, mandrel bends, hangers, clamps, etc. to do this. Not bad really, it's all 409 SS. I have one 4' straight section and one J bend left over but wanted to buy more, not come up short.

I'll try to take a video on my way home today to show the sound and acceleration. Prob not much faster if any, but more than anything I did this to have a clean rust free system that is easily removable and will last the life of the truck with no issues. I HATE the person that invented U bolt exhaust clamps. Band clamps FTW. Well worth the ~$8 per clamp.
 
#33 ·
Give it till about a 1,000 miles,if it hasn't turned a cel on by then,you'll be good to go.

I'm taking it the idea is to create a poor mans oxygen chamber if you're stuffing the foulers full of steel wool.

Sum-bitch if you're buying Torque Tite (band clamps) for 8 bucks,they are considerably cheaper south of the border.
I paid closer to 16 bucks a clamp for the 2.5" clamps,and almost 20 bucks for the 3" ones.
LOL,i agree on the u-bolt clamps
 
#34 ·
Yep ~$8/ea for 2.5" or 3" on summitracing.com. I bought everything on there, seem to have he best price. I think all or most of what I bought was dynomax brand. The clamps are summit brand. The hangers were pretty expensive for a 10 pack and I only used 1 or 2.
 
#36 ·
It sounds good:smileup:.
After seeing this video,i remember'd seeing your other video on the Superchips,stumbled onto it awhile ago,didn't realize it was your video till tonight:smileup:

LOL,i can see a differance in your trucks weight .
Going by the speedo i think my little regular cab shortbox weighing probably 700lbs less,is a hair quicker after 40mph,but i think down low,yours would take mine easily.
I'm just going by the speedo,but i'd say you get to 40 mph faster,so you're definitely generating a pile more grunt.
I might be going back to the single pipe in the spring.

That was a full throttle shift wasn't it?

Rick
 
#37 ·
Yea full throttle after about 10mph. I also have a high stall torque converter which slips more so I have less top end pull. Going to switch that back to stock soon. My truck does about low 7 seconds to 60mph. I also have heavy AT tires/wheels.
 
#38 ·
My 1 -2 shift i think is faster.
But i'll have to double check that in the spring,i'm going by a month old memory.

(Yea i know that ones wide open,lol:smileup:).

Did Darkknight ever get his convertor sorted out?

I read where he was having cels come on with his first convertor.
Gotta admit,that made me think twice about maybe a 2600 stall convertor for mine.
Rick
 
#39 ·
Might be, but I doubt it as I have the tuner and I assume you're stock with a 2013? (not tuned). I have reduced TM with the SC and also decreased shift duration so it should decrease shift time.

Yeah he swapped it out a while ago, they sent him a new one and he sold it to another guy I know on here and he bought a different converter. Both are working out great for both of them. I lost a lot of top end, my truck actually isn't any faster, so I want to swap back to stock(better for towing).
 
#40 ·
I just watched the video again,i'm gonna have to pay more attention to mines shifting this spring.
But i'd swear i think mine makes the 1-2 shift quicker,but it's hard when your comparing a video to something you haven't drove in awhile

I've been kicking the idea of a 2600 stall convertor around for awhile now.
Don't think i'd go much higher then that,i've had 2800 and higher stall convertors before,and i don't care for the as i call it "soft pedal" feel,when you're leaving a light normally .

What's your convertor rated at,and what brand,it's probably in your 80 pg build thread,but i haven't got all the way through it yet.

There's some reading involved to get through your build thread,lol:smileup:.

Have you had any problems with the convertor,other then a top-end loss.
Rick
 
#41 ·
haha yeah a lot of my thread is fluff and screwing around....sorry ;)

I actually bought my converter used from a good member on here with a built up 3rd gen hemi. It is an edge converter. No actual issues, just doesn't perform as well as I'd like but that's probably because it was built for his truck which produces peak torque at a lower rpm, more hp, and it was lighter with much higher numerical gear ratio. I don't really mind the soft pedal too much, although it was a big downside to the converter while towing up the mountains. That's really the main reason to go back to stock.

I think he said it was like a 3000 or 3200 rpm stall on his truck. On mine it's about a 2700 rpm stall. What I don't like is when I floor it it seems to launch then bog for a second then proceed to accelerate. Again, probably because it's not really a perfect fit for my setup.

FWIW I believe the stock 4.7L converter is a 2400rpm stall.
 
#42 ·
There's some good info mixed in with your fluff,lol:smileup:.

You know that's something i haven't done yet,is step on the brakes and see where it does stall too.

If the stock 4.7's convertor does stall at 2400,that makes me wonder how close it is to the RT's 2600 convertor.
Do you know if they might be the same convertor?

I'm not as familar as i should be with these convertors,but it almost sounds like the engagement just past stall is tightening up a bit fast on you,torque or lack there of could be the problem if the convertor was built more cubes.
Rick
 
#44 ·
What's yours stall at Sean?

Flash and stall are usually quite a bit differant.

It does make me wonder though,what the differance is between the RT and the 4.7's convertor.
A 4.7's convertor might be a cheap upgrade for the guys with the 5.7,lol.
Theoritically the RT's version should be a bit heavier duty,but is it,lol:4-looney:
 
#45 ·
Brake, flash, and true stall all are different numbers. I don't recall if they rate them by flash or true stall, but mine flashes to about 2700rpm on my truck. I believe the guy I bought it from said it flashed to about 3000rpm on his.

Considering the cost of an oem converter, I'd think an aftermarket one would be the best option.

BTW transengineer could give you the different part numbers and specifications for all the oem converters if you're interested.
 
#46 ·
Brake and True stall are pretty close on rpm,Flash is the one that's usually noticably higher.
Not sure how most convertors are rated these days,but it used to be brake that was used.


I was thinking of used with a flush,lol.
I haven't checked,but i'm thinking used 4.7 convertors should be virtually free,lol.
Throw a flush on it,and away you go,but it'd only be for the guys who are really bucks down.
If you can afford aftermarket,that's definitely the better choice.

I'm hoping TE is sorta watching this,cause i would like to know the differances in the stock vertors.
Rick
 
#47 ·
Well you can get an aftermarket converter for ~$200. Other than a junkyard (kind of a pain) it'll prob be hard to find used unless you find someone that swapped in an aftermarket one. But most 4.7 owner's aren't performance seekers lol.
 
#48 ·
LOL,okay now that i hadn't thought of.;).

Yea what is there about a 1/2 dozen of us interested in the 4.7.
Just kidding i know there's more,just seems like that's all though,lol.

I'm waiting to see how long Darkknight's takes a 125 shot,think i seen him post he was stepping up to a bigger shot awhile ago,lol.

I wonder how his head gaskets are gonna take it,as far as i can tell,the 4.7's have a fairly tough bottom end,but light on head gasket clamping.
Still way behind on learning these motors though,lol.
 
#49 ·
Yeah I used to email with him just about daily but haven't lately. Not sure exactly what he's up to right now, think he's in school.

The 4.7L bottom end is very strong. It uses a one piece crank girdle(in lieu of individual main caps). Not sure if the 4.7 has the same thin top ring land like the hemi. Probably does due to emissions as I think that's why it's designed that way.
 
#50 ·
It is a fairly recent design engine as far as i've found out.
I haven't pinned the exact date down ,but it looks like the engine was designed in the late 90's.
So i would think you're right about a light top ring.

I've never seen a pic of the 4.7's internals,if you have anything worth reading on them Sean,i'd sure appreciate reading it.:smileup:
Thanks
Rick
 
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