3" or 2 1\2" exhaust

[66StangGuy]

i was going to buy some new hooker headders from a friend of mine for $75. the collectors are 3". heres the question. i was thinking of getting the headers and haveing my friends shop install 3" exhaust all around with 2 chamber flows dumped before the rear tires with a H pipe. I think this setup would be good but do you think it will sound good or would i need to go with 2 1\2 pipe? i dont really need much low end torq. and i plan on further upgrades to the motor so temporary power loss isnt a problem. the reason im upgrading is because i dont like the headders i have now and the exhause is stating to fall apart with leaks everywhere.


my other idea was to put the 3 inch pipe in and then install Y collector dumps before the muffler that is just about before the rear tires. then install some type of quiet mufflers for driving to school and by my house. this way i dont annoy the neighbors much and then i can open the exhause from the dumps when i want it loud. does this sound like a better idea? what have you guys done to your stang? whats the best setup you have heard?

[trevor'72]

3" would be ideal, however i don't think you would like the system to dump right after the rear end as the road noise is unbelievable. Not cool road noise like the lowd roar of a blue oval motor, more like a horible and disturbing viration. In my opinion you woudn't like it especially after aying through the nose for the comple system. You do have good intentions though, cause at one point i thought that was what I wanted. NO. Stay with 3" off the header (as you will soon have the 3" headers) and have the x pipe installed along with a comple over the diff and OUT THE BACK OF THE CAR style system. Keep the 2 chamber flowmasters as they sound like none other. OOOHHHHHH gotta luv that chambered sound. As for your y-pipe idea I don't think i quite understand. Anyways it's only 6 bolts to unhook the complete system from the headers. I've see a product advertised in MUSTANG MONTHY lately that was amanual buterfly style piece of cast iron that when directly after the header. The butterflies when activated by pulling on the cable form inside of the car would set all of you emissions free. This is a lot of work when you include all the cable mounting etc. But if yo're interested I can look for the information on this. From by point of view as a student as well it wouldn't be worth the money. By simply unbolting the 3" exhaust you would obtain the greatest overall flow. The butterfly/choke system might hurt flow.

Additionally the cowl ram air idea sound great but save yourself the trouble and get a nice fiberglass hood. By carrying out the idea the firewall would need to be modified and that is a key structural pointin the unibody mustang which applies to all years except the new 2002 mustang. An idea to ponder: find an aircleaner and put weather spripping around the top of it as your ram air seal between the aircleaner and the new hood.

Just curious have you done anything substantial to the motor yet? For example a cam change or head porting .....

Hope that helped,
Trevor.

[Metal396]

I just got my exhaust done on my stang. Hooker headers, 2.5 inch pipes, Magnaflow X pipe, and flowmaster 2 chambers, then 90 degree turndowns before the axel. IT SOUNDS SOOO GOOD!! SOO LOUD!!!!

The headers give tons of grunt compared to the stock manifolds, the X pipe makes it rev sooo smooth and gives it a High pitch Road racing sound at high rpms! And those flowmasters, OH MY GOD I LOVE THEM TO DEATH!!! Its not noisy in the car AT ALL, those turndowns open towards the ground and its not bad inside the car at all. that 480 bucks is the best investment ive made so far. HUGE power increase too!!! I HIGHLY suggest an X pipe to anybody! Great sound and smooth performance!

2.5 inch pipes give alot of tin-hollowy sound to the motor at idle, but im sure 3 inch pipes would do that alittle more.

The flowmaster are really loud and tin-like sound when theyre cold, at bout 3400 rpm theres a really loud spot where its almost like a pop of extra volume! its really aweome. When they warm up its deeper and a bit more mellow, and theres more grunt when warm.

Only ONE problem left, its my ignition, everything from my distributor to my plugs, are going bad. So starting with plugs im gunna replace all of it.. My car stumbles alot as the rpms go up sometimes cause of the ignition , my carb was re-tuned by the pros at the shop, free of charge! the carb is better than ever now, my distributor is just fouling.

All and all the flows and X pipe are great technology, It All Works GREAT together. Hope all goes well with your car too!

[trevor'72]

in reply to the last message by the 16yr hot roder

I'm 18 now but I was 16 when I first got my '72 coupe and sadly the original Q code CJ has been replaced with the more common motor as found in your car. It still when like stink though, layen down a 16.29 @84mph in complete stock trim and needing a rebuild (it smoked bad in the first 100 feet or so) This year with many mods to the clevland, I hope to be projected into the 13's.

Anyways back to your problem. The ignition thing happened to me too. However it ws at idle as well, it had a surg or hesitation and was later found out to be just a faulty ( Band New) condenser in the distributor. So my advice is to replace the points and condenser right away, before plugs even. OH get a new cap and rotor at the same time [all these parts are very cheap]. If after tracing the problem farther to the plugs and plug wires, the problem still exists try replacing the distributor itself with an updated ford duraspartk electronic distributor, as the main shaft is probably just plain worn out, mine had tones of slop too. You'll find this dist. relatively cheap at theauto wrecker in any 351M, mabey 400 although not possitive, 429-460s

By the way where did you get those wheels? Are they really a set of the original slot mags as produced for the '73 mach1's with the original center caps? If they came with the car when you bought it no matter what you payed you got a skreamn' deal.

I had a parts car that resembled you car a lot, is your car a grande? and do you need any thing cause I might have it?

Trevor

[66StangGuy]

would this be a good setup?
i wanted to drop the exhause right before the back tires. i was going to either put flowmasters on or put some really quiet mufflers on and put the cable operated exhaust dumps on just before the mufflers.


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[Metal396]

66stang guy, that looks likea good setup, go with the flowmasters, the cutouts rust easily as far as i know, and ya dont want em sticking open on ya . Plus cutouts dont sound NEARLY as nice as open headers.

Trevor, my distributor has an Ignitor module in it already. Im gunna save up and buy a MSD BILLET distributor and 6A igition setup, instead of repairing this one. And how hard is it to change the spark plugs cause i really need to.

The wheels were on the car when i bought it. My uncle had the car restored and he bought the wheels (dunno how much), and put em on. I love the wheels, just kinda wish they were 15x7 size. For a while i was thinkin of putting 15x7 on the back, but after spinning my tires so much easier now, im gunna wanna be able to rotate them! hehe gotta do that tomorrow. And yes htey have the origional center caps. I also have the same Slotted Mag wheel as a spare too, so i have 5 of em total. (the spare doesnt have the center cap though).

My car isnt a grande, just a regular 2d hardtop. I dont really need any parts right now, thanks though. Unless u can get me a killer deal on a good 3.35 or close , posi rear end! ehhe

Oh and am i able to take those braces off without needing the front end up in the air? The shock towers to firewall braces, cause they REALLY looks like if i undoo those bolts the shock will shoot up or soemthing... but i dunno much about suspentions....

[trevor'72]

If those are the wheels I'm thinking of don't let them out of you're sight.

In response to the braces near the shock towers.

The shocks are designed to resist motion and therefore are hard to move and won't pop out. The spring itself sits in shock tower and remains in place even with the braces and shock/shock mounts removed.

These braces were called export braces on earlier cars when they came in one piece. They're not even necessary for driving, however I recommend against driving without them as they offer much structural support to you car.

Your head is in the right place when it come to your distributor. But I don't know if you need to spend that much on a dist. I bought a rebuilt (with all new parts including bushings) 460 electronic dist. with the larger cap. Try something for me... take the cap and rotor off and hold the main dist. shaft by the top and wiggle it form side to side, almost no slop is tollerable, also examine the hexagon that the points used to ride on. I'm not suer about how the ignitor works but on my old points dist. this part was so worn that I couldn't tell the difference between open and close possiton of the points.

To change your plugs you'll nee a 5/8" or 13/16" spark plug soket. I'm pretty sure that it's 5/8". The plug soket is unique in that it has a hex head, alowing the soket to be turned by a 3/4" wrench (for tight places like on a cleveland). It is possible to use a normal socket and rachet and even a simple wrench althogh it took me nearly and hour to change my first set of plugs this way.

Make sure you have a good look at those plugs af they come out, as they indicate the shape of your motor. Very balck and sooty = rich air fuel mixture, while white or deteriorated tip indicates lean, light brown is the best.

Let me know how it goes.

[Metal396]

When my muffler guy tuned my car, he said the same hting about the distributor to me. So i gotta check that out some time.

i will remove those braces when i change my plugs, oughta make it easier hehe

heres some sounds of my car:

http://www.geocities.com/spddemontc/FLOWMASTERX2.wav

http://www.geocities.com/spddemontc/...ERBURNOUT2.wav

If theyre not working now, try them in a couple hours , or even tomorrow, if still not working, instant message me on aim, my name is tc73stng .

That sound is of my 84 foot burnout today, got on video, gotta try and figure out how to get vids on my computer hehe.

[tireburner163]

get 2.5", 3" is too big

and those butterfly things always leak, don't get them