Well, the new exhaust was installed today. Put in the IMCO Extreme series mufler, with dual exit out around the same area they were exiting before. New tips which are chrome over stainless steel, so they should last a lot longer and they look really nice too.
This exhaust matches the truck much better. It is an awesome, incredibly deep sound and when I get on the accelorator it really rumbles. LOVE IT!
When I first heard them start it up after installing it I got a ****-eating grin on my face and couldn't wipe it off my whole drive home .

 

How about a sound clip?

 

Hey Matt....Lifted95x from over at the explorerforum. I just wanted to say I had the exact same results when I got the EXACT same setup on my new truck this week. Very nice sound, not bad on the droning either. Overall a very nice setup.

 

IMCO's website is www.grabthepower.com . They actually have sound clips for the catback systems for 97-05 F150s. Click here for sound clips for the F150.

Reminds me of a Flowmaster sound, but then again everything starts to sound the same after a while. Everybody has there own opinion of what sounds good to them, life would be boring if everything sounded the same.

 

Matt,

Looks like you had your muffler mounted towards the back of the truck, is that right? Have you driven it enough to notice much about the drone? If so, when do you get a drone (what rpm's and mph?) and how would you describe it? Is it bad or just a little or what?

Lifted95x,

Same questions for you as I have above for matt.

 

Higdogg, I wanted to let you know that if you open up your intake, between that and the break-in this muffler gets loud as all hell. It's obnoxious. I modified my air intake to flow a lot more air (surprising MPG gain with that) and the exhaust on the highway is ridiculously loud. It gives me headaches. Before I modified my intake it sounded great (still does) but now it's just too loud. I wanted to give you a heads up if you were planning on an intake. It's depressing because this muffler has just about the perfect tone, but it is so loud now that it's not enjoyable anymore. I wanted to let you know before you made the purchase. I think the Flowmaster 40 Series was almost perfect volume level. A little louder than a 40 Series would be perfect for me. This is definitely several steps above that in volume. Some of the guys on here don't have the drone as bad as I do and I'm not sure why. It may have something to do with my installation compared to theirs, but I don't know for sure.

 

higdogg,
Right now the drone to me isn't bad at all. My muffler is installed at the rear the same as Matt's. I have driven it a few hundred miles and it has got a little louder but still is not bad in the interior. I have yet to modify the intake, but plan on doing that soon. I will update once i do that.

fourpointsix,
Did you just do the DWV intake mod?

 

fourpointsix,

I have the 5.4 and they say you can't mod the intake on those, I wasn't planning on it anyway unless it is super beneficial. I'm not getting any intake kits either because all I read on here is how all of them make some kind of horrible noise when you get on the gas, and they're over $300, so that = not for me. Was your muffler mounted more forward to the cab than matt's in the pics above? You did have the SI/SO, so the bad drone might have something to do w/ the flow of the muffler, but you did have 3". I want the 3" system, but 3" for dual out the back is really too big of a setup. I was going to go w/ 2.5" pipes coming out. Do they make the extreme muffler in 2.5" outlets?

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, rate the LOUDNESS/volume of flowmaster 40 series you had and also the imco extreme, then tell what you would rate the perfect volume in your opinion. Sounds to me like you and I have the same tastes. If you say the imco is too loud, I'm sure it is for me too.

Also, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, rate the sound of the flow 40 and the imco extreme in your opinion. Are you going to get a magnaflow? If so, I know you are at least one person I could trust your judgement on sound of these mufflers. Thanks man for help. I probably would already have this done but I've been wanting to wait until after I get the lift put on to do the exhaust. And all that has been on hold as busy as I've been the past few months. I'm working on it though.

 

05scfx4,

If you can, keep us posted on how you like the imco and the sound or changes in it. Guess I may wait a few more weeks before deciding on something.

 

I will try to keep everyone updated on the sound and will even try to capture a sound clip. I purchased the 3" Inlet dual 2.5" outs. If you are wanting a mellow sound...you are probably beter off going with something else. This setup is aggressive. I do not think it is too much, but sound is always a personal preference.

 

Higdogg, the muffler is installed in the same place as mattadams. As far as loudness goes (out of 10):

Flowmaster 40 Series: 6
IMCO Extreme: 10

As far as sound quality goes:

Flowmaster: 7
IMCO Extreme: 9 (almost perfect)

I think what I'm going for is a 7 in loudness and a 9 or 10 in sound quality. The IMCO is damn near perfect in sound quality but it's just too loud. Keep in mind I'm a 20 year old and I love loud vehicles. When I say this muffler is louder than my neighbor's Dodge Ram Hemi with true duals, I mean it's quite a bit louder. I think a lot of this has to do with my intake. I still have the stock intake but I removed the silencer from the intake tube (this is on the 4.6L engine) and I added the 3 inch PVC coupler into the fender. I believe that's the same coupler used on the 5.4L DVW intake. Combined I do have more throttle response and more than 1 mpg increase. I plan on going to a Magnaflow of some kind. I'm not going to buy the full catback because a lot of folks on here just add the muffler into the stock pipe with good results. I no longer have a stock pipe so I'm going to have to figure out how I'm going to route it.

 

that muffler is so small why even have a muffler

 

05scfx4 and fourpointsix,

I think my preference in sound and loudness is just like fourpointsix, I want it loud enough for me to hear but with a good pure sound instead of a junky sound. But that doesn't mean I like it way loud, obnoxious. Like he said, about a 7 out of 10 on loudness, and a real good sound quality. From sound clips, seems like magnaflows that everyone is putting on has the best sound quality overall. However, from what I can tell, the magnaflows are quieter than even the flow 40's, and that's not what I want. I don't want a muffler that sounds like a flow deltaflow or 50 series, I want a deep aggressive tone like the 40 series, but the problem is that on ford trucks the 40 series is just a slight bit too quiet almost. Not even sure about the super 40, nobody has ever been able to explain that one on here.

Fourpointsix, do you know much about the super 40 yet? Heard one yet, I know I asked you a while back about it? Are you considering it too? If I got a magnaflow ever, I'd get the normal aluminum one that is the same model as a stainless steel. No need in TN for stainless muffler system, just a waste of money. If I lived up north I'd do it. I also don' t buy those kits w/ the pipes and evertyhing, I'd rather have mine welded at a good muffler shop. From a muffler shop they're not always mandrel bent, but if you have a good shop installing it then it won't make that big of a difference because there won't be so many bends in it and they will be good clean bends.

 

Higdogg, from what I understand and what has been said on here is that a Super 40 is a 40 Series Flowmaster without the drone. My Original 40 had almost no drone, so I'm guessing the Super 40 is even quieter. I won't buy another Flowmaster because I lost low end when I had mine on my truck. Someone told me the reason for this is that on baffled designs like the Flowmaster you need pipe after it to maintain torque and mine was dumped. I have pipe after my IMCO and it is of similar design so this may be true. However, people I know with Flowmasters and pipes have still lost torque. This is why most major engine builders use exhausts with "straight through" designs like Magnaflow, Borla, Bassani, etc. I didn't believe the hype until I put a Magnaflow on my girlfriend's F150 with the V6. It really woke up the low end on that truck. It feels noticeably stronger now (it had a 50 Series Flowmaster previously that sounded and felt like chit.) As far as the volume problem with the Magnaflow, I am looking into the short 4x9x14 inch model that will hopefully be around the same volume as the 40 Series. I put the 4x9x18 inch model on my girlfriend's truck. The sound is noticeable but definitely quieter than the 40 Series. There is literally zero drone on the highway though, which is a major plus. I understand they are louder on V8s though, so hopefully the 14 inch one will be loud. I asked someone who has one on here about it, and am waiting for an answer. The other thought about exhaust I had was this: now that I'm speaking from experience, I can say it's better to be a little too quiet rather than a little too loud. A little too quiet you can live with, while a little too loud you end up having to change because it drives you crazy!

 

Sorry I was out all weekend so I missed this thread. I don't have a sound clip, and I don't have a microphone so I can't really get one either . But it is a good sound, a good rumble but not as obnoxious as a glasspak or no muffler at all. Mine will be a bit louder, since I also have an open intake, free-flow cats, and headers. But so far the noise isn't annoying to me, but I've got my first long road trip since installing it next week, when I drive the truck out to Vegas for SEMA, so we'll see what I think of it then .
I have heard louder exhausts, but more annoying. This is just a good decent rumble but without being too obnoxious.
I still giggle a little when I start up the truck and hear the exhaust fire up