Definitive exhaust answers

[Kevin Lang]

I've heard many things about a Cat-Back kit for the Gen 1 ST made by Random Technology...it exists...it will exist....it does not exist....zabteck sells it...etc etc. However, I cannot find any definitive answers, and the sucky RT web site would have you believe that they only have 4 or 5 exhaust products which are custom-fitted (which isn't true).



Flowmaster doesn't make a kit, magnaflow sounds wonky, and Gibson conveys the notion that my truck will sound like a les paul after I install the kit, which is not a good thing. Also, I'd like uniformity up the line of exhaust.



So, does the Random Tech Cat-Back exist, and if so, where can I buy it?



(and if it does not, when will it be ?)

 

[EddieS'04]

Kevin, I dont know if the rt cat back exist. But the only RT muffler I have ever seen was the same shape and straight through design like the magnaflow. I would tend to believe it will sound simular. Also my magnaflow catback aint wonky,:lol:

 

[Ed C]

Not sure what wonky means, but Magnaflow is a high quality exhaust system. I had mine for a year and the stainless steel looks like the day I installed it, it's a shame it's under the truck. Great finish and fit, no rusty welds, easy to install and a great looking chrome tip. In terms of sound (I'm not sure what you're looking for) it has a low growl to it but it is not too loud. I can't compare to anything else on a Trac but I have seen the Flowmaster mufflers custom installed on other trucks and they look and sound really good too, and the price installed was about the same as the magnaflow kit. I guess you just have to pick one and see what you get. There's always better stuff out there but I'm happy with mine.

 

[Kevin Lang]

I have gotten my hands on a 3 in/out straight-through Super 44 muffler, which is far too large for the st's piping, and might even be, heaven forbid, counterproductive to run piping at that diameter.



I learned that dual rear exhaust was impossible without removing the spare (going through the leaves is not what I want to do, as it just sounds like a bad idea down the road, and I want the RoadMaster Active Suspension later down the road, and that will restrict the space even further...and I don't want a yakima uber-expensive rack to keep my spare on, and I sure don't want it in the bed. (The duals I envision inn my head look like the ones on the thread a few posts back, where the guy lugs his spare on his ride's head lol, not the spread out todd z trac look)



In light of this, and my inexperience with exhaust and lack of willingness to pay someone to fabricate something for me on my ride, I wanted to get a kit as it seems the best option.



Todd z once said that a RT kit was coming, and later, another of the zabteck crew stated that the kit already existed, which is why I'm wondering.



As for the "wonkiness" of magnaflow, it's not the sound of the exhaust (I kinda like the sound clips), but rather the name "magnaflow" itself. Just doesn't evoke images of power in my head, but I'm willing to learn that my foolish judging-by-cover ideals are wrong and change them to achieve superior results. My stock 02 system is rusty as anything, except the chrome tip, so it needs to be replaced anyhow, and if you say the ssteel magnaflow has staying power, that testimonial ups MF in my list of possibilities.



Thanks for the info

 

[Kevin Lang]

To the straight-flow muffler design, the Super 44 flowmaster claims that, though it is not straight-through, that it creates a section of lesser pressure within it to "suck" gases in afap to fill the pressure difference, creating a system more efficient than a simple straight mufflerless pipe, and presumably, a straight-through muffler.



However that works is irrelevant though, as I can't use the muffler easily, but it was a novel concept to my inexperienced mind. MagnaFlow might actually be worth considering, though it is costly, but you gotta pay for quality...hopefully welded in the USA, like flowmaster is, as chinese aftermarket exhaust belongs on a ricer instead of a trac.

 

[douglas brandin 2]

The spare tire does not have to be removed to run duals out the back. That's the way mine were run on my '01. The pipes came between the spare and the leaf springs with sufficient clearance. I used a Flowmaster 70 SUV series, but I understand that others have a better warranty.

 

[EddieS'04]

Kevin, if the muffler body will fit under the trac, a good muffler shop can swage the tubing to the size of the muffler at the the in and out points only. They will make reducers to bring the pipe back down to 2.5 or 2.25.

 

[Michael Cacioppo]

I've had a magnaflow for about 22K miles. Nice stainless unit. It is for people that don't like a loud raspy sound. Quiet running and no droning on the highway. Some like a louder exhaust. to each his own.