Loud

[Cody_1227]

Whats the loudest sound and most powerful sounding set up you can get for a 2.9 v6 4x4. But also i wont it legal.. I wont to get headers and a whole exhaust system mufflers, cats everything. Also i do wont to get dual's also.

 

[RonD]

You ever been at a stop light and heard a thumping beat coming from the kids car, 4 cars ahead or behind you, the sub-woofer beat, you can't hear the song, just the beat, the Low Frequency sound.

That's the loudness of any sound, low frequency sound waves travel long distances, higher frequencies die off fairly fast.
To quiet exhaust sound the very first thing muffler makers do is to kill the low frequencies as much as possible, which is not easy to do, but that cuts the loudness by at least 60%, which is the whole point of a muffler, otherwise they would have called it a "louder" instead of a muffler

Headers are about performance, stock 2.9l exhaust manifold is tuned(yes tuned) to create highest negative pressure at the exhaust valves in the mid RPM range.
Most after market headers are tuned to get highest negative pressure in the low RPM range.
Racing headers are tuned to get highest negative pressure in the higher RPM range.

This effect is call scavenging, it uses the velocity of the exhaust exiting one cylinder to lower the pressure on the other cylinders on that bank.
It is a science, the tuning, this is also where the "back pressure" Myth comes from.
DIYers would remove factory exhaust manifolds and install larger pipes(free flowing), then go for a drive, "What the F#uck, I LOST POWER!!!"
Engine must need "back pressure", nope.
What they did was to eliminate the power they were getting from the negative, scavenged, pressure, so lost power.
Free flowing is good for Beer, bad for headers, lol

The negative pressure reduces the load on the engine to push the exhaust out, the negative pressure helps pull the exhaust out.
Headers don't add power(assuming original exhaust is tuned), but they are very effective in moving when you get the best power in the RPM range.
And headers won't, for the most part, effect the sound of the engines exhaust.
And as long as you use the same size or larger pipe to connect to the header you won't effect its performance

Cats are required to be legal, period.
But going with larger diameter pipe size can keep the low frequency sound.
And taking a tip from the old Pipe Organs, large diameter, long and straight pipes make for low notes(sound), bends reduce the low frequencies.

 

[Cody_1227]

Okay say i got race headers for my ranger then got on cat the same size to go onto the header. Then i got this connecting to a muffler and this pip is 2" then out the muffler i have 2 pipes (duals) coming out the back. That way i dont need 2 o2 censors. Would that be fine? Cause what i gather from your explanation was that race headers work well with high rpms and thats what i need cause my truck has 33s on it right now and to drive i almost have to be in higher rpms all the time to get it down the road like a normal vehicle would accelerate.

 

[RonD]

You need the O2 sensors, computer won't be able to tune the mix for best power.

Yes, if you want extra power above 3,000 rpms then go with racing headers, most want better acceleration from standing start.
Headers now-a-days come with O2 bungs or without, get them with, or most exhaust shops can add them.

Yes, get Cats with matching diameter for the collector.

I would see what it sounds like without the mufflers, unless mufflers are required.
There has been some success in scavenging a few more horse power from dual exhausts use an "H" pipe setup or "X" pipe, basically a pipe or pipes that connect both main pipes together, the pulses in one pipe lower the pressure in the other pipe, scavenging more power, but there is a science to that as well, i.e. diameter of the cross pipe and distance from engine.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

If you want it to rumble build a 302 with a 3/4 cam with dual exhaust and a crossover. You can rod out the cat but by law you cannot remove it, it just needs to be there it dont need to work unless you need to pass smog.

 

[kunar]

my truck has 33s on it right now and to drive i almost have to be in higher rpms all the time to get it down the road like a normal vehicle would accelerate.

sounds like you need deeper gears worse than you need headers and exhaust. that would be where i would start anyways.

You can rod out the cat but by law you cannot remove it, it just needs to be there it dont need to work unless you need to pass smog.

that's not true at all. it's easier to get away with it, because it will pass a visual, but its still disabling an emissions device and its still illegal because of that.

 

[Die.Fledermaus]

I have a parts b2 that has separated (~1/8 inch gap) before the muffler after the cats...it isn't very loud. A small glass pack installed backwards (if it is the louvered type, not drilled core) would be 100% legal as a muffler.

One thing that is proven to make more noise and no gain is to not use a good thermo-controlled quiet intake, get something shiny and cheap. Remove all sound dampening under hood.

 

[JohnnyO]

Leave the cats on and either no mufflers at all or get a pair of 1981 Camaro Z-28 resonators. They look like mufflers but have the sound dampening ability of a tomato can.

 

[willy]

For straight loudness and earpiercing angry weedwhacker no cats no muffler for a nice rumble get headers with larger collector highflow cats and a magnaflow not sure which series but my ranger has one on there when i bought it that gave the 4.0 a nice rumble