Right now I have a single out exhaust. When I got the truck I was told it was flowmaster. Never got into checking what series it is. I know that when you hit the gas it sounds like its rumbling. And at highway speeds or any speed for that matter, when you let off the gas you can barely hear it through the cab of the truck. Also idle sounds just like it does when you hit the gas, but about half the rumble. Its hard to explain from my point of view to try to get you guys to understand what sounds im hearing.

The question about running true duals I have is that. How hard is it? Is it as simple as getting 2 mufflers and attaching them on? Or is it more complicated. My dad is a chev/GM mechanic and he has never worked on a dodge before. He took a look at my truck and said that to get true duals on the truck would most likely dropping the gas tank and trying to work around it. I have a 98 Dodge Dakota Sport 5.2L V8 RWD.

Does anyone with the true duals know how its installed on the truck? Is there anything that has tobe moved or dropped?Not all vehicles are the same right.Also what type of exhaustwas put on? I want the exhaust to sound mean.

Thanks in advance

 

true dual exhaust isn't as simple as putting an extra muffler on, however it's not that complicated either.

To turn single into dual exhaust, you'll need to run a splitter in front of the cat, purchase another cat, and then proceed with the two mufflers followed by the piping to the exhaust tips. Either way, you'll need proffessional installation unless you happen to have a melder around...
The cheapest way to do so is to buy the supplies online (cat, mufflers, and tips), and then go to a local shop that specializes in exhaust (meineke, Mighty Mufflers... etc) and ask them to install. Otherwise you're going to add a significant amount to buy all from them.

As far as the mufflers themselves... I would reccomend the Flowmaster 50 Series. It's not quite AS loud as the 40 series, but it's built much better (made from thick guage steel instead of aluminum) and it provides a lot quieter cab drive (significantly quieter while riding within the truck). Since you would have two of them, you would be getting a louder sound added also, making it roughly the same loudness as the 40 series.

If you want to listen to the Flowmasters, try searching youtube with the series you might want with dakotas that already have it.
Also, Flowmaster's website has sample soundbites with similar vehicles to help exemplify the sound before purchasing.


In addition, I'm not sure if you knew this or not, but you can also still use just 1 cat and 1 muffler and still get dual exhaust. This isn't the True Dual, but it sounds quite well if not as well given you purchase a good muffler. My dakota personally has this option with the Flowmaster 50 Series on it, with two pipes aimed straight back, and it has plenty of sound and aggression! If extra agression is wanted, check out a cold air intake system which can cost abaout $50 on Ebay! They add about 10-15 HP and 1 MPG gas mileage. They add a distinguished ruggedness sound to the exhaust and sounds AMAZING.

-Good luck with your exhaust!

 

try this link...

http://www.v8performance.com/tipsandtricks.htm#exhaust

 

Thanks for all your help guys. Im definetly going to get some dual exhaust. Sounds so nice. As for the CAI. I seen them on ebay but was kinda sketchy about them at first. Are that all that they live up to be? Also the ones on ebay that I seen aren't really a brand name. Like K&N etc. Should I trust the ones on ebay or not?
Thanks again

Geoff

 

steve05ram60 wrote this, and i have seen the same thing said other places...a single in/out setup would be best for your truck or if you must have duals.. reduce the 2.5" dual outs to 2.25" to keep a good amount of low end torque. at 2.25" your just slightly more flow than a single 3" out.

i think getting duel exhaust is a waste of money, you will spend wellover 500 dollars and i dont think the gains are worth the money.

i have been doing research on CAI's and they are not worth the 200 plus dollars you will spend on those either, at least for this vehicle. you can get an open round air cleaner for between 25 and 100 bucks, depending on the manufacturer and get the same results...i personally would not buy stuff from ebay, you have a harder time returning stuff if it doesnt fit or work properly and most of it is knock off junk from what i have heard.

i am putting in a good muffler and keeping my 2 1/4 single exhaust and getting a round air cleaner, i will spend probably around 100 bucks and save myself well over 500 that i can spend on other things and i really believe that id never really feel a difference if i went all out with spendy duel exhaust and a CAI...just my opinion

 

i also want to add that the horsepower ratings are inflated on those ebay CAI's...they claim 10-15 horsepower and i have seen dyno results on name brand ones that give only 4-5...i have also seen dyno results on putting a cherry bomb turbo muffler on a stock dodge and get 7.4 horsepower and 4 horsepower with a K&N round filter that cost $94. you can get the same results with a lesser name brand for less money... sorry to ramble but im just saying what i have researched and trying to save myself some bucks...good luck!

 

I just have to put my two cents into this. I keep hearing people say they want their exhaust to be louder, and then they get the misconception that a true dual is going to make it "louder". If you want louder, you simply need to change out the muffler for a more intense one. Also, getting a "single inlet/dual outlet" muffler or a "fake dual" can be just as loud or in most cases, LOUDER than a true dual. Also, lets say you get an original 40 series or a super 44 muffler from flowmaster. If you really want to make it bark, have your cat gutted, or get a universal catalytic converter from magnaflow...things like that can smarten your system right up. But I just want to make sure your not contemplating a true dual just for noise, because in some cases, it's actually quiter. It may be less restrictive, but it's also going through two bulky mufflers, so it kind of cancells that theory out. True duals are designed for vehicles with a lot of horsepower, if your pretty much stock, and just want a rumble, save yourself the dough, and go out and by an Original 40 series or Super 44 muffler from flowmaster. Get it single inlet/dual outlet. The dual outlet muffler will have a larger radius of sound because it simply covers more with the exit style. If you want it even louder after that, do something with your cat, get it gutted or get a magnaflow universal cat from summitacing.com. Also, longer tips as I always say help project the final note of the exhaust quite a bit, and will make it "echo" more. Just look at my youtube account in my signature. It's a single inlet/dual outlet setup. Even before I got the long tube headers and had the cat gutted, the truck was VERY loud when I first had the exhaust put in (magnaflow cat, super 44 muffler, and 4"x22" tips).

 

this should be directed to geoffb123, but yes i agree with you...i also dont want mine loud, just little rumble at idle and a deep thoaty sound when i have to step on it. i hate seeing people waste money...im on a budget myself and cant afford 700 or 800 dollars for duel exhaust and a CAI, so i am just going with a good muffler and an open air cleaner and the research i have done shows me that it will be just about as good, or at least i probably wouldnt notice the power difference by spending more than 500 bucks more. it just doesnt make sense to me to spend $500 or more for only a couple horsepower that you probably wouldnt even feel. hell, there are other things i can spend that on...like window tinting, a bed cover and a bunch of other stuff i want.

 

Be wary of the "Cold air intakes" on ebay, some might be ok. But as for others, they can decrease gas mileage by taking in hot air in the engine bay, which also in turn produces a drop in power. I removed the Cold air intake i had after awhile, a regular K&N drop-in filter does decently. I myself would like to replace the elbow pipe that connects from the air hat to filter box with a smooth one in the future. I got more "Cold Air" with my factory intake than with the ebay "ChromeIntake".

 

The only issue with the cold air intakes is the fact that they come with pretty average to low grade filters. The main reason to purchase one off of ebay is to get the chrome piping as well as the bands and connectors. I reccommend purchasing a K&N Cone Filter separately or another quality name brand Cone filter. This should optimize the power of the Cold Air Intake