I recently purchased a 2001 Dodge Dakota 4 X 4 SLT. It has the 4.7L V8. I'm curious if having a cat back duel exhaust system installed, is worth the money??

Will it actually improve gas milage?? even if it's only 10%, I'd probably be willing to have it done.

Does it actually increase your horsepower? If so, by how much??

I'm contemplating a Flowmaster System? Your thoughts?

Thanks for any feedback.

 

i put one on my truck(flow-through muffler, no cat) and it coust me around 75-100 buck....i cant member......and its LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!

i personnaly dont like flowmasters on certain cars....but on dak's..their nice.....id go with making your own pipes and bends and putting on a magnaflow/magnapack

 

Or.....

Just cut out the stock muffler, and put a flowmaster in there, and keep it SI/SO.

 

I don't think there will be that much difference between the dual and single if you do a full system in 3".

 

i got the magnaflow cat back system on my 3.9 v6.. now let me tell you something. you do a CAI, really they just become warm air intakes.. and an aftermarket exhaust system, YOU LOSE FUEL MILEAGE... just for the simple fact you floor it every chance to get to hear your truck scream, haha just, kidding. it does help with fuel economy, not by much, improves hp and some torque as well, at least going from a dynomax to the magnaflow, i did notice i pulled hills a lot better. thats my .02¢

 

Of course the main reason is for the sound, rather you like it loud like a nascar or a low humble sound, and thats when picking the right muffler comes into play so when you are ready to get it done just let them know what kind of sound you are looking for so they know what kind of muffler to get. I have my V6 3.9L Dakota dualed out and even thou it is a V6 it sounds really good with the lower humble sound. And for looks, a dual exhaust looks better then your normal factor single outlet.

On the engine performance, I don't know 100% how much it affects the engine (I've been meaing to do a actually dyno to see). I don't think it helps much in highway driving, but it helps in city (starting from dead stop) and helps more in towing/hauling. It gives you more torque and a little more horsepower which helps you at low speeds or at a dead stop taking off. Because that is when the engine is getting pushed the most and the dual exhaust lets air flow out faster. But the actually advantage numbers differs come car to car because someone might have other aftermarket add ons (air filter, programmer, etc...) and also it depends on if you go with dual outlet exhaust or a true dual exhaust.

Dual outlet exhaust is the headers come together and go down a single pipe to the muffler and then from the muffler you have 2 pipes to make the dual exhaust. That helps some because air leaves the muffler which really helps when you are hauling a boat or trailer (especially going up a hill). Then you have true exhaust which is when when the pipes never come together and stay separated from each other and you have 2 pipes going all the way back. A true exhaust gives you better performance but also cost a lot more, because you have more piping and 2 cat and 2 mufflers (each pipe needs one). True exhaust is usually on high performance vehicles like sports cars and racing vehicles.

I would say to get a dual exhaust (dual out let from the muffler), which I had done for $200. It only cost $150 for the exhaust and muffler, but I paid extra for the stainless steel tips (stainless steel doesn't rush and metal and chrome do).

 

I'm actually going looking today to see wat is around some local shops and what they recommend for my truck. I don't mind the stock sound, but just a little deeper rumble and duals would be nice. I wan to try to avoid droan. Don't want it loud in the cab. I put an "Excelerator" muffler on my v6 years ago and a magnaflow tip. Sounded great at low rpms, but was loud when you got on it. The droan for me was a little unbearable on long trips.

 

Thanks for everyones input. I ended up getting the Magnaflow Cat-back Dual Exhaust. Straight out the back with the chrome tips. Sounds awsome. Not too loud and it doesn't resonate into the cab (which is what I was concerned about). My mechanic mentioned that the Flowmaster will resonate into the cab and that I probably wouldn't like it. He took me out to his truck to listen to his. He said to get inside and roll up the windows and start it up. I thought that was a nice gesture on his part. I like what I had heard (or didn't hear for that matter) and told him "Lets do it".

Once again he was honest and reasonable. And needless to say a satisfied customer.

 

Magnaflow is a good muffler, it sounds good outside, i miss the noise inside sometimes, but after awhile it starts to get annoying... 3 hours to the city with an annoying exhaust is brutal sometimes...