I have a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 with the 360 in it. I am not really looking to make build it in to a high horsepower race truck but id like to fix it up a bit. Its my daily driver and i use it to a flat bed trailer with my Jeep on it. My plenum gasket is blown again and the cat is shot. So after doing a lot of research here on my intake options, i decided that doing the kegger mod and welding an aluminum plate to the bottom of the intake so i no longer have to worry about the gasket is the best mod for me. I will be running a K&N CAI and a flowmaster 40seres 2.5in in and 2.5in out dumped just before the axle becuase thats the way i have it set up currently. I just recently put a 5inch lift on it, so i will be upgrading my 33x12.50s up to 35x12.50s and compliment them with 4.56 gears. Now with that being said id like to gain a little response from the pedal with out completely killing the low end power of the truck, and i actually my big concern is making the truck less powerful in general because from im reading it seems like to big of an exhaust on these trucks with out big engine mods tends to hinder there power. I know the y-pipe is a big restriction factor so my question is would it be a good route for me to go with the Edelbrock 66011 - Edelbrock TES Tubular Exhaust System Headers (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ECP-66011/) they have 1 5/8 primaries and 2.5" collector size running all the way down to the cat freeing up the restriction from the factor Y-Pipe. Then id like to run a magnaflow highflow cat after wards dual inlet and single outlet. I do not see any magnaflow cat listed as high flow just Heavy metal and Unviersal the part numbers that i could find that i think would be closely set up to the factory config were #99007HM, #94007, and #99067HM. Im just not sure which of those or if any of those are actually a highflow cat since it doesn't really specify. So, my exhuast would be those edelbrock headers, highflow cat (dual in/single out) followed by a 2.5' in/2.5" out 40 series Flowmaster dumped before the axle. Would this be a good setup to maintain power and as i read on this site "scavenging" in the exhaust.

 

Sounds like a good plan to me.

Welcome to the site. Yet another Michigander I see.

 

That's the same basic setup I have except I went with the 3" out cat and cat back. Based on my experience I'd recomend the 3. It felt like pure gain with no low end loss to me. I think maybe all the magnaflow cats are considerd high flow compared to OEM, especially when you bump up in in/out pipe diameter.

 

@HeyYOu Thanks and ya im a little north west of you outside of detroit.

@Ugly1 have you tried the 2in to 2.5 magnaflow before the 2in to 3in out

 

Nope.

 

im doing teh same thing Ugly. Which cat did you end up using? I am trying to make sure it is emmisions compliant. I was thinking a 2-1/2" custom pipe from my collectors to a 2-1/2" dual inlet 3" outlet y and a 3" in/out Cat, but I am not sure if the cat I am looking at is a "heavy Metal" cat or not. Its magnaflows 94109.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Carso...item2313cc96c2

 

Well I think I may be using that 94109 now but in hindsight I wish I would have done the 94057. The 3" in/3" out works great but since I have the wye pipe right in front of it I think there is a hot spot there at the y. I am getting alot of blueing on the pipe right there, I have a feeling doing the 2 into 1 style cat would eliminate the hotspot on the metal moving it into the catalyst where it should be. I suspect that y pipe may start rotting out prematurely though it hasn't happened yet so far.

I think it's a minor nit but I thought I'd tell it how I see it.

 

BTW eta, are you sure your downtubes are 2.5"? My edelbrocks are only 2.25" and I think the stockeers I took off were 2".

 

yea, Im using the pace setter painted shorties Part # 70-1315

http://www.jegs.com/i/Pace-Setter/766/70-1315/10002/-1

1.5" primaries, 2.5" collectors.

Stock y is 2" so I wanted to open it up to 2.5" to match the collectors and then a 3" cat to match my 3" cat back flowmaster exhaust

 

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for the advice!!! The headers did wonders and I expected a bit more from the new y pipe. BUt wow!!!! It is like night and day with this new 2-1/2" custom Y. If you do any exhaust work to a second Gen dodge, do the y-pipe first!!! The muffler guys scoffed when I said what I wanted but my Butt Dyno is screaming hell yea. lol

The new system goes from 1-1/2" primaries [pace setter] to a set of custom 2.5" pipes that meet at a dual 2.5" y inlet with a 3" outlet, that is welded strait from there to a 3" high flow CAT [Magnaflow 642-99009HM] then ties right into my existing 3" flowmaster exhaust.

The guy ended up charging me a tad more [$160] rather than the $70-100 he quoted me but it was worth every single penny. the cat and the y-pipe were another $130. And the cat back systems cost roughly $450. so roughly $750 [most muffler shops that do custom systems with headers will charge upwards of $1500-2000] and it transformed my truck into a monster. I am just glad I was not the one that had to pay for the internal work.

The crate motor in it had a over sized cam and 1.7 rockers apparently, but the guy never opened up the exhaust. he put a 3" flowmaster on the end of it, but left the manifolds that opened into a 2" pipe that tapered back down to a 1-3/4" pip then back to a 2" cat and then a 2" piece with the bung in it that had to be slipped into the 3" exhaust. The muffler guy and I were laughing at it. It was pretty bad. I just had him cut the entire thing out and make a smooth continuous 2.5" from teh collectors to the y- and the opened it up to 3" at the cat. I have nothing to compare it to but I have read that the 3" cat is the way to go. Either way the back pressure feels just right. there is constant power under the pedal all through the throttle range and it never hits a flat spot.

It was worth every penny. I drove that truck with the headers and 3" exhaust for months. But complete with the new y and no restriction and now I do not even have to downshift to pass on the highway.

With the internal work and the intake exhaust combo. I wish I had an idea of how much horse power I really have... I now it has go to be close to 300 at this point. It pulls almost as good as my buddies New 345hp hemi and his tires are only 33"s. And I still get 14 mpg in town driving it like a sportscar!! woot! lol