I just recently bought a 99 ram 2500 with a 6" lift on 35's and in the future planning on buying performance parts. But for now im wondering what would be the best way to make it as loud as possible?

 

well. . .that depends on what you want it to look like.

dual 6" stacks coming out of the bed is the loudest combination I have heard to date. however a 5 inch straight pipe coming out the tail is also very loud.

to me, stacks look sweeet with the 2nd gen trucks

 

I know a guy that made his truck as loud as possible. He thought it was pretty cool for a while. He had to make an 800 mile trip pulling a heavey trailer. When he got back from the trip he took the truck straight to the shop to have it muffled. Guess it gave him a splitting headache.

Something else for you to think about. The loss of backpressure for an open exhaust will reduce your midrange power. That is to say less power at cruising rpm. Among those who know performance, your truck will make you sound stupid. Best to use a quality high flow muffler. It will give you just enough backpressure to keep your performance while makeing your truck sound tough.

 

are you sure you want backpressure on a diesel with an exhaust turbo??

 

I worked with Cummins engineers on field test engines, specifically the Signature 600 for class 8 trucks. I suggested a freeflowing exhaust system such as dual 8" straight stacks. They insisted the engine would not perform to it's full potential with that setup.

Here is a very informative article on how to build a high performance diesel engine.

http://www.dieselinjection.net/frames.html

 

For my truck, the 3in straight pipe was louder than my 4 in straight pipe. The more back pressure and smaller the pipe, the more louder it will be, but the bigger exhaust the deeper the exhaust will be. If you want to keep the stock exhaust (3in) ditch the muffler and cat if it has one. 4in exhaust aren't that expensive. You can get one from Source Automotive for $270-290

 

I have an 02 and I cut the muffler and cat off and put a straight pipe in it's place. i am now running 3 inch straight. I am a diesel mechanic and like biker guy said there will be a little difference in the midrange power. I have a 5 speed tranny with 3.55 gears and I can tell a little difference. The cummins motor isnt as bad as the power stroke or the duramax. You can get by alot easier with no turbo backpressure on the cummins. I will just say this at highway speed my truck really hums and if you are towing get ready it will get loud. When I pass people in cars if their window is down they will usually roll it up. It is a good sound but it is loud.

 

I have a 99 1 ton dually ctd and run 5 inch strait pipe right off the turbo no cat, no muffler. Its pretty loud but I don't know If you'll get away with it where you are, I live on vancouver Island BC Canada and never had anyone hassle me about it. but I know guys who have been pulled off the road for it in places that have smog control or sticky noise bylaws