blackbeast2010

Here are a few pics. Sorry about the dirty truck. We has a snowstorm yesterday.

VolFire

I have the Corsa as well and FYI as you "season" the exhaust it does get a little louder after break in but I love it and it is still definitely not annoying in the cab after break-in. It does tend to annoy my neighbors with the cold morning startup though...but I love starting my day the V8 way...

ATECZ

Volfire & Blackbeast,

Thank you very much for the comments as this has been very helpful. I leaning towards the Corsa as from what I can see gives the truck a nice "stock look". A few more questions:

Blackbeast - When you wrote it gets louder, can you hear it in the cab? I am so afraid to buy this system and all i hear is annoying exhaust sound or drone. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to hear the rumble when I want to get on it, just not all of the time.

Volfire & Blackbeast - Do eith of you have a CAI on your trucks? I just bought a K & N. Now I am hearing mixed opinions on them. Would I have been better off leaving as stock and putting a better filter in? Not sure if it made a difference in MPG or performance. Its hard to tell with the exhaust that is on now. Any thoughts?

Blackbeast - Have you noticed a performance gain with low/high end torque? Has the mpg increase at all? Would you mind posting a pic or two?


Thanks guys!
Alex

ATECZ

Sorry, the questions for blackbeast and volfie should have been reversed....

blackbeast2010

I have the Gotts Mod and the truck does seem more responsive. Still debating on which custom tune to get. It feels a little faster but I'm not trying to win a race, just get better MPG & sound improvement.

VolFire

I have the Series 63 Aircharger CAI from K&N on mine currently. I have had the exhaust since Sept but just put the CAI on two weeks ago. I keep track of my mileage and realized about a 1-2 mpg increase around town I havent really done a highway trip yet (will do about a 400 miler this weekend). It does change the sound of the exhaust slightly but not really noticeably. There is enough air pushing into the intake now that when revving in park or neutral you can get the exhaust to "pop". Both with and without the CAI the exhaust sounds great. (CAI sounds good too, love that howl as you put your foot in it). I did upgrade to 89 octane and found that helped the startup especially on the cold mornings. It "feels" like there is a increase on low end torque and HP at WOT but not quantifiable with a dyno yet...I am seriously considering a tune as with the increased air the RPM's are lower so the truck holds gear longer which as I wind out the engine gets me less bang for the buck as it were on WOT acceleration (i.e. merging onto a highway). I have pics of both in my album I uploaded last night.

ATECZ

Volfire,

Thanks for the pics. Your truck looks sweet!

So before I pull the trigger on ordering the Corsa - It's pretty quiet in the cab? I'm not worried about the initial loudness of a cold startup. I do alot of around the town driving and I just don't want the annoying exhaust noise in the cab.

Also, now that we will have the exact same setup, (CAI & EXHT) let me know what your progress is as far as MPG and HP with fuels. (or dyno results if you have them). Have you tried running E85? Did you remove the fender air piece (gotts mod?) Which programmers / tuning companies are you looking at?

Alex

VolFire

1- It is "pretty quiet" in the cab. If you are just cruisin down the street it is not annoying at all, definitely not on the order of a magnaflow or flowmaster. (Which even I find annoying) *But* to each his own. I come from a family with corvettes camaros and mustangs just between my dad and siblings. I love exhaust note...

2-I dont run E85, the most ethanol we have added in VA is 10% and that isnt a given it just says on the pumps "This fuel may contain up to 10% Ethanol by volume" or something official like that. I know that aFE makes some specific E85 compatible CAI's for BMWs but no personal experience. I would call K&N.

3. I have not done the Gotts mod and removed the fender piece. With the CAI I was worried if I made the fender too open that water or other contaminants could splash up and work their way into the intake channel when I use the truck for its intended purpose (off roading not eating Chevys which while an added benefit not a true "purpose"). Plus since the new airbox isnt a complete enclosure there is no real benefit I could see to the Gotts. I think that is more if you dont want to spring for a complete CAI.

4. The big winners for tuning as far as I have been able to research are Troyer Performance here in VA or VMP Tuning. These guys really know F150s from what I hear. I have emailed Justin at VMP with a couple of questions and he has been nothing but helpful. The programmer I have been looking at is the SCT X3. Both shops offer this for around $400 with 3 custom tunes and the ability to read/clear codes and return it to stock tune. It really cleans up your shift points and if you develop any knock with the CAI it clears it right up. The big issue here is your dealer. TALK TO THEM FIRST! Found out Ford CAN tell if we flash our trucks. Even if we put them back to stock. There is a permanent code that enters into the vehicle's permanent mem not the flash memory sooooo while the dealer cant flat out deny you warranty service if he can prove that your mod caused your issue...you are out a 5 year powertrain warranty. My dealer doesnt care and just gave me the company line "just be aware...etc". Then he told me if it was his truck he would do it.

fincsher

Some Corsa exhausts are good to work on, but I am much interested in Borla exhaust. Sounds great!

ATECZ

Volfire,

Thank you for all of your feedback. My only other option that I see is to buy a Harley Davidson factory exhaust and that would keep the truck somewhat "stock". I went down to the dealer to check one out. You can hardly hear it in the cab (which is what i want) and it does have a nice tone to it outside the truck. I really want the Corsa but I wish I could find someone with your setup and actually listen to it driving around town. I'm nervious bc i look at the size of the Corsa muffler compared to stock and i just think it has to be alot louder? Do you think that the Corsa is has really affected performance / mpg? What do you think about going with the HD option? I see that you changed your tails as well.

Also, have you had any issues with the K & N CAI? I still have the factory tune but my truck runs really rough on startup and sometime stalls on a cold day (35 deg F or colder). What procedure did you use to reprogam your stock computer for the CAI? I have noticed that i have a little less low end torque but its an animal on the highway. Same for you?

Lastly, I have noticed that when stopping the engine revs twice to about 1000RPM right before I come to a stop. The dealer said it may need to be reprogrammed? Did this happen to you? All in all, do you think that the K & N CAI is better than stock?

This is all very frustrating right now because this magnaflow exhaust is so loud and I think the transmission needs to be reprogrammed or have a software update. I should have made one mod at a time. These loose ends are killing me!