I recently got a 2010 FX4. I absolutely love it, but it would kill me to leave it stick. I would love for it to be a little louder. I don't want anything too loud as my parents might get annoyed and I might get tired of it over time.

I had been looking on AmericanMuscle for a complete new catback, but those are 600-700 dollars and I don't want to spend that much. I still want to add new tires, a leveling kit, a subwoofer, and new speakers at some point, and as a 16 year old with a low paying job, I don't have too much money to spend. I heard a flowmaster super 10 on a V8 ram yesterday that one of my friends put on, and I really liked the sound of it. I looked at mufflers and they're only like 70-100 dollars, and I know I'd have to add some piping to make it fit, but my uncle works with his old land cruiser a lot and said he'd help me put on anything I need, so I'm pretty confident I could dodge the labor cost.

What do y'all think about just a muffler switch with the factory exhaust? Does it sound as good as a whole new catback? And could my uncle and I do it ourselves or is it to difficult? I appreciate any help!!

 

First off, what engine do you have?

Secondly, just do a muffler swap. That's what I did on this truck (2016 with the 5.0, virtually same as 10-14 5.0). My '07 F-150 was running pipe from each cat, to 12" cherry bomb glasspacks, and straight out the back, THAT was loud. Lol. This one is running a 12" cherry bomb glasspack in place of the huge factory muffler. It's got a nice growl to it at idle, and screams at wide open throttle. Being only 22 I still enjoy loud vehicles, but this one sure is nice to not be obnoxious all the time. Lol

Video I did to pass around the forum.

 

I have the 5.4. I haven't done much research on cherrybonb stuff. Is that just a brand for mufflers?

 

Yup, just a muffler brand. They're cheap, but so what? You can pick up the glasspack im running for about $20-$30 at Autozone.

Okay, 5.4... Do you have a resonator on that exhaust? I'm leaning towards no. On my 07 5.4, it originally had what looked like a super 10 knockoff as it wasn't branded "Flowmaster". Either way, just a muffler swap is around $100. I paid $90 all said and done on this truck.

 

Also, I would not advise a glasspack without a resonator. It WILL be loud, and it will pop. Which I love both of those. A lot of people don't, which 99% of the time includes parents.

 

I honestly don't know if I have a resonator. I'm still learning a lot about the truck and want to learn more with time. So would you say getting the cherrybomb glass pack wouldn't be smart cause it'll be too loud? Other than that, what are some good mufflers that are loud but not wake up the neighborhood loud? And can I put them on without taking it to a shop? Thanks for the help!

 

For right now let's assume not. So I would stay away from the glasspack idea. Look at a knockoff super 10. Having done exhaust work in a driveway, take it somewhere with a lift. Trust me lol. It's no fun laying under the truck welding on exhaust.

 

How much would you estimate labor cost to be?

 

Mine was about $60 to weld the muffler to a piece of pipe they had, and install on the truck. That included removing the old muffler. It depends on if you're wanting to do a straight muffler swap or if you want to go with dual pipes after the muffler. Obviously the dual pipe option is going to be more expensive.

I would advise going and getting estimates from a few shops. Get pricing for them providing a knockoff super 10 (most of them have them around me at least), and pricing for just labor. Compare a few and choose the cheapest. A muffler swap isn't a skilled thing, the only important thing is that it doesn't leak afterwards. Cheapest wins for exhaust IMO. I got a quote for $120 installed (they were going to provide a knockoff magnaflow) and a quote for like $300 installed (they were going to provide an actual magnaflow). The second place was also going to charge like $200 in labor if I brought in my muffler. I chose the first place, provided my own muffler, took it in on a Saturday morning and they had it done in under an hour. I hung out in the shop with them while they worked on it.

Long story short, don't be afraid to shop around a bit. You can even just call the shops and get pricing.

 

I'll call around and see who can give me the best deal. Would a knockoff super 10 be as good as a real one, or is there a noticeable difference in quality and sound? Also, are magnaflows something I should consider? Sorry for all the questions I really just don't know much about this stuff haha. Thanks!