MRT catted H: Initial impressions

trinity_gt

10 Year Member
Jan 31, 2003
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2002 GT, stock cat-back, factory manifolds.

Fit was a bit concerning. The guy installing it said the passenger side pipe was upwards of an inch too short, causing the rest of the cat-back on the pass side to be pulled forward a bit. The pipe sits very close to the floor pan on the passenger side where it kicks out of the manifold (1/2" max) and the cats themselves snug up very close to the floor. Between the tops of the heat shields and the floor is maybe 1/4" at some points. I thought it'd be banging under there as the engine torqued around but it didn't seem to have, yet at least. Because it snugs up under the car well there's no concern at all about dragging over speed bumps... No exhaust leaks, yet. I supplied some high-temp, sensor-safe "copper" RTV to be applied to all ball-joints and MRT supplied a fresh pass-side manifold gasket (though I bought a couple from Ford anyway...nice to have...)

The factory H is a heavy mofo compared to the MRT part....at least twice the weight of the MRT. The MRT is made from a much thinner grade of stainless and, of course, only has two (high flow Magnaflow, as it turns out) cats.

The exhaust note change was subtle but definitely welcome. It's got a lower tone, more "burbly", even at idle. Accelerating gives a very pleasing amplification of the factory exhaust note, which is a good thing. Sounds meaner, more "stacatto". As the cat back is stock, there's no drone and nothing offensive on the highway.

As far as performance, the butt-dyno likes it but I'm not going to venture numbers. It's not huge as is to be expected with factory logs and cat-backs but it's noticeable. This is another one of those "over 3500 is just comes to life" mods. In a week I should be able to pop it on the dyno to see if I bettered my current 247HP.

So far, after a day, I'm more pleased than disappointed. The fitment (pipe length, proximity of the pipe to the frame and the cats to the floor) are a bummer but I love the sound and the feel now. Can't wait to dyno it.
 
Thanks for the informative write-up. Did they adjust the flow tube on the pass side to fix the length issue? If not, when you get a cat-back, it can be fixed then. See the pic below of a FlowMaster cat back...the short tubes in front of the mufflers (known as flow tubes) can be cut to size (as can the OEM system too, of course). I thought the pic might help to explain what I was talking about.
As far as the cats' closeness to the floor - I guess I'd rather have then up tight than nearly dragging and having to worry about them getting ripped out when driving over a speed bump...! And as long as they don't rattle or present a heat issue, you should be OK. But for the price of this mid pipe, I'd expect a better fit. I am interested in this mid pipe myself.
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I also have the MRT H-pipe with my stock cat back and really like it. Your description of the sound is exactly as I would describe. I installed mine myself but it seemed to fit perfectly, much better than I was expecting. I also noticed a significant power boost especially between 3-5K. I dynoed 237/278 with the pipe being my only performance mod at the time. The dyno guy said the stock GT's he dyno's are usually somewhere in the 220's. So I guess it helped my car.
 
I'd like to co-sign on this description of the MRT catted H-pipe. It's a thing of beauty. :nice: I feel like I need to baby it when cops are around because it really roars when I get on it. Actually competes with the stereo now. (I often wonder which ticket I'll get FIRST...the exhaust, the stereo, or the 5% tint. :rolleyes: ) Unfortunately I don't exactly know how much of the improved sound & perfomance is attributable to the H-pipe vs. the Dynomax Super Turbos since they both went on at the same time. Muffler shop said they also had to fab it a bit to make it fit. They were surprised to find that the stock h-pipe had 6 cats! :mad: I definitely gained some HP. This many butt-dynos can't be wrong.
 
Sorry to hear you have an issue with your midpipe. Maybe you should contact MRT or PM MRaburn to see if you can swap out the one you have on the car? Those guys have great customer service, and I'm sure they would be more than happy to help you.

At least you are happy performance wise. :D I had the same impressions when I installed mine. I still haven't been to a dyno though. :nonono:
 
Well, as far as the "issues", they seem to be turning out for naught. That is, aside from the installation fellow bitching and moaning, from my perspective, it seems just fine: no clunking, no banging, the tailpipes look fine and so on. :shrug: As "issues" go, what turns out to be just a tight fit is really nothing at all.

I just want to drive the car. It definitely makes more power (of this I am sure) but the sound is great. Another thing I like is that the thinner wall tubing allows for a "tinny" sound from the pipes themselves when accelerating, like the exhaust pulses vibrating the pipes themselves. More sweetness.

LOL...it's addictive in a way: I want more of this same thing now, in terms of sound :) I was thinking of checking out some mufflers. I'd rather not do the whole cat back ($US600 is alot for mufflers and pipes and my motor doesn't move enough air to need pipes bigger than stock). Sean Hyland's book says that the factory Bullitt mufflers, specifically, are a "good muffler", impying that they are different from the base GT. Is this true? How much louder than a GT is a Bullitt? Can these mufflers (only) be sourced from Ford and can they be easily & reliably welded into the factory system?
 
More on MRT... from http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosconsumer/0309/17/g03-267046.htm

Scott Hoag was a Ford Motor Co. engineer for 17 years and project manager for the Mustang Bullitt and Mach 1, two well-received, limited-edition models of the popular pony car.

He left the automaker to continue his high-performance tuning career as an entrepreneur. In January, he launched Mustang Racing Technologies Inc., or MRT.

MRT makes performance components for race cars and street vehicles. The company has locations in Northville and in Auburn, Ala., where Hoag's partner, Mike Rayburn, bases his StangNet.com Web site and affiliated businesses, including MRT's sales and distribution center.
 
SilVert99GT said:
I'd like to co-sign on this description of the MRT catted H-pipe. It's a thing of beauty. :nice: I feel like I need to baby it when cops are around because it really roars when I get on it. Actually competes with the stereo now. (I often wonder which ticket I'll get FIRST...the exhaust, the stereo, or the 5% tint. :rolleyes: ) Unfortunately I don't exactly know how much of the improved sound & perfomance is attributable to the H-pipe vs. the Dynomax Super Turbos since they both went on at the same time. Muffler shop said they also had to fab it a bit to make it fit. They were surprised to find that the stock h-pipe had 6 cats! :mad: I definitely gained some HP. This many butt-dynos can't be wrong.

SIX cats!! last time i saw that was on my old 99 v6 stang and those where removed. makes me wonder about this 01 gt i got now. i got it used in May. When i checked underneath i only saw 2 cats and assumed it was stock. im going to have to jack it up for a closer inspection.
 
KronicRacer said:
SIX cats!! last time i saw that was on my old 99 v6 stang and those where removed. makes me wonder about this 01 gt i got now. i got it used in May. When i checked underneath i only saw 2 cats and assumed it was stock. im going to have to jack it up for a closer inspection.

You should find 4 cats total, two on each side. The warm-up cats are close-coupled to the exhaust manifolds so they're tucked up quite high.

6 on the early cars though...jeez...