New here,have a question...

yes it would be, the only thing that would possbily get annoying as far as exhaust goes is if you went with a o/r midpipe which means no cats. It messes with the rear 02 sensors and causes a check engine light. That's really the only thing that would cause something different from factory settings. I personally ran only an o/r x pipe and was perfectly content with the sound. You learn to ignore the light after a while.

o/r. means off road, not street legal, because they have no cats, but everybody has them (see sig)

i rely recomend getting a O/R H they have a deep growl, IMO they sound better then X's, there been alot of people getting 96-98 GT's around here

Sounds like you want a catted pro-chamber or another catted H pipe with some flowmasters (will drone a bit around 2200-2500 rpm) or maybe some SLP LoudMouth II's (1s I think you wouldn't like at wide open throttle)

Everything on the aftermarket is louder, but most of the big name brands are tasteful in their volume as long as you don't cruise at 5k rpm you'll never be the owner of "that obnoxiously loud" mustang

you i could do it, buy an o/r midpipe for the time in between checks and throw the old h pipe back on for emissions tests. Would take 30 minutes max to swap.

you'll pass emissions with a catted H pipe.

From what you described you don't want an off road pipe. That's where some of the obnoxious volume comes in.

I have a 97GT with an offroad H pipe and factory mufflers. I think it has exactly the sound you are looking for!

The factory mufflers were tuned to sound good and like a muscle car should. Make the most of the work ford already did by getting rid of the (6) restrictiving and muffling cats.

I would not recommend combining an off road H pipe with aftermarket mufflers, as this would be quite loud. But with the factory mufflers it really is the perfect sound. Definately go with an H pipe for the old muscle car sound. Getting rid of the 6 cats makes each exhaust pulse more noticable and more aggressive sounding instead of smearing all the pulses together. With the factory mufflers, it will defintely be quiet enough and not obnoxious at all.

Mine starts mean. When I start it, most people not familar with the exhaust note will say 'wow', but it is quickly smooth and quiet. At idle-2000rpm, it is nice and quiet, just slightly louder than stock. It is certainly easy to sneak out of the neighbor hood in the early morning hours. From 2000-3000, it is a bit louder, but NEVER has any resonation. I hate resonation with a passion and that is why I choose to keep the factory mufflers. Beyond that, it isn't loud at all, but just sounds nice and like a V8 should.

I think you would be very happy with an offroad H-pipe, but you'll need to build or buy MIL eliminators to prevent the check engine light. This is extremely simple and cheap too. The only difficulty is emissions/inspection. You know the law.

Keep the stock H and go with SLP loud mouth 1s, they will sound great.