Newbie Catback Question

[kendell]

I'm looking at a Ford Racing catback M-5230-M52 for my stock '02 GT on Partshopper.com. Shown here:

http://www.partshopper.com/shop/Ford-Racing-Mustang-and-Cobra-Exhaust-System-m195.html

My problem is that partshopper says it fits 99-04 4.6L GT, but Ford's catalog says it fits '98-'01.

Can some kind soul help me make sense of this?

 

[DocG]

I don't know what the difference between an 01' and 02' would be with a cat-back. Does Ford catalog have one for 02-up?

 

[kendell]

Hey Doc thanks for replying. Ford Racing has a newer model M-5230-MS for '99-'04. It's described as "Extremely Loud" and the price is more than 2 times higher ($639). It's too much on both counts.

Perhaps you (or somebody) can recommend how to achieve a slightly more prominent (throaty) exhust note without spending too much (around $250-350). I would hope to gain a little horsepower too.

 

[edbo]

Consider this:
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=4904
You'll notice that the part number is the SAME as the one on the link you listed. So go with what Ford says on their part. As for the differences, I believe it has to do with the way the tailpipes are mounted. Pre '98 (94-97) cars had a different mount for the tailpipes than the 98's had. That's why you'll see many of the Flowmaster, Borla and Magnaflow units have a different P/N for 98s than 94-97s. If anyone knows whether this is accurate or not, please plug in.

 

[edbo]

Hey Doc thanks for replying. Ford Racing has a newer model M-5230-MS for '99-'04. It's described as "Extremely Loud" and the price is more than 2 times higher ($639). It's too much on both counts.

Perhaps you (or somebody) can recommend how to achieve a slightly more prominent (throaty) exhust note without spending too much (around $250-350). I would hope to gain a little horsepower too.

If you don't have any real mods on your car, just get some Flowmasters welded into your current exhaust. Nice and throaty when you kick it in, fairly tame at idle. You'll come in at around 180-220 dollars installed depending on which mufflers you get and how much the install costs. As for real HP gains, probably not going to notice much but the tone sure helps and sometimes a little SOP gains. (Seat of pants). Good luck!

 

[BooWFO]

ok why not go with an offroad midpipe? when I had the stock cat(less) back and the or prochamber it sounded good and throaty but not overly loud.