6.5td exhaust questions

[roosterjuicer]

does anyone reccomend any particular exhaust size or brand for a 96 gmc extended cab short box? ive been looking at kennedy and ssdiesel supply. the ssdiesel one is quite a bit cheaper and four inches. the kennedy is a little more expensive and 3.5 inches i think. but it is dyno proven, there is no dyno stuff on ssdiesels site.

any help would be appreciated.

[dslpwr]

If you want quiet truck go with Bill Heath.

If you like noisy truck go with JK.

I like the 3-1/2 from JK, it fits well. I had to put Bills muffer on it to make it quiet.

[GMC Hauler]

I have a Jardine exhaust that is 4". As far as dyno testing goes, I don't think it is so necesssary. Use the largest pipe, straightest with fewest bends and mandrel bends at that, and it will make lots more power.

Here is where I purchased mine: Pinnacle (http://www.pinnaclepowerexhaust.com/products.htm)

[Kennedy]

Originally posted by dslpwr:
If you want quiet truck go with Bill Heath.

If you like noisy truck go with JK.

I like the 3-1/2 from JK, it fits well. I had to put Bills muffer on it to make it quiet. Noise/sound is a matter of perception. There are many others here who have replied that they absolutely love the sound of my system. If a longer/larger muffler is desired, we can accommodate...

[gvt]

roosterjuicer,
I've got the JK 3.5" exhaust. I am very satisfied with it. It is a little louder than stock, but that's to be expected! The system fits very well and shows no signs of rust after one Minnesota winter.

[mhagie]

Back to the original question,has anyone used a SSDiesel Supply system and did you like it?

[roosterjuicer]

i like kennedy's system because its dyno proven, and because I e mailed him yesterday and he already got back to me this morning...good service. however, the kennedy system is almost 100$ more. im gonna keep looking around for now and look at some of the stuff ya'll suggested.

[Hubert]

Mhagie,

I have the SS 3 DP, 4" system. I like it. It has a deep grumble rumble tone to it. If I had to do it again I might try straight pipe to see if the grumbly rumble would be less and get more turbo whistle. It can drone or moan a little at highway speed 2000 + RPM but not too bad.

I started to put it in myself while doing clutch but opted to have a shop do it for $100. Worth it for me as they welded or brazed up all joints and brazed to the OE brackets. The brackets that come with the kit are not bolt up to OE brackets or anything close. So I can't tell you exactly how hard it is to install.

The kit I got they had to cut ~ 18 or so inches out of the pipe before the muffler. The kit is for long beds or short and ext cab or crew I think.

I cut the old system out. The shop would not take off the soot trap but would install new system without one. A technicallity in the law I guess.

Its a pretty tight fit. It comes close to the rear leaf spring as it turns out to exit like the stock exhaust. Maybe depends on how you cut extra length out (noted above) but the bend looks centered over the axle. Some have complained it hits. And its close where it goes over crossover frame brakets. It appears there is no room for anything bigger until you clear of the rear crossover and go up over the axle.

Nice improvement to throttle response and seat of the pants feel. My soot trap was fairly dirty though.

[roosterjuicer]

the 3 inch system from heath is priced right, but 3 inches seems awfully small.

[nigeljones]

I recently installed the SS diesel exhaust to my 96 Suburban. Like others I was concerned about noise. Everyone talks about noise from there own perspective I found. A question to ask them is do they ride or own a "Harley Davison" and bear that in mind as they might subscibe to the idea that Loud pipes saves Lives and sounds cool.
When pulling a trailer at around 2000rpm it sets of a resonance in the body of the vehicle which at high way speeds is very unpleasant and frankly disapointing.
Although when not pulling the trailer and at 65mph the noise tends to be rearward of the vehicle and is bearable.

The upside is it's way cool when pulling the trailer and listening to the turbo spool up.

I have 5000 miles on mine now and have gotten used to it some what.

Would I do it again, maybe but if Bill Heath has a quieter muffler may be I'd look there.

As regards SS Diesel the pipe is of good quality and I was satisfied with the delivery. The mounting brackets I could not use and had to fabricate rod style hangers. So you need to have access to a welder. I ended up having to take it to a shop for installation for $100.

[GMC Hauler]

In contrast to Nijel's exhaust, I had to do no cutting on the Jardine exhaust, and all hangers worked, although it took some creative positioning. The same areas were still close, though. The instructions were weak, though.

[MJEasly]

Doesn't the SS system have an optional muffler that is a little quieter? Has anyone tried this muffler and confirm its claims?

[BUZZ]

I looked at the SS and JK and Heath.I chose JK, wanteed 3.5" and the dyno numbers helped. Entire system is high quality and easy bolt in. R&R out with the old and in with the new on jack stands, about 3 hours total. Already had a down pipe in place.
Sounds pretty mean, but not as loud as the Factory Five roadster. I probably will mod the soot trap and try to loose the resonance when towing. Any system you choose will help in towing performance over stock.
Buzz

[Kennedy]

Those stainless steel band clamps aren't cheap. I could take them out and close the price gap, but I will not compromise. I also feel that a 3 to 4" transition is a bit abrupt, along with the fact that 3.5" pipe is good plenty.

[nvmtnlion]

I have the SS 4" kit with the cat option. I agree with the crappy hangers but the quality of the kit was good. If I could do it over again, I would go with the JK kit for the stainless band clamps and good hangers.

That said, the SS kit sounds great on my rig, towing or running unloaded. The 4" is a tight fit over the crossmember that the torsion bars go to and you have to be VERY careful to position it so you don't get that drone at speed.

[roosterjuicer]

thanks for the input guys. ill be making my decision this week now that my cabelas credit card just came in.

kennedy...do you do price matching? or at least negotiations? :D

[dieselrealtor]

I ordered my Pinnacle exhaust on 7/30. They told me it would be shipped on Tuesday (8/2).
It had not arrived by 8/8. I called them, they told me that they ran out of mufflers & that it should be shipped out in a couple of days & they would put my email address in the UPS tracker so I would know when it went out.

It is now 8/16/05, it has been 18 days & my exhaust still has not been shipped. The price seemed right, but now I am beginning to wonder. :confused:

I have bought several small things from Kennedy, they have always been shipped promptly & had great communication. :D

[dieselrealtor]

Pinnacle exhaust finally arrived today, ordered on 7/30, arrived on 8/23. :rolleyes:

Glad I wasn't in a hurry

[damork]

I did an experiment with some low cost 3.5" pipe, because that is the route I would go if it proved to be any BIG benefit. Only major expense was a 3.5" Flowmaster tailpipe for about $70, and a 26" Donaldson muffler. I did pull the cat for the test.

My goal was to increase mileage and lower exhaust temp. I'd take the horsepower, but noise had to be low. All the reports I read seemed like I was going to increase noise, and that was true.

After the install, I noticed increased pep when starting out, but not much significance beyond that. I'm not using stump pulling power but looking more for steady state highway mileage gains. I saw no change in mileage, and my exhaust temps dropped very little (maybe 25F while cruising), and although it wasn't much noisier, it was more than I would accept.

I've done other things such as adding a race chip and improving air flow with a 97+ filter in my truck, so that may have improved things already. I'm able to break 20 mpg with the factory exhaust anyway, and that is what I went back to. I know the only way I would ever be satisfied with an aftermarket exhaust is one where the pipe is bent exactly to the factory dimensions that re-used the factory hangars - including the bars welded to the pipe that fit them.

A short version of the muffler which comes on the Duramax would appear to be a solution. It's well known that a Tahoe/Yukon is a nightmare to fit a pipe to, so I finally replaced my rusted muffler with a new factory unit for $280, bolted right up. Still have a 3.5" converter replacement pipe with bolt up flange and a new 3.5" Donaldson muffler with band clamps in a box if anyone is looking.

[Bulls99Sub]

Nigeljones,

I had the same issue with my Sub. I spoke with SSDiesel about the possibility of turning the muffler around so some of the flow was forced into the packing. They said that it was possible and would probably not hurt performace too much, but I have not done it yet. Make sure that the entire tip is sticking out past the edge of the body, that helped a little. I also noticed that the real offensive noise was cyclic, it came and went as the factory controller cycled the turbo boost. Installation of a turbomaster from Heath cured that problem. Now constant whistle all the time and an even exhaust note. Want to really hear the turbo? Try an SSDiesel air intake.

Bull

[GMC Hauler]

Bull is right. The Turbo mufffles most of the noise. Since the factory system doesn't always apply boost while crusing, the exhaust would be louder.