Holty
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- April 15, 2002
- Messages
- 366
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '99 Explorer XLT AWD V8
i thought i would start a new thread on this so the people who are not interested in the group buy could see this and see what they are missing.
i just installed my EE rear sway bar, a set of edelbrock shocks, and a Gibson stainless cat-back exhaust. I took everything to my local Mienike who has done alot of work for me in the past and i trust him. he installed everything in about 3 hours and charged me $100.
the truck handles about 150 times better than it did before. it also rides much "tighter" but not "stiff" if that makes any sense. body roll is vertually eliminated and the truck is much more fun to drive now. these upgrades are great and i highly recommend everyone do them as they make me want to just go and drive around all day. i can't believe how much of a difference the sway bar made.
for the exhuast, well, let me just say that the Gibson isn't as quiet as i thought it was going to be. It has a very deap rumble at low rpm but it is not overly loud. i would say that this exhaust sounds like what a stock exhaust on any v8 engine "should" sound like. maybe the people with the v6's think it's too quiet for them, but i think it is plenty loud enough for me, though i wasn't looking for a loud exhaust at all anyway. at highway speeds it does have a slight interior resonance, but nothing that will annoy you. all in all i would say i'm extremely happy with it. i'm glad i did not go the "custom" route with a flowmaster or magnaflow as i think those would have been too loud for my liking. the fit was perfect, though the hanger for the muffler was not even close to fitting properly. luckily a professional was installing mine and he had no problem fabbing up a hanger for it. if i was doing this at home in my garage i would have been screwed.
i would gladly take pictures of the new parts if anyone wants me to, but the sway bar is plain black and ALOT thicker than the stock one, and the exhaust looks exactly like stock only it's stainless and does not have a resonator so i don't see the point of taking any pictures. also for those of you wondering, everything did come with all the proper mounting hardware including the split collets for the sway bar which i used anyway even though my x isn't lowered in the rear.
i would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about the installation or outcome of my upgrades.
i just installed my EE rear sway bar, a set of edelbrock shocks, and a Gibson stainless cat-back exhaust. I took everything to my local Mienike who has done alot of work for me in the past and i trust him. he installed everything in about 3 hours and charged me $100.
the truck handles about 150 times better than it did before. it also rides much "tighter" but not "stiff" if that makes any sense. body roll is vertually eliminated and the truck is much more fun to drive now. these upgrades are great and i highly recommend everyone do them as they make me want to just go and drive around all day. i can't believe how much of a difference the sway bar made.
for the exhuast, well, let me just say that the Gibson isn't as quiet as i thought it was going to be. It has a very deap rumble at low rpm but it is not overly loud. i would say that this exhaust sounds like what a stock exhaust on any v8 engine "should" sound like. maybe the people with the v6's think it's too quiet for them, but i think it is plenty loud enough for me, though i wasn't looking for a loud exhaust at all anyway. at highway speeds it does have a slight interior resonance, but nothing that will annoy you. all in all i would say i'm extremely happy with it. i'm glad i did not go the "custom" route with a flowmaster or magnaflow as i think those would have been too loud for my liking. the fit was perfect, though the hanger for the muffler was not even close to fitting properly. luckily a professional was installing mine and he had no problem fabbing up a hanger for it. if i was doing this at home in my garage i would have been screwed.
i would gladly take pictures of the new parts if anyone wants me to, but the sway bar is plain black and ALOT thicker than the stock one, and the exhaust looks exactly like stock only it's stainless and does not have a resonator so i don't see the point of taking any pictures. also for those of you wondering, everything did come with all the proper mounting hardware including the split collets for the sway bar which i used anyway even though my x isn't lowered in the rear.
i would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about the installation or outcome of my upgrades.
