Gibson Stainless installed 95 XLT Feedback...

[Fischer]

Well last night I finally got to install the Gibson Swept Side Stainless Steel exhaust. Below is what I came to find out.

#1: Using a hacksaw to remove old exhaust SUCKS! Get a Sawsall! I had to cut it onto 3 peices to remove it. I also had to cut the flange off the male peice of the exhaust hangers, comparitively easy.
That was the hardest part!


Laid the exhaust out and did a dry fit to make sure all peices fit. My first imperssion is this is very high quality. Tubing is perfectly round at bends which is a "true" 2.5" tube all the way back. Meaty gauge tubing which I brutally banged with a large framing hammer and no bending occurred, STOUT.

Install went strait forward only complaint is that I have a bit of knocking on one of my heat shields (no biggie). Also the Chromed tip has a notch in it for putting it on the tubing, that notch is too long and there is a sliver of a gap, I have to get it trimmed berore I weld it on.

RESULTS:
- Very nice low tone, not loud at all in the cab

- Definately noticeable sound difference outside of cab, sounds just like I want it to. Nice low and mellow, not trying to be something it's not.

- Torque gain very noticeable, crisper half throttle accelleration and ability to hold overdirve much longer (save gas) woohoo!!

- I now find myself using about 1/4 less throttle to get the same responce...Less shifting of the trans

- Horsepower nominal difference as I did not noice all that much of a difference at high revvs


CONCLUSION:
- This is KickA*$ exhaust
- The tip is nice and tucked up with no clearance issues
- Sounds perfect for application
- Nice welds (tacck of dimes) on muffler
- Simple Install with Perfect measurements for stock hangers
- Nice gain in Torque ( I have yet to tow the boat)
- Comparative gain in HP (conjunction w/ headers would be very nice and a TB and HF Cat)


I'll post pics in a min...

 

[Fischer]

Here are the Pics. Enjoy!!

BTW After only a day mind you, I highly Suggest this Exhaust. I like it much more than what the old man has on his 99' (Flowmaster w/ custom bent aluminized)..Gibaon blows it away.

 

[Fischer]

I can never post more than one at a time. Help!

 

[Fischer]

Another

 

[Fischer]

Last one...

 

[Fischer]

Damnit!

 

[tbvlc79]

LOOKS AWESOME MAN...I'M IN THE PROCESS OF DECIDING BETWEEN THAT SYSTEM AND A BORLA...WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE THE GIBSON?

ALSO...DO ALL THE KITS COME WITHOUT THE TIP WELDED ON?

 

[Fischer]

I chose the Gibson for that bang for the buck. I had looked at damn near every option available for my truck. The Borla is nice and stainless as well but I had heard that it does not perform as well for the 4.0L and there were mixed bags on the sound of the system.

I think that all people running Gibson are very pleased and all the people that run the Borla are very pleased (though maybe more broke).

If they are the same price for you it is a coin toss. I just know that Gibson had more concrete #'s for the performance vs. the Borla which I found difficult to find stats.

The Gibson I believe claims 20HP and about 25Lbs. Ft. of Torque (don't quote me on that)...??

I have gathered that the Gibson is better for low end torque, (higher back pressure) which fits my towing needs and gas mileage...
The Borla on the other hand supposedly is better for HP (high revs) which is better for passing and racing..
As I dont step on it much I wanted the power from the line in at 1/2-3/4 throttle...Really depends on what you use the truck for...I ski and tow so I want that baby to stay in gear and just chug away which is where torque really shines..

I believe (in my opinion) that both of these exhaust setups will better perform than that of a custom exhaust from a shop. Both these, Gibson and Borla are tested and tuned for the application to which they are sold. The Gibson boasted more for the Offroaders in means of toughness and durability.

My tip was not welded on though once I let it settle and make the fine adjustments I will have all of it welded.

Hope this helps. Personal pref and application is how I decided on Gibson...

 

[Fischer]

Oh yea...Just fyi... LOOSE THE ALL CAPS haha I think that people get busted for that...

Good luck man...let me know what you decide

 

[tbvlc79]

hey sorry about all the caps....i'm at work and some of the software we use requires caps....and from my end i'm not gonna be doing much towing with the X so i may go with the borla system...i can get it for $349 and the gibson for $339

 

[Fischer]

I am sure you will be happy with either, stock pretty much sucks. I am curious if a Borla 'intercooled' tip would make a difference at all. Probably not.

I am extremely happy with the Gibbie....

Possibly do a search on the exhaust and see what there is to see. That is essentially how I got all my info...

 

[99explorer5.0]

Where did you purchase your Gibson Exhaust ... and also where did you see a borla for that price? Thanx.

Also was it necessary to cut up your factory exhaust to get it off? I was planning on saving it just for the hell of it in case i ever needed to put it back on.

 

[Fischer]

I got mine from 4Wheel Parts.com... They were one of the few that had it in stock...CoolWheels.com has it for sale for $305 for stainless though when I wanted it they were out of stock and failed to tell me and that pissed me off and I took my business elsewhere. They do have pretty good customer service though.

Yes I had to cut my exhaust which pretty much sealed the deal that I had to make this work...Fairly simple.

I had to cut it just aft of the muffler and again just aft of the axle. Lil bit of lube and a hack saw makes it go alright though a Sawsall would be best..

I just got mad and started hacking..and ripped it out.

 

[tbvlc79]

how much did you pay for the stainless steel gibson from 4wheelparts.com ?...i went to their site and it didn't specify if it was stainless or not....the price just seemed really low

 

[Fischer]

I think that it was around $350. Here is the link with the part #'s you will needDead Link Removed

I have the 619686 which is the Stainless for both the 95 and 96 which should be the one for you.

 

[99explorer5.0]

Doesnt the new exhaust follow the same route as the factory exhaust? If you had to cut the factory exhaust to get it out wouldt you have to cut the new one to get it on?

 

[Fischer]

Well the factory exhaust is 1 peice aft of the Cat. I don't have a lift YET so there just wasn't enough room to remove it without banging the hell out of the brake lines and such. It is just so dang twisty I couldn't manuver it (sway bar, shock, axle, brake lines, body...) you name it and it was in the way. So I lubed up the ol hack saw and broke a sweat! Really not as bad as I thought it would be to hack that crap.

The new exhaust comes in 5 major sections as follows:

Catalytic Converter-to-
-flange-to
-muffler-to-
-over axle pipe-to
-bend towards exit pipe-to-
-chromed tip-

Honestly it took about twice as long to remove the old stuff as it did to install the new stuff. Strait forward installation.

 

[Fischer]

By the way the piping is 2.5" and the tip is a 3"...

 

[Fischer]

tbvlc79,

Keep in mind that (I believe) the Borla is a rear exit which will smash into the bumper on a steep angle...

 

[99explorer5.0]

So the Gibson exhaust comes in pieces? Does it need to be welded together? Im planning on buying one within the next week and hopefully installing it myself.

I just want to know exactly what i am up against or if it is even worth attempting to hack it up myself.