This past weekend, I installed a new Magnaflow 04-05 catback exhaust on my 06 SRT-10. Thanks to this forum, I knew what to expect as far as issues with the install, and modifications that had to be made to make the system fit on an 06.
Parts needed:
- Magnaflow Exhaust system part #15832 - got mine locally from Tommy @ Chux Trux. they were able to give me a price that was competitive with the eBay and forum vendor prices, so I supported the local business. Had such a good experience with them that I'm now a loyal Chux Trux customer.
- 3/8" stainless steel rebar (to make two new hangers with). Got it at Home Depot for about $5.
Tools needed:
- wrench set (or my buddy Adam's pneumatic wrench)
- Adam's tig welder
- Adam's jack stands (3)
- Adam's jack
- Adam's electric saw with metal-cutting blade
- Vise
- a 2x4
- a mallet
- 12 pack of PBR, or diet soda for me
Parts discarded:
- original exhaust (except for the tips that Adam cut off and saved)
- the metal-cutting blade from Adam's electric saw
Time required:
About 2 hrs ... if you don't have a lift, take your time, take frequent breaks, shoot the shit with Adam's neighbors, and watch a movie on the big flat-screen TV in Adam's garage.
Skill level required (5 pt scale):
1 for Adam (he used to be a mechanic though, so everything is easy for him)
3 for me (I would have accidentally cut my penis off with the tig welder if Adam wasn't keeping an eye on me)
Procedure:
1. Jack up the right side of truck, and put it on stands. It needs to be just high enough to raise the right side wheels off the ground.
2. Use pneumatic wrench to unbolt stock exhaust.
3. Use mallet to beat the stock primary muffler off the hangers.
4. Use electric saw to cut over-axle rear section of exhaust in half. Did this to make removal easier, since we didn't have a lift or any elbow room.
5. Put the rebar in the vise and use saw to cut off two pieces about 9-10" long each. Bend each piece into an L shape, with the short end being about 3" long.
6. Attach new front section (part with Magnaflow muffler) to vehicle. Tighten clamps enough to hold it up. Put a jack stand under it near the rear to prop it up. The two hangers on the muffler section will NOT fit the 06 trucks.
7. Attach mid section, with hanger inserted into rubber holder, and tighten clamps just enough to keep it together. Note that you might have to spray some lube on the rubber holder to get the new hanger in. Also, you may want to hold the 2x4 against the end of the pipes and use the mallet to beat the exhaust onto the front section. Will probably need to do this for each of the three sections of exhaust. Smack the shit out of each section from the end to make sure it is fully inserted into section in front of it.
8. Attach rear section, with hanger inserted into holder, and tighten clamps just enough. Removing the spare tire isn't necessary, but does give you more elbow room. I wound up just leaving the spare off to reduce weight. If not having a spare worries you, then just keep a large can of fix-a-flat in the truck.
9. Line up exhaust and tighten clamps a bit.
10. Insert two fabricated hangers into holders that are located near rear of muffler. Weld them to the end of the muffler. You could of course just cut the existing hangers off of the new muffler and use those, or maybe even cut hangers off of your stock exhaust. Using rebar and fabricating hangers was definitely easier and saved time though.
11. Once the two hangers are welded on, beat the system with the 2x4 and mallet until everything is lined up and tight. Get somebody to stand behind the truck and let you know when the exhaust and tips are lined up and even.
12. Finally, tighten each of the 6 clamps. I'm not sure what the torque spec is, but we just tightened them about as tight as we could with pneumatic wrench, and then using hand wrench.
Enjoy your new exhaust!
13. After about 50-100 miles, crawl under your truck and check each of the 6 bolts to make sure they are all still tight. Also, check exhaust clearance to make sure nothing is rubbing or burning. Make sure the tips have at least a 1/2" of space between the tips and rear bumper - don't want any rubbing or burning.
Install notes:
- You could easily salvage your stock exhaust, but why bother. I've already got enough shit cluttering up my basement and garage.
- Install is not as bad as it might sound. With the tools mentioned above, and after watching Adam, I could do it myself now in under an hour.
- A muffler shop should be able to easily do it in about an hour.
- The only modifications you need to make to the system, for fitment on the 06, is to weld two hangers onto the rear end of the muffler. Otherwise its a perfect fit.
Impressions after a few days of driving with new exhaust:
Damn, this truck sounds badass! This is as close as you'll get to an exotic Indy/Nascar sound. I've noticed just a bit of resonance at all RPMs, but not enough to annoy me. There is no loud resonance like I had at about 55mph on my Borla C5 Corvette system. The exhaust pops and gurgles like an Indy car. I've actually kept the radio off since the install so I can listen to the exhaust. The sound alone turns heads now. The cop raised an eyebrow when I drove past ... the crotch rocket bikers turned to look when I cruised by ... and the cute little cashier at Office Depot said she heard it from inside the store and it made her pussy wet.
Its not loud enough to make small children cry when you rev at a stoplight, but headers and cat delete will definitely do the trick. The exhaust sounds great at all RPMs. Its pretty loud from idle to WOT, but not obnoxiously loud. At WOT, it doesn't _scream_, but then again I'm used to driving around in a blown vette with headers, no cats, no mufflers, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I also installed a JMB CAI yesterday, and got a chance to reset the PCM then (disconnected battery during install). So far, I haven't noticed any substantial increase in power, but the truck does seem just a bit more responsive. I'm guessing I picked up 15-20 rwhp and rwtq after install of exhaust and CAI. I've got an appointment this Friday at MC Racing for dyno pulls with AF on their dynojet, so I'll post dyno sheets this weekend. I didn't get a chance to dyno before the install though, so I'll just be able to tell you where I stand with an 06 RC after Magnaflow and JMB CAI install.
Overall, the fit and finish of the system was great, and it sounds awesome. I'm completely happy with the system, and think it is the best bang for the buck. I haven't heard any of the other systems (Borla, B&B, Bassani, etc), so I can't offer any comparison. I can say though that the truck finally sounds like it should, and I'm 110% happy with the sound now.
Parts needed:
- Magnaflow Exhaust system part #15832 - got mine locally from Tommy @ Chux Trux. they were able to give me a price that was competitive with the eBay and forum vendor prices, so I supported the local business. Had such a good experience with them that I'm now a loyal Chux Trux customer.
- 3/8" stainless steel rebar (to make two new hangers with). Got it at Home Depot for about $5.
Tools needed:
- wrench set (or my buddy Adam's pneumatic wrench)
- Adam's tig welder
- Adam's jack stands (3)
- Adam's jack
- Adam's electric saw with metal-cutting blade
- Vise
- a 2x4
- a mallet
- 12 pack of PBR, or diet soda for me
Parts discarded:
- original exhaust (except for the tips that Adam cut off and saved)
- the metal-cutting blade from Adam's electric saw
Time required:
About 2 hrs ... if you don't have a lift, take your time, take frequent breaks, shoot the shit with Adam's neighbors, and watch a movie on the big flat-screen TV in Adam's garage.
Skill level required (5 pt scale):
1 for Adam (he used to be a mechanic though, so everything is easy for him)
3 for me (I would have accidentally cut my penis off with the tig welder if Adam wasn't keeping an eye on me)
Procedure:
1. Jack up the right side of truck, and put it on stands. It needs to be just high enough to raise the right side wheels off the ground.
2. Use pneumatic wrench to unbolt stock exhaust.
3. Use mallet to beat the stock primary muffler off the hangers.
4. Use electric saw to cut over-axle rear section of exhaust in half. Did this to make removal easier, since we didn't have a lift or any elbow room.
5. Put the rebar in the vise and use saw to cut off two pieces about 9-10" long each. Bend each piece into an L shape, with the short end being about 3" long.
6. Attach new front section (part with Magnaflow muffler) to vehicle. Tighten clamps enough to hold it up. Put a jack stand under it near the rear to prop it up. The two hangers on the muffler section will NOT fit the 06 trucks.
7. Attach mid section, with hanger inserted into rubber holder, and tighten clamps just enough to keep it together. Note that you might have to spray some lube on the rubber holder to get the new hanger in. Also, you may want to hold the 2x4 against the end of the pipes and use the mallet to beat the exhaust onto the front section. Will probably need to do this for each of the three sections of exhaust. Smack the shit out of each section from the end to make sure it is fully inserted into section in front of it.
8. Attach rear section, with hanger inserted into holder, and tighten clamps just enough. Removing the spare tire isn't necessary, but does give you more elbow room. I wound up just leaving the spare off to reduce weight. If not having a spare worries you, then just keep a large can of fix-a-flat in the truck.
9. Line up exhaust and tighten clamps a bit.
10. Insert two fabricated hangers into holders that are located near rear of muffler. Weld them to the end of the muffler. You could of course just cut the existing hangers off of the new muffler and use those, or maybe even cut hangers off of your stock exhaust. Using rebar and fabricating hangers was definitely easier and saved time though.
11. Once the two hangers are welded on, beat the system with the 2x4 and mallet until everything is lined up and tight. Get somebody to stand behind the truck and let you know when the exhaust and tips are lined up and even.
12. Finally, tighten each of the 6 clamps. I'm not sure what the torque spec is, but we just tightened them about as tight as we could with pneumatic wrench, and then using hand wrench.
Enjoy your new exhaust!
13. After about 50-100 miles, crawl under your truck and check each of the 6 bolts to make sure they are all still tight. Also, check exhaust clearance to make sure nothing is rubbing or burning. Make sure the tips have at least a 1/2" of space between the tips and rear bumper - don't want any rubbing or burning.
Install notes:
- You could easily salvage your stock exhaust, but why bother. I've already got enough shit cluttering up my basement and garage.
- Install is not as bad as it might sound. With the tools mentioned above, and after watching Adam, I could do it myself now in under an hour.
- A muffler shop should be able to easily do it in about an hour.
- The only modifications you need to make to the system, for fitment on the 06, is to weld two hangers onto the rear end of the muffler. Otherwise its a perfect fit.
Impressions after a few days of driving with new exhaust:
Damn, this truck sounds badass! This is as close as you'll get to an exotic Indy/Nascar sound. I've noticed just a bit of resonance at all RPMs, but not enough to annoy me. There is no loud resonance like I had at about 55mph on my Borla C5 Corvette system. The exhaust pops and gurgles like an Indy car. I've actually kept the radio off since the install so I can listen to the exhaust. The sound alone turns heads now. The cop raised an eyebrow when I drove past ... the crotch rocket bikers turned to look when I cruised by ... and the cute little cashier at Office Depot said she heard it from inside the store and it made her pussy wet.
Its not loud enough to make small children cry when you rev at a stoplight, but headers and cat delete will definitely do the trick. The exhaust sounds great at all RPMs. Its pretty loud from idle to WOT, but not obnoxiously loud. At WOT, it doesn't _scream_, but then again I'm used to driving around in a blown vette with headers, no cats, no mufflers, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I also installed a JMB CAI yesterday, and got a chance to reset the PCM then (disconnected battery during install). So far, I haven't noticed any substantial increase in power, but the truck does seem just a bit more responsive. I'm guessing I picked up 15-20 rwhp and rwtq after install of exhaust and CAI. I've got an appointment this Friday at MC Racing for dyno pulls with AF on their dynojet, so I'll post dyno sheets this weekend. I didn't get a chance to dyno before the install though, so I'll just be able to tell you where I stand with an 06 RC after Magnaflow and JMB CAI install.
Overall, the fit and finish of the system was great, and it sounds awesome. I'm completely happy with the system, and think it is the best bang for the buck. I haven't heard any of the other systems (Borla, B&B, Bassani, etc), so I can't offer any comparison. I can say though that the truck finally sounds like it should, and I'm 110% happy with the sound now.
Last edited:
