So I've decided on the 4in DE exhaust. I've heard nothing but good things and buying from a local and US made product is always a good thing IMO. A couple questions...

When the exhauat says it comes with a "muffler replacement" is that the equivalent of muffler delete?

Also I'd rather not use my stock exhaust clamps, what are some good clamps I could get and how many would I need?

Thanks in advance!

They do both!

Just two totally different styles, both accomplish the same thing, one looks a lot better doing it.  lol

Well I went to O'reillys today to pick up some band style clamps but they only had 2 in stock, going to try NAPA tomorrow since I need 2-3 more.

 

I'm loving this exhaust!! So far no drone but I haven't had it up to proper highway speed ie: 65+

 

Still working on putting a before and after video together, I'm not the best at video editing but it's coming along.

 

I'll keep you all posted!

Couple questions for the guys that have installed this kit...

 

Did you anyone use these parts?

 

 

Also, I never used part # A445008 which is the second to last hanger you would use on the tail pipe. The hanger wouldn't fit with the way the exhaust came over the rear axle, plus the spare tire didn't leave much wiggle room. Just wanted to see if I was the only one in this situation or not.

 

Instructions found here

I welded my own brackets onto the exhaust when I reworked my tailpipe. I would use all of the brackets you can...as time goes on you'll thank me. If all of the weight is on a couple hangers it will wear the rubber out.

 

I'm loving this exhaust!! So far no drone but I haven't had it up to proper highway speed ie: 65+

 

 

 

From my experience, not all ears are created the same, some absolutely can not pick out the difference between drone versus regular exhaust noise like my wife. I have very bad ears but "drone" pierces my head more than exhaust noise makes my head and ears feel like they are under pressure and makes my ear drums feel like they are vibrating in my head. I ride with a lot of folks who have absolutely no idea the difference. I do know I have never experienced drone in a regular cab but on any straight piped or even loud muffler alone on an extended cab I have never not noticed drone.

I find that the worst drone is under 2k rpms and while under slight load like slight lugging at 50-60 mph in the 1500-1800 rpm range, get up close to and over 2k and it lessens a bit but still kills my hearing.

 

My 05 with the new resonator is a dream to drive now versus the years with straight pipe from cat back. Once I got my hearing aid last year I had to leave it off or not even wear it while driving the 05, couldn't stand it.

I welded my own brackets onto the exhaust when I reworked my tailpipe. I would use all of the brackets you can...as time goes on you'll thank me. If all of the weight is on a couple hangers it will wear the rubber out.

 

If I could weld or had the means to have someone do that I would've gone that route as well.

 

I talked to Diamond Eye and they said that their kits are made to be able to fit such a wide range of different year trucks that everything is included so no matter what truck year you have, you'll have enough or what you need to complete the job. So, they said only one exhaust hanger on the tail pipe will fit, which makes sense from the spacing issues I saw on mine. My only concern now is that with only one exhaust hanger on the tail pipe and the next one being back up in front of the rear axle, I'm getting a good amount of exhaust vibration and idle or low rpm/slow moving speeds. The Diamond Eye tech seems to think it could just be because of the lightweight of the system and it not having a muffler on it. If that's the case I'm ok with it, but I would like to be able to lessen it if I could.

So finally a write up about my install of the exhaust.

 

First I'll say that if you didn't already know, Diamond eye's exhausts kits ship fitting a wide range of different year trucks. They'll fit every model, cab size and bed length for the given year range. You'll have parts you won't use for your application and the instructions may/should be read as more of guidlelines.

 

With that being said, the instructions 'guidelines' did help in the overall big picture set up for the system. Removing the stock system is pretty straight forward and I followed those instructions almost verbatum. I chose to leave the downpipe in place while I cut in order to help is stay more steady, but I did cut the stock system right where the downpipe flattened out by the transmission and another cut just before the rear axle. I did make a third cut to help make it easier but that's also because I did not have my truck on jack stands on anything.

 

Putting in the Diamond Eye, I installed the downpipe first, then slid a 4ft straight pipe over that. Next I installed the muffler delete pipe, and installed the Diamond Eye provided exhaust hangers LOOSELY so I could see how things were going to line up and to see how much pipe I would have to cut to finish off the exhaust.

 

Next I installed the first section of tail pipe (the one that goes over the rear axle) and let it hang loosely from the exhaust hanger. Then it was the final exhaust tail pipe and I just had to fuss around with that to get it lined up but that wasn't hard, just push the two pipes together and twist it around until it lines up how you like it.

 

With all these parts lined up, I had maybe a 4in gap between the over the axle part of the tail pipe and the muffler delete piece. This is where understanding that this exhaust kit is open for interpretation will help ease your mind (hopefully!). The instructions state that you may need to cut 3in off of the over the axle tail pipe to help with fittement and athstetics, I didn't see the need for this and did not cut it. The instructions also state that the muffler delete should on the over the axle tail pipe piece but I chose to attach it to the other side simply because the smaller piece that I was going to need to cut to complete the install would be easier to clamp together a little further back.

 

I ended up cutting the other 4ft straight pipe down to 10in total. The gap I was left with was 4in, and I added 5in to account for the slip joint and an extra inch just for slop. It ended up fitting perfectly!

 

Overall it went together fairly smoothly. Had I known what I knew now, it would've shaved down some time, but probably not much. Here's my takeaways...

 

- Don't bother with the provided exhaust clamps. They created such a loud vibration at idle and I felt like I wasn't getting a good seal at the joints so I replaced those with 4in alluminum exhaust clamps from NAPA.

- Don't worry about only one exhaust hanger being able to fit back on the exhaust tip. The spare tire makes it pretty obvious that one hanger wont fit so common sense is key here.

- Speaking of spare tire, I did NOT need to remove mine although I've read many people that did need too. Personal preference I think, or however you have your truck setup for the instal ie jacks, lift or on the ground.

- I was able to do this install without getting the truck off the ground, and mine is a 2wd! Granted my neck and back weren't happy the next day but it is doable if need be!

- With the exhaust on the way it is now, I still have a bit of a rattle coming from the very tip of the exhaust. I THINK it's happening because with only one exhaust hanger being back there now, and it being a good distance away, its causing some extra vibration/resonation at idle (mostly when cold) and when decellerating down to idle. You can hear it in the video when I pull up to the stop sign. I'm looking into possible adding some 3/8th's rubber around the exhaust hangers, or cutting a few inches off of the exhaust and adding an exhaust tip to maybe add some weight and make it resonate less.

- As far as in cab drone, it does exist, although not as bad as I would've imagined. I've had cars and trucks that had bad exhaust drone before and this one definitely isn't as bad as ones I've had before. It's a decent hum when it's lugging around 45ish mph's and starts to hum again under slight load around 60ish mph's. Obviously under hard acceleration the hum is replaced but all kinds of other noise! Good noise!   I'll update this later after I have some more highway miles on it.

 

Hopefully this helps!

 

Here's the VIDEO!!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUstfEtIRh0&feature=youtu.be

Sounds great, I have been patiently waiting for the VID, and you made it worthwhile.

Thanks Brian, I appreciate it!

 

After listening/watching this video back I realized I should have chose to record the idle portion in a different spot because my house is only a few feet behind the camera and it caused to sound to bounce around and sound a little different then it actually does. Either way I don't think it sounds too bad in the video though.

 

I definitely took your advice and I primarily ride around with the passenger window down! haha

The sound that makes real men smile. 

Ohhhh ya! Great sound! Nice turbo whistle....does anyone else think it's weird that a lot of us are obsessed with 15 year old trucks?

Thanks guys! I'm really happy with it! Definitely got what I was hoping for and then some!!

I think the fact the truck is 15 years old is what makes me like it so much! Haha

Thanks guys! I'm really happy with it! Definitely got what I was hoping for and then some!!

I think the fact the truck is 15 years old is what makes me like it so much! Haha

I am putting in my order for a new exhaust this week.  I am planning on the 4" diamond eye.  My plan is to add the FTE resonator.  How many of the flat band exhaust clamps did you use? I figure I might as well order them as well.  Any regrets or things you would do different?

Hey Josh,

 

Without getting under the truck, I think I used 4-5 clamps. Granted I didn't add a resonator on mine so that would probably add 1-2 more for you. Also, if you have a long bed it could add some more as well. The diamond eye is very DIY in the sense that the directions don't give much direction (go figure) so one exhaust system on the same truck could be done a handful of different ways and still be done 'correctly'. Sorry if this is a bit vague! I used the ones from my local NAPA and so far they've held up fine far as I know.

 

I don't have any regrets on it. I'm now to the point where I don't even think the truck is that loud anymore. I remember the first month or so it was like man this things loud! But, I've either gotten used to it or I'm already loosing my hearing!  If I were to install this exhaust again I would DEFINITELY get it on jacks or something to get it up off the ground, as that was the worst/hardest part of the install for me!

 

Anyways, I'm sure you'll enjoy and let us know how it goes or if you have any other questions I'll do my best to help out!

Great, thanks for the info.  Mine should be here next week.

Probably all of your questions are answered at this point, but I bought a 4" kit from Summit Racing, cause they are local, $263.00. Aluminized, I don't plan on driving it in the Winter, came w clamps, SS muffler. Not the greatest instructions, found a vid on YouTube on how to place the muffler in the correct factory location & where the clamps fit best. It was a fun project, I did it while I was recovering from a hernia operation, so it was fairly easy after I watched the vid a few times! I'd do it again.

 

I don't think it made any HP differences but I changed out the BullHauler stacks that came on the truck. (3" to 4" to 5") If I went from a factory 3" I would probably notice the diference more.The Diamond Eye is factory quiet using the muffler. While driving inside the cab w the windows closed, the engine is louder. If you stand by the tail pipe its sounds very healthy. The 4" pipe looks awesome too!

 

Great value!

Dave

 

(this is on a 2000 4x4 2500)

Edited June 25, 201510 yr by Dave3500

mike,

Are you running the 3" stock exhaust with a resonator and no muffler? Wondering if I could just cut out the front muffler, replace it with an FTE resonator and eliminate the stock resonator? I think I'd need some reducers to match the change in stock pipe sizes.

Here is my 2 cents to the pile. This is with my Bigtex 70TV trailer hitched up and half loaded with miscellaneous fire dept trash. (old hose, old boxes, empty water jugs, junk steel, etc.). Take notice I start out with the window down and roll it up later in the video but very quiet inside even towing a small trailer. I'm running about 60 MPH.

 

 

(Please no comment on the crack... I'm going to fit time this summer to get the glass done...)

Great, thanks for the info.  Mine should be here next week.

 

So how did everything go?!