You can always trust Magnaflow to put together one heck of an exhaust kit. They may not be the loudest or flashiest systems among our 2011 to 2014 F150 5.0L Cat-Back Exhaust Kits, but they provide a great sound, excellent fit, and awesome quality in one package. For the more mellow of those among the F150 crowd, we recently installed and tested the 2011 to 2014 F150 5.0L Magnaflow Single-Exit Cat-Back Exhaust Kit on our 2012 F150 5.0L FX4 Project Truck. Fit and finish were both very impressive, as is expected of our good friends over at Magnaflow, while the sound of this system was clean and mellow. When you step on the gas, you hear a nice roar, but get almost nothing at idle or at cruising. The Magnaflow single-exit kit is perfect for anyone who wants more go than show in a high-quality, 409 stainless steel exhaust system.
Now, this wouldn't be a Stage 3 Motorsports install if we didn't head down to Extreme Performance out in Goodyear for the expertise and steady hands of Chris, Marty, and all their guys. Chris, as per usual, was helping us out with this install, and for the umpteenth time, had to uninstall and then install an exhaust system on our project truck. Luckily, this Magnaflow kit, like most of the exhaust kits with OE-style single-side exits, was extremely easy to install. The hardest part of the process may be finding an OEM resonator pipe assembly, assuming you're like us and are switching over from another aftermarket exhaust kit. Luckily, we had one on hand from our Gibson Metal Mulisha® cat-back install, so we were all set.
If you're like us and you're coming from an aftermarket cat-back kit, then make sure that your stock resonator pipe assembly is reinstalled back on your F150.
If you have the factory cat-back kit installed on your truck, kit the clamps holding the muffler and resonator pipe together with some penetrating oil, let it soak for a few minutes, and then remove the muffler and over-axle tubing from your truck while working them from their hangars from your truck's mounts.
The first step of getting this kit up and running is to take its intermediate pipe and slip it into the OEM resonator assembly while also fitting its hangar through the stock exhaust mount.
Once the intermediate pipe was secured, Chris fit on Magnaflow's muffler, along with a clamp that he left loose for later.
With the muffler on, Chris slipped a clamp over its outlet tube and then connected the over-axle pipe to the muffler while slipping its hangar through the upper exhaust mount.
Then Chris hooked the outlet pipe and tip assembly into the over-axle tube and slipped it hangar through the aft exhaust mount.
Now all Chris had to do was tighten down all the clamps and make sure the tip was aligned, and with that our install was complete.
Overall, the Magnaflow kit was one of the best-fitting and easiest to install exhaust systems that we've put on. While it didn't have the toughest exhaust note ever, most likely due to the fact it keeps the factory resonator, it still had a good growl when we stepped on the gas. If you did want a meaner sound, it wouldn't be too difficult to cut out the resonator or have a piece of straight pipe made to connect the kit to your truck's mid-pipe. Whatever the case, this system is a classic Magnaflow kit through-and-through.
