Mandrel Bent Exhaust

[J DeMaio]

Well guys, I need a new exhaust. I'm leaning towards a Jannetty or a Jardine exhaust set up. Can anyone comment on these systems? I think i'm also going to put on a straight-pipe. Are the mufflers for these kits loud at all? How much does this upgrade raise peak boost levels. This is great, a big rig sound with a little Cummins Also, the Jardine system is guaranteed forever because it's aluminum.

 

[fastmark]

I bought tht BD system. It is not loud at at. You might not like it.

 

[Kodiak]

I paid some dues on this...

J DeMaio,



I believe that the Jardine is aluminized steel, not solid aluminum. The only system I know of that is made of anything else is the stainless Banks, and I think you pay almost double for that questionable advantage (IMO).



As I've found out through a long and expensive, unplanned-for research, it is the quality and engineering of the bends that matter as much as materials. Aluminized pipe supposedly lasts @ 5-7 years, is easier to weld if you need to, and is a whole lot cheaper than stainless.



I won't bore you with the details, but bending problems for my '95 system forced me to experiment with several systems, and here is what I found for the best price/quality points:



The Jardine you're interested in is reported by others as well-engineered, but some of the downpipe welds appear crude, but functional. (I only tried the downpipe; I didn't try the whole system. ) Good, competitive price.



Bully Dog has their system built by a company that uses first-rate materials, bends and connections, but they had a few downpipe-angle issues for the early model trucks with automatics like my '95. I've talked to them over the last few days, and they say they have corrected the problems; they are such a conscientous group of folks that I think you can take that to the bank. When I had trouble with the downpipe and tailpipe fit on their kit, they immediately offered to get me any other system at their expense! This takes customer service to a new level, and I would feel absolutely comfortable with any future purchases from them. Price is competitive with Jardine.



As Bully Dog was not able to make their changes for the '95 before I left for vacation, I ended up with the Stan's Headers system (this is what Bully Dog had sent to me). More expensive than Jardine and Bully Dog, but the bends are very good and take into account the older RAMS. The 2-piece tailpipe is particularly well-done with a join toward the rear that allows some flexibility in tail pipe exit angle. The only problem I encountered was that the final hanger had to be moved from the factory position, but the resulting tailpipe position is very nice. Stan's new choice of muffler is a Donaldson. Might prove too quiet for you, but supposedly gives absolute minimal back pressure. My Stan's kit has the old Allied muffler (this is a primitive, ugly-sounding thing IMO--stay away from it). Stan's shipping sent me this by mistake, and he is sending me the new Donaldson muffler. I have shown about 2 pound greater boost even with the Allied and far better cool-off from the factory system.



I'm sure you could order any of these kits without the muffler. I think you'll be happy with any of them at this point. The Cummins seems to get really enthusiatic with a 4" system!



Good luck, and happy roarin'!

 

[Jones]

Here's one to think about.

I'm running stock 3" 'til I get past the x-member for the clearance then through the 3" in / 4" out resonator off of the '98's then out via a 4" mandrel bent over the axle tail pipe from Walker. P/N on it is 54 150. Prices seem to be around 50-70 bucks and it's off of their 94? and up cat back set up. All I had to do was fab hangers and slap it on. Hope this helps.

Jones

 

[R.E. Miller]

I have two trucks, one with bd, and the other with jardine. The jardine sounds the best, has the straight thru muffler(straight pipe conversion reallllly easy, ). Jardine has great customer service, I had a question, I got to talk to Jerry Jardine... Great! The sound issue is nice, I like the muffler, at idle, you small housing guys can hear nice flutter but it is not straight pipe pounding. When you get into it, it rips and sounds like a straight pipe.



FWIW, I of course ran a straight pipe for a while, which was cool since our 5. 9s are the only diesels in pick-ups that can sound just like the big ones, but found that it performed better with the muffler, oh well

 

[Case500D]

I got in on a grounp purchase through Big Don and got a Banks exhaust system. After 1 winter of salt it looks like new. I still have the muffler on the shelf. I like the 3. 5" straight pipe a lot. It could get you in trouble in a quiet neighborhood, but heck, when do you take a farm truck through that section of town anyway? I have been heard as far as a mile away when getting on it. My dad always knows when I am coming home now. But the truck isn't bad at all in the cab. Oh by the way, I found out that with 14,000 lbs you can set off a car alarm or two with a straight pipe.

 

[J DeMaio]

Well I ordered the 3. 5" exhaust from Jardine and they said it's aluminized. It is guaranteed for as long as I own the truck. I went ahead and got his straight-through muffler with the kit because he said it sounds good and is very helpful, so I won't be illegal. It also came with the transfer case pipe which looks very restrictive on the stock set up. It is also mandrel bent, nobody around here can bend this, they can only make the compression bends up to 3"! Hope everything turns out well. Hey R. E. Miller, is this system easy to put on?