Ford Mustang Exhaust System Tips

Is there a more iconic sports car than the Mustang? The first Mustang I fell in love with was a Forest Green 67′ Fastback being driven (supposedly) by Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt. Ever since I watched that movie, I’ve had a strong desire to race a classic Mustang down a crowded city street.

If you own a Mustang, you own a piece of American history. You also own a car that’s very easy to soup-up – there are dozens of performance options available. While the factory does an OK job of equipping every new Mustang with a decent exhaust system, the really good exhaust sounds come from the after market.

During the last few years, Ford has offered the following engines on the Mustang:

• A 4.0L V6 that was a decent performer in many base-model Mustangs.
• A 4.6L V8 SOHC (2 valves per cylinder) that was standard equipment in the GT. Some Mustangs (the pre-03′ Cobra, the Bullit edition, and the 03′-04′ Mach 1) had a slightly modified version of the standard V8 that boosted horsepower quite a bit. Then there were some snakes that had blowers (that’s Mustang speak for Supercharged Cobras).

Because of the wild popularity of the Mustang, there is no limit to the number of after-market exhaust systems available. Much like our F150 exhaust system advice, beware of fly-by-night companies selling cheap exhaust systems. Because of the Mustang’s popularity, it’s much easier for these companies to operate.

Here are some recommended exhaust system brand names:

• Bassani
• BBK
• Borla
• Flowmaster
• Gibson
• Heartthrob
• Magnaflow

When it comes to choosing one system over another, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. How loud are you willing to go? A head rattling roar is definitely cool at the track, but will your neighbors enjoy it when you get up to go to work in the morning?

2. Are you adding on other performance parts? Sometimes the smartest way to buy an exhaust system is if it’s part of a larger performance package. Roush and Ford Racing offer complete kits specifically for late-model Mustangs.

3. How much do you want to spend? Seriously, the sky is the limit on these cars. The after-market performance options are so varied that you can spend as much as you want to. SO, unless you’re out to build a race car, you might want to think about your ultimate budget. There’s no shame in swapping out the stock mufflers for a set of Flowmasters and leaving the rest of the car as-is – it’s still going to be a Mustang.