Okay. My exhaust is stock and my cat is pretty much toast. I've lost quite a bit of power and my jeep actually died while in a drive thru today. I been looking for an affordable stainless steel cat-back system, but now looking to piece together one hoping it'll be cheaper. I'm looking to get the stainless Thrush welded muffler, but I have no idea on what cat or downpipe to get. I'm not looking to spend $500, but I want them to not rust out in a couple years as I'm in the rust belt. Anyone have any good info and different cats? Are downpipes all the same? I don't know alot about exhaust systems. '97 4.0 I6

 

Cat: http://performance-curve.com/thunderbolt-spincat.aspx

As for piping, just go to a local shop. I paid $140 for my old XJ to get pipe from the manifold back.

 

After some thought I've decided to just redo my whole system, headers down. Any good input on headers?

 

APN header. It's stainless steel and costs not much more than a factory replacement.

 

I looked at them headers , and some even cheaper on amazon , ebay and summit, but they are made in china, so I did not buy them out of principal. But being made in china, they can't be trusted to really be stainless, or a good metal alloy, or even made right. They could crack and break or not fit, it's a risk buying anything made in china. They could run thousands of parts on a broken line and not care, sure you would get a refund from whoever sold it to you, but you would still be out time and other money. If you haven't noticed , suppliers try to hide the fact that stuff they sell is made in china, and are very reluctant to tell you even if you ask. There was one header that looked just like a Borla, cost 129, but after hearing it was Chinese I did not want it. I have to agree with most on here, that a header is a waste of money and often does not even outflow the stock manifold that the jeep engineers made. You know they wanted a good vehicle built and the exhaust manifolds can't really be altered to much, unless you go out the hood or something. What I am saying is they would have had no production cost savings by not making a good flowing exhaust manifold, but after the down pipe a lot can be done if you can get bends smoother and bigger, lose back pressure with a better cat and muffler, and tail pipe. I'm waiting on someone to throw a turbo on a 4.0 or better yet a supercharger. I personally am going to try to use a 99+ exhaust on my 97, seems more open. And the Dynomax super turbo muffler I got is not real loud but it flows better than a flow master.

 

Thanks. I've decided to scrap the header idea (indecisive I know) and go with a Gibson Swept Side cat back system and a MagnaFlow universal cat because of the stainless steel components. I don't have the luxury of waiting and wanting when I can't drive more than 5 minutes w/o the Jeep choking. I think it sounds okay for a Jeep

 

We welcome all good advice on this forum. Data helps inform us on the best choice.

 

I have an APN header that has sat in a humid garage for a few years... It's real stainless. If you read through this thread, you will find MANY recommendations and good reviews on them.

 

Pretty sure the stock spec cat is 2.5 inlet and 2.25 outlet.

 

I don't care if it's the best header in the world, if slave labor made it , it doesn't get supported by me. When I bought the dynomax super turbo I did look at flow data before I bought it. And an exhaust that is bigger diameter with two down pipes will out flow a smaller single pipe.

 

I've seen complaints about the apn headers not fitting right on here also.

 

For the record, I am not using the complete exhaust, just the cat to the engine, and to do that I have to use the 99 exhaust manifolds. That's the only way to just bolt it on, hopefully it works, someone pointed out that the heads changed a little from 97 to 99, so I hope it works. I've also read somewhere on this forum that the 99 did have better flowing exhaust and intake, but it also said it really didn't help to much, And to the guy that had a set of APN's sitting in a humid garage, how hot does your garage get? Does it get as hot as gasoline burning in optimal conditions? I hope you don't have mold and mildew issues, and I hope all of your stuff besides them headers isn't ruined. And about the turbo and supercharger set ups, how did they do ? I am curious about that, and how many internal mods had to be made for the turbo set up to be effective? The last turbo car I had was a Chrysler laser (dodge Daytona) and if I remember correct it came on at around 2200 to 2500 rpm's and had great power, but not so much under that. That car would scream, I wasn't scared to race any mustang or Camaro from them times, smoked a few infinittis and other ricers. Back to the exhaust manifolds, my 97 manifold looks like the aftermarket headers, with 187k it isn't really rusty at all, no cracks, nothing wrong with it, I just can't use it with using the cat from the 99 without a bunch of cutting and clamping or welding. In fact in all of the jeeps I have looked at , I have yet to see a cracked exhaust manifold, or haven't personally met anyone that had that problem, Not saying it doesn't happen , especially with Cali emissions , but it isn't something common, I haven't even heard other jeeps running around with that sound of an exhaust leak in the exhaust manifold. It's usually pretty distinctive and I have seen people with headers think their engine was blowing up because of them working loose and making a knocking sound.

 

Well. That's certainly your prerogative. As far as the data goes, mind sharing the source of the data? Was it Dynomax's data or an independent study. 'Cause if it was Dynomax's data, I'm sure you know what I'm going to say.

No product is perfect. No product is going to be ideal for 100% of the consumers out there, and there's just as many statements such as that on the Borla headers.

 

Im new to this site, but have owned and own a number of other jeeps. question I have is re: a 96 2 dr Cherokee sport 4. HO. I acquired it last fall and it I drive it a LOT--2500+ miles/month for my work ---mostly highway miles. I am looking to maximize efficiency and since I spend a lot of hours in the jeep--typically a couple hundred per working day. I'm looking at various improvements that will make the jeep more driver friendly since I spend almost as many hours driving it as I do sleeping.

I find that the raspy drone of the existing muffler is very tiring. It has a low restriction Cat system put on by the PO but the muffler really grates on the nerves after a few hours on the road.

From what I have seen on the site here the Dyno-max Super Turbo seems to be highly recommended. However not all of us judge quality by the same standards. some "recommended" mufflers are for power at any cost to sound levels, and some at the other extreme are for absolute minimal noise. I don't mind a little bit of a growl but want to avoid a snarling drone. I have a long fast 3000 mile road trip coming up in another month or two And I'd really like to get the exhaust a bit more comfortable without paying a penalty in reduced mileage. comments and suggestions are most welcome.

 

Might want to check out the Walker SoundFX muffler. They offer a direct replacement for the stock unit. Sound is suppose to be as quiet if not quieter than the oem one.