Please Help!

I see a lot of information on this forum and it really is a bit of an overload for me personally. I've had 3 TBIs and don't process as fast as most of you guys and girls. So, I'm not quick to get what all of you are on about.

Last night I picked up a 2021 ST.
Personally, I've come from a land of high horsepower V8s, circle track, drag strip, desert racing, and a long life of Jeepin' so I'm in way over my head right now. I already put 100 miles on my ST in the last 24 hours - what can I say? I'm in love. But having said that I need to say I have also learned I need to find a way to fine-tune the ol' girl; she's lacking a bit in the performance department. There are a few bottlenecks choking her out and she doesn't breathe all too well. Don't get me wrong, this is one hell of a starting point for a stock grocery-getter!!! It did get my attention on the dealer lot after all.

But I see you guys talking about performance mods and I want to get started right away. I do understand intercoolers and see great potential in the Whipple setup over stock. Ford really screwed the pooch on their setup. Might as well have put their intercooler in the glove box.

I've seen you guys posting for a performance exhaust setup, a lot of you are going with Borla. Choosing either the S-type or the venerable ATAK setup - for its ability to announce your arrival 10 minutes early, no doubt! My question here is -
with the Borla system, aren't you concerned about the two 90 degree angles you're adding to your system right at the end? I mean you already have two wicked 90s at the front end of your exhaust thanks to Ford's engineering crew (preschoolers, no doubt) who worked on the exhaust system. I mean, Ford already put two 90s upfront just forward of the cats where the exhaust comes off the manifold are what I'm referencing here. And now some people are putting two more Borla 90s at the back of the system? Or are the pictures on Borla's website not true? Are their exhaust systems not 90* where the exhaust tubes meed the cans at the end of the system?

I need to upgrade my exhaust and I do appreciate any and all advice. I would like to help the engine expel the exhaust in as straight and unrestricted a path as possible.

Make sense? Easier it is for the air to come in and go out of the engine the better the engine works. And that means I can cram more fuel into the mix = more horsepower.

Pass on the Borla choices and look at the Thermal R&D systems at Whoosh Motorsports. If you’re gonna spend the money at least get a true cat-back...not the 1/2 kits Borla and Corsa sell.

Thanks! I'll have a look at them now.

Magnaflow's 19515 kit is also a true cat-back, 2.5" all the way to the downpipes. Downside is that they use type 400 SS, so not as durable as the 304 that the other big mfgs use.

Yeah, but at least Magnaflow says:
"MagnaFlow Performance Products are free from defects. Most of our exhaust products are warranted against blowouts and defects in material and workmanship for as long as the original purchaser owns the vehicle on which it was originally installed."

That means it can be made of whatever stainless steel they want to use: it's guaranteed.

Drones like crazy too according to multiple people who have bought it.

They won’t do anything about the corrosion 409 stainless will see in northern climates.

Yeah, I saw that too. Several people did complain about it. And they are spread throughout the US so it's not just an isolated incident. That is troubling about MagnaFlow's system. But I've used their performance systems in the past without issue - many many times. Tough call.

I know I saw one on complaint on here, but the guy later revealed it was an install issue. That was the only one I saw, doesn't mean there's not others on different forums/platforms. Your sample size for a big brand like Magnaflow is likely to be much larger, so there will be more instances of complaints. Drone is also in the "ear of the beholder", what may be annoying drone to one is nothing to another. And drone can dissipate, or exasperate, after the exhaust burns in better. The Magnaflow has been unavailable for a while now, and supposedly won't be available until late April-early May, maybe they are reworking it a bit?

I agree with you, it is a tough call. I do prefer the look of the Magnaflow better, welded tips and no visible rear mufflers.

A close friend has it on his ST...he wound up having the whole axle back portion rebuilt to kill the drone.

Driver side mid-pipe hanger (right angle shaped hanger with the forward-most tip) ahead of muffler too close to a (heat shield bracket?). As exhaust heats up it caused the tip to just contact the bracket causing a 1500 rpm rattle. Heated up hanger and bent it backwards for the fix.

Supposedly Magnaflow is sending me a replacement passenger side mid-pipe to replace the one that wasn't factory expanded at the downpipe end. They are also sending me two resonators to assist with the 2000 rpm drone. So would you recommend adding the resonators (just quieting the drone) or, as discussed before, cutting the existing helmholtz down to one inch long and adding the new 35 inch helmholtz chambers behind the rear bumper. Either way I have to modify the system. Only really get the drone on the freeway in the overdrive gears 8th,9th,10th. I put it in manual mode and keep it in 7th gear which kills the drone due to a higher rpm.

Hopefully they are retuning it then, but that is probably wishful thinking.

No, @wayanbros responded to @F=MA saying he had the same issue as well. That's someone in Kansas and someone in Washinton state with the same problem.

Didn't wayanbros say he had a custom setup though, not the kit? And I thought F=MA's issue was solely due to the install, but it sounds like he does still have some drone.

Yeah, you're right. Could be a kit built on the 19515 or just a flat-out custom-build who knows.

I'm taking UNBROKEN's advice. I called Ron at Whoosh and left a message. I'm getting the Thermal R&D setup. I'm replacing the entire stock piping to get rid of the 90-degree bends and everything to the tail.

I had a custom build based off 19515 specifications. I’ve never really been a fan of bolt on exhaust kits. My annoyance is not the drone itself but the weird ranges I’m hearing it. Feedback is not predictable.

I held off the extra resonators and the drone was 5 decibels above this: