Hey everyone -
Three months into ownership of my '23 ST has me reflecting a bit on what I'd do differently and what I've truly enjoyed. I don't think that it comes as a surprise to anyone that we have an uphill battle in making these EcoBoost motors sound *decent*. There are lots of great and super helpful threads on this forum (thank you to all), but I thought I'd add a little bit of my experience.
Upon purchasing my ST, I knew that I'd install catted downpipes immediately. I had CVFab DP's installed and had begun wanting a bit more sound. I had Valvetronic universal valved mufflers welded in, in an attempt to have a mild to wild setup at a click of a button. The Valvetronic setup kept the stock test pipes, piping and mid resonator. Valve closed, this sounded quiet and added a much-needed growl. Valve open, it became extremely raspy. With 4,500 miles on the clock, the test pipes began leaking immediately. To no fault of anyone (and honestly, the frustration of not wanting to deal with this again), I said F it and swapped to the 3 inch Thermal catback.
Initial thoughts - I regret trying to "buck the trend" originally and wish that I went directly to this Thermal setup.
Valvetronic setup:
https://youtube.com/shorts/M9gCLPOCXx0?si=dpnBUtcg5gUcLqqa
https://youtube.com/shorts/mA5tFFFWYME?si=Jv9ovAanMabJxNvN
Thermal setup:
THE BEST EXHAUST FOR EXPLORER ST! (youtube.com)
Hoping this helps some folks considering whether Thermal with DP's is the way to go....
Three months into ownership of my '23 ST has me reflecting a bit on what I'd do differently and what I've truly enjoyed. I don't think that it comes as a surprise to anyone that we have an uphill battle in making these EcoBoost motors sound *decent*. There are lots of great and super helpful threads on this forum (thank you to all), but I thought I'd add a little bit of my experience.
Upon purchasing my ST, I knew that I'd install catted downpipes immediately. I had CVFab DP's installed and had begun wanting a bit more sound. I had Valvetronic universal valved mufflers welded in, in an attempt to have a mild to wild setup at a click of a button. The Valvetronic setup kept the stock test pipes, piping and mid resonator. Valve closed, this sounded quiet and added a much-needed growl. Valve open, it became extremely raspy. With 4,500 miles on the clock, the test pipes began leaking immediately. To no fault of anyone (and honestly, the frustration of not wanting to deal with this again), I said F it and swapped to the 3 inch Thermal catback.
Initial thoughts - I regret trying to "buck the trend" originally and wish that I went directly to this Thermal setup.
Valvetronic setup:
https://youtube.com/shorts/M9gCLPOCXx0?si=dpnBUtcg5gUcLqqa
https://youtube.com/shorts/mA5tFFFWYME?si=Jv9ovAanMabJxNvN
Thermal setup:
THE BEST EXHAUST FOR EXPLORER ST! (youtube.com)
Hoping this helps some folks considering whether Thermal with DP's is the way to go....
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