Of the numerous modifications trunk owners choose, an aftermarket exhaust system is usually near the top. Eliminating a restrictive stock exhaust with a higher-flowing system is paramount if you want your diesel truck to perform to your expectations. Learning to choose the correct diesel exhaust educates you about what you should look for and assess before you find your answer.

Find the Diameter

First, you must ponder whether you want your exhaust to have a diameter of 4 or 5”. The current industry standard for diesel trucks is to have the 4” diameter. Manufacturers settled on 4” because it’s more courteous than the alternative option, as 4” is much quieter—albeit higher-pitched—and produces minimal drone.

Going this route ensures your neighbors won’t hold a grudge for waking them when you roll in after the sun sets. Lastly, the 4” generates more bottom-end torque for trucks between 450-500 horsepower than its counterparts. Meanwhile, many drivers prefer to have sound to exemplify the raw power of their diesel engines. You will undoubtedly grab the attention of anyone near your truck when you accelerate with a 5” diameter exhaust.

Regardless of where you land on a 4 or 5” diameter, you want to ensure that upgrading your exhaust is a positive for your truck. Some diesel trucks come with downpipes of a maximum of 4”, effectively reducing how much exhaust flows from the tailpipe. Adding a 5” tailpipe to one of these vehicles is generally meaningless.

Real Steel

As soon as you look for an exhaust, you will see many designs and pricing points. Nevertheless, all exhausts boil down to aluminized or stainless steel.

Aluminized Steel

Aluminized steel is when steel gets a coating of hotly dipped, corrosion-resistant, aluminum-silicone alloy. Even though it feels like this steel would be bulletproof considering everything it goes through, scratches do occur, which could cause it to become vulnerable to rust and corrosion. Once the rust is visible, it’s irreversible, as it will continue to degrade until it’s entirely rotted. The good news about going with aluminized steel is that it’s far less costly than stainless steel.

Stainless Steel

You will likely see one of T409 or T304 in a stainless steel exhaust. T409 is more budget-friendly since it’s easier to produce, but still stronger than aluminized steel.

On the other hand, T304 staves off corrosion more than T409 and can have a chrome-like finish. Hence, you must pay the piper to add a stainless steel exhaust to your truck. Getting a hybrid exhaust with bits and pieces of the T304 and T409 is possible.

For example, you can have a muffler and tips from T304 and use components of T409 throughout the remainder of the exhaust. To verify that something is either T304 or T409, you can use a magnet to find the verdict, considering 409 stainless steel will react to a magnetic field, whereas 304 has no response to a magnet.

Where you reside is ultimately the most crucial factor when selecting an exhaust. You can get away with aluminized steel in a warm and dry climate. Conversely, stainless steel is the best option if you live in an area where all four seasons are apparent. Snow accumulation coupled with road salt will begin to deteriorate aluminized steel quicker than you would have anticipated.

Purr of a Kitten or Roar of a Lion?

To muffle or not to muffle—that is the question. Mufflers reduce engine noise and pollution from vehicles. Mufflers are made of steel and covered with aluminum to protect them from the contaminants and heat emitted by the exhaust system. The primary benefit that mufflers offer is muting the noises that the engine’s pistons and valves produce.

On the other hand, a muffler delete can be the preferred choice for many truck owners because of its benefits. For starters, it will be as if there are hundreds of chariots powering your vehicle. Secondly, the sound is hard to put into words for a non-truck person to understand. A muffler delete guarantees the roaring lion effect that an ordinary car cannot duplicate.

A muffler delete also makes the rear of your truck look clean. Instead of something hanging below your bumper scraping the pavement below, your truck won’t have an eyesore become a distraction. Finally, ridding your truck of a muffler can shed some weight that may strain the truck.

At the end of the day, it comes down to your personal preference. You can ask 20 people the same question and get various opinions, so follow your intuition and what you value most.

Choose a Style

Diesel truck exhausts come in several designs, such as cat-back, turbo-back, and DPF-filter Back. The style of your exhaust depends on the truck in question, particularly if you don’t want to break the law. If a catalytic converter or DPF filter back was on the truck originally, it must remain there to abide by federal regulations.

The most common option for recent trucks is a cat-back or DPF-back exhaust. A turbo-back exhaust makes sense for older trucks since a turbo-back exhaust provides brand-new pipes from the turbo and downpipe to the exhaust tip.

One or Two?

The last decision on the docket is whether two are better than one. Depending on the model, exhaust systems have either a single or twin exit arrangement. The exhaust from a single exhaust system exits behind the passenger’s rear tire.

An exhaust point from a twin exhaust will be behind each rear tire. The dual arrangement is not a genuine dual exhaust because it has two independent pipes extending the whole length of the car. It often consists of a “Y” pipe with a branch at the end for design or cosmetic reasons alone. Fifth wheels and in-bed hitches often do not function with dual exhausts. Some exhaust systems come with an exhaust tip, while others do not. A tip isn’t essential, but it does add flair.

Now that you know how to choose the correct exhaust system, you should be able to track down the perfect setup for your truck, especially if you rely on Blessed Performance.

We pride ourselves on being Wyoming’s top provider of Power Stroke and other diesel performance parts, including the 6.0 Power Stroke straight pipe that will have your truck running like a dream. We are the perfect solution for any trunk owners who want to do their own legwork and make modifications at home, as we’re a one-stop shop for everything you need!