[MuskieHunter]

So the JBA headers are on the way. I had some informative discussions with Jeff at Cajun, but have some reservations on how to build out the rest. The recommendation which many of you have is the JBA header, Cajun B Pipes with high flow cats, the JBA exhaust and Vibrant Ultra Quiet and UpRev tune. I trust that advice, but I would like to know what I am in for.

I have been trying to get a sense of what my truck will sound like under normal acceleration and around 2000-3000 RPM crusing speed. The reason for going with the header is cracked manifolds and some bump in performance. I have listened to hundreds of YouTube videos, but unfortunately everyone likes to show how loud and snarly their exhaust is.

My truck is a daily driver. I really don't need to squeeze every ounce of performance from this setup to then deal with high exhaust noise, nor do I want my neighbors to put up with excessive rumble. My plan was to go with the setup above. I am leaning to the 400 cel cat instead of the 200 high flow thinking it will help some in cutting down on overall volume. It will be a bit more restrictive. I do want catalytic converters in place for a number of reasons.

The goal is to keep the overall sound close to OEM, if possible. My question is if anyone has set up their truck with similar concerns. Also, has anyone put in the 400 cell Cajun b Pipes? I'd appreciate any feedback on this.

 

[jj0924]

So the JBA headers are on the way. I had some informative discussions with Jeff at Cajun, but have some reservations on how to build out the rest. The recommendation which many of you have is the JBA header, Cajun B Pipes with high flow cats, the JBA exhaust and Vibrant Ultra Quiet and UpRev tune. I trust that advice, but I would like to know what I am in for.

I have been trying to get a sense of what my truck will sound like under normal acceleration and around 2000-3000 RPM crusing speed. The reason for going with the header is cracked manifolds and some bump in performance. I have listened to hundreds of YouTube videos, but unfortunately everyone likes to show how loud and snarly their exhaust is.

My truck is a daily driver. I really don't need to squeeze every ounce of performance from this setup to then deal with high exhaust noise, nor do I want my neighbors to put up with excessive rumble. My plan was to go with the setup above. I am leaning to the 400 cel cat instead of the 200 high flow thinking it will help some in cutting down on overall volume. It will be a bit more restrictive. I do want catalytic converters in place for a number of reasons.

The goal is to keep the overall sound close to OEM, if possible. My question is if anyone has set up their truck with similar concerns. Also, has anyone put in the 400 cell Cajun b Pipes? I'd appreciate any feedback on this.

I want to know the same I am not in it for the performance I need to do it cause I don't want to do the same repair again. Mine is also a daily driver and I do in the winter have to pull a lot of fords and chevys out of the ditch
:big_grin::big_grin:

 

[danman]

Run the long tubes with stock everything else. It runs good and just a touch louder than manifolds, you'll notice it most on cold starts and wide open throttle. Sound just a bit louder when cruising, but you won't notice it after a bit

 

[jj0924]

Run the long tubes with stock everything else. It runs good and just a touch louder than manifolds, you'll notice it most on cold starts and wide open throttle. Sound just a bit louder when cruising, but you won't notice it after a bit

what did you do about the cats

 

[danman]

Run the long tubes with stock everything else. It runs good and just a touch louder than manifolds, you'll notice it most on cold starts and wide open throttle. Sound just a bit louder when cruising, but you won't notice it after a bit

what did you do about the cats

The secondaries? Yea they are still in too. Keeps the stink down.

You can install long tube headers and keep everything else no problem. Yea the header collector and the factory b pipes will bolt right up.

This is probably the easiest way to go and the cheapest. Yea, you wont get the full performance out of the headers with the factory setup, but the beauty is you can easily change it later. I have done many revisions to the exhaust on mine, spent lots of money on cat backs, mufflers and the rest, only to stick with the stock b pipes with cats intact, factory everything else with the exception of long tube headers. If you decide you really need aftermarket b pipes later, its only four bolts each side. easy peasy. The stock setup with headers sounds pretty good when you want it to, tame when driving regularly.

I have little kids, and mine is a daily driver. I don't mind a well mannered noise that doesn't sound like I'm an 18 year old prick, but the kids and wife don't care for a noisy exhaust note or drone, so I stick with the oem catback and b pipes. If your exhaust is rotted out, I hear the JBA setup with resonator is as close as you can get to stock. If you have more questions let me know.

 

[danman]

you might have to double up on the gaskets, the oem b pipe flanges are kinda flimsy and don't seal well. Top tip: use Nissan gaskets and throw away the supplied jba gaskets.

 

[jj0924]

yes but your heated 02 sensor is on the wrong side of that cat.
did you have the tune delete the o2 of so did it hurt your mpg

 

[LaxDfns15]

I have JBA headers, Cajun cats, JBA catback, and UQ resonator near the spare tire. While it's louder than stock, it's not obnoxious in any way. 0 drone at cruising, you can hear the exhaust in the cabin, but it's easily drowned out by the radio. Road noise at highway speed is louder than the exhaust. My exhaust broke into pieces as I was taking it out because of the rust so I had to replace it all.

 

[danman]

yes but your heated 02 sensor is on the wrong side of that cat.
did you have the tune delete the o2 of so did it hurt your mpg

Uprev yes. Cajun joe did my tuning. I have tried the oe tune and got cel after a day or 2 of driving, not sure about mpg, didn't drive it with cel too long. As far as hardware goes, all oe except headers no issues

 

[MuskieHunter]

Thanks danman. Is your OEM exhaust dual in/single out or single in/single out? Also, did you ever post a sound clip of the setup?

You also mentioned that you needed a tune. Was that just a matter of making a call and describing your setup, or did you have to bring that into the shop for some testing to find the right tune?

 

[MuskieHunter]

LaxDfns15, what did you choose for your Cajun catted B-Pipes? Was it the high flow 200 cell or the 400 cell?

When you say the exhaust is louder than stock, is it louder because the tone is deeper, or is it truly that noticable? Also, do you find that you have to raise your voice a fair amount to talk to your passenger than before?

Jeff's video below of this setup sounds good at startup, idle, and cruising speeds . At 1:43 thru 1:50 sounds like the exhaust dominates the cabin sound under mild acceleration. At 3:22 sounds is another range of sound that I encounter when pulling a boat up a hill.

The challenge sound clip recording in general is that the microphone tends to be sensitive and can exaggerate they tend to be sensistive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=56&v=KnHKKpmhLmM

 

[LaxDfns15]

I think I got the 200 cell, but I can't remember.

It is roughly the same tone, slightly deeper. There is more noise in the engine bay because headers resonate more than manifolds, but that's a non issue. It's also louder in general because you can hear it start up and idle while in the house. No issues talking to passengers whatsoever, my 5 month old passes out almost as soon as he gets in the truck because of the rumble.

I couldn't be happier with how it sounds. It's just enough for someone that knows trucks to know you have something under the hood, but not enough to annoy people around you. If you don't get the UQ Resonator it will be loud and it will drone from 1500-1900 RPM's and it sucks. 1600 RPM's would make the whole cabin vibrate.

 

[HRTKD]

I had to pass emissions (visual and sniffer) so I ended up putting in b-pipes with two catalytic converters in each one. This was a custom one-off from a local exhaust shop that did a great job (and charged accordingly). I previously had JBA LT headers, Berk Technology b-pipes (high performance), 22" Magnaflow muffler, Vibrant UQ resonator, Vibrant resonated exhaust tip (~10"). The Berk b-pipes may have been shot as I was getting a P0420 that wouldn't go away. Anyhow, it was loud. My wife could hear me coming from a couple blocks away. When I installed the new custom b-pipes I also replaced the entire cat-back with an OEM system from a 2012. With the new setup the truck was so quiet my wife didn't know I was there until I opened the garage door. I greatly preferred the reduced sound. The performance was slightly lower. It was a trade-off I was willing to accept.

 

[nightowl]

Noise with headers is all in the muffler. Stock will be quieter than anything but the JBA and Ultraquiet resonator are quieter than anything I have tested before. I cant tell any difference in noise with just bpipes from catless resonated to 400 CPI.

 

[danman]

Thanks danman. Is your OEM exhaust dual in/single out or single in/single out? Also, did you ever post a sound clip of the setup?

You also mentioned that you needed a tune. Was that just a matter of making a call and describing your setup, or did you have to bring that into the shop for some testing to find the right tune?

Muskie, I have the newer exhaust setup, Duals to muffler and single out. I haven't done a sound clip, its really hard to tell what an exhaust note really sounds like from a youtube clip. I though some setups would sound really good, but ended up way to loud or sounding like hot garbage. When you decide you want to do the headers, it is strongly recommended that you tune, to keep the check engine light off, make your rig run top notch and some other bells and whistles that come with the software. You will also have the ability to see if you have any exhaust leaks by monitoring your air fuel ratio along with any other engine parameter you would ever need to know, a very useful tool, especially for troubleshooting and monitoring.

To answer your question tho, yes, tell your tuner what you have done to your truck and he will build a tune for you send it via email, you load it, record some driving, send the data and go back and forth a couple times and you'll be done. Joe at Cajun did this for me, no issues yet, and I couldn't be more satisfied.

 

[Blevinger]

I've got the full Cajun treatment (check my sig) and I wish it was quieter. Nothing else I could do besides do what HTRKD and danman did and do OEM catback. Truck sounds great but my wife and I ride together and talk in the truck, no radio. She hates how loud it is. I took off my 4" Airaid because even I hated that.

If I was alone all the time and bumping tunes, then yeah it sounds awesome without being obnoxious.

 

[Matt11256]

I have jba headers cajun b pipes and a "banks" exhaust with the magnaflow 22in muffler and the thing droned like a *****, put the vibrant resonator on and honestly its quieter now than when I didn't have headers or b pipes. Those resonators are the real deal freaking amazing, I have no drone, you can hear it when accelerating around town but cruising on the highway don't even hear the exhaust till you put your foot into it:big_grin: and uprev is pretty freaking amazing, the thought that you can add a completely new function (switching tune with cruise control) to the ecu is mind blowing to me.

 

[MuskieHunter]

Thanks all. Well, the JBA headers arrived today. I have to go this route as there is no sense in putting in stock manifolds again that will crack again.

The 200 cell b-pipes are on their way. This is a better quality cat than the 400 cell, so that'll have to be it. Haven't ordered an exhaust setup yet, but will be doing the Ultra Quiet for sure.

Blevinger, what is the Full Cajun Treatment? Was that the older baffle style mufflers that JBA is no longer using?

The OEM setup is a good idea, but the winter road salt here kills the exhaust and everything else for that matter. I am tired of replacing exhausts. I was hoping for a good stainless setup that I won't have to worry about the exhaust for the rest of the truck's lifetime. But if everything else is going to be loud and piss off the neighbors and the local authorities when I do accelerate, then that might be the route to go. At this juncture I am leaning with Jeff at Cajun's recommendation and assurance of the JBA exhaust but still trying to get a sense of "a little louder" is.

This video sounds like there isn't too much difference between stock and the JBA setup

This video gave me a sense of what the truck sounds like outside at cruise, but at the end are a series of high rev bursts that are loud.

And listening to the stock manifold and exhaust against the AFE during revs, other than sounding a bit more rasp, it doesn't sound that much louder.

But on the other hand, I would not be happy with this:

 

[Blevinger]

ID remember the muffler brand but I got all my parts from Jeff. Cajun is great BTW.

JBA LTs
catted b pipes
y-pipe (Jeff might not call it that)
Jeff's muffler recommendation
UQR
UpRev

TBH honest this setup is likely 10-15% louder drone at 1500-2000 rpms than stock. Which, isn't bad. With no radio cruising in that range, you can hear the stock setup drone too (though most buyers found it fine). I might be the outlier in that I usually don't have the radio on. On my 05 Titan with stock exhaust, I cut off the last 10" of tailpipe, which eliminated even the stock drone. Toyed with that on my current 06 (which is close to new with all the parts) but the Cajun supplied whole exhaust system just looks to nice for me to take the sawzall to it.

Bottom line, you'll be happy as you can be. Jeff has all the answers.

 

[nightowl]

There is nothing quieter than the JBA muffler and UQ resonator with headers that I have tried other than the Stock muffler.