Exhausting Work
Swapping out that stock exhaust is a must on these OBS Ford Powerstrokes. We looked to the guys at Heartthrob Exhaust for a full turbo back exhaust system that would bolt right up under our truck. The kit comes complete with the much-improved mandrel bent 3-inch downpipe and expands out to a full 4-inch system from there.
We should note that the install of any turbo-back kit on these trucks is not for the faint of heart. This can be a very time-consuming and frustrating job. It requires a sawzall and some help from your biggest hammer to get that stock down pipe out. If you're not comfortable beating on your firewall with a hammer, we'd suggest you take this to a qualified shop in your area. While this job isn't easy, it is a very worthwhile modification that will offer some substantial gains in the performance and exhaust temperature department. The Heartthrob kit we installed fit perfect and is one of the better-designed systems we've seen for these trucks. Once there is room past the firewall for the new down pipe, the rest of the install is pretty simple.
Now with all these aftermarket parts installed, it was time to see what we gained. Before we started on the project we made a few 0-60mph runs on a backcountry road along with some exhaust temperature recordings. We've included some charts of the before and after statistics.