5.9 3rd Gen Cummins 5" Stainless Straight Pipe Before, After, and Install How To 

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Let's take a moment to appreciate how clean this truck is underneath

Andrew, I researched the options for my 03 3500 way back when and upgraded to the 04.5 4" upgrade with the 4" turbo downpipe along with a very nice and quiet muffler (your wife will be so impressed), which is the Donaldson #M090544. Quiet, straight through design, CFM far exceeding the factory 350cfm and eliminating any "droning". I give it 5 ⭐

I have a quad cab with 8 ' bed . I run the MBRP straight exhaust . Its really not that bad at all. The only time the drone bothers me is when I towing at a certain RPM. At highway speeds it not a problem at all. It is a very long exhaust system .maybe thats helps too.

It’s gotta have a new frame under it… too clean!!!🇺🇸🤘🏼

Perfect intro😂

Guess I have a free flow muffler to quiet it down some. The loudest truck I owned was a 01 ram.

God Bless you all! All glory to God! Turn from your sins and live for God! Romans 10:9 “if you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God rose Him from the dead you will be saved.”

And I think the 6 speed makes a much better candidate for a 5” TBE. The sound is different. Much better. I may go back to a true TBE now that I’m out of CA. 🤔 Great build and great videos as always.

I was so close to doing the 5" straight pipe and man, I'm glad I didn't. I daily my truck so I put in an aerotubine resonator, cut the tailpipe off, added a tip, and left the cat. It made it more aggressive, but didn't become overbearing. Another thing that I'm glad you mentioned was the clamps. That's something you don't really think of at first. You cannot really beat the stock hanger setup

I did a 4” TBE axle dump…for about a week. 🤨 It drove me insane while commuting. I added a straight, flow through muffler and that removed the drone just enough, without killing that great 5.9 sound. Happy medium.

Love my 5” straight pipe on my 2nd gen. Sounds even better with the 6spd manual.

I know this was a while ago but that Cat was done for before you removed it. There's witness marks of diesel soot on it that indicates its been leaking before removal

My old truck was an 05 2500. It has had a 5 inch straight pipe on it ever since July 4th weekend of 2006. I never thought the truck was loud. I only thought it was loud when I had the windows down, you definitely could hear that truck from a mile away. I love 5 inch Turbo back straight pipes on 6 Cylinder diesel engines, sound great on cats and Cummins. With the windows up, I could have the radio on and not even be turned up a lot and still here it just fine. Hell, the damn hvac fan was louder than the exhaust was. Lol

I was here when you had below 10k subs and I’m both happy to see your growth and not surprised by it at the same time. Awesome trucks and awesome videos bro

Super nice, loving it! Some Truks were made to be stealth, other like the Cummins were designed to breath and be herd!!!!! It's just the way it is.

Yea I was planning on keeping my dpf and scr on my '19 when I put my straight pipe on but they split too. 😉

8:13 That wide pipe really brings out that classic 12v 5.9 sound. The most beautiful sound other than the 94 through 99 7.3s with a straight pipe. Love your videos and the quality of the videos. Along with your humble and knowledgable personality. Very cool channel.

I have the same truck, except auto. I have 5” turbo back to a 20” 50X50 aero turbine muffler. Still sounds great, but helps with that drone in the cab.

I still want to know how you found such a good deal on an amazing truck. I’m jealous.

You just earned a subscribe from me because of putting the exhaust side by side. Very well put together video. Keep it up bro

Awesome video! I had a 5” straight pipe like this on my 2005 Ram 2500, and I know what you mean about the mirrors shaking 😂 I did notice a big difference between an axle dump and the stock exit location. Without all of the resonance under the truck, it made it more bearable. I also noticed a difference in exhaust tip size changes the drone as well. A 6” tip was somewhat bearable, but a 7” tip made it drone much more.

Where did you get this exhaust from, i cant find any 5in turbo backs for 2006 5.9’s

I have a cat from an 06 that had 39k. It is perfect condition. Let's connect about it

Are 6.7s this Loud

I love the wheels and tires. What make/model wheels are they?

Just spent $600+ on an MBRP 5" exhaust and 6" tip for my 2nd gen cummins 99 ram 2500. Totally not worth $600 . I 100% stand by that. The pipes don't even fully go into/ mesh into one another. I'm having to open up certain parts in order for.the following piece to go into vice versa. For $600 I did not expect that. Word of advice, just purchase a sub $600 exhaust for your 2nd gen cummins.

That was obnoxiously loud. Awesome!! Lol

So what brand exhaust is that? No cat in California? I can’t even order that exhaust here in Texas. My whole exhaust is rusted out and everyone keeps trying to sell me a cat back. I need the turbo back. I need the whole exhaust.

I did a 4" from the downpipe back on my LML Duramax it's loud outside especially when you lay on the pedal. But on the inside you feel it more than hear it. 5" is overkill

I love the axle dump. However its going to blow dust up every where you go . I know you like things clean. Lol. God I wish mine was a stick.

Its ignorantly loud in your cab because you axle dumped it under the truck, Proper exit out the side would be quieter, albeit not by much tho. Had 5in straight on my 05 HO 5.9 dually and it was great. Did 24 hours to cali in it, little tiring cause of the exhaust but it was bearable.

Just a thought, “Eddie’s Life” on YT went over different mufflers he tried. And he settled on the Donaldson. I was thinking of using that for my 5in straight 6.7

if you put a resonator it will make it sound just as good just a little quitter. i run a 5 exhaust with muffler to a stack give you the good sound but not to loud

I like the look of the axle dump but it adds drone in the cab. When I bought my truck, it had a stack which was really loud. Running a 4in axel dump now but I want to add some mufflers to quiet the truck down for the long road trips.

Where did you get your rear wheel well covers/liners? I’ve been looking for a long time for some that will fit my 2003.

I forgot what my 05sounded like stock. It's been a straight pipe from turbo back for over 15 years.

Nice truck! Dig the gold on black plate. Haven't seen that since I was a kid. I wish my truck were that clean.

Can’t wait to see more of this truck man. Great vid as usual

This makes me want to straight pipe my truck. In 4 years when it's perfectly legal to, of course.

It would be nice for you to explain the pros and cons of strait pipe like why towing isn’t good with it.

I have a question that I hope you can answer, also I was trying to find this video again so I could comment here. Anyway, my question is does the straight pipe affect the performance of the truck?

damn man your'e making me regret selling mine. awesome video! keep up the high quality content

I did a muffler delete on my 4" with a cat and didnt notice much difference. I dont even think you can buy a turbo back system anymore.

So, Magnaflow actually used my truck to prototype their 5” exhaust. Excellent fit and love the stainless. Flow through muffler as usual with Magnaflow. However, there was a noticeable drop of low end power with the larger pipe and cat delete. Drones for days as well. Ended up taking the delete pipe, cutting it in half, cutting the tapered ends of the cat back to where they are 5” and welding it all together to get a 5” cat to bolt back in. Got my bottom end back and sounds much better.

You said “my fiancée” “he said please don’t make it loud” not me thinking you was into dudes for a sec

man that thing sounds great! i love straight piped diesels with manuals

Now you have to learn sign language to communicate with your passenger.

Sounds awesome

Why didn’t you shorten the over axle pipe? Your sound isn’t at full potential.

Hey man, extremely clean truck and videos are fantastic, 1st video I've seen of yours. I hope you don't take this wrong, but the way you are riding the clutch, it's not going to last long. I'm just trying to save you some cash man. ✌️

Magnaflow makes a high flow cat 5 inches that would work good for your application and still compliant

I have a 05 5.9 where did you get the exhaust haveing trouble finding one

Hey brother man, I have a 2004 and have been thinking about doing this. Was there any additional tuning you had to do? I just want to make sure I do it right. Been asking around, planning to call my mechanic and pick his brain, come Monday. Cheers. 🍻

your truck is ridiculously clean.

Bro how is the truck so clean🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Lmao my wife said the same thing when I bought one a few months ago 😂

I did this on mine a long time back. I ended up putting the tail section back on over the axle dump and it made the in cab super super quiet. My neighbors however still complain

Wow like brand new underneath

Just installed my 5" NRE Perf. turbo-back exhaust today, took me a little over 2 hrs cause I had to chop it in more than 1 spot; figured that out after struggle-bussing for far too long. Few differences from the kit shown in the vid vs. mine (granted it's a 2 yr old kit vs. current). All the exhaust hangers on mine were adjustable u-bolt style, except for the side exit piece - which the hanger is welded to the pipe - but I did an axle-dump as well so that wasn't used. Only 1 of the 4 u-bolt hangers actually fit my truck (05 Ram 2500) - the 1 that has 2 hangers on 1 clamp - the rest of them didn't fit, & even the 1 that did "fit", the 2 hangers were too long, so I had to flip the isolators 180° & it now looks like the exhaust is holding up the truck, if that makes sense. Lol Also, take some Scotchbrite to the cast elbow off the turbo, it'll make install way easier. I cut my OE exhaust right where it was cut in the vid, but had to make another cut on the downpipe cause there was no amount of finagling that was getting it past my 48RE (also had to loosen the bolt that holds the trans dipstick in place, gently bend it over, & re-tighten the bolt, otherwise the 5" downpipe would make contact with it). Kit also came with an exhaust tip, that wasn't mentioned, so that's nice.

Noise pollution

Axle dump is why it’s loud inside

As a mechanic, working the under side without safety glasses, especially running a saw. Got to mark you down for not protecting yourself.

Just got this same kit delivered, sounds good, I have to fab up down pipe as I did second Gen swap. Looks like I didn't have to order another piece of pipe since the quad cab short beds will not need that extra piece. Sweet

Great wheel/ tire combo!

good luck with this strait pipe sound... can we check in a month? hearing? sanity? girlfriend left you for a quieter guy? an 07, with two twister on 5" pipe and a 4 foot muffler from a semi tractor is what i needed to get a. quieter than factory b. exceptional flow c. a deep, warm tone but i do miss annoying rattlesnakes, jack rabbits ground squirrels and people when it was just the muffler from the class 8 truck, which by the way i would NOT reccomend. a semi muffler is brutally loud and drones like a fiend. the twisters tamed it. of course its a band aid fix, and im unhappy with having to do it. but 5000 miles with just a muffler sickened me. truck " seems" to shift better with the twisters installed. one before and one after the muffler (48re).

What did you think it was gonna sound like?? 5" axle dumped..... the sound is bouncing off the ground, having a slight echo.... I would have thought you'd already have known this.... clean build though!!

On my long bed, I did a side exit at the end of the bed, diagonally and not having it pointed at the pavement makes it much quieter inside the cab. 03, 6 speed 4x4, 4 door long bed. I'm betting with a diagonal side exit at the tail, your cab noise would go down. I know you have reasons for being axle dumped, probably clearance offroad, but I thought I'd share my experience with my 5 inch. I also have S&B intake, tuner and all the goodies.

I have a 2004 5.9, had it straight piped but didn't like the sound. Did some investigating and found the exhaust manifold is not fed evenly from the engine. It's 4 cylinders vs 2 cylinders, (sounds like a 4 cylinder car to me). So I put a 2nd gen manifold, which relocated the turbo and now is fed evenly and it sounds great, just like the older cummins.

A couple things, for anyone who happens to read: I put a MBRP turbo back exhaust on my 2004 2500 Cummins a couple years back. The entire system was shipped in a large box. Thats it, just a large box. No foam, no bubble wrap, nothing. The pipes were smashing around during shipped. The box looked damaged, and few of the hangars were sticking out of the box too. Opened it up, found two of the pipes dented from smashing into eachother. Anyone who has looked up exhaust systems for these trucks know that MBRP is not inexpensive whatsoever. This was unacceptable regardless of price, but even more so considering the cost of an MBRP exhaust. Reached out to MBRP, and they did make it right (after jumping through quiet a few hoops). They had said something like some of the manufacturing had gotten moved elsewhere since being bought out or something. Something else to note that has annoyed me, is that I payed for a 5" turbo back exhaust. Yet, the downpipe from the turbo is actually 4" then flares out to 5" at the mid pipe. Nowhere in the description did it state that it was 4" flaring out to 5". A buddy of mine bought a 5" from Dynomax or something, can't remember. He paid about half the price I did, and its a TRUE 5" exhaust. Sounds great too. That all aside, as far as tone and volume, I started with MBRPs muffler. The truck sounded good, but a little too tame for my taste. Ordered the straight pipe, swapped it out with the muffler, and love the way the truck sounds now. In the video he stated that straight piped, the truck is too loud for towing or long hauls, I disagree. I primarily use my truck for those exact reasons, either towing or long road trips, and I think it sounds great. Yes its loud, but not obnoxious. I get no droning either. Just wanted to throw this out there.

Back in the day I threw a Flo Pro resonator I believe it was on my 05 straight pipe, It tamed it down...almost too much. My dad's 07 5.9 has a Magnaflow stainless 5" with muffler and if a guy doesn't want a straight pipe it's about perfect.

I straight piped my '06 for a day but since she tows daily, had to go back to a cat back 😅 With and Axel Dump (7 inch tip) and deleted turbo silencer, that bitch is still loud! lol

Just FYI axle dumps drone more in the cab then if you just left the corner exit on. I run a 5” straight on my 4th Gen with a manifold swap and I love it. Not overly loud but my truck is a crew cab long bed with a corner exit.

Straight pipe exhaust is best. All my Dodge Cummins trucks are straight piped; however, I never run an axle dump. I take the exhaust to the edge of the truck body line; it helps reduce the sound in the cab. Compound turbos using turbo blankets also helps reduce the exhaust roar while keeping EGT’s down, faster spooling, and increasing RWHP.

I feel bad for his clutch

2100 rpm in these straight piped, you can’t hear anything. Sounds good If you hear it drive by though!

HaHa!!🤣 Sounds like my wife! "Just please don't mess with this vehicle".

Can confirm the exact configuration works for a single cab as well 👍 no cutting required great kit.

I like the sound of the common rails or 6.7s with a 2nd gen swap and 4 or 5 inch turbo back straight pipe exhaust

It’s so weird that my 5” on my 6.7 Powerstroke, they’re way quieter than a 4”. Less rasp and rumble.

Leave it fully straight piped only way a cummins should be! Just me two since

Not doing an axle-dump and adding that last piece of tailpipe back on will take a lot of the obnoxiousness out of the sound.

Oh to have a six speed

My factory exhaust, 2004.5, drones, it's awful. Great video!

Flo pro twister is a good option for a resonator. Kills the drone. Keeps th e tone

Been looking high and low for full exhaust kit for my rig and nre has the hook up! Man thank you so much for the linking it! Subbed too I wish my rig was as clean as your but she lived in the salt belt so I’m battling rust every year.

Sonoma county?

If you put compounds on it and exit the exhaust how it normally is, it won’t be that loud inside the cab

You should look into an aero turbine 5050xl. I’ve heard they’re better than an fte

Do you have any updates in terms of sound (with the cat or resonantor on? Thanks!

I have the same truck. 05, 5.9 same color everything

PFFFFT....No Thanks!

What brand?

It does sound good but too loud . Resonators cut alot of power just do a good muffler to set the tone you looking for .

Would also help you if you ran the exhaust where it’s supposed to be the drone won’t be as bad

Would it be easier to go to a good exhaust guy and have him build it from scratch?

He must pay a fortune for all these clean, unmolested trucks!

Did you clean it yourself? If so what products did you use and is there a video

when i did a missing parts thing to my truck i didnt have to modify th pipes to make it fit

Add a flowmaster resonator where the cat was. It will take care of the loud noise.