X pipe questions

I want to buy a X pipe before I finish up and get the ported blower tuned. I have a few questions before I make the purchase. I see that 2004 Cobra X pipes require O2 extenders but I assume they are the same as for long tube header installs?? Do those of you that have catless x pipes do you have any fuel odors when parking in the garage?? On my old Fox I had an off road Bassani and it didnt matter what you were doing it smelled like unburnt fuel when just parking the car and shutting the garage door. My wife was not happy about that purchase. I am think of a Bassani X pipe if it has any bearing on my questions. If I buy the modular Bassani x pipe and want to add cats later who sells just the cats?? Thanks

I have an o/r bassani x w/mac cb and it sounds awesome! I use to have Stingers hooked up to my x and it was to loud and raspy.They say that a catted x sounds nice with stingers:shrug: The o/r x does leave an exhaust smell in garage but its not that big of a deal.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYeZd9GCa4U"]YouTube - O/R Bassani X Mac catback[/ame]

I have the Bassani X-pipe with the removable cats. It does not require the extensions for the 02 sensors... :beer:

FlaSeaDude said:

I have the Bassani X-pipe with the removable cats. It does not require the extensions for the 02 sensors... :beer:

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I looked at a few web sites and they said extensions were required for 04s only?? I think I am going to wait for now and leave the stock h on until I can figure out what I want. I just wanted to get everything inline before the tune is done. I am getting close to being finished and the timeframe isnt right for the money to be spent. I dont think it will hurt too much in the way of power.

go with a catted x pipe...

sweet88gt said:

I looked at a few web sites and they said extensions were required for 04s only?? I think I am going to wait for now and leave the stock h on until I can figure out what I want. I just wanted to get everything inline before the tune is done. I am getting close to being finished and the timeframe isnt right for the money to be spent. I dont think it will hurt too much in the way of power.

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Any cat less car is going to have the raw fuel stink factor going on.
As far as power goes, it won't be very much from what I have read.

I'm thinking of getting one for open track events just to save my stockers a little wear and tear. Plus if I have an "OFF" in dry grass and can't get back on track right away it will be much less likely to start a grass fire.:uh oh::burn:
As an added bonus it should sound quite a bit more like a V8 and less like a busted air hose when it goes by. :rollseyes

The stink of fuel will turn it into what the last car was, a pain in the #$@! I spent alot of time and money into a street car that sounded,acted, and smelled like a race car. Not what I had in mind for this project. My wife is also wanting to drive the car and she wont be happy going into the store smelling like the gas station. I figure if anything a catted X down the road.

Trust me...buy the catted x. Bassani will sell you the cats seperate, but they are $143.00 a piece. I was lucky enough to buy 2 cats off my neighbor for my O/R Bassani x.

I just put a bassani ss catted x on mine. You will need extensions like you stated earlier. the 04's have the rear 02 sensors just behind the front cats. all of the 99-03 stangs have the rear 02 sensors behind the rear cats. this is why the 04 requires extensions. To reach from the forward connector location back to the standard placement of the 02 sensor bungs found on all of the aftermarket pipes.

I think for a street car a catted x pipe is the only logical choice. the power gained from eliminating the cats on a street driven car just isnt enough to worry about. Now when you get into very high hp levels and start running race gas and lots of nitrous as in a track car only. That's when the cats need to go. All IMHO of course.

Here's another thing to consider before you upgrade your mid-pipe. The aftermarket X-pipes (ie. Bassani and Magnaflow) and H-pipes (ie. MRT) have very different sounds. The MRT H-pipe retains the classic Mustang muscle sound, whereas the X-pipes change the sound to something more exotic. I had the Magnaflow catted X-pipe and have to say I never liked it. A local friend had an MRT catted H-pipe that sounded better to me. It's a personal choice/preference. If you have never heard the MRT then I would stronger recommend you do so before you make your final decision. I'm not knocking X-pipes. Just pointing out the sound difference between the two. Many are not aware of it.

Lastly, I would highly recommend that you get a catted version of either type mid-pipe. You're going to see slightly improved low end torque, a very slight reduction in power, a slightly quieter overall setup, and....you'll be complying with the law and helping the environment. JMO.

I have a friend that has a catted Bassani x and it sounds good. I will check into the MRT H. I have had both H and X on my old Fox, and the sound is different. I am not so intrested in sound as I am in performance. I always said I would put cats back on if I changed the mid pipe butthought I would throw my questions out there for other thoughts. If you did buy a X pipe have you ever thought it was the wrong purchase?? Was the money spent worth the power?? Again sound plays a big part of some purchases when it comes to exhaust, and I want mine to sound good but not open pipe crazy that the local police hears me coming before seeing me. I had a car like that and its cool but it gets old on anything more than a trip to the store. Maybe this is a sign that I am getting old. :bash: