To the Power of X
MagnaFlow's Tru-X Crossover Pipe '99-'02 Mustangs puts power in your Mustang and sweet sound in your ear

Text & Photos By: Mark Houlahan

   Our 3g GT's exhaust modifications to this point have been limited to the Steeda side exit exhaust kit. While the kit looks awesome and has a great sound to match, our P-1SC-blown '01 needs more. If there's one thing blower cars like, it's bigger exhaust. There's no need to throw big bucks on the intake side of things right away, as the blower is forcing the air into the engine, artificially increasing the volumetric efficiency of the engine, if you will. Of course, intake-side modifications will still reap some horsepower benefits, but the exhaust side of the equation is where your money will be better spent (in street applications at least).

Lugo Performance's Eddie Burke begins our stock H-pipe removal by disconnecting and removing the forward 02 sensors. The plugs are difficult to reach as they are up high at the back of the block. A long, small-shank screwdriver is the ticket for popping free the connectors.

HORSE SENSE: As with most X-pipe designs, MagnaFlow's is said to offer performance improvements without an obnoxious exhaust not to turn you deaf. As you will see by the Dyno Doings sidebar, we did make some nice power numbers, but our exhaust was none the quieter -although it wasn't any louder either. We can only suspect the Steeda side-exit after-cat system, which exits right at the side window, keeps the exhaust note close to what it was before (with the stock H-pipe) due to its exit location. The sound is truly sweet when it bounces off traffic or close buildings, we're not complaining.