Installation Time
(approx) 2 Hours
Difficulty Level:
Light to Moderate mechanical skill required.
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Hey, guys. Today we're gonna be taking a look at and installing the Thermal R&D Cat-Back Exhaust, for the 2015 and newer EcoBoost Mustangs. You're gonna want to be checking this cat-back out if you're looking for something that's gonna wake up your EcoBoost and give it more volume, but you don't want any raspy notes or any drone. This cat-back has a range in sound meaning that it's quiet at idle and in those cruising speeds, but it definitely adds more volume and wakes up as the RPMs climb.When it comes to loudness on a scale of one to five with one being a quiet upgrade and five being a loud upgrade, I'm gonna call this one a solid four, maybe even a five. The Thermal R&D cat-back exhaust definitely gives the EcoBoost a ton of volume. This has a lot of similar characteristics that you see for more expensive options but this cat-back costs under $900. It's made from 2-1/2 inch 304 stainless steel and I'll call the install a two out of three wrenches in the difficulty meter and I'll show you how to get it on your car now.For this install, I used a flathead screwdriver, a 13-millimeter socket, a 15-millimeter socket, an extension, you can use a 3/8 drive ratchet or a 3/8 drive impact gun, and a rubber mallet is always nice to have. Okay, so we can't get our new exhaust installed until we get our stock exhaust out of the way. In order to do that, we have a 15-millimeter socket here. We're gonna go ahead and loosen the clamp right here at the resonator. So I personally like dropping the cat-back with the hanger still installed, at least these front hangers here. I'm gonna slide the mufflers out of their rear hangers. But in order to get these out, these are a 13-millimeter bolt. And for right now, I am just gonna leave them clipped into the body up here, so it's still gonna hold the exhaust up and in place.So I'm gonna try to slide the mufflers out of the hangers so I'm actually gonna spray them with WD-40, let them sit for a minute, and hopefully that's gonna help me get this out a little bit easier. So before we drop the cat-back down, there are two tabs here that we'll need to bend back. I'm gonna use a flathead screwdriver and just go ahead and bend this tab back. Now I'm gonna take a rubber mallet, and I'm actually gonna knock this clamp back as far as possible. This is gonna give me a little bit more room to get the mufflers out of the hangers. So at this point, we are ready to drop the whole cat-back down. We are gonna drop it as one big piece.I have a second set of hands here to help me out. That might be easier for you guys too if you have a friend help you. All right, so at this point, I'm gonna disconnect at the resonator first, then he is gonna take the exhaust out of the hangers. So real quick, if we take a look at the factory cat-back compared to the Thermal cat-back, looking closer at the Thermal cat-back, you'll see that it starts with an adapter. Thermal gives you this adapter so that you can bolt right up to your factory downpipe and cat setup or you can bolt up to a 3-inch downpipe setup. We are gonna use the adaptor today since we still have the factory setup. It then continues down to a three-chambered resonator. The resonator helps to tune the exhaust and it helps to allow you to have a lot of volume but not uncontrolled noise.The remainder of the cat-back is actually 2-1/2 inch diameter and it's made from a full 304 stainless steel. This cat-back has very nice craftsmanship and it has a lot of the same qualities that you see from higher-end cat-backs. All right, guys, so we are gonna start by installing our mid-pipe. First of all, I have the clamp off of the factory cat-back. I am gonna use this for my adapter. I also have the adapter here clamped onto the resonator and I do have a pole jack. What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna slide this clamp over our downpipe first. I'm gonna go ahead tighten this clamp right here and then I'll slide the adapter into the other side of this clamp. And I'll use the pole jack to hold the resonator up and in place.All right, so now we're ready to put the tailpipe assembly up and into place. Two things, you're gonna want to make sure you have a clamp for this connection right here, right off the resonator. You're also gonna want to make sure you transfer over from your stock cat-back your hanger. So I'm gonna go ahead, I'm gonna slide this clamp over our pipe here, just leave it waiting. Then what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna lift the tailpipe up into place. I'm gonna get the back end into the hanger first and then I'll make the connection here. All right, now I'm gonna clip this hanger into the body. So at this point, I'm actually gonna put the bolt back in this hanger here just to stabilize everything a little bit more before I make the connection off the resonator. So looking at the cat-back and looking at the tip, I know that this pipe needs to rotate up and away, so the tip is off the rear valance.So I know that this is where I need the connection to be off the resonator. I'm gonna go ahead, this is why I left things loose on the resonator, line these up, slide my clamp over, and get this to hold right here like this for now. So at this point, I have a pole jack helping me holding that tailpipe up and into place. I'm making sure the tip is as straight as possible for now. I am gonna tighten this clamp right here just to keep everything locked in place. And now we can move to the other side. All right, guys, once again, we have our clamp. We're gonna go ahead and slide that over the end of the resonator. And then we also have our hanger, we're gonna make sure we slide that over and into place too. Then we'll lift this assembly up and slide it into our rear hanger first. Then we're gonna clip our hanger into the body here and bolt that down real quick. So we'll go ahead and get our bolt in place and then we'll tighten it down.So now I'm gonna use the pole jack to rotate this up and away so the tip is sitting straight and even before I make this connection back here. All right, so now I'm gonna tighten this clamp down. At this point, all that's left to do for us is to tighten this clamp here. Now, if you guys ended up loosening this clamp here to make some adjustments along the way, obviously you're gonna want to go ahead and tighten that up as well. All right, guys, that's gonna wrap up this review and install. Keep in mind that you can always check this cat-back out more online. I'm Stephanie, and for all things Mustang, keep it right here at americanmuscle.com.
Features, Description, Reviews, Q&A, Specs & Installation
Augmented Horsepower. Boost the horsepower in your Ford Mustang EcoBoost with the Thermal R&D Cat-Back Exhaust. It was designed and manufactured with innovative Thermal R&D Helmholtz Technology that will eliminate the annoying cruising sound frequencies in your Mustang.
Quality Material. The components in this exhaust kit are made from high-caliber T304 stainless steel to enhance durability. The angled tips are 4 inches and the tubing has a 3-inch diameter. The mufflers and tips have a sleek and polished finish and the tubing has a brushed finish.
Simple Installation. Three specialized clamps come with this Thermal R&D Cat-Back Exhaust to facilitate a basic installation process and accurate alignment of the tip. You can use the included adapter if you have plans to add a 3-inch performance pipe.
Lifetime Warranty. A limited lifetime warranty is provided on this Cat-Back Exhaust that covers craftsmanship defects. Review the warranty information since some limitations may apply.
Application. The Thermal R&D Cat-Back Exhaust is designed to fit all 2015-2022 Ford Mustang EcoBoost models without the Active Valve Exhaust.
CA Residents: WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
Installation Info
Installation Time
(approx) 2 Hours
Difficulty Level:
Light to Moderate mechanical skill required.
What's in the Box
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