I used this muffler to replace the Flowmaster 524553 that was on my 1979 Ford pickup for many years. It always sounded good, just a bit loud with that Flowmaster sound. My truck has a system with headers, 2.5" pipes, muffler and a 3" pipe. This Magnaflow has the same configuration. In fact, it can be installed in any way without any problem. After years of testing mufflers on my dyno, I settled on the Magnaflow because of the straight or mostly straight design, which always seemed better thanβ¦