How After-Market Exhaust Systems Can Disrupt Your Car’s Power Curve
Sometimes, an exhaust system is a perfect fit for your vehicle’s power band. When that happens, your car, truck, or SUV feels faster and more responsive. Other times…you feel like you’ve wasted your money on a performance part that didn’t improve performance. Usually, when an exhaust system disrupts your engine’s power curve, it’s because you’ve made one of the mistakes below.
How to Make Sure You Buy The Right Exhaust System or Muffler
1. Don’t go too big. A lot of vehicle owners make a mistake when they upgrade their exhaust system by purchasing exhaust pipes that are much larger than the factory set. With the exception of diesel trucks (which can sometimes benefit from really large pipe diameters), most vehicles leave the factory with the correct size exhaust pipes. While the factory muffler might be cheap and restrictive, the engineers tend to do a pretty good job choosing the right pipe size. Therefore, stick close to the original factory pipe diameter – don’t add more than a half an inch in pipe diameter unless you’re driving a diesel or you’ve made some major performance upgrades (like adding a supercharger, for example).
Note: Exhaust tip size doesn’t matter when it comes to performance. As long as your exhaust tip isn’t some sort of muffler-tip combo, go as big as you can stand. The size of the pipe between the catalytic converter and the exhaust tip is what matters.
2. Don’t go cheap. The cheapest mufflers on the market are essentially straight pipes filled with cheap fiberglass sound deadening materials. You can probably buy a set with the cash you’ve got in your wallet right now, and honestly they don’t sound too bad when they’re brand new. Unfortunately, they’re cheap for a reason. When these mufflers get hot (like on a long road trip or a few runs at the track), the fiberglass stuffing inside the muffler starts to melt. Eventually, the stuffing breaks free and becomes an obstruction…and your cheap mufflers get plugged up and start robbing power from your ride. Invest in a good set of mufflers from a brand-name manufacturer (see our list of exhaust system manufacturers).
3. Think about sticking with the factory exit configuration. Are you thinking about adding a dual exhaust system to a vehicle that currently has a single exhaust pipe? If so, you might want to consider the fact that converting a single exhaust system to a dual system isn’t always a good idea.
- If you’re driving a 4 cylinder, adding a dual exhaust system is usually a very bad idea because there’s only one exhaust manifold exit on your engine. Unless you’ve got a very powerful 4 cylinder, there’s not enough exhaust gases coming out of your engine to necessitate a dual exhaust.
- Dual exhaust exits only makes sense if you’ve got dual exhaust paths coming out of the motor. If your engine doesn’t have two exhaust manifolds and two sets of catalytic converters (one for each side), then it probably doesn’t make sense to go with a dual exhaust.
4. Building your own system without doing your homework. If you want to avoid paying big money for an exhaust kit, you can definitely build your own. Here’s what you need to do:
- Use mandrel-bent pipes. Mandrel bends are smoother and more aerodynamic than press bends. If the pipes aren’t mandrel-bent, any changes in direction will result in a restriction. The good news is that you can buy mandrel-bent pipes online.
- Choose a muffler made for your vehicle. Mufflers should be chosen by looking at flow rates. Basically, you figure out where your engine makes the most usable power, and then you optimize everything for that point (f you’re a math wizard, you can check out this article on how to calculate muffler and exhaust pipe size). Fortunately, the muffler manufacturers have done the math and testing for us, so all you have to do is buy a muffler that was designed for your vehicle.
- Stick close to the factory pipe diameter. A 2″ dual exhaust system has enough capacity for a 300 hp system. Adding 1/4 of an inch to each pipe adds capacity for nearly 400hp. Going any bigger than 2 1/4 inch pipe diameter is usually overkill.
I was wondering if a dual exhaust on a 2001 volvo s40 would be bad or good. I want to get the most power out of my car as possible. Any suggestions that dont cost a furtune?
Jon – As I understand it Volvo only offered a 4 cylinder in a 2001 S40. While you can definitely add a dual exhaust, the pipe diameter would have to be fairly small to maintain the appropriate back pressure. I’d advise against it.
Just picked up a 1989 Lincoln Town Car with 95K miles. Original everything, etc.
Exhaust is 2 cat. converters at base of head pipes with a “Y” joint aft and a single muffler/exhaust out the back.
I want to delete the “Y” joint and install dual exhausts all the way aft of the cat converters with proper Flowmaster mufflers.
My objective is smooth and efficient highway performance at the best possible MPG I can squeeze from the 300 cid V8 up front.
Suggestions, recommendations or comments anyone?
Ray – Y-pipes are good for balancing exhaust notes and can even be used to reduce noise. However, getting rid of it probably won’t hurt you at all and might even help. Most V8s perform just fine with or without a y-pipe.
I have a 07 Silverado 5.3L Ext LT. I had a K and N CAI put on with a dynomax ultra-flow cat-back system. 3″ in and 2 2.5 out. both pipes exit right behind the rear tires. one to the left. other to the right. I now have a flutter sound or like a chopper behind me when i let off the throttle and 4 a brief second when accelerating. idles great. if i put it in 1-2 or 3rd it never happens but only when in drive and at low rpm. could this be from my exhaust?
Miles – I’d bet the flutter is coming from your air intake. This is a common complaint. Can you test it by switching it out for the stock airbox?
I’ve got a 2009 Volvo C30R – 2.5 w/turbo. The car has one manifold, the exhaust pipe leads to a single muffler that has dual tips out, seems unnecssary to me. I’d like better sound, so I thought of replacing the OEM muffler with two Ducati (Remus) mufflers. It looks like the two duc mufflers have more capacity than my OEM inlet pipe. Comments?
Thanks
BK – I don’t like the idea of adding two mufflers to a 4 cylinder…I think it’s probably OK in terms of performance (I doubt it would effect backpressure too much) but it seems completely unnecessary to buy two mufflers when one will do the job. Generally speaking, 4 cylinders never need more than one muffler (and one exit pipe).
Hey i have a 2007 2500hd silverdao with a single exhaust i really don’t know to much about these systems but i like the look and sound of a truck with dual exhaust so i wanna know if its possible and a good idea to change mine or leave it how it is?
Edwin – For a bigger truck like yours, it’s rarely a bad idea to add an after-market exhaust. Big pickups have big motors, and big motors are less susceptible to lost power due to reduced backpressure than smaller engines. My only suggestion is to match the size of the exit pipes to the size of your engine. Unless you have a diesel, 2.5″ dual exhaust pipes are probably spot on and 3″ duals are probably too much…we have a sizing chart here: http://www.exhaustvideos.com/faq/how-to-calculate-muffler-size-pipe-diameter/#easy
Ok thanks now i keep hearing that in doing so it will save me gas and others say it will only waste more?
Edwin – They will save gas, but only if you keep your foot out of it.
I have a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS, and i would like to know what would be the best exhaust system for my Eclipse?
John – That’s a question that has a lot of different answers…not one that I’d really recommend over the other.
I just X-Piped my 03′ X5 4.4, with no muffler or resonator just straight X Pipe. it is too loud and was wondering if I could get something to quiet it down that’s cheap. Is that possible?
Eric – A muffler is the only answer…straight pipes are almost always way too loud. Some universal mufflers are inexpensive, and you might look up SuperTrapp mufflers too. They’re attached to the end of your exhaust system and they’re really easy to tune – just add or subtract discs.
If you go with a muffler, you can get the straight pipe sounds by going with a muffler bypass kit like this one from QTP: http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/blog/2010/06/16/qtp-electric-exhaust-cutouts/
I have a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. The driver side catalytic converter rattled really bad. I went to a small muffler shop and he replaced it brand new for $300. No more rattle, but when I press the gas to go faster, it’s loud now, almost like a muscle car loud. I almost prefer the rattle over this sound. Do you think its the wrong C.V. or just cheap?
Jeremy – It’s hard to know what happened without looking, but if I had to guess I’d say that your mechanic didn’t reconnect the exhaust system to the catalytic…or perhaps the connection didn’t hold. With the engine off and the exhaust system cool, you can slide under the your car just below the front part of the passenger compartment and look for an obvious hole. You can also ask the mechanic to double-check his work. However, $300 for a catalytic sounds about right, so I don’t think they went cheap.
i have a 1993 toyota pickup 4×4, and want to uprgrade the exhaust, was thinking of putting Pacesetter headers, and a flowmaster 50 series exhaust, would you advise a high flow catalytic converter on keeping the stock one? and the flowmaster in size is 2.50″, will that cause a drop in power gain?
is a duel exhaust a good idea on a 85 toyota supra and does duel exhaust increase or decrease hp
Hi I purchased a exhaust system all the way thru with extractors 2 inche piping and a tanabe 3 ince muffler my car is a Daihatsu charade g200 1996 1.3 efi engine
i did not put the catalyc flow in so i was wondering ive lost power driving off its kinda slow but then picks up but it doesnt feel the same im new to all this and ive read about back preassure which ive definetly lost, was wondering if yous could help me out alwso got a ratling noise when i take off like a tin can or something but is there anyway i can get the back pressure back or would i have to change my whole exhaust system?
guy – If I had to guess, I’d say that the exhaust system is too big for your mighty 1.3L.
If you look at this post, you’ll see that 1 5/8″ probably would have been best: http://www.exhaustvideos.com/faq/how-to-calculate-muffler-size-pipe-diameter/
My suggestion is to swap out the muffler for something stock. That will also address the tin can noise you’re hearing (probably the muffler). If that doesn’t fix it, however, than you’ve got a loose part somewhere (might check exhaust manifold heat shield).
Jason, I have 15 year old son who is beginning to work on autos. We would like to get some more hp/ gas from our 1994 ranger 4cy, 60k miles. I thought we could add either a dual exhaust with y pipe or even add a second manifold. Your thought on this or what to do to get a little more hp/gas?
i have a 2006 jeep grand cherokee laredo 4.7l v8 dose putting dual exhaust sound like a good idea or a bad idea?
cameron – As long as you don’t go with a massive 3″ dual system, it sounds like a great idea to me!
I have a 2001 S60 T5 with mods. Per the tunning Company I’m running 315hp-320hp out of a 5 cylinder with boost pressures to 20-23psi max. Right now I have a 3″ downpipe with a 200 cpi metal cat. I do have a aftermarket exhaust system but I think it might be to small.
My question is what should the exhaust size be after the downpipe so I can compare to what I have to see if I need to mod it or not??
Paul – See this post: http://www.exhaustvideos.com/faq/how-to-calculate-muffler-size-pipe-diameter/
I have a 2011 Mazda 2 Sport 1.5L Automatic. I am looking at two axle-back exhausts and you appear to be very knowledgeable on this stuff. The two axle backs are specific to my car (direct fit) Racing Beat Power Pulse and HKS Silent Hi Power (bigger tip). What do you think? I want to hear a nice throaty growl, but don’t want it to look foolish or be too quiet/lose power.
Mike – I’ve never heard of Racing Beat, but HKS stuff is good. In truth, they’re probably both just fine. However, “throaty growl” is a moving target…might try finding some videos for that one (I’ll get it added to the site soon).
I have a 300hp 375 ft lbs of torque 360 magnum crate engine in my 1991 dodge power ram 150 four wheel drive truck. When i purchased the truck it had no engine but it had brand new dual exhaust on it with hedder collectors, so when i put my engine in the truck i bolted my heedders up to the excisting exhaust. My concern is the exhaust is only 2 inch exhaust pipe and it has an h pipe right before the mufflers wich are 24 inch glass packs. Is 2 inch exhaust pipe enough for this engine? my friend has this exct smae engine with same carburetor and intake and hedders and the same mopar electronic ignition and he got his dynoed and it is accually putting out 319hp and 424 ft lbs of torque. I’m just wondering if 2 inch exhaust pipe is enough or if i would see an increase in power if i went to 2 1/4 inch exhaust pipe? Or would it benefit me better to geta better flowing muffler such as a flowmaster rather then to worry about increasing the exhaust pipe size 1/4 of an inch?
Payden – Truck sounds awesome! A dual 2″ pipe setup is probably too small…see this post: http://www.exhaustvideos.com/faq/how-to-calculate-muffler-size-pipe-diameter/
I asked for 2 1/4 inch pipe and the guy that did my exhaust had his own plans obviously because i got 2 inch exhuast pipe, i wasnt to pleased but i am trying to decide if that extra 1/4 inch of size would make much more of a difference to compensate for the 300 plus bucks it would cost me to do it all over again with 2 1/4 inch pipe.
I dont know how true this is but i have been told by a few people and have read tha a little smaller pipe is better then too much pipe and that generally a little smaller will increase low to mid range torque and throttle response, any truth to this? i guess there re just alot of different opinions out there when it comes to exhaust pipe size and mufflers.
Payden – There’s absolutely truth to the idea that a smaller pipe can be better – that’s pretty much the point of the article, in fact.
If you look here – http://www.exhaustvideos.com/faq/how-to-calculate-muffler-size-pipe-diameter/ – you can see how much pipe you really need for your engine based on horsepower. If you don’t mind some math, you can use our simple formula instead and get a good estimate.
According to the chart you provided i need at least 2 1/4 inch pipe wich is what i asked for. Just was wondering if there are exceptions to that chart. 2 inch vs 2 1/4 inch we are talking an extra 1/4 of an inch. And i have been told running a little bit smaller pipe will increase low end torque as well as throttle response. What do you think? I am eventually going to get this whole exhaust sytem of mine replaced with 2 1/4 inch pipe and if possible going to have an x pipe put in the exhaust instead of an h pipe. I have seen dyno results proven the x pipe helps with power more then an h pipe. I just never have gotten into the accual size of the exhaust pipe. Didnt think there would be that much of a difference between 2 inch vs 2 1/4 inch.
I read all the posts here but do not see anything about diesel trucks..
I have a 1990 F450 7.3 manual diesel with Auto overdrive,and it is in need of exhaust… I would like to know what is the best system to use single or dual and a pipe diameter???
Bill – You are correct about the lack of diesel exhaust info, and that’s a big oversight on my part. Diesels can benefit greatly from larger exhaust systems, and unlike gas motors, it’s hard to go “too big.” I will work to fix this soon.
In the meantime, a good place to look for diesel performance inspiration is Banks. I’m not saying you have to buy the Banks kit, but if they’re selling a dual exhaust for your 7.3L, that’s what I’d add to my truck. If they’re selling a single, that would be my pick.
Hope that helps. A lot of what you do on that older diesel has to do with how aggressive you want to be. There are a ton of diesel performance parts out there for these trucks.
I have a 2000 V6 Mercury Cougar, and i was wondering would it be possible to go into a dual exhaust from the stock single. I have been looking around on flowmaster, borla, magnaflow, etc. I have not seen any specific parts for my car. Is there anything you may know that could help me out. Thank You for your time.
Aaron – Your local muffler shop can craft something for you, but my question is, why? The smaller V6 you have will breath just fine with a single exit exhaust – all you need is a less restrictive muffler. Duals look cool (and I’m a sucker for them no doubt), but I’d rather spend my money on a new muffler and put the rest towards a programmer or air intake.
I also think there are some Cosworth top-end kits out there for that V6 (only you’ll have to dig around as I don’t have that at my fingertips). That might be a great place to spend money!
i used to have a 2001 cougar v6, straight piped with TKS N1 exhaust tip 4′in, it sounded like like a 400 hp car driving down the road haha it was awesome
Cody – Hopefully Aaron subscribed to the comments and is listening. Thanks for sharing!
I have a 1983 v6 3.8L mustang GLX, i was wondering if i could go duel exhaust and if it would hurt my engine or even improve its flow. thank you.
Thomas – I don’t see a dual exhaust hurting a V6, provided the pipes are sized correctly.
I have an 88 k1500 with a crate 350 TBI, mild RV cam, econoaid tb enhancer, custom cold air intake, K&N filter, and a Magnaflow XL turbo muffler. Awhile back, my step dad did my exhaust for me and put on a stock GM muffler, the usual 3 in 2.5 out. A couple days ago, I finally got the time and money to install the Magnaflow XL which is a 3in 2.25 dual outs. When installing it, I noticed my step dad cheaped out, and went with a 3 inch pipe off the y pipe, bypass the cat, and then he did a 2.5 curved pipe welded to the 3 inch pipe, that then goes to muffler, and welded the end of the 2.5 to a 3 inch pipe that then goes to the muffler. Is what my step dad did with the whole, clustercrap job he did going to affect my engines performance? PS. I tig welded the magnaflows 2.25 duals to the pipes itself.
Mike – First of all, I’m going to steal the word “clustercrap” from you. I like it.
Second, catalytic converters really aren’t restrictive on a normally aspirated motor. I’d venture a guess that just running the exhaust through the cat will give you a boost, mostly because curves and welds inevitably create restrictions.
BTW – I’ve seen data to suggest that a catalytic converter flows as well as a hunk of empty pipe at lower RPMs. For a truck owner with a normally aspirated engine (no turbo or S/C), there’s no good reason to bypass the cat IMHO.
Thanks for liking the “clustercrap” saying, its nicer to say than others I could think of. The only reason I bypassed the cat was because it was clogged, and didn’t feel like paying for a new one. I would have actually preferred it because it helps prevent the majority of the exhaust from rusting out since it gets so hot. I haven’t had any major problems since I’ve removed it, so its all good. But here’s where I could use a little help, I like the Magnaflow muffler I have on now, it gives it a bit of a deep tone, but I want a little deeper. What else can be done for a deep tone?
Mike – A bigger muffler might do it…I’ve also seen x-pipes help with tone. However, my best suggestion is to consult with your local muffler shop or on your favorite GM truck forum, because now we’re getting into nitty-gritty details that are often engine specific.
Im planning on gettin a 03 dodge ram 1500 2wd with a 4.7l v8 magnum. Ive got friends that have put straight pipes on their trucks and they sound amazing, but im worried about the fuel mileage going down hill, and with the riseing fuel prices im just a little concered with this. I was just wondering if its an okay idea to put on a y pipe out of the cat the 2″ 5″ pipes all the way out, along with the muffler deletion? I am aware its illegal to delete the muffler, but im just looking at different exaust combinations. Any feedback is much appreciated. Thanks.
Austin – I don’t know that a straight pipe is certain to hurt gas mileage, but it could.
Did you read how most engines are designed for a system with some back pressure? If you go straight pipe, you’ll lose some low-end torque. Do yourself a favor – go with an aggressive muffler rather than a muffler delete. You won’t risk any legal problems, the truck will still sound awesome, and neither performance or gas mileage will suffer.
I have a 2001 dodge ram v8 5.9 with a 360 in it. I had a flowmaster 44 dual on it, but i just took the muffler off today, i want it louder. I heard that if you put a glass pack on backwards it would be the closest sound to a straight pipe i was just wondering if this was true or not? What exhaust would you recommend for this truck? Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Ty – Definitely not true. Putting on a glasspack backwards would restrict flow more than putting it on the right way. Also, glasspacks are essentially straight pipe packed with fiberglass…the strands of fiberglass absorb the really high frequency sound waves, which makes your truck sound deeper and meaner without being quite as loud as a straight pipe.
If you want lots of sound, a couple of glasspack mufflers are perfect. Don’t flip them around backwards – that won’t make your truck sound better, nor will it improve performance…they’re designed to flow in one direction.
Now my truck wont sound like one of those crappy import things flyin down my road right? Im a mechanic but the exhaust portion just isnt my thing, im still learning about them.
Ty – No sir – no way you’re going to make a big V8 sound like an import racer. The cool part about a V8 is that you’ll get deep tones you just can’t get with a 6 or a 4.
However, a quieter muffler might actually sound deeper than a glass pack. Glass packs don’t do as much to mute the high frequencies as a larger, slightly more restrictive muffler (emphasis on slightly).
I have a 2008 Mazda3 hatchback. Its completely stock under the hood, but I am just trying to get a better sound. Any suggestions on what i should do?
Tyler – Listen to some exhaust videos my man.
Hey ….. I was wondering a friend of mine crashed his 2008
5.7 Chrysler 300c with aftermarket dual flow master exhaust .
I have a 2011 3.5 Chrysler 300 touring . So I purchased his exhaust.
I would like to use just one muffler from the two and replace it with
My factory exhaust or must I use both exaust mufflers . I just don’t wanna hurt anything in the car!
Tylereberle – You probably wouldn’t hurt anything by just using one of the mufflers from your buddy’s system, but my concern would be that a single muffler wouldn’t flow quite enough exhaust gases at higher speeds…but it’s easy enough to figure out it. Just look up the muffler’s specs on the muffler manufacturer’s website (or call) and then compare that flow rate to our chart and your stated max HP.
I have a 2009 Chevy Silverado 4X4 Z71 LT with a 3′ single pipe. I was wanting your in put on putting duel 2′ out the back after the muffler. I am thinking about taking off the muffler and going to the flow master 10 series muffler. do you think this would be a good idea? Eventual I am going to get the K&N cold air intake for it.
hoagie – I think I had this setup once, but it’s a perfectly legit way to go and it definitely saves money over a true dual system. My only comment would be that running another pipe and adding another muffler really isn’t going to add much expense…and then you’ve got a true dual system.
What would be the best exhaust for a ls400 1996. it has a v8 4l engine.
I have a 95 acura legend coupe. I wanted a dual exhaust (one on each side) system. Would that be ok for the performance? My car is a v6, 230hp. Thanks.
I have a 2000 4.6 (281 Cubic Inch V8) Northstar out of a Cadillac Eldorado. It has 1 CAT and a couple of bends 90 degree and a 45 degree. i have it straight piped I do notice gas mileage does go down but that could be because im on the throttle more because it sounds SWEET! This engine has such small exhaust cam lift that it doesn’t pop and its not very loud. It has 32 valve (DOHC V8) Very deep sounding V8 I have Flow-master supper 44s, the stock exhaust is 2.25 inches single pipe to a y pipe that goes down to 2 inches i upgraded to 2.25 on both sides of the y pipe all stainless. It outta sound good. I think the back pressure is a must on MPG and performance. I DIDNT how ever notice any performance taken away but i did notice a little bit more performance as it burns the tires pretty good from a roll!
I have a 2006 rx-8 and Im looking for a good exhaust system that doesn’t sound like its whining bcz of the rotary engine. Any sugesstions?
Brandon – Nothing I can think of. You can go with the standard mufflers from all the import tuning companies, but they’re all going to sound a bit buzzy I think.
I have a 95 GMC G2500 conversion. The exhuast was 3″ to muffler
and 2.75 out to a single( no cat). I was getting about 14 mpg. i changed to a 3″ to magnaflow, split muffler to 2.25 out dual. I now get about 11 to 12 mpg. Where did I go wrong?
Terry – When you’re talking about a decrease in fuel economy that’s greater than 10%, you’re probably not talking about something that happened because of your exhaust system (at least not exclusively).
However, you likely reduced backpressure in the system, so it could be that a portion of the fuel economy loss was due to your change. However, my suggestion would be to look elsewhere first. Usually when you monkey with the exhaust, the fuel economy doesn’t change much (good or bad).
Thanks, I feel better. i changed the air filter, new distributor cap and rotor, new plugs and wires. I have noticed it smells very rich, and there is a flex pipe that runs from the air cleaner to the manifold that was loose. There is also a butterfly flap in the breather that connects to that hose. I think that heat from the exhaust runs from that hose to a heat sensitive spring that connects to that flap. it may have gone bad keeping the flap closed and running to rich.I’ll start there next, maybe get a cold air intake.
I am SUPER confused when it comes to exhaust. I’ve been told I should decide between Gibson, Borla, and Magnaflow. I drive a 2004 Ram 1500 with a V8 Hemi Magnum. The exhaust currently is a single pipe exiting out the right rear. I’m not huge into performance modifications and I don’t really know a whole lot about it to begin with. I might play around with a chip but I’m not looking to drop a whole lot of cash, just up to I’d say..700 on exhaust. I’ve always liked dual exhaust so asthetically, I pefer it. I heard that dual exhaust (and gibson in general) detracts from the low end performance and adds hp and torque but top end performance isn’t my deal, I’d prefer having better acceleration like from a stop light. I want my truck to be loud but not Red Neck/obnoxious. Its a beautiful, big black truck, with a big engine and it should sound like one, right now it sounds like my mom’s camry. I want people to notice if I’m next to them idling but I’ve seen some rediculous set ups where guys have to turn off their trucks to order at a drive thru. When I step on that gas pedal and take off past someone, I want them to really hear me. I’m not looking for some cheap glass pack sound, I hate the tone. Is there such an exhaust for me? and is it true dual? or a Y pipe? or what? Also, can I get what I want without breaking the bank? Do I hate to buy an exhaust system for like 600 dollars and have it installed or can I just buy a muffler, tips, and have the installers of the products bend pipes for me?
Dan – Check out Borla’s kits in addition to Gibson. They offer great tone, but unlike the kits from Magnaflow or Flowmaster (and to a lesser degree Gibson), they’re not super load.
As for exhaust systems hurting your truck’s low end performance, that’s only true if the kit you buy isn’t sized for your truck. If you buy a cat-back kit from Borla or Gibson (or anyone else, really), that cat-back kit will be tuned to add power to your truck across the board.
Finally, if you’re adding an exhaust system to a pickup, consider side exits rather than rear exits. That way your hot exhaust doesn’t blow over whatever you might tow.
Forgive me father for I have sinned. My truck does not have a towing hitch. Granted I have two trucks. One has about 156k miles all towing, ford f150 flareside with a 351 windsor and a thrush exhaust. The thrush is okay…I would have liked it to be a considerable amount louder and wish it had a nicer tone. Still louder and meaner than my Ram’s exhaust, thats for damn sure.
I do mean to go for loud, deep, and aggressive tone, but not obnoxious like those ricer cars or some redneck rig, you know?
So do you recommend (sound, cost, and performance wise) true dual, y pipe dual, or single pipe exhaust?
Dan – I like true dual setups with a cross pipe. Great way to balance the tone and get the deep rumble. As for brand, I think Borla has the market cornered on “moderate” sound, as most systems are designed to be loud.
hello there, I have a 2003 chevy silverado 4.8 all stock & im looking into putting a flowmaster 40 series muffler on it but im very confused on what piping i need to go with! Im reading that going too big will cause a decrease in power & fuel economy & with gas prices how they are right now, thats the last thing i need. would a single 3′ in /3′ be too much? i believe the stock piping is right around 2.5′ on these chevys. What piping would you recomend i go with?
I have an 318i that i swapped completely to an m3 95 (engine and everything) and I put in a double piped exhaust instead of the single that was already there. My pipes are 2″ and it seems as my sound just got way too deep, it resounds in my car and is uncomfortable to drive with and was wondering if I might have also lost power at the same time.
Hello. I have a 2005 gmc 1500 Sierra crew cab with a 4.8L v8 engine. I am looking to put an exhaust system on it with dual outputs, but I’m afraid that since it is a smaller v8 engine, that it won’t sound good (will sound kind of weak)
What are your thoughts?
Payden – As the article states, a slightly smaller pipe gives you better low-end torque but costs you some top-end power. It’s not a massive difference, however, so I wouldn’t worry about it. As your installer says, there’s not much difference between the two sizes.