Exhaust Systems

Tonight, I'm talking about exhaust systems for your vehicle. This is just my take on geting the right performance with your exhaust. I'm not an expert or anything, I'm just piecing it together from what I know so far. Nonetheless, I still think this will be helpfull in gaining optimum performance with your car. ANd if you hadn't known by now- I'm for all around performance. From drivetrain to sound and even lighting.With performance comes efficiency, your vehile can truely excell.

I really think exhaust tip placment is an important part of getting good flow. Consider your cars aerodynamic properties; how the air flows around the car. Normally the exhaust exits out the rear of the car which is a more or less calm area where it usually isn't effected by the swell of air wrapped around the car as it moves. This is also why most vhicles with stacks have the stacks aimed rearward with few exceptions. I think the perfect setup would be to aim the tips where there is an aerodynamic vacuum that pretty much sucks the emissions right out of the system. I also believe that cars like the Dodge Viper and Factory 5 roadster/Shelby Cobra could benefit from a more reaward exit exhaust and claim atleast 1½ hp. I still feel that side exit systems suffer from air drag, disallowing proper flow.

That brings me to length and diameter. Vipers and Cobra's have a very short exhaust system. This inwhich could actually compensate for the air drag. They actually have rather large diameter pipes too. The shorter the exhaust system, the smaller the distance it travels and very little resistance. This gives you more top end, mote noise. For some vehicles there is an extreme loss of power. Why? Backpressure. That is the buildup of exhaust gasses that exit the engine and don't right away flow out. Thats about the best way I can put it. Wanna see what I'm talking about, take the muffler of of your push mower. Loss of compression, loss of power. It is possible to lose compression when shortening exhuast or just running headers. Backpressure helps create compression. Diameter is another key, Theres no reason to run a 4-6 inch diesel pipe on a Civic.  Most of the time a car doesn't need over an inch and a half or two. The oucasions where larger diameter exhaust would be needed is a built engine; big block or turbo motor. Turbo motors also do well with out a muffler. If anything toss on a glasspack. Too large an exhaust will give too much flow, but too small. The smaller you go, the more restrictive the exhaust.

Should you equalize your exhaust or not? Where talking about effiecency here. What gives you the right flow to go? H-pipes, X-pipes or indendant pipe? The sad thing is How an exhaust sounds is sometimes a bigger deal or deciding factor. Be aware of the slight loss of performance, because you are too worried about sound enjoyment. We'll start with the H-pipe, while this does equalize the system and let "them" tell it, it's better than an independant system. It's an "H", that crosspipe can create some sort of backpressure which mmake sit more in aiding in more torque, as emissions hit's that negative zone where it can slow down. I'd say: even if the emissions didn't just go right past it, as it wasn't there. But they do work, no doubt about it. Keep the x-pipe for slow moving offroad vehicles, and drag cars where the horse power talks and the torque walks. X-pipes!!! This is what you want, when you are going for top end or trying to break speed records or anything similar. Unlike the H, the X actually has both cylinder banks actually colliding. I can't remember if the results are a vacuum created at that point or not. The X is actually a more gradual connection than the H(which thries to make both banks go through that on straight pipe.)  as the emissions gradually cross one another. TO me this is the only way to go, this or independant pipes. Which flow just as good as an X-pipe and with even less resisitance as the exhast or pretty  much goin on direction, a straighter shot if you will. Generally most vehicles run(ran/used to) this general setup. I persdonally would run this if I were't gonna run a x-ipe. Perhaps, sometimes you don't even need to equalize the cylinder banks.

I'd say I've covered as much as I could for the moment. Remember performance, effiecency. Not sound.