A caution to those who mess with the exhaust...
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Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Proctorville, Ohio
A caution to those who mess with the exhaust...
When I was in high school, I remember reading a performance magazine (probably Hot Rod) and there was a story about doing your exhaust properly. It said to make sure you "funnel" each joint so you don't lose HP. Well, they were right. I can speak from experience on this with my truck as I'm on my 3rd aftermarket exhaust system. And the last 2 were not done properly, but I didn't think it would matter that much. IT DOES
The first two "botch jobs" had the mufflers overlapping the cat-pipes (like they should) and the tailpipes sticking into the mufflers. To look at it from the outside, all looks fine. Actually, the tailpipes should be expanded to fit over the muffler or pipe extensions. Here's why - If the taipipe is just "jammed" into the muffler and welded or whatever, which all shops will do unless you're watching, you will lose HP because of the turbulence caused by overlapping. See my pic below and imagine high-speed gasses trying to escape that mess.
What the muffler shops do in most cases is just expand the muffer on both ends on the spreader machine. Hey, it makes it easier for them!! They then stick the muffler on the existing cat-pipes and then stick tailpipes into the muffler, which creates turbulence and a loss of HP, especially if they bend the tailpipes with nasty, flattened areas in the curve of their bend. Take a look at my most recent installation where everything is done properly. I can feel the HP advantage, and this applies to straight, muffler-less pipes too. It only makes sense that the smoother the channel, the better it will flow. In fact, my Flowmasters without any crossover pipe, are flowing better than my Magnaflow did because of the installation...food for thought.
See the "funnel effect"?
------------------
Jim
Black '00
#1,757 built 3/30/00
Clear corners
JDM street program
JDM 2# blower pulley (ordered)
J.L. Stage II ram-air
90mm MAF
FRPP Oval throttle body
Twin 40 series Flowmasters
3.5" chrome tips
The first two "botch jobs" had the mufflers overlapping the cat-pipes (like they should) and the tailpipes sticking into the mufflers. To look at it from the outside, all looks fine. Actually, the tailpipes should be expanded to fit over the muffler or pipe extensions. Here's why - If the taipipe is just "jammed" into the muffler and welded or whatever, which all shops will do unless you're watching, you will lose HP because of the turbulence caused by overlapping. See my pic below and imagine high-speed gasses trying to escape that mess.
What the muffler shops do in most cases is just expand the muffer on both ends on the spreader machine. Hey, it makes it easier for them!! They then stick the muffler on the existing cat-pipes and then stick tailpipes into the muffler, which creates turbulence and a loss of HP, especially if they bend the tailpipes with nasty, flattened areas in the curve of their bend. Take a look at my most recent installation where everything is done properly. I can feel the HP advantage, and this applies to straight, muffler-less pipes too. It only makes sense that the smoother the channel, the better it will flow. In fact, my Flowmasters without any crossover pipe, are flowing better than my Magnaflow did because of the installation...food for thought.
See the "funnel effect"?
------------------
Jim
Black '00
#1,757 built 3/30/00
Clear corners
JDM street program
JDM 2# blower pulley (ordered)
J.L. Stage II ram-air
90mm MAF
FRPP Oval throttle body
Twin 40 series Flowmasters
3.5" chrome tips
