Exhaust routing suggestions

[siggyfreud]

Hey all,

I'm building a new exhaust system as part of the frame-off. My plan is to route it all the way back, flip the rear bumper, and put the polished tips in the license plate cutout.

Here is a top-down routing plan:



My question is . . . would you guys route it under, or through the drive-shaft cross-member? My thinking is to drill two 3.5" holes and go through it, and use a slip/clamp connector on one side so it's removable. I'd probably go through it, hook it to the flex/mesh piece I have, then to the muffler.

If I do go through the cross-member as opposed to under it, will I need to reinforce the cross-member at all in other areas?

Another question is width. I'm thinking that in the photo below, the pipe on the right gives me the width I need to avoid an inward bend near the shocks. But since I don't have the rear in I'll need to do some measuring. But based on the shock mounts it seems the width the right pipe would give would be preferred.





Any ideas/advice is appreciated.