Exhaust System Recommendations

[palposity]

Hey Guys,

The time has come on my Cletus project where I am planning my exhaust purchase. Ideally I would like dual exhaust w/ an H pipe and no cat converters. Something simple and not overly fancy/expensive. Any recommendations you can share would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Charlie

[McSwine]

I had my local muffler shop do a system for me. I initially had a H-pipe, but it didn't sound very good. Changed it to an X-pipe and it sounds much better.

[GMC Guy]

did you notice any increase in power with an x pipe?

[McSwine]

Originally Posted by GMC Guy

did you notice any increase in power with an x pipe?

Not really. It had duals on it when I got it...maybe a little more low end grunt.

[PRattenbury]

I have an x pipe. Anybody wanna buy it? Doesn't fit under my truck. I spent all the money on a aftermarket system, and ended up with just regular duals in the end.

[79'84'chevy]

flowmaster 40's sound good on my 355ci. duals with no headers. runs good. 2.5 in pipes

[thesickc10]

Originally Posted by 79'84'chevy

flowmaster 40's sound good on my 355ci. duals with no headers. runs good. 2.5 in pipes

i have the same setup with the same motor and i love it!

[Grease Monkey Kuztum]

An exhaust system can play a HUGE part in where your powerband is.... For example: a basically stock sbc 350 with just your basic intake manifold, carb, ignition and high flow intake filter and maybe a mild cam setup... Depending on what you use your truck for and whats needed from it work or play, you can make an exhaust system to match the needs of how you use it rather than just sound good you can actually gain benifits from it!!!!

Lets say you have above listed mods, basically your average mild sbc motor.... If you use your truck for daily driving and towing maybe off roading I would run some stock style manifolds or shorty headers with a true dual system no larger than 2-1/4" with H or X pipe and good flowing bends... Or also go with a nice Y pipe with 2-1/4" head pipes into a single 3" system.....that way youll make the motor breathe nice but keep some backpressure for the low end torque you want daily driving and towing or wheeling.....

If you want a more performance oriented system step up the duals to 2-1/2" and run some full length race headers or try Y design for max towing power....if you have a more modified motor then go to 3" piping....

I would highly suggest not doing a dual 3" system unless your running a really high comp small block or a hopped up big block even you will lose a ton of bottem end torque and actually lose mpg by working motor harder than it needs to do its job correctly.... The exhaust may seem like just changin it too make it louder, yet you can really rob performance drastically as well as mpg.... I would learn as much as possible before decision about what your actual needs are as every truck is different

Hope this helps and doesnt confuse

[chevymotocross]

Right now I have dual 2 1/4'' from stock manifolds back on my 305 TBI with Dynomax Super Turbo Mufflers. It has a nice quiet idle but when you get "on it", it sounds good. No drone at all at cruising.

When I do a header swap and/or 350 vortec swap, I want to do 2 1/4 duals, flowmaster Super 40's, with an x pipe. I am looking for a more aggressive sound and it seems x pipes with flowmasters sound amazing. The setup I have now it pretty nice though for a mellow sound:

[datguysaL]

can we get some pictures of xpipes and hpipes on here.. anybody?? lol.. im also debating on which to add to my 85 c10 swb..

[burger]

I recommend the $122 Walker kit from Summit Racing. It contains all the pipes you'll need from the headers back; you supply the mufflers. No "H" or "X" pipe and the bends aren't mandrel, but I question why you need those features for a work/plow truck. I'm tight with my money, so I'm willing to trade off some nonsense features for a more affordable setup.


Ed

[Cue-Ball]

Originally Posted by Grease Monkey Kuztum

....that way youll make the motor breathe nice but keep some backpressure for the low end torque you want daily driving and towing or wheeling.....

Most of your post is right on, but please don't go spreading the "you need backpressure" myth. It's total bunk.

[GMC Guy]

Originally Posted by burger

I recommend the $122 Walker kit from Summit Racing. It contains all the pipes you'll need from the headers back; you supply the mufflers. No "H" or "X" pipe and the bends aren't mandrel, but I question why you need those features for a work/plow truck. I'm tight with my money, so I'm willing to trade off some nonsense features for a more affordable setup.


Ed

can you post a link to that kit? can't seem to find it

[burger]

Originally Posted by GMC Guy

can you post a link to that kit? can't seem to find it

Here you go:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WLK-89007/

HTH,
Ed

[80chevyshortbox]

i got a 3" dual exhaust and i made it come out the side just before my back wheel then i threw a sick set of tips on. im not to shure on the make of my muffler but the truck sounds pretty dang good. its also a way cheaper than bringing the pipes over the rear axle.

[GMC Guy]

Originally Posted by 80chevyshortbox

i got a 3" dual exhaust and i made it come out the side just before my back wheel then i threw a sick set of tips on. im not to shure on the make of my muffler but the truck sounds pretty dang good. its also a way cheaper than bringing the pipes over the rear axle.

that's what i want to do with my exhaust. dump it out to the side in front of the rear tires, so the car next to me gets an ear-full when i take off

[jrcaprai]

Originally Posted by cue-ball

most of your post is right on, but please don't go spreading the "you need backpressure" myth. It's total bunk.

x2

I have 1 3/4 long tube Hedman Headers, 3 all the way back, H pipe, and Flowmaster 40's... they are Loud... I am thinking of putting some Magnaflows to quiet it down some... I'm always setting off car alarms...

[baclay9]

Originally Posted by jrcaprai

x2

I have 1 3/4 long tube Hedman Headers, 3 all the way back, H pipe, and Flowmaster 40's... they are Loud... I am thinking of putting some Magnaflows to quiet it down some... I'm always setting off car alarms...

So is it stupid loud? I was planning on 1 7/8 primary 3/4 length Sanderson headers, 2 1/2 pipe with H pipe and Flowmaster 40's. It is going behind my 454. Is this going to be really loud all the time? I was planning on dumping it around the rear axle.

[tucsonjwt]

May I ask what you are trying to achieve with your exhaust? Your signature states:
"Project #2 "Cletus"--1986 Chevy K20 4.10 Gear Ratio GOAL: Restore into a heavy duty work/plow rig
View Project Cletus HERE"
So, what would be wrong with a stock dual exhaust setup. Loud exhaust can get to be annoying to listen to after a while, and if you are not building a racing vehicle, I doubt that you will get much from it. Sometimes simple is best, but I am old skool. Stainless exhaust upgrade must make sense if you are in salt zone.
Just sayin.

[80chevyshortbox]

Originally Posted by GMC Guy

that's what i want to do with my exhaust. dump it out to the side in front of the rear tires, so the car next to me gets an ear-full when i take off

ya dude i love it. plus when you do a burn out it just blows the smoke every where. hahah

[Grease Monkey Kuztum]

Originally Posted by Cue-Ball

Most of your post is right on, but please don't go spreading the "you need backpressure" myth. It's total bunk.

Its not a myth man.... It depends on what performance your actually looking for... If you want the highest HP rating say for drag racing where your powerband is usually higher in rpms then ya you dont want any backpressure...

If your trying to make good usable power throughout a brouder powerband rather than just topend power, say for a towing vehicle or for a road race car where you use alot more of the powerband than just the topend rpms you do want some backpressure NOT ALOT by anymeans but SOME yes... Its dyno proven and track time proven on almost every motor out there....

Id rather have some backpressure and have a bigger powerband than the highest hp # any day....

Not a myth sorry....

[Grease Monkey Kuztum]

adding an x-pipe to a true dual setup without an existing x or h pipe will help balance both banks of the motor and make more power. Usually the h pipe retains the loudness of a system while a properly setup x-pipe can actually reduce the decibel levels of an exhaust system while making more power than an h pipe....

The setup im going to do on my new 84 with a 454 is going to be custom built try y headers, 2.25" true duals with a 2.25" x-pipe and then step up to 2.5" at the mufflers running some cherry bomb extremes dumped before rear tires all mandrel bent... Im looking for more low end & midrange torque and hp rather than top end performance... The extremes are single chambered mufflers so it will be semi aggressive sound, yet with the x-pipe it wont be overly aggressive to get noticed by every cop in town when your barely even steppin on it... The extremes flow almost 600cfm a piece so it will breathe great yet still have some backpressure in the system....

Not trying to sound cocky or be the mister im right guy, but ive been into cars since before I could talk lol... Ive done alot of research on this & designing exhaust systems for road race cars and drift vehicle as well as all my trucks throughout the years so I know from experience as well as being lucky enough to have friends like Mr. Isky himself to teach me his wonderful knowledge... So I do know that when I say something I am not just running my mouth, If I dont know the answer than I go and learn it and then will say it, not just say something to say it.....

[nbpro]

exhaust velocity

[78 Chevyrado]

Nice header back Mandrel Bent X-Pipe SS system for $400. Its by Pypes.

http://store.73-87chevytrucks.com/me...ode=73-87UHood

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by nbpro

exhaust velocity

Exactly. It is not back pressure you need but in actuality what you are after is to keep exhaust gas velocity high with the minimum resistance to flow.

Size the system too large then exhaust velocity drops and so does power and efficiency. It is not due to the lack of back pressure but the lack of exhaust gas velocity.

If you undersize the exhaust for the application then performance suffers as well but you are better off with too small rather than too large as long as it is not drastically too small.

It is a balancing act to find peak exhaust gas velocity combined with minimum resistance.

Compression, cam size, cubic inches and valve size all play critical roles in determining what will work best for your engine.

Typical street truck that runs a small block with stock heads and exhaust manifolds will work best with 2-1/4" pipes.

Add in headers, a much bigger cam, better intake & bigger carb and you can typically benefit from a 2-1/2" system but you will still make pretty good power with the 2-1/4" system. A 2-1/2" system is more than enough for most all street applications, even big blocks with mild cams. I made 504 hp to the rear wheels with a 2-1/2" system on a high compression 427 through 1-3/4" tube headers.

For a 3" system to not actually hurt performance you need big valve heads, high compression and a large cam. Lots of cubic inches don't hurt either.