need some exhaust advice
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 14
From: Jacksonville,NC
need some exhaust advice
You guys probably hear this all the time but I'm a little new to the racing scene. I just bought my first fbody (a 99 z28) last summer and I'm currently looking for a new exhaust system. I'm looking for complete upgrade on headers and pipes. I'm not trying to make it a complete dragster but I do want to smoke rice burners and mustangs more than I already do. Any advice?
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,326
From: Tulsa, OK
Re: need some exhaust advice
This has been asked many times.
Headers:
Long tubes (LT) are hands down the best, unless you have to worry about emissions, then shorties or midlegnth will have to do. There are different types of ways they are sold. 1: Aluminized steel; cheap, budget, rust quickly, but still flow much better than stock, and not noticeably less than the other expensive ones. 2: Ceramic coated; resists rust, lowers underhood temps, looks great for years. 3: Stainless steel; most expensive, does not rust at all, longest life. The cheap brand of headers work fine (flowtech, pacesetter; aluminized). Most people prefer the pacesetter with ceramic coating. The pacesetters are well-known for long lasting and easy fitment, for the low price. Kooks have about the best performance, but cost a fortune. SLP's stainless ones are good, but have the worst issues with clearence and almost always scrape.
Ypipe:
Any major brand works well. Just make sure you get one that doesnt clamp your exhaust flow and always go for mandrel bent tubing. Most are also availible ceramic-coated.
Cats:
Dual cats rob about a total of 3 RWHP, leave them on if you must, take them off if you desire. Cat removal (!cats) wont cause a noticible difference, but it will be noticeable in sound
Cat-Back:
The most comon size is 3" tubing to the muffler, then 2.5" tailpipes. Some feature a straight through design with a glasspack muffler for maximum flow. The straight through systems give about 5RWHP over the conventional muffler style, but are much louder. There are only two rules to selecting a cat-back. 1: buy whatever you think sounds best, 2: Your choice cannot be flowmaster, they flow poorly with the Fdoby crossflow design, and sound like tin-cans rattling in your rear, but thats also oppinion, even if everyone agrees...
Cutouts:
Cutouts give about an additional 5RWHP over most exhaust setups. They are best installed nearest to the headers.
If anyone else has anything to add, go for it:
Headers:
Long tubes (LT) are hands down the best, unless you have to worry about emissions, then shorties or midlegnth will have to do. There are different types of ways they are sold. 1: Aluminized steel; cheap, budget, rust quickly, but still flow much better than stock, and not noticeably less than the other expensive ones. 2: Ceramic coated; resists rust, lowers underhood temps, looks great for years. 3: Stainless steel; most expensive, does not rust at all, longest life. The cheap brand of headers work fine (flowtech, pacesetter; aluminized). Most people prefer the pacesetter with ceramic coating. The pacesetters are well-known for long lasting and easy fitment, for the low price. Kooks have about the best performance, but cost a fortune. SLP's stainless ones are good, but have the worst issues with clearence and almost always scrape.
Ypipe:
Any major brand works well. Just make sure you get one that doesnt clamp your exhaust flow and always go for mandrel bent tubing. Most are also availible ceramic-coated.
Cats:
Dual cats rob about a total of 3 RWHP, leave them on if you must, take them off if you desire. Cat removal (!cats) wont cause a noticible difference, but it will be noticeable in sound
Cat-Back:
The most comon size is 3" tubing to the muffler, then 2.5" tailpipes. Some feature a straight through design with a glasspack muffler for maximum flow. The straight through systems give about 5RWHP over the conventional muffler style, but are much louder. There are only two rules to selecting a cat-back. 1: buy whatever you think sounds best, 2: Your choice cannot be flowmaster, they flow poorly with the Fdoby crossflow design, and sound like tin-cans rattling in your rear, but thats also oppinion, even if everyone agrees...
Cutouts:
Cutouts give about an additional 5RWHP over most exhaust setups. They are best installed nearest to the headers.
If anyone else has anything to add, go for it:
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