Year One carrys a variety of exhaust components for the vehicles we service. Some of the items are restoration type, some are simply service replacement items, and some items are “performance” related.
Restoration type parts are duplicates of original equipment. The part looks like it should and fits like original.
Service replacement parts are items that will service the car. They may not look like the original component but should fit and function fine.
There are 2 levels of performance. Stock, performance exhaust systems… systems origonally offered by the factory on high performance street cars and aftermarket upgrades (headers, larger exhaust pipe, freer flowing mufflers, etc…).
We typically leave it up to the car owner to determine what would work best for them, however here are some basic ideas to consider:
Sound – stock systems tend to be quiet. Power equates to increased noise. Mufflers tailor the exhaust note of the engine. A loud car is cool – for about 5 minutes.
Maintenance & Installation – A performance exhaust system is designed to maximize power – not be easy to install or work on.
Fit – Again, if the car must have performance equipment on it – you’ll make it fit. The stock equipment is designed to be compact and serviceable. Larger exhaust pipes, header tubes, dual mufflers under the floor, etc… are designed to maximize power. Ideally, a correctly installed system will fit nicely, but it may not fit straight out of the box and may require you to do things you hadn’t planned on (i.e. lifting the engine up).
Durability – stock exhaust manifolds are heavy. Original exhaust pipe was mild steel and rusted quickly. Our exhaust systems tend to be aluminized, so they’ll resist the urge to rust.
Appearance – stock equipment looks stock. Performance equipment does not. In addition to this, uncoated exhaust headers will rust immediately and turn brown. If appearance is important and you must run headers – have your headers ceramic coated AFTER YOU MAKE SURE THEY’LL FIT.
Some general exhaust tips:
If you have any concerns about a header fitting your specific application – test fit the headers 1st, then get them coated.
Also, breaking in an new engine tends to hurt a coated headers finish.
Starting your car and not running it for any length of time (long enough to burn off the condensation/water that’ll accumulate in the mufflers) will rot out stock exhaust equipment quickly.
Due to the variations on cars – we can’t say with 100% certainty that a header for your car WILL fit. It SHOULD fit. It MAY fit fine, or it MAY NOT fit. If you want a guaranteed fit – use stock exhaust manifolds.
3″ exhaust pipe – is generally unnecessary unless you have a 500+ cubic inch engine, or operate at higher RPM ranges. In addition to being too big, it tends to cost more and be harder to fit onto the car. A high performance car typically works fine with 2.5″ exhaust pipe.
H-pipes, X-pipes, etc… these are actually effective in increasing power, and reducing noise. The only downside to these is fit…
Ground clearance – a well designed exhaust system should fit close to the underside of the car, however, if you lower your car too much, you’ll drag your exhaust on the ground.
