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Question about side pipes

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Old May 4, 2005 | 01:17 PM
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I am installing a set of Hooker side mount headers and pipes. I now have the pipes mocked up to the side of the car, and it appears that the opening at the back end of the pipes (where it turns out), is slightly angled upward. I think it looks pretty cool, but then again I don't want my pipes to fill up with water when it rains. I can bend the mounting tabs to change this, if anyone thinks I should. Is this normal?
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Old May 4, 2005 | 01:31 PM
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I'm not sure, here is a picture of my car with them on there. I did not install them, the previous owner did.
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Old May 4, 2005 | 02:08 PM
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You can adjust that. The bushings have enough give in them that you can angle the pipe a few degrees either direction before you lock everything down.

Mine point down ever-so-slightly.
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Old May 4, 2005 | 02:17 PM
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Just how loud are these....They seem appealing, but do want to be able to converse and hear the stereo.
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Old May 4, 2005 | 03:07 PM
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I bought brand new hooker header and sidepipes for my 68 to replace the old ones. Before they put the mufflers, the rebuilt 454 was practically unbearable at idle .. my dad drove it a few times within 2 weeks and he had to get the mufflers .. With the mufflers, you can hear the radio etc, but they do open up on the highway. I don't know how much exactly, as it's still only a few hundred miles on the rebuild, and havn't done anything extreme .. If you have no mufflers .. then I don't think you'll be able to hear much :p

At least our mufflers are removeable, so going to remove them every once in a while.

kosta
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Old May 4, 2005 | 04:25 PM
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You can make them almost as quiet as an under-car performance system or as loud as God. Your choice. Performance is inversly proportional to loudness.
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Old May 4, 2005 | 05:12 PM
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mine point slightly down also. how do we take the mufflers out? disco the sidepipes at the fitting? I assume the mufflers(baffles whatever) sit right there near the collector? whats the best way to remove the sidepipe from the header without damaging it aesthetically? thanks! Dave
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Old May 4, 2005 | 05:12 PM
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I cut off the forward mounting tab on my sidetubes, don't see the need for it. Anyway I bent the remaining tab slightly and angled mine downward...I think it looks right

Last edited by yellow 72; May 4, 2005 at 05:18 PM.
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Old May 4, 2005 | 05:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Sacredgrooves
mine point slightly down also. how do we take the mufflers out? disco the sidepipes at the fitting? I assume the mufflers(baffles whatever) sit right there near the collector? whats the best way to remove the sidepipe from the header without damaging it aesthetically? thanks! Dave
As I've been installing them and removing them repeatedly over the past couple of days, I've been using a Craftsman strap wrench to twist the pipe back and forth.
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Old May 4, 2005 | 05:45 PM
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Originally Posted by yellow 72
I cut off the forward mounting tab on my sidetubes, don't see the need for it. Anyway I bent the remaining tab slightly and angled mine downward...I think it looks right
I think I like that look better than the way mine are sitting right now. I've got some bending to do.
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Old May 4, 2005 | 05:46 PM
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Originally Posted by CGGorman
You can make them almost as quiet as an under-car performance system or as loud as God. Your choice. Performance is inversly proportional to loudness.
Does this mean the car performs better with open pipes, or the opposite?
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Old May 4, 2005 | 09:41 PM
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Originally Posted by 80vettowner
Does this mean the car performs better with open pipes, or the opposite?
In many cases opposite.
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Old May 5, 2005 | 10:20 AM
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Open pipes (with properly designed headers) generally perform better at high RPMs. The lack of backpressure can sometimes hurt the low end. When people claim that open pipes hurt performance they are usually dealing with an improperly designed exhaust system or an engine that is cammed to to thrive on backpressure.
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Old May 5, 2005 | 11:31 AM
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Originally Posted by CGGorman
Open pipes (with properly designed headers) generally perform better at high RPMs. The lack of backpressure can sometimes hurt the low end. When people claim that open pipes hurt performance they are usually dealing with an improperly designed exhaust system or an engine that is cammed to to thrive on backpressure.
The key is "properly designed headers". In recent dyno testing I did on my engine, we tested three different exhaust configurations and the results were surprising to me. The long Hooker side pipe headers decreased HP by about 20 compared to good headers. also, mufflers slightly increased HP but decreased torque compared with the open Hooker side pipe headers. The three configurations were: 1) Open under car 2" ID headers with 4" collector, 2) open Hooker side pipe headers with no side pipes, and 3) Hooker header sidepipes with mufflers. The results were as follows:

1) 655 Ft Lbs at 3600 RPM and 642 HP at 6000 RPM
2) 655 Ft Lbs at 4000 RPM and 630 HP at 5800 RPM
3) 635 Ft Lbs at 4600 RPM and 632 HP at 5800 RPM

In total we did 34 pulls and tried to optimise timing and jeting for each configuration.
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