yes, other than sound, there is no "significant" increase in power with an aftermarket cat back exhaust.

 

Great reply, the key to having the X pipe is added performance, not sound, I bought the corsa X pipe based on GM's sucking, I have Pace car mufflers and love the sound, next phase TPIS headers...

 

I think your my new hero.

 

It cracks me up when I hear people say after-market exhausts don't provide benefits other than sound. But, then again, many Corvette owners don't push their cars, so they can't experience the benefit. In fact, alot of posts on this forum talk about driving the speed limit, and cruising, so I guess it's not surprising to hear people say that.

I wonder what ET thinks whenever he hears people post stuff like that? I think I smell a weenie roast!

 

"Oh I wish I were a Corvette Forum weenie........"

I bougth a Cat-back system because the factory pipes on the back of my 2000 vette looked too puny, and ended too soon. In the car, there was more noise, but with the Cat-back system, the pipes stick out further, and there is actually less noise at cruising speed.

I would buy an X-pipe to reduce the pops at deceleration, mostly. Of course, scavenging is an argument I would use, in the right group of enthusiests.

I don't use but about 60% of the available power the car has, anyway. I can't take the convertible out on a track , and I prefer not to breack too many local laws .

 

does it matter what brand of xpipe? or are they all the same?

 

I would personally go with whatever brand of mufflers you are running. For instance, if you have a Corsa set-up, go with their X because the engineers surely tuned everything with their respsctive brands during the engineering/testing phases.

That's just my 2 cents, which equals nothing to all others.

 

im putting n bb bullets do they have an xpipe? i looked on the site and didnt see one.

 

Well said. Got mine installed just today and the difference is very noticeable. It definitely reduces popping on deceleration and also reduces the dreaded 1500 rpm drone. Well worth the money IMO.

 

Yes exactly. Thank you.


I also apologize for spelling yield wrong in my initial post, as well

 

I have a MN6 so the drone isn't to bad, plus it's a vert. But I put on the X pipe cause i hated the popping of decel. Deffinately reduced this factor by alot.

 

I push my car every single day and have been for the last 97,000 miles. I have GHL cat-back exhaust and I love them. They didn't give me 40 hp when I put them on though. They gave maybe 3-4hp and I stopped feeling that in about two weeks on the "in my head dyno". They did, however, give me a killer sound that really wakes up at around 120 mph, but I guess that wouldn't be pushing it. That is just cruising at the speed limit.

And as far as what ET thinks? I am sure that he has a wealth of knowledge on the C5 and other vehicles as well, but it sounds to me like you are thinking about ETs weenie a little too much .

 

Of course you didn't get 40 hp. I sure hope you didn't expect to get 40hp from an after-market exhaust, because even manufacturers' ads don't claim even 1/2 that. Is it possible you confused the advertised HP increase of cat-backs with increased HP that long-tube headers might get you, or something? Many manufacturers of cat-backs typically claim between 14 and 18 hp, which is probably about right at the crank.

But I tell you what - your car is expelling exhaust WAY better than it did stock with those GHLs. But, I can tell from your post you've never just done an air filter mod with a stock exhaust, then put an after-market exhaust on later. I did this twice, on a C4 and a C5, and both times the exhaust made a significant difference. Same holds true if you do other engine internals mods. Tell me just a mild cam even without better heads won't perform better on a car with an after-market exhaust than on one with stock mufflers, and I'll show you someone who's got their hand on their weenie too much instead of the shifter.

Besides, HP is nothing but a number to many people, especially because true HP helps you sustain the power at high speed, and many people don't even have the need for a huge HP. There's much more to performance than HP. It's also about how efficiently your engine can get you from 0 - whatever. Simply put, if your engine has a better output flow, it's going to get from 0 - whatever that much more efficiently, period. Pure and simple physics.

And FWIW, 120mph is the point at which you START to push 4th gear in a 6-speed, so you guessed right, you're NOT pushing it. Let us know when you get 135mph in 4th.

back

 

"But I tell you what - your car is expelling exhaust WAY better than it did stock with those GHLs. But, I can tell from your post you've never just done an air filter mod with a stock exhaust, then put an after-market exhaust on later. I did this twice, on a C4 and a C5, and both times the exhaust made a significant difference. Same holds true if you do other engine internals mods. Tell me just a mild cam even without better heads won't perform better on a car with an after-market exhaust than on one with stock mufflers, and I'll show you someone who's got their hand on their weenie too much instead of the shifter."

This is so true. I did just as you said with the incremental steps and I can tell you one thing. I noticed a difference. I also notice how it feels at high speeds. Anytime you allow more air to flow and allow it to flow with less restriction you are going to produce more HP. Afterall, isn't a motor just an air pump? The better you inhale and exhale the air the better your car is going to run.

 

LeadFoot,
I am not new to the Corvette World and am well aware of difference between headers and cat-backs. What I thought we were talking about was a stock car. If someone had $900.00 to spend and came to me and said I want performance out of my car should I get a cat-back or Bilsteins (or 04 Z06 shocks) and Z06 sways all around? The answer would be suspension because they will see a much greater result from suspension than from a cat-back on a stock car. They will enjoy the sound of the exhaust. but it will not give significant hp.

I had SLP loudmouths on for a while a couple of years back. No one can dispute that those are free flowing. I went back to stock and the car had a ton more lower end torque. I believe that the SLPs hurt my performance.

Oh yeah, 120mph is just for my commute in the morning


And I give you some

 

Hey.....that's really cool...

 

I now see where you were coming from. You didn't quite put it that way, which is whay I got confused.

Yes, I believe that is possible. If the after-market exhaust is too free flowing, you could end up losing some OOMPF on initial acceleration. Of course, for sustaining a particular speed, the engine would be working more efficiently, but yeah, I can see that.

That's the one reason I wish I didn't work from home, so that I'd HAVE a commute where I can drive my car! Right now, my only traffic is when my wife is in the hallway!

You're IT!