Does an X pipe make a car quiter, louder, less aggressive sound, more aggressive sound, etc? Thanks folks

 

It balances the exhaust not and makes it sound better -

It does not make it much louder, if much it is only a slight difference, quieter= no

Not much change just a better tone and note coming from the existing mufflers

Thanks,Matt

 

Its also lighter than the stock Hpipe. haha.

 

It evens it out and makes it sound better IMHO but not louder.

 

I recently installed a Bassani x-pipe I got from a forum member with Z06 tis and no CAI...yet, but it has a little deeper tone than it did before. Sounds much nicer when I put my foot into it.

 

Made mine louder !

 

It also increases hp/torque slightly. Vette Magazine had an article on a Magnaflow x-pipe installation and before and after dyno runs and it improved torque measureably.

http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/0307vet...nfo/index.html

Automedia had this article.

http://www.automedia.com/Exhaust_X-P...FQQPbAody1dZpA

 

I installed an X-pipe on my '00 to eliminate the resonance and popping I was getting from my B&B Route 66 catback system. Did wonders for that purpose. As a bonus, I would say it did make the exhaust note a bit deeper - although I would not say it made it any louder.

 

it will only make it louder if A: you install long tubes or B: chop the kitty cats off

 

Let's not forget that it will completely eliminate the dreaded exhaust jingle which is inherent with the stock H pipe. My Corsa x-pipe completely eliminated the noise and smoothed out the sound. In other words, it eliminated the exhaust turbulance that was caused by the inferior H-pipe design. It definitely did not make the exhaust louder just deeper.

 

When I installed my x-pipe it made the car more responsive, Smoother and a better sound, Almost exotic sounding.

 

I was thinking about installing gutted cats. I have heard if you do that you can't legally sell the car that way.

 

Well you cant legally gut the cats in the first place...

 

We got to meet up so I can hear it

 

I noticed that it eliminated a lot of the popping on downshifts and deceleration. It also made the sound higher pitched/smoother sounding. Less like an oldschool muscle car I guess is the best way to describe it. It's not bad...I kinda wish I could go back sometimes, but the power gains are nice and the less popping is also nice.

Dope

 

Y'all running 2.5" or 3" aftermarket x-pipes? I'd like to use my titanium exhaust so should I get the 2.5"? I'm looking for a 3" x-pipe that just narrows to 2.5" at the end.

 

Patches, if don't mind me asking: I remember a write up you did on the installation of the NXT STEP exhaust on your wife's vette. Did you also install an X pipe and if so which manufacturer, and did you also ever post the before and after sound clips of the NXT STEP? Thanks.

 

Maybe more than you wanted to know but here goes:
A side benefit of an X-pipe, over an H-pipe, in addition to a greater scavenging effect, is a "smoothing" of the exhaust tone and a reduction in the "popping" sound, that seems to come with many aftermarket exhausts, and some people don't like. With just an H-pipe, each exhaust pulse travels down it's exhaust pipe until it comes to the H-pipe. At that point, some of the pulse will cross over into the other exhaust pipe because of differential pressure (lower pressure on the non-firing side), creating the aforementioned scavenging effect. As some of the pulse is crossing over, and, therefore, taking a longer path out to the tailpipe, the result is basically non-synchronous pulses out the tail pipes, and one larger than the other.
With an X-pipe, both exhaust paths join. So now, when an exhaust pulse exits the X-pipe, a relatively equal amount of pulse is traveling down each exhaust pipe. The result is relatively equally sized, synchronous, exhaust pulses exiting the tailpipes, thereby "smoothing" the sound. This is in addition to a greater scavenging effect due to the larger pulse exiting the non-firing side tailpipe.

Power-wise, the June, 2001, issue of Hot Rod conducted an X-pipe test. They discussed how they work, then ran a car on a dyno, and the strip, with open headers; mufflers & pipes w/o a crossover; mufflers and pipes with an H-pipe; finally, mufflers and pipes with an X-pipe. These are the results:
a) Test Vehicle / 1970 Olds 4-4-2 w/350 block and modified
b) Where first seen / NASCAR guys began using X-pipes
c) X-pipe design theory - "By running the two exhaust pipes together in this fashion, the alternating pulses in each bank can work to create the same type of scavenging action in the other."
d) Works best on a V8 engine running 300-500 hp because the volumetric efficiency is not as great as on a 700-800 hp V8 engine.
e) Dyno pulls:
1) Open header - 430 hp @6850 rpm, 384 lb-ft @5600 rpm
2) 3" exhaust pipes w/Straightline mufflers and no crossover - 412 hp @6650 rpm, 371 lb-ft @5600 rpm
3) Same setup as #2 except with an H-pipe - 419 hp @6600 rpm, 378 lb-ft @5600 rpm
4) Same setup as #2 except with an X-pipe - 428 hp @6600 rpm, 391 lb-ft @5600 rpm

Strip tests:
1) Open header - 1.65 sec 60', 10.885 sec @123.89 mph
2) No run with the exhaust system w/o a crossover
3) Exhaust system w/Straightlines and full pipes and an H-pipe - 1.55 sec 60', 11.007 sec @121.33 mph
4) Exhaust system w/Straightlines and full pipes and an X-pipe - 1.62 sec 60', 10.897 sec @124.13 mph
This car, which used to run open headers at the strip, now runs with a dual exhaust system with an X-pipe. More details in the magazine, naturally, but very interesting, I thought.
However, as mentioned in the article, X-pipes are most effective when they are mounted right after the headers.
Ed

 

Cool, just send me a text when you're available....or when it quits raining

 

So much for the folks who say a catback and x pipe makes no performance gains!