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is it a good idea to straight pipe your C5...will it make my vert lose or gain any horsepower...does gm complain about it or use it as a excuse when you take your car in for warrenty work??
Dude, it'll be so friggin loud - my buddy bought a C5 where only one side of the exhaust was broken right where the over axle pipe started - and the exhaust was hangin on. It was really loud! Didn't sound smooth though, like my Borla XR1
I have straight exhaust on my 2004 Vert, I had chambered and decided to go with staright. Took out the chambered portion and replaced with pipe (J bends). Super loud at WOT, but believe it or not it is quiter at cruise than the chambered exhaust was. I had it on my 2001 coupe and it seems to be a little louder on the 2004, I haven't researched why yet, must have something to do with cats. I told the wife I thought it was loud and she said she liked it, so it's still on. A friend has the same thing on a 98 all stock except the exhaust dyno'd at 310 rwhp. As for the dealer I don't know what they will say or do, my son is a certified GM tech at a Chevy dealership so I don't have any problems, and my setup can be changed in about thirty minutes if you have a lift.
I would not run straight pipes for a couple reasons: its illegal in most, if not all, states and I would think it would hinder performance, as exhaust evacuation should provide some back pressure for proper engine function. However, I'm not sure what you mean by straight pipe. Cat back or from the header? The existing header is the biggest culprit for optimal performance. If I was to consider such a mod, I would start with a tuned long tube header, no cats if you don't need to be concerned with emission testing, and then a tuned free flow cat back such as B&B Bullets. But, what do I know??? Just my $00.02 worth.
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I too thought you needed some exhaust backpressure to run well. Don't know if I would like the noise either. Let us know if you decide to do this and how it turns out.