The Benefits of Performance Exhausts and How to Choose

Want more from your car without breaking the bank? If it’s performance gains you’re after, then the improved airflow that comes with an aftermarket exhaust brings more horsepower, increased torque and a deeper, throatier exhaust note. This, this along with a equally-capable air intake, is also the foundation around which all other performance upgrades are based.

The formula is simple: increase the amount of cool, oxygen-rich air coming into the engine, and rid spent gases faster to allow for smoother and more efficient combustion cycles. The process can be achieved by adding exhaust separates such as wider-diameter headers or straight tubes, but the best results come with a complete exhaust system that removes a large chunk of the existing piping with better-built pre-assembled units consisting of several well-matched parts.

What Qualifies as a Performance Exhaust?

To know where your money is being spent when opting for a performance exhaust, consider the shortcomings of stock systems. The first hurdle is airflow. The narrower tubing snaking around the different undercarriage parts causes airflow restrictions. The major hurdle is increased backpressure, with spent gasses lingering too long in the exhaust piping, and some making its way back to the combustion chamber, effectively choking the engine, and preventing the next combustion cycle.

This hurts performance and limits engine output. The second consideration is build and materials. Factory systems are made of crush-bent mild steel that’s short of the required strength to sustain the higher temperatures and pressures that come with more power. Kinking, deforming and rupturing are common symptoms in factory exhausts that you’re having to fun. Related is rusting in wet and humid climates. Performance exhaust go one up to include coated and treated stainless steel formed with mandrel bends that ensure pipe uniformity and strength in all driving and weather conditions for increased longevity.

Lastly, the mellow or missing sound from the exhaust is void of any character. This is directly related to the restrictive designs that slow airflow and hence quieten things down. Moreover, emissions controls with catalytic converters further restrict airflow. Workarounds are high-flow converters that offer better burning of pollutants without impacting exhaust velocity, or the speed spent gases exit the vehicle.

Benefits of Performance Exhaust Systems

With straighter layouts, wider tubing, strengthened materials and more attention to detail, a complete aftermarket system provides numerous benefits:

• Increased horsepower and torque – a complete exhaust system, with new pats from the manifolds to the tips, can raise overall engine power by up to 10 per cent. Moreover, there’s ample torque available at lower rev ranges, so the vehicle is more eager to build power without having to work the acceleration pedal harder. Low-to-mid range torque sees the best improvement, resulting in faster acceleration, easier overtaking, and higher top speeds.
• Improved durability – mandrel-bent austenitic stainless steel won’t kink, deform or rupture when encountering hot gases or higher pressures as engine loads rise. Advanced production processes like heat treatment and coating also ward off staining, colouration or rusting. And while systems are made of pre-assembled parts bolted or welded together, they include fasteners in higher steel grades and seamless welds for more structural integrity.
• Sound tuning – most exhaust manufacturers have patented or proprietary tech to tune the exhaust sound. This can be with different muffler and resonator combinations (and with or without internal baffles), the use of less restrictive straight piping for smoother airflow (along part or the whole length of the tubing), vibration-resistant brackets and hardware to rule out resonance and droning, and valving in tailpipes or tips. Options range from mild to aggressive and countless of sound profiles in between.
• Customization options – choose a complete system or shop for separate parts. There are dozens of options to meet different needs,
• Improved looks – cleaner welds, recessed joints, metals in polished, matte or coated finishes and eye-catching tip designs are just a few details that add to the overall look.

‘Completes’ vs. Separates

Complete systems (or ‘completes’) come in three configurations. Axle-back systems have new piping from the rear axle to the tips, with new mufflers, resonators and tailpipes. These are more about sound tuning than performance, with minimal power gains. The better build, or choice or tips does add longevity and improved visual appeal, but the engine won’t see tangible power gains.

Move up to cat-back systems for improved throttle response, faster acceleration and more substance in the exhaust note. These add wider, straighter mid-pipes (either in single or dual layouts depending on engine displacement) to extract spent gases faster. As mentioned, faster airflow translates to more efficient combustion and more power.

For the highest power gains, choose complete header or turbo-back systems. This full layout changes the entire factory piping with new parts, from the manifolds to the tips. Wider header piping helps with scavenging, or the vacuum that creates a pulsating effect in the combustion chamber (and exhaust valves) to draw spent gas out faster. Engines with forced induction also benefit from redirecting backpressure to the turbo for faster spooling and lower turbo lag. The advantages continue with straighter layouts, X and H-mid-pipes, improved filtering with high flow catalytic converters and parts include in cat and axle-back systems. This is the system to get for all-out performance, either for the street or track.

Besides opting for a complete exhaust, car owners can also choose manifolds, headers, separate down, mid and tailpipes, mufflers and tips (in any combination) and add them to existing piping. When buying cars parts and exhaust systems, ensure compatibility with the engine, the width of the tubing for correct sizing, and build quality with high-grade metals.