SHOULD YOU BUY AN AFTERMARKET EXHAUST FOR YOUR CAR ?

Buying a car can be great fun, but no matter how good your new vehicle is, there is always room for improvement. Most car and truck manufacturers leave room for us normal people to improve, or ruin their products. That’s not to say the original vehicle isn’t good, but in that good old American fashion, we always want to better our situation, in this case, our cars.

One of the easiest and cheapest upgrades one can do is an exhaust system. Sadly, many people add exhausts to cars that don’t need them, like Dodge Neons. A performance exhaust can free up some of the power in your engine by allowing the gases to escape a bit easier. When the gases can escape, your engine runs smoother.

Anyway, when the exhaust flows better, the fuel and air exit the combustion chamber faster and new fuel and air can be burned to create more power.

This works well for certain cars, but for some, the only effect that a bigger exhaust has is more noise. Putting a performance exhaust on a 1.8-liter Honda Civic won’t help the power all the much, but it’ll make it sound like a fart can.

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On the other hand, a Ford Mustang with a new exhaust system will sound like an old school muscle car and will add a bit more horsepower, not that it needs it. The reason this happens is down to the volume of exhaust gas produced. With more gas comes more power. That being said, no exhaust is going to give you massive power gains, so if you want a serious boost then you should look elsewhere.

So, should you get a performance exhaust and how much power are you really getting by adding one?

Well, that depends. There isn’t much to gain by adding one to a smaller engine, but if you have already added an intake and performance headers than an exhaust is the obvious next step. However, adding an exhaust and an exhaust only is not a wise move. It just makes things loud and makes your car look very ridiculous.

The most beneficial way to use a performance exhaust is on a turbocharged engine. When the exhaust gas can flows through the turbocharger with the least resistance as possible, not only will you gain power, but you will also get a wider powerband. Not bad eh.

The turbocharger will spool up faster and will give the car more power at a lower engine rpm. If you want more power out of your Volkswagen GTI, a performance exhaust will work wonders.

Most people buy the exhaust for a better noise or a deeper rumble on big V8 motors. Some want their Toyota Celicas to sound like a Ferrari, while others want their Corvettes to sound deep and aggressive. Either way, the exhaust system will fit those needs.