I am currently still trying to decide just which exhaust I want (leaning towards a Greddy SE), but I am worried that an aftermarket exhaust might scrape, has anyone ever had issues with this, and what did you do to fix it? My second question is about exhausts in general, and put simply, it is what are the differences from one exhaust to the other? (Other than sound, of course)
Lastly, when buying, what parts will I need to replace that would probably not come with everything else (gaskets or something maybe?)
A few questions about exhaust.
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Cloudius300zx
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- Car: 1991 Nissan 300zx TT, less than 70 000 miles.
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es.biggs
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- Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 10:32 am
- Car: 1990 300ZX 5sp NA
- Location: Charlotte, NC
Re: A few questions about exhaust.
Don't worry about the exhaust scraping. If you stock exhaust doesn't scrape, an aftermarket shouldn't either. I've never had that problem.
Exhausts vary in design...smoother bends in the piping means air can flow more freely through the pipes. The straighter and smoother the piping, the better the performance. Specialty Z and HKS make great performing exhausts. There are others I am sure, but I don't know from the top of my head. Researching the brands should be easy - there is a lot of information about them on here. Other than sound and performance, looks are also an important factor to most. Some people prefer the quad tips look, some prefer the HKS style, etc....angled and one top per muffler. Personally, I'm not crazy about the HKS looks, but I think they look ok, sometimes. Depends on the day of the week I guess lol. Another less common option is a single exit exhaust, where the two sides merge into one and leave out of one muffler. Meh.
If you are sticking with dual exhaust setup, you can choose if you want an H-pipe or an X-pipe. These go in between the catalytic converters (cats) and the mufflers. H pipes are supposedly quieter. X pipes are supposedly louder. X pipes have very small performance gains over the H pipe - probably not even enough to call it significant. I would choose this based on the sound you want. You can also have resonators installed here - I would definitely recommend that if you drive the Z often. Resonators take some rasp out of the exhaust sound, making it sound deeper and a little bit quieter.
You will need gaskets for the pipes. Two for the part where the H or X pipe connects to the cats, and two for the part where the mufflers attach to the X or H pipe. Most people go with the paper type of gasket, but some use liquid or spray.
Exhausts vary in design...smoother bends in the piping means air can flow more freely through the pipes. The straighter and smoother the piping, the better the performance. Specialty Z and HKS make great performing exhausts. There are others I am sure, but I don't know from the top of my head. Researching the brands should be easy - there is a lot of information about them on here. Other than sound and performance, looks are also an important factor to most. Some people prefer the quad tips look, some prefer the HKS style, etc....angled and one top per muffler. Personally, I'm not crazy about the HKS looks, but I think they look ok, sometimes. Depends on the day of the week I guess lol. Another less common option is a single exit exhaust, where the two sides merge into one and leave out of one muffler. Meh.
If you are sticking with dual exhaust setup, you can choose if you want an H-pipe or an X-pipe. These go in between the catalytic converters (cats) and the mufflers. H pipes are supposedly quieter. X pipes are supposedly louder. X pipes have very small performance gains over the H pipe - probably not even enough to call it significant. I would choose this based on the sound you want. You can also have resonators installed here - I would definitely recommend that if you drive the Z often. Resonators take some rasp out of the exhaust sound, making it sound deeper and a little bit quieter.
You will need gaskets for the pipes. Two for the part where the H or X pipe connects to the cats, and two for the part where the mufflers attach to the X or H pipe. Most people go with the paper type of gasket, but some use liquid or spray.
Re: A few questions about exhaust.
I prefer x pipe simply because I would think it would aid better in scavenging, they are both going to achieve equalizing exhaust pressure well