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Opinion needed

greenmachine

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hi
I'm ready for exhaust. I have 69 coronet with a approx 500 hp 600 ft lb. 440. Doug's headers. I saw frieburgers hot rod garage about 3" vs 2.5". My exhaust guy doesn't wanna do up and over the rear axle with 3". I was thinking 2.5" from headers back with y's and block off plates. That way I can gain that 10 hp loss from using 2.5" vs the 3" with uncorked headers basically. And 2.5 is cheaper and easier to work with. Looking for insight.
 
Tell your "exhaust guy" to screw off and either find someone else or buy a pre-bent kit from TTI or Flowmaster. The pre-bent kits are mandrel bent so they maintain the same diameter even through the bends.
I get really pissed when I hear about lazy prick exhaust guys that don't want to do what the customer wants. **** those guys....the customer wants something, either they do it or they should refer the customer to somewhere else.
 
What kern said.

Your exhaust guy is more interested in making a quick buck than you being happy with the final product. I’d youre motor make that power you need the 3” exhaust IMO.
 
IDK? I don't like the look of the 3"er's out the back, but that's me. It's your car, your call. All I know is, I'd hate to have KD as a customer in my shop.:poke::poke:
 
Speaking as someone who owns one with 3" all the way back (bought the car that way), I'd strongly urge you to go with the 2.5"
if that doesn't hurt your power output.
Strong emphasis there on the "no loss" part.
I can tell you life with the 3" duals is tougher on anything you work on under the car; it always seems to get in the way, much more
so than you'd think from just that little increase from 2.5", not to mention when you have it down out of the way to work on something
and go to put it back, you gotta get it just right or it invariably rattles on something later.
We won't even go into how loud the stuff is, because that can be mitigated by muffler selection, of course - something else the former
owner of mine didn't really do (single chamber Flowmaster wanna be's); the heat transmitted into the cabin is yet another consideration,
too.
It gets darn hot in my car, even with full insulation and carpeting. Almost leads me to wanting to insulate/wrap the whole exhaust system.
Not kidding.
Former owner did it for the sound, he says - and from outside the car, it does sound appropriately nasty.
Inside? Loud as hell. :)
 
I’d go 2.5” and order from TTI.
 
I have a 3” flow master kit that i had to do a little modifying the tail pipes to get them lined up correctly out the bacl and have 3” to stock style stainless tips. The install is great and I have no issues. I even have 3” y pipes to electic cutouts. Car was dynod at 550hp and works great. I would not be scared of the 3” but i would try TTI next time.
 
IDK? I don't like the look of the 3"er's out the back, but that's me. It's your car, your call. All I know is, I'd hate to have KD as a customer in my shop.:poke::poke:
I quit going to a certain shop in town because the muffler monkey was a lazy piece of ****. I'd bring in Darts or Dusters and he would want to put 2" pipes off of the manifolds because of the multiple bends. He'd complain about the RH tailpipe being too hard to fit between the gas tank and the leaf springs. When I installed a Gear Vendors OD in my Charger, I wanted a removeable H pipe built so I could easily remove the exhaust to swap transmissions/torque converters, other stuff...He said..."Ahhh, just bring it back in when you finish up, I'll just weld it up at the joints. That was it for me. I wanted something specific, something surely within the skill set of a journey level muffler man and he was too damn lazy to do it.
Either you are a competent tech or you are a hack....
I went to another shop with a friends car. He wanted the pipes tucked up within 2" from the floorpan. Due to the angle down at the rear of the engine, (And with headers) the exhaust pipes need a slight bend upward to fit close. We told the idiot exactly what was needed. 4 hours later we roll back in to see the car parked out front with the pipes hanging down....clearly visible from the side with no attempt to fit up close as was asked. My friend was polite even though it was not what he wanted and later took it to another shop to have it modified to fit better.
Is that good service? No, it is not. Either do the job right or refer the customer to another shop.
 
After I got a little better at welding, I practiced fitting my own exhaust in my cars. I've been able to fit a 2 1/2" pipe off of 340 manifolds in A body cars. It took more time than a shop for a few reasons, one being that I had no pipe bender and I had to piece it together with multiple short bends. What I ask for is possible...If I can do it, a seasoned tech should be able to as well.
 
Do the exhaust the way you want it . If the tech is competent 3 inch is easily doable .
If you can't find someone to do it order the kit .
 
Sounds like 3" is my answer. I'm thinking magnaflow for mufflers. I appreciate the info guys. I kinda felt like he was pushing back pretty hard against 3". On another note, a hot 440 with open headers sounds amazing!
 
The exhaust shop I've used has no problem doing 3" but they charge a lot...so I did the last two on my car myself. First was a cheap-o jegs 2-1/2" system, I've since switched to TTI's full 3". '68 Plymouth. I got them in and adjusted for fit how i wanted then welded the joints, and ditched the clamps. If you don't have access to a welder you can install the system with clamps and then take it to a shop to just have it welded.
 
If you want 3" exhaust, get it. But you certainly don't need it with 500 hp.
 
The difference in 2.5 to 3 is for all practical purposes negligible. Cost & convenience should be the deciding factor.
 
Scrap the cutouts and spend the money elsewhere.
Don’t be the guy with open headers running 12 second ET’s
 
hi
I'm ready for exhaust. I have 69 coronet with a approx 500 hp 600 ft lb. 440. Doug's headers. I saw frieburgers hot rod garage about 3" vs 2.5". My exhaust guy doesn't wanna do up and over the rear axle with 3". I was thinking 2.5" from headers back with y's and block off plates. That way I can gain that 10 hp loss from using 2.5" vs the 3" with uncorked headers basically. And 2.5 is cheaper and easier to work with. Looking for insight.
Going from a 3 inch exhaust necked down to a 2-1/2 exhaust is exactly the same as running a full 2-1/2 exhaust. You will not gain any power back.

The power difference is not a lot but the sound decibels is! That should be part of the deciding factor for street bound cars. The other factor is muffler flow. More the merry and a overkill is just about right when searching for power.

For ease, TTI’s prebent exhaust system will probably be the best and need a little trimming for an exact and good fit. The mid pipes are where you will trim. Get the whole set up. Exhaust hangers at the muffler and at the tail pipe just make life easier when your hanging it. And hang it loose until you have a final fitting. And it fits well.
 
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