Exhaust for Power

[ET]

Yo,
Fellow Explorer-ers, I plan on upgrading my exhaust system(94 4door 4wd xlt). I'm looking for power gains mainly. My plan is to go with a dual system after the O2 sensor( Or rather, where the stocks heads end). I'm sure that it will be a challenge to do and I'd rather not go for it unless it improves horsepower/torque. Is a dual system worth the trouble? Would a high performance single exhaust system work just as well. I'm gutting the whole thing, with high flow catalytic converter and new muffler's. I don't have a spare (thanks to 31's) so I won't have to worry about that. I know there is no single answer to these questions as I have read the previous post; some say dual( or "semi-dual") is not good for backpressure, some say it rocks.

My thinking is that since it won't be dual all the way, I should have enough backpressure. I guess I'll find out. At any rate, I would just like to know if I can expect more power and if so how much. Anybody have an Idea?


Later,
Eric

BF Goodrich AT/KO's Rock

 

[Ray Lobato]

Hi Eric,
Well I think the question sould really be How much more will a dual exhust system do in comparasion to a good performance single exhust. The answer to that is not much in a stock to lightly modified 4.0L engine. It's not going to knock seconds of you score in comparrison to the high performance single exhust. What will it do for you. It will empty your pocket book faster then a single exhust system, because it's gotta be custom made. Do you already have headers? If not, you really need to get them. Remember, Speed costs, so make sure you choose wisely, and go for what you know for fact will work. I have seen too many people who wanted to get performance from their vehicle and do wrong, by adding this thing or that thing, but what they should really be buying, they haven't bought it. They see these incredible claims from company X"this new igition system will give you 20% more horse power" That's BS. Stick to the basics Exhust(headers catback hiflow cat) input(performance filter,MAF,throttle body, supercharger), then the chip. From there, you start going into the engine. The dual exhust is good if your are looking to knock off hunderdths of a second. Sorry for the long rant. Dead Link Removed
Hope this helps

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Happy Wheelin'
Ray L.
97 XLT 4X4 4.0L SOHC
Dead Link Removed

[This message has been edited by Ray Lobato (edited 03-16-2000).]

 

[Cameron]

Hey Eric,

Ray is absolutely correct but I’ll go one further. Whether you have dual or single exhaust is irrelevant to HP gains. It is the diameter of the pipe that maters(or combined volume of both pipes) .

I have dual exhaust on my 97 Sport primarily because I like the way it looks. It’s hard to say whether or not there was a performance increase. I think there was but I may be being fooled my the louder rumble from the exhaust and just think its faster. A phenomenon experienced by all those Honda owners that install the 14-inch diameter tail pipes.

As far as back pressure is concerned, as long as you keep the catalytic converter (and I strongly recommend that you do) and a muffler, preferably a dual out as opposed to a y splitter you should maintain sufficient back pressure. I don’t believe I have seen anywhere on this site, definitive facts about the effects of decreasing back pressure and it’s effects on performance. I wish I had access to a 4-wheel dyno.


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Rock'n 97 Sport 4X4