Quote:
Originally posted by blind34_1
I need opinions. My car (90 civic si hatch, 1.6 sohc) needs new exhaust badly. Questions are:
Will headers sound like crap on my car? Dont headers require two exhaust pipes to acheive the purpose of headers? do I not understand what headers are? If not, what brands are good?
Can someone define what a cat-back exhaust is? I just dont know.
I had a new "performance" muffler and chrome tipped pipes put on a while back. Can I still use these parts if I were to get a new system (headers, cat-back, new piping, whatever) or would that not be a good idea?
Is more restriction good or bad? I dont know the diameter of my current pipes, but if I increased the size, does performance increase?
Anything else I'll need to consider...?
thanks guys
|
A header
will change the tone output of your exhaust system, but as for it sounding like crap or not, that's subjective. A header is basically a bunch of tubes that allow the exhaust gases exiting from your engine (when the exhaust valves open) to flow away from the engine compartment and passenger compartment and out through the cat where pollutants are removed and turned into less harmful substances.
When you talk about dual exhausts and headers, you might be thinking of a "V" setup where the cylinders are on opposite sides ... V8, V6, V10, etc. But on a 1.6L D-series Honda engine, all cylinders are in a row, so it's okay to have a single exhaust system.
A cat-back exhaust is just an exhaust system connected to your cat.
You can use your "performance" muffler if you want, but if you're looking for more power, a straight-through muffler would be best. I don't know if yours is or not, though. Just take it to a shop, and tell them you have a muffler and want to use it to make a cat-back exhaust. They'll do the rest for you. Or you could just buy a new straight-through muffler if you don't like the "performance" one, anymore. It's up to you. You could also buy an aftermarket cat-back exhaust from DC Sports, Thermal R&D, etc. It'll cost more than a muffler shop exhaust, though. Make sure to get mandrel bends, too. Unless you're pumping out mad horsepower, it won't really be necessary, but I always suggest it, anyway.
For exhausts, whether custom or from a manufacturer, I always suggest three things:
1) T304 stainless steel ... They'll last a lot longer than aluminum ones and will resist rusting better. They don't have to be shiny and polished, just T304 SS.
2) mandrel-bent piping ... Again, it's not necessary for a car with just basic bolt-ons, but when you're trying to go fast, you need all the horsepower you can get.
Plus, it just helps relieve any restrictions in your exhaust system.
3) straight-through muffler ... Also helps get rid of the restrictions in your exhaust system and will generally put out more power than a regular muffler where the piping goes through an "S" shape before exiting out the tip. If you're looking for noise, a straight-through muffler will be pretty loud, depending on how much packing there is. Some examples are the N1 designs (LOUD) and the oval designs used by Borla (loud), DC Sports (mild), and Comptech (mild).
On all-motor Hondas, you generally want to stick to around 2.25" or 2.5" exhaust piping. 2.5" will take away a lot of low-end power and increase the high-end whereas a 2.25" system will increase mid- and high-end power. Either way, you'll lose low-end. Restriction/backpressure is bad, but not enough restriction/backpressure isn't good, either (unless you're talking about turbocharged motors, which then means you want the least amount of backpressure possible). There was a write-up somewhere that explained backpressure in exhaust systems. I'll see if I can find it. It really gave a good explanation on how exhaust gases exit in waves or pulses (since the exhaust valves are obviously not always open but opened and closed continuously) and that you need to match the piping so the waves exit the muffler in the quickest time possible.
Hope this helps somewhat. . . .