Car Performance Upgrades

With Cat Back Exhaust Systems

Replacing your stock exhausts with new and upgraded, aftermarket cat back exhaust systems has been a popular form of car upgrades now a days. Cat Back system really allows your car to perform well with some power upgrades and increased efficiency. Pimping your ride with a new cat back exhaust kit has been popular because the whole system is easily available with being too much onus on your pockets. Secondly, installing cat back is lot easier and considered by many people, a DIY job.

What Is A Cat Back Exhaust System?

Many people who are interested in car mods but yet they are not so good in technical terminologies. For them I would explain the meaning of a cat back system. "Cat Back" is the whole part of the exhaust system installed from  the catalytic converter to the tailpipes. Therefore the exhaust manifold is excluded when we speak of a "Cat Back System"

The entire system can be categorized in to three parts. First is a straight pipe which goes to straight to the axle. The second are the exhaust tubes looping around the axle and the third part is a set of tailpipes ending on the mufflers.


Since the cat back exhaust gives a more efficient performance hence they are seen as a replacement of the OEM stock exhausts with low power. Adding these definitely adds into your car's horsepower. Furthermore, the sound which is created by the cat back exhaust (the famous growling and roaring), is adored by the car enthusiast, hence another reason to get their old stock replaced.

Legal Issue:

Amendments in your emission system does not leave you without some legal implications. We suggest you read our post, Lawful Car Modification, to assess your legal position after you tamper with your emission system. Additionally, some countries may have maximum sound restrictions regarding car modification. So we would advise to have a good knowledge of the local road laws and regulations. However if you believe to modify the parts of the exhaust system which will not have any implications on your car emissions and you are able to prove as well, then definitely you will not be charged for it.

Mandrel Bent Exhaust Tubing.

I discussed in my last post about the implications because of installing an aftermarket sports exhaust system which are obviously great for your car. The performance of the exhaust system is mainly dependent upon its bent of tubing so first I will discuss what types of tubing you may find in the market. There are two types of bents. Crush Bent and Mandrel Bent. The later is much appreciated by the car enthusiasts however the crush bent is generally found in factory fitted exhaust systems of the cars. Making the story short, coming quickly to the merits and demerits of mandrel bent exhaust tubing.

Advantages:

As I said mandrel bent exhaust tubing is much appreciated by those who love to drag their cars beyond its limits. The reason is fair enough. Exhaust tubing with mandrel bent have an even diameter through out their piping system and due to this evenness, the gases produced in the engine bay easily pass through the system and outside the car without the restrictions as they have to face in crush bent exhaust tubing where the diameter of the inside becomes smaller and uneven as it is caused to "crinkle" by pressure bent.

Mandrel bent are similar to crush bend to the extent that they are also pressurized but an additional die is added which prevents the tubing to crinkle and hence the surface remains even. As a result, a constant circle allows a smooth flow of gases and better power and efficiency of the car. The mandrel bent are also adored because they also create the famous growling sound of the car which reflects the power of its engine.

Disadvantages:

The demerits of such type of exhaust tubing would definitely be the cost factor. Generally these type of sports exhaust system are more expensive than normal, factory fitted, stock exhaust system. Similarly an advantage of it can also be regarded as a disadvantage. i.e. the sound it produces. This sound can be disturbing for many "peace lovers" and can deem it as a mere "sound pollution". In the end, its not necessary that every car will compliment the mandrel bent exhaust tubing (system). Some power loss has been observed in the cars and apparently the exhaust system did not work as it was suppose to. So car keeping in mind the engine's specifications are necessary otherwise all your hard work and wealth will go in vain.

Benefits Of Aftermarket Sports Exhaust System

Installing an aftermarket, high performance sports exhaust system are a great way of enhancing the performance of your car. Besides that can also be used for cosmetic purpose as well as to produce a beloved roaring and growling car sound which makes your car prominent and more prone of being noted by your friends.

First of all I want to tell what an "aftermarket" means for car parts and accessories. Aftermarket part means that the part has not been and factory fitted or it has been release after the release of the car's model. It may also mean that the certain part has been manufactured by any other manufacturer.

The exhaust system acts just like a respiratory system of a man where the different gases produced by the working of the engine are provided a passage way or exit route through the exhaust tubing. When a man works out, the lungs helps in expelling out the carbon dioxide from the body and provides a departure platform. If the gas does not exit from the body we will suffocate and you know better what happens next.

So in order for an engine to work more efficiently, the best thing would be that exhaust piping are of larger diameter so gases exit more rapidly and there is less restriction for the gases to pass out. This benefit is what we gain when we replace a factory fitted stock exhaust system with an aftermarket sports exhaust system. Since they provide relatively a larger diameter piping, there is a less pressure of exhaust fumes which results in higher horse power but on the other hand a larger bore size of the pipe slows down the movement of the gases. So performance gain does not lies with fitting the biggest possible bore size pipe as it may result in the loss of low end torque, but an optimum size is suggested which definitely varies with the type of engine according to the RPM produced. When a standard exhaust system is replaced with a new high performance sports exhaust system, generally 10-15% increase in horse power has been observed.

Another problem with the normal exhaust system is that they manufacture a crush bent exhaust tubing which means that there are spiral rings around the exhaust piping due to which the diameter remains uneven and restrictions for gases to pass through. On the other hand high performance exhaust system generally provide mandrel bent exhaust tubing where the diameter remains same all over the system.

So making the debate short, while replacing your standard one with a high performance sports cat back exhaust system, you should be considering the size of bore of exhaust tubing related to your engine specifications. Similarly one general tip of making the gases to exit with a greater velocity is that the the big pipes are connected with small pipes along the entire exhaust manifold are connected in a cone shape. This of course has some demerits too. Similarly if your exhaust system creates an unwanted sound, you can use aftermarket mufflers to kill it.