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Cat Back Exhaust Systems
Many factors affect the design of a standard exhaust system. They are required to clean up the pollutants left over from the combustion process, quiet down thousands of explosions per minute, and expel the exhaust gases at the back of the car. Add to this cost constraints, environmental regulations, structural considerations, and ground clearance issues, and what you end up with is a tightly twisted series of skinny pipes that restrict exhaust flow. The result is that your exhaust system is then choking your motor! A free-flowing, well-engineered aftermarket performance cat-back exhaust system will provide improved performance over stock .
By exhaust system we mean cat back aftermarket exhaust systems that consist of everything after the catalytic converter (cat). Many manufacturers make top-quality cat-backs for just about every application possible. The most difficult part of buying a cat-back may be matching it to the rest of your engine. Cat-backs are "tuned" according to specific applications, and have different designs geared toward their intended purpose.
For example, a cat-back system for a naturally aspirated car typically has pipes with a diameter of 55 to 65mm, and comes with a resonator and a back box. The resonator helps smooth out the exhaust tone as it travels through the piping to the back box, where the exhaust exits the system. If your car is turbocharged it has different requirements for maximum power production. Backpressure is the enemy of efficient power production in forced induction applications. You'll want to look at systems with pipes in the 2.5" to 3" range to get the biggest value for your money.
Exhaust systems come in stainless steel, mild steel, aluminium or titanium. Stainless steel is lightweight and guaranteed not to rust. Many stainless steel systems are mirror polished to give your vehicle a show-quality look in addition to upgraded performance. Mild steel and aluminium, although less expensive than stainless steel, won't be as resistant to corrosion which may lead to problems in future. Titanium exhaust systems are ultra light weight and provide awesome performance and good looks. They are, however, considerably more expensive than top-quality stainless steel systems.
When shopping for your cat-back, take into consideration your plans for future mods as well as everything you've already installed. If you see nitrous bottles or forced induction in your future, go with the larger diameter exhaust now to save yourself from double spending. If you plan on lowering your vehicle in the future, make sure your new exhaust system won't cause any clearance problems (think speed bumps).
As for performance gains, you can expect to see 4 to 8 peak horsepower, depending on application and other mods that you may have. You'll also enjoy a deep, smooth sound coming out of the back box. If you've chosen wisely, your new exhaust system will work well with any future mods you install. We recommend that our cat back exhaust systems are professionally fitted.
