Straight exhaust pipes - Anything bad?

[Dodgey350]

Hi All,

I wish to change the stock exhaust pipe with silencer to a straight one on my 1983 W-350 with 5.9 ltr 4 bbl engine. It has no catalytic converter.

Here in Zimbabwe (Southern Africa) -where I currently live, high-tech exhaust systems that you guys buy, are not available.

If I go for a simple straight pipe/s will it negatively affect the fuel consumption? Will I get increased power?

Your advice will be very helpful!

Cheers!

[Gordon Maney]

Hi All,

I wish to change the stock exhaust pipe with silencer to a straight one on my 1983 W-350 with 5.9 ltr 4 bbl engine. It has no catalytic converter.

Here in Zimbabwe (Southern Africa) -where I currently live, high-tech exhaust systems that you guys buy, are not available.

If I go for a simple straight pipe/s will it negatively affect the fuel consumption? Will I get increased power?

Your advice will be very helpful!

Cheers!

In theory you should get better mileage and more power. You may not actually notice any change, but it is exciting to imagine.

[712edf]

No but you'll scare the dickens out of the critters in the jungle! It'll be louder, have a "rapping" sound to it. Pipe diameter will determined the pitch of the noise.

Bucky

[Kevin in Ohio]

Personally it wouldn't be worth the headaches and hearing loss(or wearing earplugs) to me for an everday driver. I would suggest to get at least a freeflowing turbo muffler. Some motors run better with a small amount of backpressure as opposed to none. Also, you notice most racers put a crossover pipe between the two sides as opposed to running singles all the way back. This equalizes exhaust and provides more HP. The fact that drag racers do it is the proof in the pudding.

If you want to go cheap, hit up a junkyard and look for a set of freeflow mufflers on an old junker. Junkyards here sell them for next to nothing here.

[Rodney]

Africa

If you want to go cheap, hit up a junkyard and look for a set of freeflow mufflers on an old junker. Junkyards here sell them for next to nothing here.

Kevin's never been to Africa!

[Kevin in Ohio]

Kevin's never been to Africa!

No desire to go either. I just wouldn't want to listen to open headers all day. I ran a Detroit Diesel for years and that was enough for me.

[BigMac]

I have a straight pipe exhaust on my diesel and it's not too bad. But I had a true duals with cherry bombs on my 79 Power Wagon and it was loud with them. I would imagine straights pipes would be a little tiresome on the ears, lol!

Mac

[Kevin in Ohio]

I have a straight pipe exhaust on my diesel and it's not too bad. But I had a true duals with cherry bombs on my 79 Power Wagon and it was loud with them. I would imagine straights pipes would be a little tiresome on the ears, lol!

Mac

The Detroit had a muffler on it and I thought maybe it was gutted or faulty. We put another on it and I swear it was just as loud with a muffler as without. Just got REAL old having to put in earplugs anytime you drove it. Maybe it has something to do with the blowers on them but they all are very loud.

[BigMac]

Those old Detroits had a sound all their own. Our neighbor who farmed my Grandpas farm had a old Oliver tractor with a Detroit in it, with a straight pipe. Man, was that thing loud! When I was little he wouldn't let me ride in it because he was afraid it would make me go deaf.

Mac

[sret43]

I wonder how loud a certain early '50s Studebaker truck is not to far from me. It has a Deutz V8 diesel air cooled engine in it. It's massive and quite impressive. The Deutz fills the entire engine compartment. The shifter sits high and dry like the Munsters hot rod.

The Deutz V8 sort of looks like the one in this link:
http://www.gratis-inserate.ch/anzeig...euge/14225267/