Stock 3800 downpipe U bend cutaway pics
#23
now whats that crossover pipe for?? do you still have that if you have aftermarket headers??
Obviously you still have to use it with aftermarket headers- where else are you going to run the exhaust from the front 3 cylinders?
whats the difficulty level on installing aftermarket headers??
#26
oh okay thanks, but what if i decide to go the route of true duals?? will i still need to use the cross over pipe?? no right?
It kinda depends how your headers are designed though- for example, the pacesetter headers for the 3800 runs each bank of cylinders into a single tube- and then combines the two front and rear tubes in a Y in the downpipe area. Thats why people tend to use those headers for doing true duals, because they alreay have two separate pipes halfway down the downpipe area- so all you need are two custom shorty downpipes, and then the rest of the exhaust which any exhaust shop could do.
However, I really don't recommend true duals- you add a ton of extra weight for no power gain- especially on a nearly stock car. You can still go much bigger than stock on a single exhaust (I mean heck, they make up to 4" single exhaust tubing and components) than your engine would ever need- I mean the Supra guys are doing 1000whp on single 4" exhaust with a 6 cylinder.
You can't go true duals on a sideways motor with no room to run any piping.
The only thing is- I haven't seen any that had cat's- so it would be hard to do in an emissions testing area. Two of the setups I saw were rear outlet with just mufflers at the rear- the other one was side exhaust- forget what he did for mufflers.
The thing is, doing a true dual you can go much smaller on the piping size. Obviously some pipe hangs down below the floor board- but so do all people with side pipes, people with cutouts, etc etc. I mean there are people that daily drive with side pipes on wbodys- and the whole pipe is hanging below the floor pan and is running almost perpendicular to any objects in the roadway that may hit it.
I really always have dreamed of doing true duals on my GXP- just so it doesn't sound like a truck through the single exhaust.