exhaust replacement - 87 short fleet

[p7387]

hello:
looking to upgrade the exhaust on my 87 short fleet 350 automatic.
i would like to use a dual exhaust but want to keep it basic reliable and simple and not noisey.
clarification on these issuse would be great.  -----

1) what is proper pipe diam? 2.25 or 2.5 and what are the advantages / disadvantages of each

2) what are the advantages of using headers as opposed to regular dual exhaust

3) What are the differences between "xpipe" and "straight" or "hpipe" systems.

4)will a regular exhaust shop be able to properly configure the exhaust or do I need to go to a specialty shop?
Will the mufflers from an exhaust shop be OK?

5)what are the differences between all these mufflers? Flowmaster vs. basic mufflers from an exhaust shop etc. etc. ?? for basic use is any one brand better than the other?

Thank you for your advice.

[Thermal Izod]

1)  For your diameter, I'd go with 2.25.  Of you want it to be louder, you can add some volume with 2.5, but 2.25 is plenty loud anyway.  Either should perform about the same for you.

2)  Header flow way better than the stock manifolds.....headers add a "scavenge" effect where they actually help pull exhaust gasses out of the combistion chamber and through the exhaust system, where as manifolds are a huge friction point in the flow of gasses...

3)  Straight/H/X:  These systems are basic crossover systems.   They link the two sides of the motor together, helping one side pull gasses out of the other, due to the alternating firing order of the 2 banks of cylinders...They also help prevent your car from sounding like two 4-cylinder cars, if you know what I mean....W/o one, a muffled car will often sound odd if you are closer to one pipe than the other....I highly suggest one, as I feel straight pipes are a thing of the past....  X vs H is basically just a style of crossover....Both are about equal, for a street car/truck anyway, you'll not really see a difference in them.  an x-pipe is a little higher and raspier sounding, while the h pipe is deeper, lower (most mustangs have one).  if your truck is a 4wd, the transfer case will make an x-pipe impossible, so stick with the H.  I've read dyno sheets saying that X pipes make more top end power, while H is more of a low end/TQ builder.  But I dunno, I don't have a dyno...

4) Yes, any decent exhaust/performance shop can do a system like this. 

5) Mufflers:  all the name brands perform well enough to be the same on a street car/truck.  Don't go too nuts on  which one flows best.  If you want quiet-get one that is chambered and packed, mild-go chambered, loud-go straight through/spiral...  Listen to youtube clips for similar cars with different brands, to see what you like.

Any other questions, let me know.  I hope this helps, I think I covered all your questions in your post...If you need elaboration, let me know...Best of luck...

[Captkaos]

Sorry, I couldn't find this on here...

1)2.25 or 2.5 are fine, Stock was 2.25.  Advantage more flow/disadvantage more flow.

2)I am guessing Headers or manifolds.  disadvantage: header leaks if you get cheap ones (manifolds don't leak and don't require gaskets)/ Advantage: a little more power, better MPG.

3)I don't have anything to add to Thermals post.

4) regular exhaust shops will have crush pipe benders (unless they are highend)  They can build you what you want for a street vehicle.

5) for a street vehicle it comes down to sound preferences.  I hate the sound of flowmasters.  So even if they did have a better flow (which they don't) I wouldn't get one.  I personally like the straight through magnaflows or Dynomax mufflers.

[eventhorizon66]

I hate the sound of flowmasters.  So even if they did have a better flow (which they don't) I wouldn't get one.  I personally like the straight through magnaflows or Dynomax mufflers.

Wow, an American who doesn't like the sound of flowmasters.  I don't use them, but I admit there's nothing sweeter to my ears than a nice dual 40-series system behind a healthy V8.

[bigblue09]

how does someone hate the sound of flowmasters?! they sound the best by far. 

[Dragon]

how does someone hate the sound of flowmasters?! they sound the best by far. 

You know my General Consensus about Flowmasters, is that the majority of the Systems out there sound like a Camaro/Firebird, which sounds like a Mustang(Hearing the same sound & drone over and over again gets a bit annoying)....  So yeah usually I too am with Chris on the Preference of Magnaflow or Dynomax, but for some reason the sound of the Flows that I have on my truck are Mean(Almost sounds like their Big Block 50's Series).....  If and when I do redo the exhaust, I probably will replace them with Magnaflows or Dynomaxs...

[Captkaos]

To me they sound like a tin can.. Probably because that is all they are...

[p7387]

thanks guys-
if i were to use headers and choose a quite muffler will it be a lot noiser than the regular manifold? is there such a thing as a quiet muffler?

thank you all for your help.

[Dragon]

Headers will bring the noise level up, but if the muffler isn't baffled-straight through like a Flowmast, so the noise won't be as harsh....   I have Tubular Headers on my '96 Caprice, and the rest of my system is still stock. They give my car a fairly throaty sound, but the Stock Muffler and Resonator helps to keep it from being too annoying(Haven't had the cash to change my setup, but I still want to)....

Because Headers have less restriction, they will cause an increase in noise, but the trade off is better MPG's and Power when done correctly(Not going overboard on the Diameter of the Exhaust Sytem, when your engine isn't capable of handling it)....

[SUX2BU99]

Going with a turbo-style muffler will help quiet the muffler down as they have more of a S shaped path through the muffler body to absorb noise. A longer-body muffler will do that too, like a "SUV" style muffler from somebody like Magnaflow will give a subdued sound.